World Trade

Neil Irwin’s The Alchemists is a gripping account of the most intense exercise in economic crisis management we’ve ever seen, a poker game in which the stakes have run into the trillions of dollars. The book begins in, of all places, Stockholm, Sweden, in the 17th century, where central banking had its rocky birth, and then progresses through a brisk but dazzling tutorial on how the central banker came to exert such vast influence over our world, from its troubled beginnings to the age of Greenspan, bringing the listener into the present with a marvelous handle on how these figures and institutions became what they are.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the price of gold has skyrocketed - in three years, it has more than doubled from $800 an ounce to $1,900. This massive spike kicked off an unprecedented global gold-mining and exploration boom, much bigger than the Gold Rush of the 1800s. In Gold, acclaimed author Matthew Hart takes you on an unforgettable journey around the world and through history to tell the incredible story of how gold became the world's most precious commodity.

"Hidden Champions" - das sind die Weltmarktführer, die kaum jemand kennt. Die meisten von ihnen sitzen nicht etwa im Silicon Valley, sondern in Deutschland, in Österreich und in der Schweiz. Management-Vordenker Hermann Simon prägte den Begriff für die Top-Mittelständler in Nischenmärkten bereits vor 30 Jahren, doch vieles hat sich seither verändert. Nach dem Export-Boom in den Jahren 1990-2010 sehen die Unternehmen sich heute vor großen neuen Herausforderungen.

On the 12th of October 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas, and enslaved the native population. This was the start of the greatest crimes against humanity. For 400 years, 12 million men, women and children were sold and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean; this was known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, Americans were left wondering how such a long-term, globally coordinated plot could have escaped detection by the CIA and taken the nation by surprise. Robert Baer was not surprised. A retired veteran of the CIA's Directorate of Operations, Baer saw firsthand how an increasingly bureaucratic CIA lost its way in the post-Cold War world and refused to adequately acknowledge and neutralize the growing threat of Islamic fundamentalist terror in the Middle East.

Most emerging markets investment guides focus on financial metrics, but fail to provide the listener with new and relevant insights into the history of the countries, the views of the people on the street, and the financial shenanigans that go on behind the scenes, that make for truly informed investing. As a result, despite the growing interest in investing in these markets, investors are often missing key opportunities because they either have incorrect information about a country where they might invest, or simply don't know what questions they should be asking.

The Book of Mela’a Wuhdet: First steps into the world of Alchemy In earlier times, people used to have luxuries of exploring abstract ideas of higher dimensions. True seekers illuminate their minds with flaring questions like, What are we here for? Is there any agreeable purpose of life & living? Do we share the universe with ‘others’? Or are we the only gangsters in the universe-hood? Etc. Nowadays, well, not to be gloomy, but all quests and needs of most of humanity are narrowed down to fewer primal needs – survival & reproduction. In plain terms, The Book of Mela’a Wuhdet is ...

Whereas for much of human history slavery was somewhat arbitrary, in its later forms, it often had a discriminatory component, typically based on race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. This distinction shows how the practitioners of slavery justified the practice in terms of ideology, and Slavic people were discriminated against within the Ottoman Empire. Slavs had lived in the lands of today’s Eastern European region for centuries.

If you’re looking for the missing piece of your investing puzzle; this is it. Whether you’re a complete beginner who has never heard of an economic moat before today, or you have 30 years of experience, this will be one of the most important books on investing you will ever listen to, and it could be the key to you making life-changing money in the stock market.

In 2008, American journalist Jere Van Dyk was kidnapped and held for 45 days. At the time, he had no idea who his kidnappers were. They demanded a ransom and the release of three of their comrades from Guantanamo, yet they hinted at their ties to Pakistan. In The Trade, Jere Van Dyk uses the sinuous path of his own kidnapping to explain the recent rise in the taking of Western hostages across the greater Middle East.

The Silk Road, which has been understood as a generalized route of trade between the East and the West, is different from European, North African, and Near Eastern trade routes because until recently, it has been understood as solely being a land route; in fact, it was believed to be the longest overland trade route in human history. The history of the Silk Road is extremely complex. It cannot be told as a singular chronological narrative.

No one present at the Battle of Cape Lopez off the coast of West Africa in 1722 could have known that they were on the edge of history. This obscure yet fierce naval battle would have a monumental impact on British colonies and the future of slavery in America.

Most global citizens are well aware of the explosive growth of the Chinese economy. Indeed, China has famously become the "workshop of the world." Yet, while China watchers have shed much light on the country's internal dynamics - China's politics, its vast social changes, and its economic development - few have focused on how this increasingly powerful nation has become more active and assertive throughout the world.

Over the past four decades, China's remarkable transformation has garnered admiration but also sparked concern. George Magnus draws on his intimate knowledge of this dynamic nation to uncover the origins of its ascent and show why the economic traps it faces at home and the political challenges it faces abroad pose a serious threat to its continued rise.

Stan Lundberg is no stranger to tragedy. After losing his parents in a freak accident, he succumbs to a lifetime of under-achievement. Things finally start to look up for Stan when, after struggling with debilitating migraines since childhood, he wakes up in the hospital with a diagnosis and hope for a cure. Ready to turn the page on the past that’s haunted him since the loss of his parents—he suffers the pinnacle of all migraines. After he regains consciousness, Stan inexplicably finds himself twenty years in his own past. Resourceful and uninhibited, he embroils himself in a new life,...

The night before returning home from a trip to the Grand Canyon, artist Parke Higgins dreams of riding a black and white horse through a hail of bullets. In this dream world, a mysterious Native American woman captivates Parke. And in the waking world, he can’t forget her, her stunning horse, or that thrilling ride across the New Mexico landscape. While his wife waits in the car, Parke stops at a reservation trading post and buys an ancient jade dagger. Its origins are a mystery, but the jade dagger gets hot when he touches it. Back in his art studio in St. Louis, when the jade dagger ...

In The Futures, Emily Lambert, senior writer at Forbes magazine, tells us the rich and dramatic history of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade, which together comprised the original, most bustling futures market in the world. She details the emergence of the futures business as a kind of meeting place for gamblers and farmers and its subsequent transformation into a sophisticated electronic market where contracts are traded at lightning-fast speeds.

John Newton was the master of a slave ship, later becoming a beloved Anglican priest and an ardent abolitionist. His conversion to Christianity began in 1748, and in 1764 he was accepted in the priesthood. However, it took him a while to denounce the slave trade as the pamphlet "Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade" was only published in 1787. Its impact was immediate and it became quite influential. Graphically describing the horrors of the slave trade, the publication is a moving confession of repentance for the author’s part in the hideous trade in human beings.

The transatlantic slave trade was founded by the Portuguese in the 15th century for the specific purpose of supplying the New World colonies with African slave labor. It was soon joined by all the major trading powers of Europe, and it reached its peak in the 18th century with the founding and development of plantation economies that ran from the South American mainland through the Caribbean and into the southern states of the United States. The East African Slave Trade, on the other hand, was more complex, far older, and significantly more widespread.

Sustainable & Responsible Investing 360° is a must-listen for anyone wanting to know more about investing for positive social, environmental, and ethical impact-with market returns. These are the stories and tactics of those leading the way as Sustainable and Responsible Investing goes mainstream.