Regarding the political economy …
It started a while ago when they deregulated the markets . The full court press started with the dot.coms. The introduction of the internet into the fabric of everyday life created the habits, infrastructure and mechanisms, to have a market that radically redistributed wealth from the general populace to a few very well placed elite. “Market Fundamentalism” is as detrimental to our well being and way of life as Islamic fundamentalism.  Read more 

You’ll need to know this soon. I thought this was a good explanation of a well hidden scheme. Quick and dirty.  Read more 

The guys at Karmabanque were right the carry trade tsunami is here, the water has just receded and the elephants are long gone. I hate to disagree with MJS this isn’t gambling it’s a stick up.

From Investopedia :

A strategy in which an investor sells a certain currency with a relatively low interest rate and uses the funds to purchase a different currency yielding a higher interest rate. A trader using this strategy attempts to capture the difference between the rates - which can often be substantial, depending on the amount of leverage the investor chooses to use.  Read more