The financial crisis of 2007–8 has been widely understood as a result of the financial system’s exceeding its proper place in society; the system became unbalanced, unsustainable, and deprived of a solid foundation. Even as capitalist finance seeks to reinvent itself in the wake of massive upheaval, critics continue to portray the financial system as fundamentally irrational—an unstable, destructive inventor of fictitious money. Characterizing finance in this way, however, neglects the growing connection between the worlds of high finance and consumer credit. The essays in this special issue take the financial crisis as an opportunity for much-needed conceptual innovation. Its contributors move beyond strictly moralistic criticisms of financialization to rethink core economic categories such as money, speculation, measure, value, and the wage, as well as the relationship among labor, finance, and money.

Melinda Cooper is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney. She is the author of Clinical Labor: Tissue Donors and Research Subjects in the Global Bioeconomy, also published by Duke University Press. Martijn Konings is Senior Lecturer and Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. He is the author of The Development of American Finance.

Contributors: Lisa Adkins, Fiona Allon, Dick Bryan, Melinda Cooper, Marieke de Goede, Chris Jefferis, Martijn Konings, Randy Martin, Michael Rafferty

Recent movements such as the Tea Party and anti-tax “constitutional conservatism” lay claim to the finance and taxation ideas of America’s founders, but how much do we really know about the dramatic clashes over finance and economics that marked the founding of America? Dissenting from both right-wing claims and certain liberal preconceptions, Founding Finance brings to life the violent conflicts over economics, class, and finance that played directly, and in many ways ironically, into the hardball politics of forming the nation and ratifying the Constitution—conflicts that still continue to affect our politics, legislation, and debate today.

Mixing lively narrative with fresh views of America’s founders, William Hogeland offers a new perspective on America’s economic infancy: foreclosure crises that make our current one look mild; investment bubbles in land and securities that drove rich men to high-risk borrowing and mad displays of ostentation before dropping them into debtors’ prisons; depressions longer and deeper than the great one of the twentieth century; crony mercantilism, war profiteering, and government corruption that undermine any nostalgia for a virtuous early republic; and predatory lending of scarce cash at exorbitant, unregulated rates, which forced people into bankruptcy, landlessness, and working in the factories and on the commercial farms of their creditors. This story exposes and corrects a perpetual historical denial—by movements across the political spectrum—of America’s all-important founding economic clashes, a denial that weakens and cheapens public discourse on American finance just when we need it most.

The Description for this book, Between Debt and the Devil: Money, Credit, and Fixing Global Finance, will be forthcoming.

If you are looking for a common-sense approach to personal finance and money management, then Personal Finance For Beginners In 30 Minutes, Vol. 1 is for you! In just a half-hour, you’ll pick up practical tips and even a few tricks that will help you control spending, reduce debt, and take a smarter approach to managing your financial resources.

Personal Finance For Beginners In 30 Minutes, Vol. 1 does not feature heavy-duty financial jargon or gimmicky “easy money” schemes. Instead, the guide uses common sense, easy-to-understand language, and lots of examples to show you how to cut expenses and save more money for the things that really matter in life. Topics include:

Aligning spending with priorities Income, assets, and equity Flexible vs. fixed expenses Limiting luxury spending and online shopping How to shave thousands off of telecommunications and utility bills Cutting car costs Refinancing explained Dealing with credit card debt Online banking and alternative payment systems Using software to track expenses and budgets

The ultimate goals of Personal Finance For Beginners In 30 Minutes, Vol. 1 are to help you understand your finances, cut costs, and make sensible decisions about spending which are aligned with your life priorities. Some of the tips can help you start saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars on everything from cable TV to credit cards.

The essential guide to global sukuk markets worldwide

Sukuk Securities provides complete information and guidance on the latest developments in the burgeoning sukuk securities markets. Written by leading Islamic finance experts, this essential guide offers insight into the concepts, design features, contract structures, yields, and payoffs in all twelve global sukuk markets, providing Islamic finance professionals with an invaluable addition to their library. The first book to fully introduce the market, this book provides a detailed overview of the sukuk market, with practical guidance toward applying these instruments in real-world scenarios. Readers will learn how sukuk securities are regulated and the issues that arise from regulations, and gain insight into the foundation and principles of Islamic finance as applied to these instruments. Extensive tables illustrate t-test comparisons between conventional bonds and sukuk, risk factors, and the issuance of different types of sukuk securities by country to give readers a deeper understanding of the markets.

In 2010, the World Bank recommended sukuk as the best form of lending for growth in developing countries; since then, the value of new issues has grown at 45 percent per year. The market’s present size is close to US $1,200 billion, with private markets in major financial centers like London, Zurich, and New York. This book provides comprehensive guidance toward understanding and using these instruments, and working within these markets.

Get acquainted with the sukuk market, definitions, classification, and pricingLearn the different approaches to structuring and contract designDiscover how sukuk is applied, including regulations, ratings, and securitizationExamine payoff structures and suggested sukuk valuation in the context of Islamic finance principles

With the sukuk market growing the way it is, regulators, investors, and students need to fully understand the mechanisms at work. Sukuk Securities is the complete guide to the sukuk markets, with expert insight. July 2014 saw the first sukuk listing in London. Hong Kong and Seoul have also entered this niche market. Predictions are that there will be continued high growth of sukuk debt markets around the world, all providing targeted funding via sukuk contracting modes.

Get control of your finances – and your future!

Do you feel like you’ll never pay off your student loans? Worried about your mounting credit card debt? Wondering when you’ll ever make enough money to stop living paycheck to paycheck? You’re not alone – millions of young Americans are finding it hard to save for the future and still pay today’s bills on time.

But with The Everything Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s Book, 3rd Edition, you’ll learn how to be financially independent by:Creating a workable budgetMinimizing credit card and student loan debtInvesting money wiselyBuilding an emergency fund You’ll also learn how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can help you navigate the often-confusing world of financial service products. With this easy-to-use guide, you’ll learn how to manage, save, and invest wisely – starting today!

“How you think is everything.” This simple and true statement exemplifies how the product of our labors is first built by our minds. Everyday, we make several financial decisions, yet many of us practice little to no daily mindfulness of our money until there are cash crunches or other problems that must be addressed. This book is the tool you need to breakthrough and achieve consistent daily awareness of your money and your mindset towards money. Containing 365 personal finance affirmations–one for each day of the year–this book provides daily meditations to help you break through mental and habitual roadblocks, negative predispositions, and self-sabotaging beliefs that stand in the way of financial success. Each affirmation has been carefully designed based on extensive research into the personal finance and self achievement fields. The simplicity and elegance of each affirmation provides a tool to help you conquer the financial challenges in your life while supporting your long-term goals.

Refer to this financial management guide to help you gain control of your personal finances from assessment to budgeting to home ownership. The tips included will be beneficial for everyone in your family regarding money and credit issues. You will learn the differences in needs versus wants, creating a manageable budget, saving for future expenditures, paying off debt, and housing related rights and responsibilities.

The easy way to avoid early pitfalls on the road to financial success

A little money and a little time is all that’s needed to lay a strong financial foundation for today and the future. And starting sooner rather than later is the smartest thing you can do when it comes to protecting your financial future.

If you’re in college or enjoying your twenties, Personal Finance in Your 20s For Dummies cuts to the chase, providing you with the targeted financial advice you need to establish a firm financial footing as you work your way through school and the post-graduation years.Advice on paying off student loans, managing debt, and creating a solid pathway to financial successInvesting strategies for young investorsOther titles by Tyson: Personal Finance For Dummies, Investing For Dummies, and Mutual Funds For Dummies

If you’re looking for sound, reliable advice on how to make smart financial choices in the real world, Personal Finance in Your 20s For Dummies has you covered.

The high-yield leveraged bond and loan market (“junk bonds”) is now valued at $3+ trillion in North America, €1 trillion in Europe, and another $1 trillion in emerging markets. What’s more, based on the maturity schedules of current debt, it’s poised for massive growth. To successfully issue, evaluate, and invest in high-yield debt, however, financial professionals need credit and bond analysis skills specific to these instruments. Now, for the first time, there’s a complete, practical, and expert tutorial and workbook covering all facets of modern leveraged finance analysis. In A Pragmatist’s Guide to Leveraged Finance, Credit Suisse managing director Bob Kricheff explains why conventional analysis techniques are inadequate for leveraged instruments, clearly defines the unique challenges sellers and buyers face, walks step-by-step through deriving essential data for pricing and decision-making, and demonstrates how to apply it. Using practical examples, sample documents, Excel worksheets, and graphs, Kricheff covers all this, and much more: yields, spreads, and total return; ratio analysis of liquidity and asset value; business trend analysis; modeling and scenarios; potential interest rate impacts; evaluating and potentially escaping leveraged finance covenants; how to assess equity (and why it matters); investing on news and events; early stage credit; and creating accurate credit snapshots. This book is an indispensable resource for all investment and underwriting professionals, money managers, consultants, accountants, advisors, and lawyers working in leveraged finance. In fact, it teaches credit analysis skills that will be valuable in analyzing a wide variety of higher-risk investments, including growth stocks.