Shadow Market

Acclaimed financial journalist Eric J. Weiner reveals how foreign countries and private investors are increasingly controlling the global economy and secretly wresting power from the United States in ways that our government cannot reverse and about which the average American knows nothing.The most potent force in global commerce today is not the Federal Reserve, not the international banks, not the governments of the G7 countries, and certainly not the European Union. Rather, it is the multi-trillion-dollar network of super-rich, secretive, and largely unregulated investment vehiclesforeign sovereign wealth funds, government-run corporations, private equity funds, and hedge fundsthat are quietly buying up the world, piece by valuable piece. As Weiners groundbreaking account shows, the shadow market doesnt have a physical headquarters such as Wall Street. It doesnt have a formal leadership or an index to track or a single zone of exchange. Rather, it comprises an invisible and ever-shifting global nexus where money mixes with geopolitical power, often with great speed and secrecy. Led by cash-flush nations such as China, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and even Norway, the shadow market is hiring the brightest international financial talent money can buy and is now assembling the gigantic investment portfolios that will form the power structure of tomorrows economy. Taking advantage of the Great Recession and subsequent liquidity problems in the United States and Europe, the major players of the shadow market are deploying staggering amounts of cash, controlling the capital markets, and securing not only major stakes in multinational companies but huge tracts of farmland and natural resources across the world. Yet thats not all; theyre also pursuing political agendas made possible by their massive wealth and are becoming increasingly aggressive with the United States and other governments. Highly informative and genuinely startling, The Shadow Market moves the conversation from international competition to global financial warfare, and stands as an urgent must-read for anyone interested in the future of the global economy, Americas position in the world, or how and where to invest money today.

Acclaimed financial journalist Eric J. Weiner reveals how foreign countries and private investors are increasingly controlling the global economy and secretly wresting power from the United States in ways that our government cannot reverse and about which the average American knows nothing.The most potent force in global commerce today is not the Federal Reserve, not the international banks, not the governments of the G7 countries, and certainly not the European Union. Rather, it is the multi-trillion-dollar network of super-rich, secretive, and largely unregulated investment vehiclesforeign sovereign wealth funds, government-run corporations, private equity funds, and hedge fundsthat are quietly buying up the world, piece by valuable piece. As Weiners groundbreaking account shows, the shadow market doesnt have a physical headquarters such as Wall Street. It doesnt have a formal leadership or an index to track or a single zone of exchange. Rather, it comprises an invisible and ever-shifting global nexus where money mixes with geopolitical power, often with great speed and secrecy. Led by cash-flush nations such as China, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and even Norway, the shadow market is hiring the brightest international financial talent money can buy and is now assembling the gigantic investment portfolios that will form the power structure of tomorrows economy. Taking advantage of the Great Recession and subsequent liquidity problems in the United States and Europe, the major players of the shadow market are deploying staggering amounts of cash, controlling the capital markets, and securing not only major stakes in multinational companies but huge tracts of farmland and natural resources across the world. Yet thats not all; theyre also pursuing political agendas made possible by their massive wealth and are becoming increasingly aggressive with the United States and other governments. Highly informative and genuinely startling, The Shadow Market moves the conversation from international competition to global financial warfare, and stands as an urgent must-read for anyone interested in the future of the global economy, Americas position in the world, or how and where to invest money today.