Connected
24 Hours In The Global Economy
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Beschreibung des Verlags
Oil prices go up, the stock market goes down. Currency exchange rates fluctuate and new technologies are changing the way we do business. What if you could look behind the headlines of the global economy? Instead of listening to pundits, politicians, and protestors, you could see first-hand how everyone from migrant workers to central bank governors live their lives.
Now you can. Having chosen June 15, 2005, as the focal point for his book, Altman contacted dozens of people from all corners of the world and all levels of the economy, from factory workers and currency traders to CEOs and entrepreneurs, asking them for first-person narratives of their activities on that one day. Starting with their stories and keying his chapters to the headlines of the day, Altman takes on pressing questions in new ways: Can poor countries become rich too quickly? Can corruption ever be a good thing? Do companies need crises in order to stay competitive? What determines the global economic pecking order? Along the way, you'll find quick guides to the fundamental markets that link the global economy together: stocks, credit, currencies, and oil.
Most importantly, you'll learn how the billions of decisions taken by individuals can and do change the future. This book is part travel guide, part owner's manual - an essential road map for every citizen of the global economy in the 21st century.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Altman's overview of the world's economic workings is useful and informative, though surprisingly dutiful considering the author's promise of a "whirlwind tour." Moving briskly between topics pegged to an hour-by-hour timeline gimmick he discusses many concepts: exchange rates, trade deficits, international deals, currency markets, corruption, financial derivatives, technological innovation, the importance of oil. While addressing the outsized role of the U.S., Altman offers valuable glimpses of key foreign economies and leaves us with a solid understanding of how they fit into "the world trading system." "If you want to cope with connectedness," journalist Altman writes, "you have to be as connected as you can in other words, you have to pay attention to what's happening in the rest of the world." Granted, anyone who's already paying attention will find much of the book's information somewhat remedial. And Altman's attitude toward globalization is so studiously evenhanded and argument-free that the reader may long for the glossy zeal of an advocate like Thomas Friedman or a detractor like Lou Dobbs. Still, as global macroeconomic primers go, this is a quick read that reminds us that we're all in this together and that many of us have an awful lot to learn to keep up with the global economy.
