The Ascent of Money
6 Titles
Historian Professor Niall Ferguson examines the origins of the pillars of the world's financial system, and how behind every great historical phenomenon - empires and republics, wars and revolutions - there lies a financial secret. Bringing context and understanding to the current economic crisis, The Ascent of Money tells the story of money and the rise - and spectacular falls - of global finance throughout the ages.
- ChannelDocumentary Channel
- BroadcasterSky Network Television
- Broadcast PlatformTelevision
Latest Titles
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Season 1 , 1 Episode 6Monday 12 October 2009Since the 1990s, once risky markets in Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe have become better investments than the UK or US stock market. The explanation is the rise of 'Chimerica' - the economic marriage of China and the United States. But does it make sense for poor Chinese savers to lend to rich American spenders?
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Season 1 , 1 Episode 5Monday 5 October 2009With bricks and mortar the favourite form of investment across the English-speaking world, Niall Ferguson examines the role of the property-owning masses in the global economy. He explores how the sub-prime mortgage crisis that began in 2007 heralded the current downturn, when for the first time in years the price of property began to fall and lenders realised their security was a house of cards.
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Season 1 , 1 Episode 4Monday 28 September 2009Niall Ferguson visits New Orleans to explore how insurance can be inadequate cover for catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, looking at what happens when the state is forced to step in. He examines the development of the welfare system in post-war Japan and studies Chilean reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, before assessing the role of hedge funds as reliable protection against an uncertain future.
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Season 1 , 1 Episode 3Monday 21 September 2009Niall Ferguson explores stock market bubbles by tracing the rise and fall of two of the most famous investment companies in history, the Dutch East India and the French Mississippi. Finding parallels between the American crash of the 18th century and the more recent Enron scandal, he uses theories of behavioural finance to explain the human herding instinct when it comes to investment.
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Season 1 , 1 Episode 2Monday 14 September 2009In this episode of The Ascent of Money Niall Ferguson investigates the creation of the bond market in Renaissance Italy and its effects on military history as it swept westward across Europe and on to the United States. One of the great pillars of world finance, it also played a significant role in the establishing of rich and powerful dynasties such as the Rothschilds and retains its influence to this day.
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Season 1 , 1 Episode 1Monday 7 September 2009Niall Ferguson describes the history of global finance and charts the epoch-making events of the capitalist system through the centuries, seeking lessons for the present crisis. He begins by examining the origins of banking with the Medici family and the innovative concepts of credit and debt which underpin the world economy and have driven progress for millennia.
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Programme Name
- The Ascent of Money
Channel
- Documentary Channel
Broadcaster
- Sky Network Television
Description
- Historian Professor Niall Ferguson examines the origins of the pillars of the world's financial system, and how behind every great historical phenomenon - empires and republics, wars and revolutions - there lies a financial secret. Bringing context and understanding to the current economic crisis, The Ascent of Money tells the story of money and the rise - and spectacular falls - of global finance throughout the ages.