The follies of finance have threatened the stability of the global economy, and the world of finance has become increasingly complex and sophisticated, but also greedy, cynical and self-interested. The Long and the Short of It provides a guide to the complexities of modern finance and explains how to put your finances in the only hands you can confidently trust - your own.In this new, wholly updated edition of The Long and the Short of It, you will learn everything...

A radical reappraisal of the nature and activities of business—what it is for and how it works**“A characteristically acerbic analysis of the archetypal organisational unit of capitalism.”—Andrew Hill, Financial Times, “Best Books of 2024: Business”Shortlisted for the 2024 Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award**In the world of Adam Smith and Karl Marx, capitalists built and controlled mills and factories. That relati...

This book provides a guide to the complexities of modern finance. It describes the basics of investment and the sophisticated innovations of the modern financial system. It explains how the follies of finance have threatened the stability of the world economy, and describes an environment that is complex and sophisticated, but greedy, cynical and self-interested. This book explains how to put your finances in the only hands you can confidently trust - your own.Readers will learn ev...

Capitalism faltered at the end of the 1990s as corporations were rocked by fraud, the stock-market bubble burst and the American business model – unfettered self-interest, privatization and low tax – faced a storm of protest. But what are the alternatives to the mantras of market fundamentalism?Leading economist John Kay unravels the truth about markets, from Wall Street to Switzerland, from Russia to Mumbai, examining why some nations are rich and some poor, why ‘one-size-fits-all...

Two of the UK's leading economists call for an end to extreme individualism as the engine of prosperity'provocative but thought-provoking and nuanced' TelegraphThroughout history, successful societies have created institutions which channel both competition and co-operation to achieve complex goals of general benefit. These institutions make the difference between societies that thrive and those paralyzed by discord, the difference...

'Persuasive, rigorous, creative and wise. Brilliant' TIM HARFORD'Kay is both a first-class economist and an excellent writer' FINANCIAL TIMESIt may feel paradoxical, but in business and in life, our goals are often best achieved when approaching them indirectly. In a traffic jam, the quickest route home might involve going the long way round. Those who deliberately seek love rarely find it and the endless pursuit of happiness often...

How did BMW recover from the edge of bankruptcy to become on of Europe's strongest companies? Why did Saatchi and Saatchi's global strategy bring the company to its knees? Why has Philips's outstanding record in innovation not been translated into success in the market? What can be learnt from the marriage contract about the conduct of commercial negotiations? These are some of the questions addressed as John Kay asks `What makes a business successful?' Drawing on his own business experien...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024'Original and thought-provoking... A brilliantly erudite account of the major waves in the theory and practice of management' Financial Times'Instead of theory it has wisdom... an excellent ...

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2016We all depend on the finance sector. We need it to store our money, manage our payments, finance housing stock, restore infrastructure, fund retirement and support new business. But these roles comprise only a tiny sliver of the sector's activity: the vast majority of lending is within the finance sector. So what is it all for? What is the purpose of this activity? And why is it so profitable?John Kay, a distinguished ec...

'A brilliant new book'Daily Telegraph'Well written . . . and often entertaining'The Times'A sparkling analysis'ProspectWhen uncertainty is all around us, and the facts are not clear, how can we make good decisions?We do not know what the future will hold, particularly in the midst of a crisis, but we must make decisions anyway. We regula...

If you want to go in one direction, the best route may involve going in another. This is the concept of 'obliquity': paradoxical as it sounds, many goals are more likely to be achieved when pursued indirectly. The richest men and women are not the most materialistic; the happiest people are not necessarily those who focus on happiness, and the most profitable companies are not always the most profit-oriented as the recent financial crisis showed us.Whether overcoming geographical o...

If this doesn't move you, I suggest you check your pulse.' –John Kay, frontman of Steppenwolf (born in East Prussia in 1944) Told by the children who survived, these stories could well be the last eyewitness report of the aftermath of the Second World War. As the land where they once lived was integrated into the Eastern Bloc, their accounts remained hushed until after the Iron Curtain fell. Now, in The Wolf Children of the Eastern Front, they break their silence. During the bitter winter ...