Global-fund

This short but powerful book provides the best and most concise review of the disastrous policies that have been developed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Bello traces the origins of structural adjustment programs and then follows their effects into countries around the world.

Although originally published in 1994, the material is more relavent than ever. A MUST READ.

Bello provides a clear, concise and well evidenced argument that the structural adjustment programs of the IMF and World bank have sunk the countries of the global south into deeper and deeper debt and impovereshment. Bello sets this argument in the historical frame of the northern backlash against the rising economic power of the south. He also links the economic philosophy behind adjustment to the widening prosperity gap and falling real wages in the north.

A must read for all those curios about the World Bank and IMF and why people are against them.

This is a highly readable account about a serious economic crisis that most Americans missed. But Blustein makes you care--and makes you understand why the so-called Committee to Save the World (Greenspan, Rubin and Summers) made some poor choices and only through sheer luck managed to escape with their reputations enhanced. Blustein's description of the International Monetary Fund is eye-opening, and he will make you think twice the next time you read a story buried in the business section about another IMF loan to a struggling country. Blustein knows his stuff and has done his homework. This is a rare book that teaches you something new--and makes you think.

As an economics professor, I'm always skeptical of books about economics written by journalists. Economics can be quite complicated, and far too often journalists without serious (graduate-level) training in economics show a remarkable lack of understanding of even basic economic issues. They pose as "experts" but they don't really know what they're talking about...

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I picked up this book. Blustein does a really impressive job of examining in detail the crisis of 1997-1998 and the role of the IMF. The economics is impeccable and he explains it clearly. And he's tremendously effective at bringing to life the "drama" of the crisis and the very difficult decisions that policy-makers face during a crisis like this one.

I also appreciated the fact that, while being quite critical of the IMF, Blustein is also balanced in his assessment, and careful about avoiding gratuitous "IMF bashing" and about making it clear that there are a lot of very smart people at the IMF who work very hard to do their job well.

This is a great book for anybody who wants to gain a greater understanding of the international financial system and of the role of the IMF. Lively, accurate, never boring, it's one of the best non-technical books about an economic event that I've ever read.

Here's an amazingly well written book on an obtuse subject (the IMF and the economics of currencies) that tells a compelling story of the attempts to deal with the contagion crises in the late 90's. The book is very non-idelogical as it demonstrates the best efforts made by the IMF, World Bank, US Treasury & Fed, as well as the Central Banks of Europe and Japan to deal with the appearence of currency runs as they struck various developing nations.

While the book is not hawking a political slant, it is very honest about the fact that the IMF's solutions were at best partly successful. It addresses the very real concern that attempts to bail out countries in crises is really bailing Wall Street investors who took foolish risks with taxpayer money.

For a subject that has little coverage outside of technical studies this is a very good book.

Where do you think the book advanced payment coming from? THe book only tells half of the story.

Some books set out to accomplish the impossible and come admirably close. Barbara Garson's volume is a prime example. Can you deposit money in a little rural bank and really trace its spread across the global monetary system? How do you know that a multi-million dollar loan to, say, shrimp exporters in Thailand, really has anything to do with the actual dollars you deposited? But that's not the point of this book. The author embarks on a whirlwind, worldwide tour of the global financial juggernaut, and shows how money falls like a drop in a pond and emits waves of disruption that seemingly spread out forever. Garson concludes that deregulation needs to be reigned in, a reasonable anticipation of the Enron mess. We from getAbstract highly recommend her book to business people and consumers who want a better feel for what the "global economic order" is all about, why people are protesting at each meeting of the WTO and whether you should be steamed as well.

As a fairly intelligent individual who has never taken an economics course, I've been trying to make sense of the world of investing on my own. The author takes us on her own journey to do the same, and in the process we come to meet the faces and the people behind the whole process. She goes about it with a very open-minded, down to earth approach, and for the most part, doesn't draw a lot of her own conclusions. Rather, she lets you come to your own. At last, some information on investing that is more than just numbers and returns. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for where to invest their money, or is just trying to understand how "money makes the world go around." After having read the book, now I can go to the Reuters newswires and have an understanding of just what is behind the latest news announcements, what they mean in real terms for real people. The book has made me think twice about what it means to be chasing the high returns, and what implications that may have on the lives of others. I found this book to be very heart opening, and my compassion for the world is immense.

a more suitable title for this book would be macro investing strategies, which i don't advise. why be a jack of all trades and diversify into bonds, stocks, global currencies and what not. boucher gives us good insight into an overall stategy albeit vague at times. the average investor would not fair too well on so much diversification, after all how many soros's are truly out there? hedge funds should be synonymous with market neutral investing and arbitrage. you won't find that here.

first, in boucher's defense, other reviewers have misunderstood the term "hedge fund" to mean "market neutral." the term "hedge fund" simply means the ability to go short in a portfolio. in that regard, the title is not misleading at all. this book does outline several short strategies based on an understanding of the liquidity cycle.

however, boucher, for as much as he espouses the austrian economic method, has forgotten that one tenant of that methodology is a total diregard for econometric forecasting. the relationships he defines in this book would have had many people in trouble in the early 2000s because, as the austrians state, what happened (past economic relationships) in the past does not have to happen in the future (these once dependable relationships may break down - with your money on the line). current monetary policy has been ineffective, and therefore, so would any of boucher's systems that rely on monetary indicators. these indicators would have been screaming "buy" the equity markets, while the equity markets themselves would have been screaming "sell us...now!"

that being said, the primary reason not to buy this book is that some of the systems that boucher gives are insightful logically, but dubious in execution. while he may give you a system, he does not give you all you need. the reader assumes that he is giving valid systems, with all pertinent information. but, he leaves certain important points out. for example, on page 138, he says that you should buy stocks when up volume on the NYSE is greater than 77% of total volume and then he gives past buy and sell dates for the strategy. after much testing, i figured out that he is not using total volume on the NYSE, but rather total volume less unchanged volume. in other words, total volume is up volume, down volume and unchanged volume for all shares trading on the NYSE. boucher's "total volume" is just up volume plus down volume. this makes a huge difference.

also, any time he uses 30-year t-bond data, good luck to you trying to figure out what he's actually using. the fed has a constant maturity series that goes back to 1977. boucher can go back to 1943 for this data. hmmmmmm. i'm sure he's using something, but i have no idea what. so, what good is the system if you don't know what he's using as the "30 year treasury yield"? and, through no fault of boucher, the 30-year is not issued any more.

he also relies quite heavily on the dow jones 20 bond index. this series was discontinued. this is not boucher's fault, of course, but just another reason to steer clear of this book.

i will say that i learned quite a bit from this book, however. it was fun to read. my problem simply resides with the somewhat tricky way that some of his systems are given. hey, i don't expect the guy to give away a proprietary system, but if you give a system, step up to the plate and tell the reader you're going to leave out some things (he actually does do this when he relays someone else's strategy). i find his method a bit disingenuous.

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There is so much information in this book that it demands at least two readings. First, there is a wealth of material on trading. The chapter on technical analysis and reading the markets is solid and contains some good tips I've not found elsewhere. There is an entire chapter on containing risk, a large focus of which is money management--this information is worth the price of the book in itself.

Boucher also offers good material on selecting equities, evaluating other asset classes, and yes, hedge funds. However, the material on hedge funds does not take up a huge amount of space, and at first I wondered why he gave the book the title it has. I have since concluded that the title reflects his overall strategy, which is one of limiting risk by spreading ones' investments among many types of securities and asset classes, both onshore and offshore.

Aside from the above mentioned material, however, Boucher also has a couple of chapters on basic economics which I found to be invaluable background information for traders (like me) without business or economic degrees. His description of the liquidity cycle is brilliant. He explains the economic theory of Austrian alchemy, and shows how that model makes better sense than Keynesian economics. He has also provided data to convince me (a social liberal) that corporate taxes have a negative effect on a nations' citizenry.

This book requires dedication to get through certain sections, but it is well worth it. Its strength is its clear elucidation of trading information and techniques, supported by a foundation of economic theory and historical data, which enables the reader to understand the context in which s/he trades.

This book has the best, clearest summary of key issues in financial globalization, Third World debt and free-market reforms that I have ever seen (and I've seen a lot). I recommend it for academics who study globalization in their research, anti-globalization activists, and concerned world citizens in general--you'll find yourself using it as a reference!

The book is based on ex post iteration of events and investment strategies, which lacks the necessary foundation of macroeconomic introduction. It requires extensive knowledge of macroeconomics and finance in order to grasp (or digest) what the ideas behind strategies are. Clearly not for a beginner but I would not recommend it for an experienced fund manager at all. I found most of the examples and strategies highly simple.

Feeling brave? If you are, crack Burstein's book and have a look at how some serious big-time money works. Of course, by defintion this is not the majority of market participants so this is not a "popular" read.

But scientific truth, like a successful P&L statement, is not democratic. Either it makes money or it does not. And if does, you can bet that a few will get it right but most won't.

As an arbitrageur, Burstien's book is an excellent unfair advantage to those who are able to heed its message.

Christopher MAY - author Nonlinear Pricing

This book neither advances a scholarly discussion of the potential advantages or dangers of globalization nor illuminates a discussion of the development needs of the more than three billion people in the world who live in desperate poverty. Like Danaher's earlier effort in 1994, this book is just a compilation of one-dimensional accusations and slogans attempting to discredit the World Bank and IMF and provide some intellectual basis and justification for the circus-like protests he and his fellow radicals and anti-capitalists have participated in for more than a year. The Bretton Woods institutions are far from perfect, but at least they are trying to make a difference in the fight against poverty in the world. The writers represented in this book have interesting points of view, but their views are clouded by the effort to discredit approaches with which they differ. Poverty and the challenges ahead need all the help and attention that can be mustered. It would be interesting to contemplate how much more useful the energies Dahaher and others expend in condemning the World Bank and IMF might be if they were channeled toward work in the field with operational NGOs and other private organizations to accomplish real results. This book is not worth the time of serious development activists, although I'm sure those who are looking for one-dimensional answers and direction for their street protests will find convenient slogans for their posters and justification for the paving bricks they throw through shop windows.

Kevin Danaher, editor of *Democratizing the Global Economy*, says that there are three strategies for workiing towards an economic structure that isn't controlled by secretive corporate elites. The first way is to shift public priorities from profit maximization to civic and environmental responsibility; the second is to insist on corporate accountability; the third is building a new grassroots-based structure within the shell of the old corporate structure. Education, advocacy, creation of alternatives: three ways to buck the global system.

*Democratizing the Global Economy* claims to focus on the first of these: education. It offers a variety of essays that fall into three categories: how to protest corporate globalism, the structure and influence of the World Bank and IMF, and future directions for the anti-globalism movement. The essays vary in quality. Robert Weissman's "Twenty Questions on the IMF" is a genuinely instructive piece outlining the relationship between the IMF, Congress, and the World Bank. Noam Chomsky's co-authored "A Letter to the U.S. Congress," on the other hand, seems thrown in only to include Chomsky in the volume's list of contributors. Most of the essays tend to be rhetorical rather than analytical or statistical. One sometimes has the impression of being harangued at a public meeting, and as a consequence is fired up without being instructed.

Still, the book is well worth reading. I would suggest, however, that it be read in conjunction with some more analytical treatments such as Marjorie Kelly's *Divine Right of Capital* or Charles Derber's *Corporation Nation*.

I purchased this book in order to help me on my High School Senior Thesis, which is on the subject of Third World Debt. While the stories are great, little information is devoted to actual numbers and specific examples of World Bank/IMF actions. Also, the stories from participants from the WTO protests in Seattle and the World Bank/IMF protests were interesting, but come from a very liberal, "My rights are more important" attitude.

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS THAT CHINA REALLY HAS INITIATED A STEP FURTHER BUT THE BASICS IS THAT IT MAY HAVE TO RESTRICT HIM SELF IN INTERNATIONAL MARKET IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN.

Bad Harvest? condemns the international timber trade and advocates a new strategy for the sustainable management of the world's forests. It is, therefore, of relevance to environmental and development economists, foresters and timber traders alike.

Bad Harvest? attempts to debunk the accepted view that slash-and-burn cultivation is the major cause of global deforestation. It argues that the timber trade is the primary threat to the world's forests and examines the role that the timber trade has played in global deforestation. However, many countries-and not just those in the Third World-clear vast tracts of forest to make way for agricultural food production. While global demand for wood is increasing, there are plainly other factors at work.

Bad Harvest? is just another addition to the body of alarmist literature churned out by environmental NGOs. Alarmist tactics, unfortunately, drive consumers away from wood, one of the most environmentally-friendly products available, to substitutes such as aluminium, plastic, glass, iron or steel. In their production, these substitutes require more energy than wood, and more carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, thus contributing to global warming. It would be lamentable if this book unwittingly revives the boycott of wood, which in recent years has led to a partial boycott of tropical timber imports in a number of OECD countries. This has had the negative economic consequences of devaluing wood, and accelerating the conversion of forests to other land use in tropical countries. It is vital that in trying to solve the problem of the world's forests, the authors do not inadvertently contribute to the creation of a whole new set of economic and social problems.