The financial crisis is destroying wealth but is also a remarkable opportunity to uncover the ways by which debt can be used to regulate the economic system. This book uses four case studies of cooperatives to give an in-depth analysis on how they have braved the crisis and continued to generate wealth.

This is the inside story of private equity dealmaking. Over the last 40 years, LBO fund managers have demonstrated that they are good at making money for themselves and their investors. But when one looks beneath the surface of the transactions they engineer, it is apparent that these deals can, at times, go spectacularly wrong. Through 14 business stories, all emanating from the noughties' credit bubble and including headline-grabbing names like Caesars, Debenhams, EMI, Hertz, Seat Pagine Gialle and TXU, The Debt Trap shows how, via controversial practices like quick flips, repeat dividend recaps, heavy cost-cutting and asset-stripping, leveraged buyouts changed, for better or for worse, the way private companies are financed and managed today. From technological disruption in the worlds of music recording and business-directory publishing to economic turbulence in the gambling, real estate and energy sectors, highly levered corporations are often incapable of handling market corrections when debt commitments start piling up. Behind the historical events and the financial empires erected by some of the elite private equity specialists, these 14 in-depth case studies examine how value-maximising techniques and a short-cut mentality can impact investment returns and portfolio assets. Whether you are a PE practitioner, investor, business manager, academic or business student, you will find The Debt Trap to be an authoritative and fascinating account.

German bestseller about the best ways to protect oneself financially from the threats posed by government?s interference in the economy After the bursting of the real estate bubble, the U.S. pushed a monetary and fiscal policy that is, at best, blatantly wrong and, at worst, carries enormous financial risk. And because Washington knows this, America?s greatest weapon?its propaganda machine?has been called into service, diverting attention away from the fact that it was and continues to be government interference in the market economy that?s lead us to where we are now, namely at the end of one financial calamity and the beginning of yet another. A plea for the market economy, The Global Debt Trap: How to Escape the Danger and Build a Fortune details the cause of our current economic crisis and argues that political mismanagement endangers finances, health and, in extreme cases, democracy itself. ? Advocates the freedom of the individual and the capitalist economic system derived from it ? Foreword by Martin Weiss, bestselling author of The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide, by Wiley ? Other titles by Leuschel and Vogt: The Greenspan Dossier Every crisis offers opportunities for those who have prepared. The Global Debt Trap: How to Escape the Danger and Build a Fortune shows how to prepare for the aftermath of years of government interference in the market economy.

Especially in times of an economic boom following a crisis, companies have to deal with the phenomenon of the "working capital trap," which signifies a company's increasing need for financial liquidity in times of hindered access to debt capital, caused by the increasingly restrictive credit approval processes of financial institutions. As a consequence of cost savings, this situation is often reinforced by a low level of inventory. This book takes up the problem and shows ways of escaping the "trap" by identifying and strengthening in-house financing potential. First, different operating ratios will be introduced. These refer to the amount of capital committed to the flow of goods and to the amount of in-house financing possible. Subsequently, methods for consolidating in-house financing that are affected by procurement processes will be presented from the company's and the supply chain's perspective. From a company's perspective, the methods for consolidating the amount of in-house financing over the following topics: The Management of Payment Terms, Inventory Management and Product Group and Supplier Management From the supply chain's perspective, the following methods for extending the possible amount of in-house financing will be discussed: Finance-Oriented Supply Chain Sourcing, Supply Chain-Oriented Supplier Financing, Collaborative Cash-to-Cash Management, Collaborative Cash Pooling and Netting, Supply Chain Financing Platforms. The conceptual models will be clarified using a practical example from the automobile industry. Finally, the "Procurement Value Added" (PVA©) approach will be presented, a concept that measures the contribution of procurement to the company's success.

Details the history of the first thirty years of the system of aid and credit in which the IMF is the keystone.

The first major study to put the debt question in perspective, this book is the outcome of a historic conference held in May 2001 to debate Nigeria's future in the context of the debt overhang. The book captures the highlights of all presentations, and presents the recommendations and consensus reached concerning reducing the debt burden, strengthening the institutional framework for debt and resource management, and resuming sustainable development, ultimately demanding that Nigeria and the international community refocus their resources on fighting poverty.