International Financial Markets Expert to Visit New Zealand

Wednesday 18 July 2012

MEDIA ADVISORY

International Financial Markets Expert to Visit New Zealand

Satyajit Das on ‘The End of Ponzi Prosperity’

Have we spent too much for too long? Are the clever financial instruments that were supposed to prop up the system starting to buckle?

To answer these questions, The New Zealand Initiative is hosting presentations by Satyajit Das on The End of Ponzi Prosperity. Mr Das is a Sydney-based specialist in financial derivatives, risk management and capital markets. Events with him will be held in Auckland and Wellington on 31 July and 1 August.

In his presentations for The New Zealand Initiative, Mr Das will discuss what he calls the ‘botox’ economy, where wobbly financial systems have been desperately covered up to conceal an ugly truth. He will consider whether Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy are just the front carriages in an impending financial train wreck. Mr Das will also weigh up how the global economic and financial engine is resetting and what challenges this reset will pose.

Satyajit Das has published 16 books on financial markets including several major reference works. His book Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives (2006), was described by the Financial Times as "fascinating reading … explaining not only the high-minded theory behind the business and its various products but the sometimes sordid reality of the industry".

His latest book, Extreme Money: Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk, featured at the 2011 Sydney Writers’ Festival and was described by New York University economics professor Nouriel Roubini as “A true insider’s devastating analysis of the financial alchemy of the last 30 years and its destructive consequences. With his intimate first-hand knowledge, Das takes a knife to global finance and financiers to reveal its inner workings without fear or favor.”

In 2011, Mr Das featured in the Oscar winning documentary about the global financial crisis, Inside Job.

Mr Das acts as a consultant to banks, investors, corporations and regulators in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. He is a regular commentator in international media including The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, ABC (Australia), The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Welt Online (Germany), Toronto Star, and The Business Times (Singapore). He also writes a column for The Independent and the Huffington Post.

Satyajit Das holds Bachelor’s degrees in Commerce (Accounting, Finance and Systems) and Law from the University of New South Wales and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management.

ends

© Scoop Media