This work follows up the themes raised in Susan Strange's classic work Casino capitalism, re-issued by Manchester University Press in September 1997. This volume covers the last decade, during which there has been continued instability and volatility, and much innovative development, in global financial markets. The context for this book is the growing divergence of informed opinion on how to interpret the rapid change in international money and finance. The profound disagreements which exist between the optimists and the pessimists illustrate the extent of the problem.

Susan Strange gets to the heart of the current debates in official and business circles as well as among academics. Is the recent weakness of the US dollar merely a temporary and reversible phenomenon, or does it betoken a more profound weakness in the economy? Do the necessary political and economic conditions exist for international policy co-ordination between the three pillars of the triad - the US, Germany and Japan? Is the move to independent central banks helpful to long-term stability? And what is the future of European Monetary Union?