Philip Augar

Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market

Bank That Lived a Little

Reckless

Joy Palmer

"Player Manager" offers a practical blueprint for working managers, executives, and consultants as companies eliminate full-time managers and shift managerial duties to revenue-generating professionals.

The Rise of Professionals Who Manage While They Work

Player Manager

A revolution took place in the City in the 80s and 90s. The cosy club of British merchant banking collapsed in a series of sell-outs, closures and scandals. This left the City dominated by US and European giants. Was this the inevitable result ofglobalization or did mismanagement play a part? This is the first book to look at how and why the British merchant banks and brokers sold out, and where that leaves us. Augar tells this fascinating story with pace and drama, taking us through the Thatcher years, the crash of 1987, Big Bang, and the aggressive invasion of the American banks. He looks at why the British banks failed to keep pace with the Americans, what this says about the way they were run, and what this means for the future.

The Rise And Fall of London's Investment Banks

The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism

Keely Winstone

He lived a double-life in the sixties Faked his own death in the seventies And retained his cover in the eighties A period thriller with powerful political and espionage themes, Agent Twister is the remarkable story behind one of the greatest scandals of the 1970s, told in full for the first time. If you think you know the true story of John Stonehouse – think again. It’s November 1974 and John Stonehouse MP, once a star in Harold Wilson’s Labour government, is missing in Miami, presumed drowned. His disappearance exposes the most lurid details of his life, including identity fraud, corporate corruption, a love triangle, blackmail, links with the Mafia and a decade-long career as a Soviet spy. The public are gripped by this story, happy to forget the strikes, IRA bombs and rising prices that are making daily life a misery. On Christmas Eve, Stonehouse is tracked down in Melbourne, Australia, where he is suspected of being that other missing Englishman, Lord Lucan. The comic absurdity of the story is offset by claims of a mental breakdown and a refusal to resign as an MP, even when he is extradited back to the UK and up on charges at the Old Bailey. For the first time, Agent Twister reveals the corporate crimes at the heart of Stonehouse’s business empire, the true extent of his ten-year collusion with powerful Soviet proxies and the political consequences of his antics. It’s a scandal greater than Profumo that lay buried for thirty years, with three prime ministers – Wilson, Callaghan and Thatcher – covering it up for very different reasons. Agent Twister is the first impartial account to put this extraordinary scandal in political context and reveal why John Stonehouse really disappeared.

The True Story Behind the Scandal that Gripped the Nation

Agent Twister

Early in the new millennium the investment banks were on their knees. Beaten by the boom and bust of the dot.com bubble, mixed up in corporate scandals and accused of uncontrolled and rampant conflict of interest, the game seemed over for the masters of the universe. Then the bounce back came. New rules, promises to be more vigilant and rising markets took the heat off. Having learned their lesson and paid their dues, the investment banks could be relied upon to oil the wheels of capitalism in this best of all possible worlds. Philip Augar's cutting critique challenges this consensus. By being able to act simultaneously for buyers, sellers and themselves, they can generate huge returns at their customers' expense. This book explains how this systematic and legal transfer of wealth occurs and answers some important questions. Do the investment banks add value through their advice? Is there a cartel? Are there any alternatives? What will happen next?

How the Investment Banks Played the Free Market Game

The Greed Merchants

"* Chasing Alpha is the definitive insider s history of Britain s financial services sector, from the early days of New Labour to the present day. At the heart of the action is the revival of the City s institutions in the mid-nineties. Augar uses his peerless connections with the people and firms that made it happen to give a compelling narrative of how the City s golden generation turned London round. Then, as so often happens in finance, the City got carried away with its own success, boasting of a new risk-free economic paradigm that would make the world a richer place. Northern Rock gave the lie to this claim. Far from heralding the eclipse of finance capital, Augar will show how the City stands poised to emerge from the credit crunch stronger than ever. As New Labour heads towards electoral meltdown, the industry it did so much to nurture will embrace the opportunities afforded by David Cameron s even more business-friendly Conservatives. The guiding principle of th"

How Reckless Growth and Unchecked Ambition Ruined the City's Golden Decade

Chasing Alpha

Based on unparalleled access to those involved, and told with compelling pace and drama, The Bank that Lived a Little describes three decades of boardroom intrigue at one of Britain's biggest financial institutions. In a tale of feuds, grandiose dreams and a struggle for supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents, Philip Augar gives a riveting account of Barclays' journey from an old Quaker bank to a full-throttle capitalist machine. The disagreement between those ambitious for Barclays to join the top table of global banks, and those preferring a smaller domestic role more in keeping with the bank's traditions, cost three chief executives their jobs and continues to divide opinion within Barclays, the City and beyond. This is an extraordinary corporate thriller, which among much else describes how Barclays came to buy Lehman Brothers for a bargain price in 2008, why it was so keen to avoid taking government funding during the financial crisis, and the price shareholders have paid for a decade of barely controlled ambition. But Augar also shows how Barclays' experiences are a paradigm for Britain's social and economic life over thirty years, which saw the City move from the edge of the economy to its very centre. These decades created unprecedented prosperity for a tiny number, and made the reputations of governments and individuals but then left many of them in tatters. The leveraged society, the winner-takes-all mentality and our present era of austerity can all be traced to the influence of banks such as Barclays. Augar's book tells this rollercoaster story from the perspective of many of its participants - and also of those affected by the grip they came to have on Britain.

Philip Augar

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