From MARKETS 4:21pm

Watch out for the second US cliffhanger

Expiry of bank guarantees could trigger bond rush

Gillian Tett/Frontline Q&A

The FT and the Frontline correspondent Martin Smith and producer Marcela Gaviria join for a discussion of Money, Power and Wall Street, the special investigation into the struggles to rescue and repair a shattered US economy following the financial crisis, being aired on the PBS network
An illustration of a baby with the US flag on the background ©Shonagh Rae From LIFE & ARTS Nov 30, 2012

The born identity

How about a debate among US leaders about the prospect of a foreigner running the Fed

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile ©Corbis From LIFE & ARTS Nov 23, 2012

‘Antifragile’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The new book from the author of ‘The Black Swan’ calls for resilience in the face of stress

An illustration by Shonagh Rae ©Shonagh Rae From LIFE & ARTS Nov 23, 2012

Onwards and upwards

In a world without innovation and without expansion, it will be much harder to keep democracy going

From MARKETS Nov 22, 2012

Beware the next financial blindspot

Shadow banking remained off policy makers’ radar for years

From MARKETS Nov 15, 2012

Companies want Congress to ‘just fix it’

Fudge on fiscal cliff could mean investment is put on hold

An illustration of a hand holding a cellphone with a pie chart ©Shonagh Rae From LIFE & ARTS Nov 9, 2012

Playing the budget game

‘If voters feel they have active choices, will they keep tabs on politicians in a more effective, co-operative manner?’

From MARKETS Nov 8, 2012

Be prepared for US political cliff dancing

American business leaders are pushing for a grand fiscal deal

From WORLD Nov 5, 2012

$6bn US poll sparks unease among voters

Fundraising transparency has declined since rise of ‘super-Pacs’

Hurricane illustration ©Shonagh Rae From LIFE & ARTS Nov 2, 2012

After the storm

‘It was humbling to be reminded that there are some things in life which cannot be mastered’

Oct 31, 2012

Banking may lose its allure for the best and brightest

The really stark relative shrinkage of finance might lie ahead

From LIFE & ARTS Oct 26, 2012

Of pumpkins and presidents

‘US Halloween spending is projected at $8bn, more than the sum being spent on the 2012 election’

From MARKETS Oct 25, 2012

A Finnish parallel currency is imaginable

Officials quietly mull the logistics of leaving the euro

From LIFE & ARTS Oct 19, 2012

The price of admission

While public universities face cuts in state funding, many private institutions drown in alumni donations

From MARKETS Oct 18, 2012

Merkel & Co should look at the ‘H’ factor

Studying the psychology of humiliation can be revealing

From LIFE & ARTS Oct 12, 2012

When political madness works

An evaluation of a dozen world leaders concludes that many were not mentally ‘normal’

From MARKETS Oct 11, 2012

Looser rules won’t get banks lending more

Post-crisis credit changes banks’ behaviour

From LIFE & ARTS Oct 5, 2012

When tablet turns teacher

‘Aid groups might do better just to give out mobile phones and laptops with self-teaching games’

From MARKETS Oct 4, 2012

CEOs missing in action in US fiscal battle

Bond wobble could focus minds on helping solve deadlock

From LIFE & ARTS Sep 28, 2012

Dad, you were right

The structural foundations of the eurozone project were indeed flawed and the current crisis is forcing leaders to correct them

ABOUT GILLIAN

Gillian Tett Gillian Tett is markets and finance commentator and an assistant editor of the Financial Times. In her previous roles, she was US managing editor and oversaw global coverage of the financial markets. In March 2009 she was Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards. In June 2009 her book Fool’s Gold won Financial Book of the Year at the inaugural Spear’s Book Awards.

In 2007 she was awarded the Wincott prize, the premier British award for financial journalism, for her capital markets coverage. She was British Business Journalist of the Year in 2008. She joined the FT in 1993 and worked in the former Soviet Union and Europe, and in the economics team. In 1997 she was posted to Tokyo where she became the bureau chief, before returning in 2003 to become deputy head of the Lex column.

E-mail Gillian Tett