Life and Debt

This documentary looks at the sovereign debt crisis in Jamaica during the 1980's (one of many third world countries to run into trouble as easy foreign loans lead to wasteful spending and poor economic policy). Specifically the documentary takes a critique on the involvement of the international financial institutions; the IMF and the World Bank in working to resolve the island nation's debt crisis and efforts to put the country back on a sustainable footing. In fact the IMF and World Bank involvement attracted a lot of criticism and controversy because their rescue loans required conditionality - that the country would implement economic reforms such as trade liberalisation, privatizations, and regulation. But these structural adjustments are hard for the masses to understand and to accept and politically troublesome, so often these programs don't end up getting fully implemented. In this day and age with the European situation, it makes sense to study previous sovereign debt crises; it helps gain perspective, learn lessons from the past, and perhaps improve the way we are dealing with today's crises, and even ideas for preventing future economic disasters.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/03/life-and-debt.html

The History of the Pension - The Pensions Timebomb

Depending who you ask there is a pension crisis. Government provided universal pensions have become unaffordable in an age of austerity and fiscal and sovereign debt crises. With people expected to live much longer than history in developed economies the projected cost of the pension system has ballooned. But what is the solution? Do you raise the age of entitlement? Do you shift more of the onus to save money for retirement onto employers and individuals? Each country must find its own mix of solutions to funding retirement for the growing aging population. But even the private pension industry has come under pressure in recent years. The financial crisis saw market values plummet, and spooked many to shift portfolio allocations away from equities and growth assets into bonds and income assets. But the problem is we have had a massive bull market in bonds, and that wont last forever - indeed with bond yields so low the private and public pension industries will struggle to produce sufficient returns on their assets; with old assumptions no longer being true. Whether you believe in personal responsibility or government provided, retirement savings and pensions are an issue that affects us all; directly and indirectly.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/11/the-history-of-pension-pensions-timebomb.html

Overdraft

Europe is presently in the spotlight of the bond market due to the fiscal excesses and unsustainable sovereign debt loads in certain countries. But there are other countries in the world with equally alarming debt loads - Japan is an obvious one with its debt upwards of 200% of GDP depending on the measure, but the USA has also become a culprit of fiscal irresponsibility - you only need to refer to the downgrade it received from Standard and Poor's last year to see the gravity of the situation. But what do people mean exactly when they say the US has a debt problem? This documentary reviews the US federal budget records, the seemingly insurmountable debt load that has piled up, how the financial crisis of 2008 exacerbated the situation - but also delves into some of the potential ways forward; how to solve the problem before it becomes a crisis. This documentary makes for compelling viewing for Americans, but also everyone in the world - as America's economic and financial influence on the rest of the world is as systemic and important as ever.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/10/overdraft.html

Europe on the Brink

Europe on the Brink is a Wall Street Journal documentary on the origins of the European debt crisis, and how it spread to threaten the Euro and the global economy and financial system. The documentary explains things like "private sector involvement" - a euphemism for bond holder losses; a scheme which set bond yields soaring in Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. The documentary also talks about the central bailout fund (EFSF - European Financial Stability Facility, which is to be succeeded by the ESM - European Stability Mechanism) which was designed to satisfy bond markets and set up a firewall for the crisis by providing a source of funds and a lender of last resort for the countries afflicted by acute fiscal and sovereign debt crises. Along with the other documentaries on this website e.g. The Great Euro Crisis and The Great Euro Crash this documentary makes for interesting viewing in shedding light on the nature and potential course of the economic, fiscal, and sovereign debt crisis in Europe. The ECB announcement of the OMT program goes some ways to building the firewall higher, and with the recent announcement the the EU has won the Nobel Peace Prize suggests there is a future for the Euro, but how will that future look?

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/10/europe-on-brink.html

The Great Euro Crisis - 2012

The Eurozone is at a cross roads. The single currency idea is presently being put hard to the test. Will Europe and the Euro become stronger and more united? Or does this crisis present the harbinger of the disintegration of the single currency? Certainly there has been a lot of effort, investment, and political willpower put into the formation of the Euro, but a lack of fiscal and banking union has exposed the weaknesses of the Euro. This documentary probes into what may come of the Euro - will Greece stay in, will get kicked out, or will it opt out. One thing is for sure: the Euro will not look the same in 5 years time; but it remains to be seen what will come..

Self-confessed Eurosceptic Michael Portillo visits debt-stricken Greece. He believes that the euro crisis must have shaken the Greeks' faith in Europe's single currency and wonders if there'll be a desire to revert to the free-floating drachma. In Athens he meets everyone from a destitute young family to the former finance minister and the outgoing Prime Minister, and is surprised by some of their answers. Meanwhile in Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, Michael encounters the taxpayers who are paying most towards Greece's mammoth financial bailout while having to watch angry Athenians burning the German flag.


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/08/the-great-euro-crisis-2012.html

The Great Euro Crash - 2012

It began as a well-intentioned idea to bring Europe together and avoid the ravages of War in Europe. But while the political foundations seemed sound, the economic underpinnings of the idea were not really there. Indeed, economists were shunned as mere technicians. But the weaknesses in the design of the united Europe and Euro currency have painfully shown through, and now the Euro is at a vulnerable stage where the action or inaction of politicians has the possibility to bring down the Euro and the global banking system, or possibly even strengthen it and bring on a new age for the Euro. This documentary provides an engaging look at the history of the Euro, the crisis, and what may come next, with several very interesting interviews with the key former and present power-brokers in Europe.


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/07/great-euro-crash-2012.html

Catastroika

As the sovereign debt crisis has worn on, the natural response by many governments has been to strive towards rapid re-calibration of fiscal policy and significant restructuring of government finances. Part of this has come in through "austerity" which can be considered on the income side by raising taxes, and on the spending side through cutting expenditure, and on the structural side by bringing in reforms such as labour market reforms and raising the superannuation or pension entitlement age. Another means of rapidly restoring budgets and paying down debt is through privatising or selling state owned enterprises. There is nothing wrong fundamentally with selling state owned enterprises; but the reason for doing so and the process is certainly important. Indeed, the last thing you want as an owner of an asset is to be put into a "fire sale" position. However some governments will indeed benefit from restructuring their balance sheets; both on the asset side as well as the liability side. Catastroika brings a largely critical yet informative view on the trends and attitudes on privatizations.

The creators of Debtocracy, a documentary with two million views broadcasted from Japan to Latin America, analyze the shifting of state assets to private hands. They travel round the world gathering data on privatization in developed countries and search for clues on the day after Greece’s massive privatization program. Catastroika is a crowdfunded documentary under creative commons license. www.catastroika.com


CATASTROIKA - ENGLISH SUBTITLES by infowar
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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/05/catastroika.html

Debt and Redemption

Debt and Redemption is must see viewing on the sovereign debt crisis. As most of us know by now "all over Europe, governments dressed up their accounts by buying exotic financial products from major investment banks." This documentary digs into one key aspect of the sovereign debt crisis; focusing on the misdeeds, mis-selling, and miscreants of the investment banks in pushing questionable products to European governments. While it is by no means the cause of the crisis; in fact the cause of the crisis is many years of fiscal mismanagement, inefficient and ineffective policy and low productivity, it is something worth noting - and it (mis-selling of derivatives and structured products) has happened before.

"Debt and Redemption shows how local authorities in Italy are struggling with the disastrous aftermath of their deals. The city of Milan has decided to strike back by charging four banks with fraud. The banks, as a matter of course, deny any wrongdoing. Marije Meerman visits Milan and the village Polino Italy and travels to the US, where she speaks to writer/journalist Matt Taibbi (Rolling Stone, Griftopia), investor/blogger Reggie Middleton (Boombustblog) and former IMF economist Simon Johnson (13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown)."


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/04/debt-and-redemption.html

Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story

This is the age of fiscal distress. The Banking and credit crisis of 2008 paved the way for the European sovereign debt crisis, and growing fiscal distress among many of the developed economy governments. Long before the banking crisis many developed nations were already on unsustainable fiscal paths, with excessive spending on benefits and pensions, bloated government departments, and without the tax take to support it. Naturally a recession decreases tax revenue; so much more when the government injects fiscal stimulus and bailout packages. This documentary hones in on the UK experience. Also see Debtocracy for a look at the Greek experience.

Originally aired on channel 4 Film maker Martin Durkin explains the full extent of the financial mess we are in: an estimated £4.8 trillion of national debt and counting. It's so big that even if every home in the UK was sold it wouldn't raise enough cash to pay it off.


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2012/02/britains-trillion-pound-horror-story.html

Ten Trillion and Counting

I've posted a number of videos on here that talk about the financial crisis, and the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis, as well as past debt crises. This documentary talks about the US fiscal situation, I've previously noted that the danger of the banking crisis is that it turns to a sovereign debt crisis because the government's have had to do too much to bail out the banks; in the mean time, many developed countries were already running very questionable fiscal positions, with large deficits and growing debt. In this situation something has to give; when a government has too much debt is can either cut costs and raise taxes, inflate its debt away, or simply refuse to pay. None of these are good options, but they are reality, and the US is still on an uncertain fiscal path, so this documentary is well worth watching for most people, particularly investors.

All of the federal government's efforts to stem the tide of the financial meltdown have added hundreds of billions of dollars to an already staggering national debt, a sum that is expected to double over the next 10 years to more than $23 trillion. In Ten Trillion and Counting, FRONTLINE traces the politics behind this mounting debt and investigates what some say is a looming crisis that makes the current financial situation pale in comparison.

Watch Ten Trillion and Counting on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2011/12/ten-trillion-and-counting.html

Argentina's Economic Collapse

This documentary chronicles the economic collapse of Argentina following the political, economic, and financial turmoil of the late 1990's. The Argentinian collapse saw a drastic rise in poverty, and a debt restructuring aided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The documentary makes for interesting viewing given the sovereign debt problems facing many nations at present.

Documentary on the events that led to the economic collapse of Argentina in 2001 which wiped out the middle class and raised the level of poverty to 57.5%. Central to the collapse was the implementation of neo-liberal policies which enabled the swindle of billions of dollars by foreign banks and corporations. Many of Argentina's assets and resources were shamefully plundered. Its financial system was even used for money laundering by Citibank, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan. The net result was massive wealth transfers and the impoverishment of society which culminated in many deaths due to oppression and malnutrition. Official name: Memoria del Saqueo by Fernando Solanas 2003.


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2011/12/argentinas-economic-collapse.html

Debtocracy

The posting of this film is very timely, indeed, this weekend the leaders of Europe are frantically working to come up with a solution to the ongoing sovereign debt crisis. While other countries have come under pressure,  e.g. Ireland, Greece has been a key source of the issues and disruption in financial markets; and has threatened to send the rest of the PIIGS (peripheral Europe countries with poor fiscal conditions) into a downward spiral through the contagion mechanism. This documentary provides an insight into the causes of the Greek sovereign debt crisis and discusses some of the possible ways out. The documentary also draws parallels to other cases of sovereign debt crises, such as Argentina, and Ecuador. In a time where the European sovereign debt crisis is the key focus of global financial markets, and a key factor in the global economic outlook, this documentary provides a good opportunity to understand the background of the sovereign debt crisis.

Debtocracy (Greek: Χρεοκρατία hreokratía) is a 2011 documentary film by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Hatzistefanou. The documentary mainly focuses on two points: the causes of the Greek debt crisis in 2010 and possible future solutions that could be given to the problem that are not currently being considered by the government of the country.


Debtocracy International Version by BitsnBytes

Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2011/10/debtocracy.html