logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
33m 52s

The Hidden History of Eurodollars, Part ...

bloomberg
About this episode

At more than $10 trillion outstanding, the eurodollar market is one of the biggest forms of shadow banking activity out there. It's also one of the most interesting markets in existence, allowing non-US banks to hold and lend offshore dollars that effectively sit outside of the Federal Reserve's control. But where did eurodollars actually come from? Why did the US allow these "shadow dollars" to exist at all? And what do eurodollars mean for the greenback's role in the global financial system? In this special three-part series, we look back at the hidden history of the eurodollar market. The story is told by Columbia Law School Professor Lev Menand and Federal Reserve Bank of New York Policy Advisor Josh Younger. We start in the aftermath of World War II, when Europe is in the midst of an expensive reconstruction and the world is in the early throes of the Cold War. It's here that the eurodollar is born.

Read more:
Russia Sanctions Arm Trump for Talks With Putin
Scholz Steps Up Criticism of Trump’s Expansionist Rhetoric

Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jul 7
How You Get and Actually Keep a Job at a Multi-Strat Hedge Fund
Multi-strategy hedge funds, composed of lots of individual portfolio managers, have seen assets under management boom in recent years, thanks to astonishingly consistent returns throughout the cycle. If you're one of the PMs, the money can be incredibly lucrative. But job securit ... Show More
45m 11s
Jul 5
Emily Sundberg on How Nobody Is Coming to Save Gen Z
What do young professionals in New York City actually think about money and capitalism? According to our guest Emily Sundberg, creator of the Feed Me newsletter, there is a foreboding sense that nobody is coming to save them. End times are coming. AI will take all the jobs. There ... Show More
20m 33s
Jul 4
Nassim Taleb on Living a Good Life in an Age of Volatility
Every day we're inundated with headlines that are seemingly unbelievable. Multiple major wars are ongoing. Politics is erratic. Markets are scrambling everyone's brains. So how should we live and feel good? How should we think about the world around us, and the various perceived ... Show More
23m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 4
Hidden empire: How America wields economic power
This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Henry Farrell, ECFR council member and professor at John Hopkins University, to discuss Henry’s new book “Underground Economy”, co-authored by Abraham Newman. In their take, globalisation has brought interdependence—which is being weaponised a ... Show More
34m 26s
Oct 2023
Crypto goes to court
Hey smarties! We recorded today’s episode before historic news broke that the House of representatives voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker. We’re monitoring the story as it develops and as the House figures out what comes next. IIt’s Day 1 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial. Last y ... Show More
33m 23s
Apr 11
Here's Why America's Debt is a Trade War Victim
US Treasury bonds have long served as a refuge for investors during times of panic. But as President Donald Trump unleashes an assault on global trade, their status as the world’s safe haven is increasingly coming into question. Yields, especially on longer-term debt, have surged ... Show More
9m 4s
Aug 2024
What Just Happened on Wall Street?
Every major U.S. stock market plunged on Monday, wiping out billions of dollars in value.Jeanna Smialek, who covers the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses what was behind the dizzying sell-off — and what it can tell us about whether America is headed for a recession.Guest: Jea ... Show More
23m 32s
May 2020
Dollar Dilemmas & Central Banks Gone Wild: The Best Of The Breakdown April/May 2020
Highlights from some of the most interesting conversations on The Breakdown from the last two months.  4/1 - Peter Zeihan on why the world we’ve known for 30 years is changing forever 4/6 - Emerson Spartz on a moment of punctuated equilibrium  4/17 - Jared Dillian on the politica ... Show More
32m 24s
Jun 26
Why markets are unfazed by the Middle East conflict
Nato members decided on increased defence spending, the Federal Reserve is planning on cutting capital requirements for America’s biggest banks, and accounting firms are ready to open up to public markets. Plus, why US stocks are unfazed by the Israel-Iran conflict. Mentioned in ... Show More
9m 55s
May 2023
American Bank Carnage part 2
The American banking system is experiencing a slow grinding crisis. We explore, why this is happening, why now and why the Fed adopted a completely different attitude to the 2023 banking crisis than the 2008 crisis and what this all means for the economy and the way we distribute ... Show More
31m 17s
Nov 2024
170: The Crash of 1929 & Meeting President Herbert Hoover
“A wise man never sells out at the first sign of trouble. That’s for the pikers.” This is the story of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. On October 24, or “Black Thursday,” stock prices plunge unexpectedly. Early the next week, whatever was left of the bottom falls out on “Black Tuesda ... Show More
1h 6m
May 2022
Central Banks Are Scrambling To Contain An Inflationary Wage Price Spiral | Nick Glinsman & Joseph Wang
Nick Glinsman, macro hedge fund manager and author at Intelligence Quarterly, joins Joseph Wang (“Fed Guy) and Jack Farley to explore whether the Federal Reserve is at all disturbed by the vicious sell-off in risk assets, or if the carnage in equities and credit is actually in se ... Show More
1h 14m