The extraordinary life story of the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, whose absolute integrity provides the inspiration we need as our constitutional system and political tradition are being tested to the breaking point. As chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979-1987), Paul Volcker slayed the inflation dragon that was consuming the American economy and restored the world's faith in central bankers. That extraordinary feat was just one pivotal episode in a decades-long career serving six presidents. Told with wit, humor, and down-to-earth erudition, the narrative of Volcker's career illuminates the changes that have taken place in American life, government, and the economy since World War II. He vibrantly illustrates the crises he managed alongside the world's leading politicians, central bankers, and financiers. Yet he first found his model for competent and ethical governance in his father, the town manager of Teaneck, NJ, who instilled Volcker's dedication to absolute integrity and his "three verities" of stable prices, sound finance, and good government.
As the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1982, Paul Volcker established himself as one of the most influential economic thinkers. Currently a major advocate for corporate governance and accounting reforms, Volcker’s reputation as a great business leader with uncompromising ethics continues to this day. Written by award-winning New York Times journalist Joseph Treaster, Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend takes readers through the most compelling moments of this legend’s life in private and public service. From his early days as a young Treasury Department official through his appointments to the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Reserve, and James D. Wolfensohn, Inc., this inspiring book captures the significant moments in Volcker life and explores the ethical, economic, and moral dilemmas he faced at every turn.
"A sweeping work of history and analysis, Changing Fortunes chronicles the worlds economic upheavals since 1945 and the challenges to American prosperity and hegemony--from the perspective of two distinguished statesman, an American and a Japanese." "Paul Volcker, the legendary former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Toyoo Gyohten, one of Japan's leading economic policy makers, have been major figures on the world scene for more than two decades. In Changing Fortunes, they explain the huge changes in the international monetary order both helped to shape. With candor and insight, Volcker and Gyohten explore the decisions and personalities that have influenced the world's economy over the last fifty years." "Changing Fortunes begins with the stability and wealth of the Bretton Woods era and stretches through the financial turmoils of the Vietnam War; the devaluation, floating, and ensuing decline of the dollar; the oil shocks of the 1970s and the Federal Reserves battle against inflation; the Latin American debt crisis; and, finally, the Reagan administration's attempt to manage the international economy after first ignoring the consequences of its policies for the rest of the world." "Volcker and Gyohten recount each episode from an American and a Japanese position, offering a uniquely broad view of critical issues. Through keen portraits of the people and the politics of international economics, the authors bring a complex subject to life and address fundamental questions for the world's economic order after the Cold War--a world in which the United States must share the burdens of leadership." "As Paul Volcker writes in the introduction: "How much of the relative decline of the United States was natural, how much of it was desirable, and how much of it came from self-inflicted wounds? Should we, with the help of the Japanese, have worked harder to maintain the Bretton Woods system and the stability its exchange rates provided? Has the breakdown of that system been partly responsible for the slower world growth and greater instability in the past two decades? Where do we go from here without so dominant and enlightened a leader as the United States was at the end of World War II?"" "Lucid, accessible, and full of challenging insights, Changing Fortunes is essential reading for anyone interested in the world's money--past, present, and future."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
A profile of the former Federal Reserve chairman lauds his handling of multiple economic crises, crediting him with restoring America's financial system in the 1970s and aiding the Obama administration with establishing Wall Street regulations.
Get fifty years of industry-defining expertise in a single volume John Bogle on Investing is a compilation of the best speeches ever delivered by one of the 20th century's towering financial giants. Individually, each of these speeches delivers a powerful lesson in investing; taken together, Bogle's lifelong themes ring loud and clear. His investing philosophy has remained more or less constant throughout his illustrious career, and this book lays it out so you can learn from the very best. You'll learn what makes a successful investment strategy, consider the productive economics of long-term investing, and how emotional investment in financial markets is often counterproductive enough to forfeit success. Bogle discusses the "fiscal drag" of investing, and shows you how to cut down on sales charges, management fees, turnover costs, and opportunity costs, as he unravels a lifetime's worth of expertise to give you deep insight into the mind of a master at work. John C. Bogle founded Vanguard in 1974, then in the space of a few years, introduced the index mutual fund, pioneered the no-load mutual fund, and redefined bond fund management. This book wraps up the essence of his half-century of knowledge to deepen your understanding and enhance your investment success. Learn why simple strategies are best Discover how emotions can ruin the best investment plan Examine the universality of indexing in the financial markets Minimize the costs — financial and otherwise — associated with investing John Bogle is still in there fighting, still pushing the industry onward and upward. Take this rare opportunity to have industry-shaping expertise at your fingertips with John Bogle on Investing.
Details the evolution of the monetary standard from the start of the Federal Reserve through the end of the Greenspan era. The book places that evolution in the context of the intellectual and political environment of the time. By understanding the fitful process of replacing a gold standard with a paper money standard, the conduct of monetary policy becomes a series of experiments useful for understanding the fundamental issues concerning money and prices. How did the recurrent monetary instability of the 20th century relate to the economic instability and to the associated political and social turbulence? After the detour in policy represented by FOMC chairmen Arthur Burns and G. William Miller, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan established the monetary standard originally foreshadowed by William McChesney Martin, who became chairman in 1951. The Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve explains in a straightforward way the emergence and nature of the modern, inflation-targeting central bank.
Controlling inflation is among the most important objectives of economic policy. By maintaining price stability, policy makers are able to reduce uncertainty, improve price-monitoring mechanisms, and facilitate more efficient planning and allocation of resources, thereby raising productivity. This volume focuses on understanding the causes of the Great Inflation of the 1970s and ’80s, which saw rising inflation in many nations, and which propelled interest rates across the developing world into the double digits. In the decades since, the immediate cause of the period’s rise in inflation has been the subject of considerable debate. Among the areas of contention are the role of monetary policy in driving inflation and the implications this had both for policy design and for evaluating the performance of those who set the policy. Here, contributors map monetary policy from the 1960s to the present, shedding light on the ways in which the lessons of the Great Inflation were absorbed and applied to today’s global and increasingly complex economic environment.
Throughout the violent financial disruptions of the past several years, three men have stood out as beacons of judgment and wisdom: Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Paul Volcker. Though their experiences and styles vary -- Buffett is the canny stock market investor; Soros is the reader of shifting global tides in trade and currencies; and Volcker is the regulator and governor, sheriff and clean-up crew -- they have very much in common. All three men have more than fifty years of deep involvement in markets. All are skeptical of Wall Street frenzies. They believe that markets tend to be right, but usually only over the medium term. They have seen too many cycles of herd-driven, emotion-riding booms and busts to make their views hostage to the sweeping and simplistic assumptions of "efficient-markets" models. With the benefit of his own deep understanding of markets and finance, Morris brilliantly analyzes the records of these men, distilling their wisdom and experience -- and argues for the importance of consistent values in navigating the treacherous terrain of today's globalized world.
