DOCUMENTARY OF THE WEEK(s) – Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money: You probably already have the Niall Ferguson book on which it based somewhere on your office or home shelf collecting dust because of a hectic work schedule. So to you, we say: “You’re welcome.” For those unacquainted, the film and the book by the notable economics and finance historian traces the evolution of finance from Babylonian clay tablet money to Great Recession. The six episodes center around the themes of banking and credit, the bond market, stocks and bubbles, insurance and hedging, mortgages and the housing market, and globalization. And as daunting a task as condensing the entire economic history of humanity may seem, Ferguson is unassuming and provides a compelling narrative on just how immensely finance has shaped the human story. If you think you’ve mastered it all? The series is still peppered with arcana to interest the law watcher — and maybe even give you a new nugget or two. Episode 1: Dreams of Avarice (runtime: 47:44); Episode 2: Human Bondage (runtime: 48:07); Episode 3: Blowing Bubbles (runtime: 48:12); Episode 4: Risky Business (runtime: 47:56); Episode 5: Safe as Houses (runtime: 48:13); Episode 6: Chimerica (runtime: 48:07). You can also watch the four-hour edited version here.

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COME WORK WITH US. We’re looking for bright, talented writers and analysts to join our team to work on the current Enterprise Morning Edition and new products we have in the pipeline. You’re likely an equities / macro / research analyst, IR professional or journalist, but we’re less interested in your formal education than we are in your writing and storytelling skills, intellectual curiosity, fluency with numbers and passion for business / finance / economics / politics. Bilingual candidates preferred (English-Arabic), but we’ll consider particularly talented unilingual English speakers. A sense of humor is a must, as is healthy skepticism. We prefer Egyptian nationals, but can sponsor work permits for particularly talented foreign applicants. Want to get the conversation started? Send a great cover letter and an updated CV to patrick@enterprisemea.com. Bonus points for not starting your cover letter with “Dears.” We’ll be reply by Halloween day to folks we’d like to interview.
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