The English word ‘bank’ meaning a depository and lending institution, derives from the Italian word ‘banca’, or ‘bench.’ This belies the origins of modern finance in Renaissance Italy, where deals initially struck at coffee house bench evolved into the great trading and banking houses of the Medicis, where double-entry book keeping enabled the matching of debtors with creditors that spurred the growth of industrial Europe over the coming centuries. Today, with daily capital flows measured in the trillions of dollars enabled by high-speed fiber optics and a global communications network, major decisions happen much more quickly, and because of the levered nature of fractional reserve finance, regional concern can magnify into global contagion faster than an actual pandemic. In the case of last weekend, where Silicon Valley Bank, one of the top-30 global banks went into receivership, the political institutions of the United States were caught off guard, and in an attempt to quell further concerns, went into overdrive this week as the Federal Reserve discount window was opened guaranteeing the assets of all major banks. Not to be outdone, the Swiss National Bank just intervened in the takeover of Credit Suisse, a century and half years old institution, to further halt panic in European markets. Memories of the 2008 financial crisis are on everyone’s mind, and the ripple effects of these events are surely to continue throughout the year.
Myth of the 20th Century – Episode 250 – BANKING CRISIS – After Dark
— References —
Yuletide After Dark
The Machine that Built the World
American Indian Movement – The Incident at Oglala
Princes of the Yen – The Rise and Fall of Japan, Inc.
Escape from New York – Land of the Free
ELECTION FRAUD
Lovecraft – After Dark
The Automotive Industry
Argentina – The Evita Review
Missiles and Martinis – After Dark
The Planet of the Humans
The Powerbroker – Urban Planning and the Battle for New York City
Flaming McDonalds Wrappers – After Dark
Forging America – The Story of Bethlehem Steel
James LaFond – Waking Up in Indian Country
Disney – Escape from Tomorrow
The New Russia – Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson
Herbert Hoover – Building a Legacy
The Money Game – ZMAN on Financialization of the Economy
John McAfee – Silicon Industrial Complex
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