One of Washington's premier insiders ("Financial Times") describes how today's risky mortgage environment came to be--and why the mortgage mess is a symptom of future trouble.

From the Publisher:
David Smick keeps a low profile, but experts consider him one of the most insightful financial market strategists in the world. For more than two decades, he has conferred with central bankers (such as Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke) and advised top Wall Street executives and investors, from George Soros to Michael Steinhardt to Stan Druckenmiller. Political leaders (from Bill Bradley to Jack Kemp) have regularly sought his policy advice.

"The World Is Curved" picks up where Thomas Friedmanas "The World Is Flat" left off, taking readers on an insideras tour through the private offices of central bankers, finance ministers, even prime ministers. Smick reveals how todayas risky environment came to beaand why the mortgage mess is a symptom of potentially far more devastating trouble. He wrestles with the two questions on everyoneas mind: How bad could things really get in todayas volatile economy? And what can we do about it?

Drawing on riveting anecdotes in language anyone can understand, Smick explains:

a[ Why the churning cauldron we call China (the next great bubble to burst) represents a powerful threat to everyoneas pocketbook
a[ How Japanese housewives have taken control of their nationas savings, and why it matters to us
a[ How greed-driven bankers and investment bankers have put everyoneas pensions and 401(k)s at risk
a[ Why todayas aincredible shrinking central banksa may not be able to save us when the next crisis hits
a[ Why the big-money Russian, Chinese, Saudi, and Dubai sovereign wealth funds represent a tectonic shift in global financial power, away from the United States, Europe, and Japan
a[ Why the world desperately needs a abig thinka financial doctrine to guide todayas dangerous ocean of money

"The World Is Curved" is the rare book that speaks simultaneously to the Wall Street, Washington, and London elite, yet its apt storytelling shows Main Street readers how to survive in these turbulent times.

Tagged: Business, Economics, Finance