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These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach money and banking. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)


America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny  |The New York Times (Sept. 1, 2024)
This article is quite long, but it’s a detailed and enjoyable read about how we wind up spending far more on penny manufacture and availability than the coins are actually worth.

King Charles banknotes sell for 12 times their value as collectors scramble for early editions | CNN Business (Aug. 13, 2024)
Not all banknotes are worth face value. The Bank of England is changing the monarch on its notes for the first time ever, and low serial number notes fetched almost 12 times their listed value.

How thousands of Americans got caught in fintech's false promise and lost access to bank accounts⎜CNBC (July 2, 2024)
Over 100,000 customers of fintech startups with over $265 million in deposits are not entitled to the same FDIC protections as banks, even though many customers believed their deposits were covered.

Americans throw away up to $68 Million in coins a year. Here is where it all ends up. | MSN (April 17, 2024)
As inflation has eroded the value of coins, more and more of them are winding up in landfills. That’s incentivized one company to recover them for profit.

Zimbabwe to launch ‘gold-backed’ currency to replace collapsing dollar | Financial Times (April 4, 2024)
Zimbabwe is set to launch it's 6th new currency in 10 years, in an attempt to boost the Zimbabwe dollar's falling value. But Zimbabweans prefer "mattress banking" and transactions in US dollars. Teachers can get free access to the Financial Times through the FT schools program.

Banks are in limbo without a crucial lifeline. Here's where cracks may appear next | CNBC (March 19, 2024)
More than 280 banks have high exposure levels to commercial real estate investing and losses tied to interest rates.

In the Market: Banks warily warm up to Fed repo backstop | Reuters (Feb. 27, 2024)
More banks are signing up for the Fed's repo backstop program intended to provide emergency liquidity to banks. Surveys indicate that banks still assign some stigma to the program, although perhaps less than the discount window.

Milei clashes with Argentine province over plans to issue its own currency | Financial Times (Feb. 3, 2024)
The La Rioja region wants to issue its own bonds as currency amid financial strain, but economists, businesses, and locals are skeptical the bocades will retain value. This article exposes students to timely issues concerning the function of money as well as inflation. High school teachers can get free access to the Financial Times via the FT schools program.

What Benjamin Franklin Learned While Fighting Counterfeiters | The New York Times (July 17, 2023)
Franklin used intricate designs, inks, and experimented with unique materials to help distinguish his printed currency from counterfeits in colonial America.

FDIC proposes Congress increase deposit insurance limits for payroll accounts | Yahoo Finance (May 1, 2023)
In light of SVB’s failure, the FDIC is recommending increasing deposit insurance for businesses. Alternative reform options-insuring all deposits or raising the current $250,000 are also on the table, but all present moral hazard problems.

JPMorgan Chase takes over First Republic after biggest U.S. bank failure since 2008 | CNBC (May 1, 2023)
An accessible overview of the latest bank failure for students. Prior to failing, First Republic accounted for 72% of all borrowing from the Fed’s discount window.

The world's biggest banknote printer said the demand for cash hit a two-decade low | Quartz (April 12, 2023)
The use of cash is declining globally as access to digital payment methods becomes cheaper and easier.

Why was there a run on Silicon Valley Bank? | by Noah Smith (March 10, 2023)
A student-friendly walk-through explaining the bank run on SVB. Note that this explanation predates Sunday’s joint Fed, Treasury, and FDIC announcement.
Resource: Worksheet

From pecan pralines to ‘dots’ as currency: how the prison economy works | The Guardian (Aug. 30, 2019)
The propensity to truck, trade, borrow, and barter is universal. Learn about how alternate monies come into use in Louisiana's only maximum security prison.

Graphics

Charted: 30 Years of Central Bank Gold Demand | Visual Capitalist
In the 90’s, central banks were net sellers of gold. Since 2008, they’ve been net buyers of gold. And in 2022, central banks bought a record 1,136 tonnes of gold. There’s also a breakdown showing which central banks are the largest purchasers of gold.

Videos

Founding the Fed | Planet Money
Short entertaining video on the founding of the Fed.

Venezuela crisis: Lack of cash leads to bartering | BBC
What happens when the entire monetary system collapses? A return to a barter economy. How much milk do you want for that fish?

Saving and Borrowing | MRU
Financial Intermedi-what? This video helps students visualize consumption smoothing and loanable funds markets. Follow this up with introductory videos to both stock and bond markets.

Podcasts

Is this a bank? | NPR
Are you storing money in one of these services? Is it functioning as a bank?

The banking system that loaned billions to SVB and First Republic | NPR
Learn more about the Federal Home Loan Bank system and how it operates as a lender of second-to-last resort.

The demise of Credit Suisse | NPR
An overview of the crumbling of Credit Suisse.

Money is ‘a made up thing’ – but that doesn’t change rising inflation | NPR
Find out where paper money was invented, and consider what happens when multiple paper currencies circulate. This is a long podcast (34 min) but there is a short summary that your students can read.

How mortgage rates get made | The Indicator
How do mortgage rate changes filter out to the rest of the economy?

The Financial Sector - bonds, stocks, and shares | Think Like an Economist
Stevenson and Wolfers give a really nice overview of what bonds are and why companies issue them.

A Chemist Explains Why Gold Beat Out Lithium, Osmium, Einsteinium … | Planet Money
It turns out there’s an elemental reason behind the use of gold as money. P.S. Did you know that people were using currency for trade as far back as 40,000 years ago?

The popularity of (and problems with) municipal bonds | The Indicator
The terms bonds and funds mystified me for a lot longer than I care to admit. So I’m thrilled when others try to break it down. Three cheers for The Indicator.

10 Years Later, The Financial Crisis Still Resonates | NPR 
Take a walk down memory lane, and reflect on the successes and failures of the bank bailouts following the 2008 Financial Crisis.

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