Alchemy of Finance

GEORGE SOROS is Chairman of Soros Fund Management, which serves as the principal investment advisor to the multibillion-dollar Quantum Group of Funds. Soros's flagship, Quantum Fund, is recognized as the most successful investment fund ever, returning an average 31 percent annually for more than thirty years. Soros has been an important philanthropist since 1979. His charitable foundations are active in more than fifty countries and spend nearly half a billion dollars each year to support projects in education, public health, civil society development, human rights, and many other areas.

“…contains a detailed description of his trading methods and repays careful reading.” (Investors Chronicle, 1st April 2005) “…these updated classics are packed  with investment wisdom…” (What Investment, November 2003)

• Foreword to the New Editionby Paul A. Volcker xiForeword to the First Edition by Paul Tudor Jones II xvNew Preface xixNew Introduction 1Part One Theory1. Reflexivity in the Stock Market 492. Reflexivity in the Currency Market 733. The Credit and Regulatory Cycle 85Part Two Historical Perspective4. The International Debt Problem 955. The Collective System of Lending 1076. Reagan’s Imperial Circle 1157. Evolution of the Banking System 1238. The “Oligopolarization” of America 133Part Three The Real-time Experiment9. The Starting Point: August 1985 14510. Phase 1: August 1985–December 1985 15311. Control Period: January 1986–July 1986 20112. Phase 2: July 1986–November 1986 24113. The Conclusion: November 1986 295Part Four Evaluation14. The Scope for Financial Alchemy: An Evaluation of the Experiment 30715. The Quandary of the Social Sciences 317Part Five Prescription16. Free Markets Versus Regulation 32517. Toward an International Central Bank 33318. The Paradox of Systemic Reform 35119. The Crash of ’87 355Epilogue 371Notes 377Appendix 381