Shows how economics functions as the dominant religion in America today In this provocative book Scott Gustafson argues that economics functions in our current global culture as religions have functioned in other cultures. He describes and analyzes the rituals, pilgrimage sites, myths, prophets, sacraments, and mission of Economics to show how the Economy is our de facto God. Discussing such topics as debt, economic terrorism, globalization, and money as the Economy's sacrament, Gustafson's At the Altar of Wall Street encompasses a broad sweep of history, philosophy, culture studies, economic ideas, and religion in its trenchant analysis.
What happens when the people running America's financial institutions believe that human judgment is passe? When they abdicate decision-making to an algorithm? The crash of 2008 was driven by a financial establishment, dominant in both Wall Street and Washington, that betrayed the fundamental principle of Capitalism: that all wealth springs from the minds of men. The bureaucrats of capital sought refuge in rules and systems as substitutes for thought, ultimately creating a machinery of disaster they could neither understand nor control.
What am I, a chief investment officer of one of the country's largest investment managers, doing hailing down strangers at night on the streets of New York City? “Are you Catholic?” my friends and I ask. “Would you like a rosary? Would you like to go to confession here tonight?” “Are you kidding?” responds one man. “Been there, done that!” says another. “God, no!” chimes in a fast-walking atheist. “You Catholics are all pedophiles!” yells one angry woman. Another hands us a bag of dog poop. Sixty-year-old Michael even has advice: “Why don't you evangelize out in the Middle East, where they need you?” “We're needed here,” we respond. “This city needs Jesus, too. It needs His love.” Some nights the tide turns in the Lord's favor. A young woman approaches us, decked out in showy attire. “Are you guys really Catholic? I didn't think there were any Catholics left! Can I have a purple rosary?” “Sure! Where are you going? We have lots to talk about.” “I've got to run! I'm a stripper. But I'm going to pray with this rosary.” At times, the neighborhood even begins rooting for us. Strangers call out: “Way to go!” “Your courage is inspiring!” We're in our groove now, engaging strangers with joy — and seeing some of them later in church. On the rough streets of the City, working shoulder-to-shoulder with Christ, we're no longer alone; we feel God's grace. You will, too, as you read the dozens of riveting – and often funny – stories in these pages, about ordinary Catholics from the financial sector evangelizing their wary New York neighbors. Indeed, so fascinating are their experiences, you may be tempted one day to join them.
New York's financial district is one of the city's oldest and most elegant architectural neighborhoods, home to some of the most powerful organizations in the world. This book is one of the fullest portrayals ever published of this famous district. Over 300 color photos.
A collection of true stories about money, the stock market, and high finance from the Gerald Loeb Award–winning “unbelievable business writer” (Bill Gates). For decades, author and New Yorker staff writer John Brooks was renowned for his keen intelligence, in-depth knowledge, and uniquely engaging approach to the dramas and personalities of the financial and business worlds. With a style of prose that “turns potentially eye-glazing topics . . . into rollicking narratives,” Brooks proved that even the bottom line can be moving, hilarious, and infuriating all at once (Slate). Here are three of his most fascinating works, which still resonate today. Business Adventures: This collection of entertaining short features is a brilliant example of Brooks’s talents, covering subjects such as the Edsel disaster, the rise of Xerox, and how corruption may be an irreparable part of the corporate world. “Brooks’s deeper insights about business are just as relevant today as they were back then.” —Bill Gates, The Wall Street Journal Once in Golconda: An incisively examined chronicle of the euphoric financial climb of the twenties, the ruinous stock market crash of 1929, and the unbelievable hardship and suffering that followed in its wake. “Brooks is truly willing to give up his own views to get inside the mind of all his subjects.” —National Review The Go-Go Years: A humorous look at the staggering “go-go” growth of the 1960s stock market and the ensuing crashes of the 1970s in which fortunes were made overnight and lost even faster. “An unusually complex and thoughtful work of social history.” —The New York Times
Or, how to beat the Street with a broomstick... Since that first tulip was traded on that madly speculative exchange in 17th-century Amsterdam, some very special individuals - plungers not in the Merrill Lynch tradition - have been picking winners and harvesting huge profits with uncanny success. How? They play the market in ways that seem weird to the rest of us - but they win! There are those who feel vibrations, play by the stars, read tarot cards, rely on extrasensory perception, dream dreams, play by numbers. Crazy? Maybe. Yet every single one of them is rich. You'll meet them all in this peek at the occult side of the street. If you want to play the game their way, there's an appendix to teach you their specialised techniques; with astrology, tarot cards, witchcraft, magic squares, and other uncanny devices. Each method is carefully explained by the author, a veteran writer of unimpeachable reputation who researched this book with the objectivity of a scientist and who vouches for the accuracy of the results described in it.
A female math whiz overcomes gender discrimination to achieve success in the stock options market and invests her profits in supporting struggling communities across the globe, only to be attacked by the SEC and lose her fortune to defend her honor. Karen Bruton’s passions collided in 2007 when she found her life’s work to use the power of business to make an enduring impact that transforms lives. Before founding Just Hope International, Karen had participated in numerous mission trips to feed the hungry, build churches, and drill wells. Her experiences convinced her that God was calling her to help people living in poverty and that handouts are a dead end to lasting change. While traveling to Peru in 2007, Karen experienced her first “Ah-ha!” moment in Anyana, a small village destroyed by two decades of attacks and oppression by Shining Path terrorists. During that trip, Karen brought guinea pigs, chickens, and seeds to people working to rebuild their lives. They used the livestock and agricultural supplies to grow businesses to provide sustainable and steady income. A hand up, says Karen, is the way to make a lasting difference. That same year, Karen left the comfort of her corporate job, began trading professionally, and pursued her desire to make a lasting impact. She founded Just Hope International with the mission to empower people living in some of the world’s most difficult living conditions. Her focus is to help remarkable people provide for themselves by earning a sustaining household income. In addition to Karen’s service in Peru, Just Hope has implemented programs in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Togo, Panama, Honduras, Thailand, India, Malawi, and Nicaragua. Programs include agriculture training, savings groups, and business mentoring. Today Just Hope serves in Colombia, South America, achieving its mission of economic empowerment through orphan transition work known as Thriving Skills. Just Hope created this program to equip teenaged residents under institutional care with practical knowledge and skills for life once they age out, often by eighteen.
Lawyer Alice Francis leaves her life in London for a new start with Wall Street banker Jake Logan in New York. She learns quickly that Jake is a man consumed by his need to control. He loves but does so on his own terms. When Jake’s ex-girlfriend, Jessica, finds out about Jake’s relationship with Alice, Alice’s life takes a dark turn. Despite the trappings of success from a Wall Street career, Jake is a man tormented by the irrational guilt he carries from his past relationship with Jessica. Jessica is unmarried and childless with a biological clock that has all but stopped ticking, and Jake is her back-up plan. Jessica’s intent is to blackmail Jake and force him into a horrible relationship that was never meant to be. When Alice enters the picture, though, Jessica’s plans are turned upside down. Mentally unbalanced, she resorts to extreme measures. If she can’t have Jake, no one will.
This book explores this rediscovery, first in the Roman Catholic Church and then in the Episcopal Church and other Churches of the Anglican Communion, and looks in particular at how both grassroots and official work played a role in renewing and restoring the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week.
