George III gold guinea

A portrait of a banking calamity

14 March 2013

For many years Paul Kosmetatos worked in the City of London’s financial sector, where he became fascinated by the unfolding of periodic crises.  Today he’s doing a PhD at Cambridge University, looking at the events surrounding the banking panic of 1772. 

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The Jarrow March symbolises austerity in the 1930s

Austerity Britain: it's déjà vu all over again

16 January 2013

The last 100 years have seen several governments introduce austerity measures to try to balance the books. Duncan Needham, a Phd candidate in the Centre for Financial History, compares past and present, concluding that current public spending cuts are inhibiting the growth we need.

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Adrian Leonard at Lloyd's

Navigating the choppy waters of risk

06 October 2011

Whether or not the planned intervention in the organisation of international banking sector succeeds, it will certainly impact on the City of London. Adrian Leonard, an Affiliate Researcher at the Centre for Financial History at Newnham College and the Centre for Risk Studies at Judge Business School, thinks his research into the history of the London insurance market offers hints for today’s policymakers.

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