This book traces the historical rise of private equity finance in the US and UK over the last 40 years. It shows how this new industry has grown as credit markets have grown. It is clearly explained for the non-expert how financial gearing works in a leveraged buyout.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the current “crisis” in the UK pension system arose. I argue that it is a result of a combination of changes in government policy and basic instabilities always inherent in the financial system. Policy changes increased the vulnerability of the...