The Money Bazaar : Inside the Trillion-Dollar World of Currency Trading (Hardcover) by Andrew Krieger

The Money Bazaar : Inside the Trillion-Dollar World of Currency Trading (Hardcover)
by Andrew Krieger 

From Kirkus Reviews

An authoritative, if pedantic, introduction to the mercurial foreign-exchange market, where daily trading volume ranges up to $700 billion--and millions can be gained or lost on the judgments of youthful MBAs like the author. Having made a name for himself at Salomon Brothers and Bankers Trust before striking out on his own, Krieger has an insider's knowledge of a demanding profession. Unfortunately, he conveys only hints of the high-stakes game's risks and rewards, opting instead for a matter-of-fact recitation of its fundamentals. The author nonetheless provides an accessible rundown on the globe-girdling network in which nervy traders buy or sell American dollars, French francs, German marks, Japanese yen, and other hard currencies for the accounts of money-center banks, multinational corporations, securities firms, and a handful of private investors. He also makes a good job of clarifying the supply/demand forces that move the unregulated, round-the-clock market--and why it matters. But apart from self-congratulatory accounts of a few fondly remembered coups (including a killing in New Zealand kiwi), Krieger offers precious little material that's not available elsewhere in more detailed form. Indeed, he devotes the bulk of his text to a sketchy monetary history of the industrial world from Bretton Woods to the present. While the author hits such high points as 1971, the year the US went off the gold standard (creating a need for the foreign- exchange market now in existence), his narrative loses considerable momentum when he stops for explanatory background. Appreciably more interesting are Krieger's unhedged views on the greenback's prospects as a reserve currency and allied subjects. Worth noting, though, is that he borrows (without credit) from Michael M. Lewis (of Liar's Poker fame) a what-if scenario of the potentially dire consequences of an earthquake in Tokyo. An essentially academic exercise lacking in the personal perspectives that could have made it much more than a primer.

From Library Journal
The foreign currency market, says currency trader Krieger, affects "every aspect of economic and social order in the U.S. and the other nations of the world." Its volume exceeds the combined trading of the New York, London, Frankfurt, and Tokyo stock exchanges, and it trades 24 hours a day around the world. It arose after the United States went off the gold standard in 1971 and has been affected by various agreements among the G-5 or G-7 nations. Nevertheless, it still plays by a quintessentially free market--supply and demand rule, government intervention being hopeless at this volume, as history has proved. Two hundred thousand traders all trying to maximize their own profits act like Adam Smith's invisible hand to produce world trade stability. Krieger's description of his own trades as case studies and his use of trading jargon makes this work somewhat more technical than the average popular business book. Business collections will probably want this, though public libraries can pass.