Currency Wars  (English, Paperback, Rickards James)

Currency Wars: The Making Of The Next Global Crisis explains the currency wars carried out by countries to gain economic advantages, and the possible chaos that could result if this tactic is not curtailed soon.

Summary Of The Book

Currency War is a tactic used by countries to stimulate their economy. It is the practice of a government devaluing its own currency, which results in a lower exchange rate for that currency in the global market.

When this happens, the price of exports from that country goes down, and price of imports increase. This can help the growth of domestic industries and can also result in generating more jobs. This tactic is called a currency war because the other countries could retaliate by devaluing their own currency too.

This is the subject of this book, Currency Wars: The Making Of The Next Global Crisis. It examines the financial tactics employed by governments to gain power and dominance, one of which is competitive devaluation of currencies. The author analyzes the major currency wars of the past, the consequences, and the crisis that could be generated by letting the current currency war escalate to unmanageable proportions.
In 1971, President Nixon was forced to take extreme measures to end the currency war that had been going on for sometime. He took the US off the Gold Standard and also enforced price control measures. All this was done to revive the US Dollar as the devaluation tactics had negatively impacted the faith in that currency.

The author says the the current currency war, in which China is a major player, could have worse consequences. In the current scenario, where all regions of the word are facing an economic downturn and are trying desperately to save their own economies, this tactic could escalate out of proportion and result in global chaos.

The author points out that previous major currency wars have always ended badly. He questions the validity of this tactic as a practical financial measure to help a country’s economy. It only provides short term benefits and then results in long term problems as other countries indulge in similar policies to boost their own economies.

Currency Wars: The Making Of The Next Global Crisis also looks at the failure of economists and governments to perceive the weaknesses of this tactic and the major problems it could trigger. It explains the possible results this could have, effects that could last for several decades.

About James Rickards

James Rickards is economist and investment banker.

He has also written another book, The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System.

James Rickards has an M.A. in International Economics. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania Law School for his Juris Doctor degree. From the New York University School of Law, he has an LL.M in Taxation. He has over 35 years of experience in Wall Street and he lent his expertise to help the US National Security. He is currently with Omnis, Inc. as the Senior Managing Director for Marketing Intelligence. He lives in Darien, Connecticut.