Giorg Hofsmid's analysis of the financial markets and financial crises debunks the myth of their omnipotence and suggests where the starting points of democratic economic policy efforts lie to impose limits and control speculative capital; it also proposes alternative strategies.

This book, rich in charts and bibliographical references accompanied by comments, has become a kind of "Bible" for the movement to regulate financial markets, especially the Attac network. The updated edition includes a new chapter about European financial markets.

"The book is written in a way that makes it easily understandable and can serve as an introduction to the world of financial markets. The interconnections and dependencies are explained very well, while the easily grasped examples play an important role. The bibliographical references (which even include websites) enhance the value of this specific work." [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]