UNDERMONEY AT WORK

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3/11/2023

Intelligence

Why the US dollar has become an at-risk currency

Everywhere you turn there’s chatter about the ongoing US economic sanctions against Russia. The Russian Central Bank, Russian banks, Russian companies, Russian oligarchs — and anyone caught helping them — have seen their fortunes entangled since Moscow invaded Ukraine just over a year ago.

1/27/2023

Intelligence

In the world of sovereign debt, bad ideas can never die

The world of distressed sovereign debt seems to attract bad ideas like no other, mostly generated by G-20 bureaucrats and the International Monetary Fund.

2/2/2023

Intelligence

Nobody expects the Spanish arbitration

No one blinks when Argentina, Venezuela, and India default on debts or refuse to honor arbitration awards. The shocker is that Spain — egged on by the European Union itself — has become an incorrigible deadbeat.

Spain is second only to Venezuela in the number of defaults on arbitration awards. Foreign investors now need to re-think whether Spain, and the European Union more broadly, are safe places to invest. If nothing changes, Ursula von der Leyen’s recent promise to fast-track EU funding for the energy transition may come a cropper.

3/6/2023

Intelligence

New York to investors: drop dead

William S. Burroughs could have been thinking of sovereign debt investors when he quipped that “sometimes paranoia’s just having all the facts.” The antics of the New York State legislature are a case in point. Out of nowhere, a package of proposed bills that would dramatically undermine the enforceability of sovereign debt contracts governed by New York law are wending their way through the New York State Assembly and Senate.

12/5/2022

Book News

How a Legendary Financier Became a Blockbuster Novelist

For 40 years, Jay Newman was a legendary hedge fund portfolio manager, traveling across the globe to recover billions of dollars in debt defaults by countries like the Congo, Panama, and Argentina. When he retired in 2016, he considered writing a biographical, non-fiction account of his storied career. Instead, he decided that fiction would be a better vehicle to capture the essence of the people and events he encountered over the years. In today’s episode, Jay talks about his new novel, “Undermoney,” a blockbuster financial thriller about a group of Americans who secretly take over the world’s largest dark money fund. He’ll talk about what he learned about how the unseen confluence of money, power and corruption has shaped the destiny of nations.

Listen to the interview

11/1/2022

Intelligence

Mexico-on-Thames

The UK should take a page from Mexico's book in the 1990s to restore its financial credibility. There's no time to lose.

10/14/2022

The real reasons why Western companies chase Chinese sales

Jay writes in the Financial Times that "things are seldom what they seem" in China's closed system.

9/13/2022

A Dollar Borrowed is a Dollar Earned

Jay writes in the Financial Times that reforms are needed when it comes to sovereign debt. A key problem? "In the developing country debt ecosystem, there's plenty of undermoney to go around."

9/2/2022

Between the Covers Summer Series

In an interview with South Florida PBS, Jay offers insights into the creation of his blockbuster novel, Undermoney.

8/3/2022

Waiting for Superbond

Sovereign bond contracts should be enforceable. Is that really too much to ask?

6/30/2022

Book News

Following the Money with Jay Newman

For debut novelist Jay Newman, a tale of cash and conspiracies draws on real-life observations.

6/24/2022

Geopolitics

Jay Newman on the Coming Crisis for Emerging Markets (PODCAST)

There are a lot of challenges facing emerging markets right now. For a start, the dollar has been pretty strong, heaping pressure on governments that have borrowed in a foreign currency. Meanwhile, energy and food prices are soaring. These are two things that emerging markets often have to import, or subsidize for their citizens.

Listen to the interview

6/1/2022

Geopolitics

Just say no
China has sprung a debt trap on many developing countries

Investors in emerging market sovereign debt are junkies — addicted to the illusion of higher yields. Truth be told, they’re also addicted to the adrenaline rush that comes from sitting at the high table to negotiate restructuring terms after a default.

5/20/2022

Geopolitics

Jay Newman on the Hidden Story of How Money is Moved Around the World

Jay spent 40 years in international finance, including at Elliot Management and Lehmans. His primary focus was on distressed EM sovereign debt. He was central to the historic 15-year fight to recover billions of dollars in defaulted Argentine debt. That campaign, which included the court-approved seizure of an Argentinian Navy ship in Ghana with 200 people aboard in 2012, reached a successful conclusion in 2016. The Wall Street Journal reported that the settlement was worth $2.4 billion, a gain of roughly 10 to 15 times the original investment. The Financial Times said the settlement ‘is seen as one of the greatest hedge fund trades’ in history. Jay has now switched to writing with his debut novel, about dark money and global politics, Undermoney. On this podcast we discussed how to sue a country, how countries like Russia evade sanctions, how illicit money is moved through central banks, and much more.

Listen to the interview

5/3/2022

Book News

Paul Ollinger Podcast

Jay Newman makes BIG bets. In his 40 year hedge fund career, Jay was the guy who fought to recover deca-billion dollar debt defaults by countries like the Congo, Panama, and Argentina. Recouping from these deadbeat governments required long term thinking, stealthy patience, and giant cajones, the same attributes required to publish a debut novel, which Jay did earlier this year.

Listen to the interview

5/2/2022

Book News

SUGGESTED DONATION PODCAST

Suggested Donation is back with another sizzling hot podcast. We recorded with Jay Newman, the author of the recently released and highly acclaimed thriller Undermoney, which looks at the intersection of finance, military, and politics. Art is peppered throughout his book and we discuss the role that money plays in the art world and the role that art plays for its collectors. Jay, having spent a career in finance before beginning his first book, has a unique insight into the relationship between art and money and power and corruption all of which we explore in our conversation. We hope you enjoy this one!

Listen to the interview

4/27/2022

Book News

Spooks, oligarchs, sociopaths and a Putinesque puppet master — ‘Undermoney’ couldn’t be timelier

This spring, my top book recommendation is the zeitgeist-capturing financial thriller “Undermoney” by first-time novelist Jay Newman.

This has everything you want.

4/20/2022

Book News

“The Richest People on the Planet are Criminals”

A secretive group of elite US Army soldiers, under the command of a senior general with access to the full panoply of NSA surveillance technology, steals $2.4 billion of cash in an audacious and bloody attempt to stage a quasi coup in the USA. The money will be used to fund the presidential election campaign of one of the team members, a violent war criminal, while the NSA information is used to gain oppo intelligence on anybody foolish enough to run against him. The path to the Oval Office is dangerous, but clear. Their plan: once elected, the president will essentially dismantle the entire US military apparatus. That’s the premise of Undermoney, the new thriller from former hedge fund manager Jay Newman.

Read the Article

4/20/2022

WHO’S WINNING THE MONEY WAR WITH RUSSIA: A CONVERSATION WITH JAY NEWMAN

The United States and our partners around the world have been turning the screws on Russia financially and Russians are doing everything they can to avoid the sanctions. David Rothkopf talks with Jay Newman, a former hedge fund portfolio manager for Elliott Management and novelist whose new book is “Undermoney: A Novel”, about the methods they are using to skirt sanctions and what we can do to stop them. Are the sanctions making a difference? Can any economic pressure points work in the long term? Will Russia default on its debt and does it even matter? Don’t miss this important conversation.

Listen to the Interview

4/16/2022

Book News

THE THINGS I DIDN'T LEARN IN SCHOOL PODCAST

Jay Newman is a lawyer, investor, expert in emerging market debt and the author of Undermoney, a novel that takes a reader inside a fictionalized world drawn from the rarified one he himself occupied for many years.

Listen to the Interview

4/13/2022

Geopolitics

Financial Times: Unsafe at any price

Jay Newman was a senior portfolio manager at Elliott Management, and is the author of Undermoney, a thriller about the illicit money that courses through the global economy.

In 1965, Ralph Nader wrote Unsafe at Any Speed, exposing a car industry that systematically stifled safety features. Over the past two decades, the industry that peddles emerging market sovereign debt — countries, their bank underwriters, and the lawyers that write the contracts — has been peddling bonds that are unsafe at any price.

4/11/2022

Book News

Novelist Spotlight #49: International financier turns to fiction to tell tales of dark money and global politics

Jay Newman, a former hedge fund portfolio manager who spent 40 years involved with international finance, has authored the new novel “Undermoney,” part of a three-book deal with Scribner. With cameo appearances by Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the novel offers a fictionalized account of the very real instances of the moral turpitude and financial skullduggery swirling around the ultra-rich and politically powerful governments.

Listen to the interview

4/6/2022

Geopolitics

Russia’s Creditors May Have To Choose Between Getting Paid In Rubles Or Not Getting Paid At All

Russia’s creditors face the unappetizing prospect of accepting debt payments in rubles after the U.S. Treasury decided Monday to block the Kremlin from using its dollar reserves.

4/7/2022

Book News

Author Spotlight: International financier turns to fiction to tell tale of dark money and global politics

Jay Newman, a former hedge fund portfolio manager who spent 40 years involved with international finance — including being viewed as the mastermind behind a historic 15-year fight to recover billions of dollars in defaulted debt from the government of Argentina — has authored the new novel Undermoney, part of a three-book deal with Scribner. With cameo appearances by Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the novel offers a fictionalized account of the very real instances of the moral turpitude and financial skullduggery swirling around the ultra-rich and politically powerful governments.

Listen to the Interview

4/4/2022

Geopolitics

Sky News interview

Jay Newman, author of top thriller ‘Undermoney’, discusses the latest sanctions on Russia.

Watch the Interview

4/5/2022

Book News

On The Money Interview

Your daily dose of economics, business and consumer news, views and discussion presented by GB News expert Liam Halligan.

Watch the Interview

4/5/2022

Book News

Around The Sun Interview

Eric Bovim is joined by Jay Newman. Jay has worked in the field of international finance as a trader, investment banker, and investor for forty years. During most of that time, he focused on investments in the defaulted debt of sovereign nations in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. As if that’s not enough for one plate Jay has just penned his first novel Undermoney.

Listen to the Interview

3/24/2022

Geopolitics

Russia will likely default with April 4 payment due of $2.2B: experts

Investors breathed a sigh of relief last week after the Russian government made a $117 million interest payment on its foreign debt. But a much bigger payment comes due April 4 — to the tune of $2.2 billion — and creditors are far less optimistic Russia will pony up this time.

3/21/2022

Book News

Jay Newman Says Russia "Being Cute" on Bond Payments

Watch the interview

3/21/2022

Book News

Jay Newman Wants to Be the Wolfe of Wall Street

The sovereign-debt investor, best known for a fifteen-year legal fight with Argentina, channelled Tom Wolfe and John le Carré to write “Undermoney,” a financial thriller featuring Vladimir Putin, a Paul Singer-esque hedge-fund manager, and, of course, sex.

3/7/2022

Geopolitics

What a Russia bond default would mean for the markets

One of the next big questions looming over the economic war against Russia is what will happen to its sovereign bonds. The Russian government has borrowed about $49 billion in the form of dollar- and euro-denominated bonds, and owes a series of interest payments to bondholders in the coming months.

Where it stands: Some, like Jay Newman, alum of Elliott Management — and of Argentina’s restructuring — say the bonds are worth zero.

3/16/2022

Geopolitics

Will Russia Pay Its Debts? The Czar Made Good in 2001

To Jay Newman’s pessimism regarding the repayment of Russian debt obligations (“If Putin Owes You Money, Good Luck Collecting It,” op-ed, March 10), I offer a modest note of optimism.

3/15/2022

Geopolitics

Dollars or Rubles? Russian Debt Payments Are Due, and Uncertain.

The Russian government owes about $40 billion in debt denominated in U.S. dollars and euros, and half of those bonds are owned by foreign investors. And Russian corporations have racked up approximately $100 billion in foreign currency debt, JPMorgan estimates.

3/10/2022

Book News

If Putin Owes You Money, Good Luck Collecting It

As economic and banking sanctions against Russia proliferate, many investors and creditors are asking what will happen with Russian sovereign debt, which the Russian Federation has issued through both foreign-currency bonds and ruble bonds. If history is a guide, nothing good awaits foreign lenders.

3/4/2022

Geopolitics

Hedge Fund Veteran Jay Newman Says Russia’s Sovereign Debt Is Worthless

Jay Newman, the hedge fund veteran behind one of the lengthiest and most contentious sovereign debt battles in history, says there’s no opportunity to profit in Russian debt.

The former star fund manager at Elliott Management Corp., who helped billionaire Paul Singer win an epic 15-year fight against Argentina after its $95 billion default in 2001, says Russian government debt is likely worthless after a slew of sanctions were slapped on the nation for its invasion of Ukraine. He expects an imminent default.

2/25/2022

Book News

Market Huddle Interview

This week, Patrick Ceresna and Kevin Muir welcome Jay Newman to the show. Jay has been a developing markets debt trader for Lehman and Morgan Stanley. He then spent the next two decades working at Elliott Management, being best known as the hedge fund manager who chases dead beat countries for payment on defaulted bonds. As for the next stage of his life, Jay has written a fiction book - UNDERMONEY which is part James Bond, part Liars Poker.

Listen to the interview

2/24/2022

Book News

Brian Kilmeade Show Interview

War in Europe: Putin Launches Full Scale Invasion of Ukraine

Listen to the interview

2/24/2022

Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault

Acording to the prevailing wisdom in the West, the Ukraine crisis can be blamed almost entirely on Russian aggression. Russian President Vladimir Putin, the argument goes, annexed Crimea out of a long-standing desire to resuscitate the Soviet empire, and he may eventually go after the rest of Ukraine, as well as other countries in eastern Europe. In this view, the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014 merely provided a pretext for Putin’s decision to order Russian forces to seize part of Ukraine.

Read the full article (PDF attached)

2/15/2022

Intelligence

A Crucial Clue in the $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Heist: A $500 Walmart Gift Card

Federal investigators spent years hunting for clues in the 2016 hacking of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, when thieves stole bitcoin now worth $4.5 billion. In the end, what helped lead them to two suspects was something much more quotidian: a $500 Walmart gift card.

2/16/2022

Intelligence

Justice Department Targets ‘Spoofing’ and ‘Scalping’ in Short Seller Investigation

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether short sellers conspired to drive down stock prices by sharing damaging research reports ahead of time and engaging in illegal trading tactics, people familiar with the matter said.

2/15/2022

Intelligence

U.S. Requests Extradition of Former Honduran President

Juan Orlando Hernández, who stepped down as president last month, was recently accused in a drug-trafficking case in federal court in New York.

1/9/2022

What Happens Next in 6 Minutes

What Happens Next is a podcast where an expert is given just SIX minutes to present his argument. This is followed by a Q&A period for deeper engagement.

Today’s topic is Writing a Blockbuster First Novel.

Our speaker is Jay Newman.

Listen to the Interview

1/29/2022

Geopolitics

Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020

A New York Times analysis reveals how the left outdid the right at raising and spending millions from undisclosed donors to defeat Donald Trump and win power in Washington

2/9/2022

Geopolitics

Documentary: The Venezuela Crisis: State Of Disaster

Once the richest nation in Latin America, Venezuela is now a broken economy enveloped in crime, corruption and hyperinflation. The downfall of Venezuela serves as a modern-day macro tragedy as millions of Venezuelans starve while corrupt government officials continue to thrive. The story of the Venezuelan crisis shows how a surplus of rich commodities, from oil and gas to cocoa and coffee, have been squandered under the rule of former President Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro.

Watch the movie

2/7/2022

Intelligence

The perils of Team Biden playing ‘make-believe’

Children engage in much “make-believe” to stimulate their imagination and creativity. Adults are supposed to distinguish between make-believe and reality. Yet increasingly, we seem to be governed by people who fail to understand the difference.

2/8/2022

Book News

Protectors Podcast Interview with Dr. Jason Piccolo

Jay Newman joined The Protectors Podcast™ to discuss his new book UNDERMONEY, the world of finance, the definition of a hedge fund, and much more. Streaming now on ALL major podcast platforms.

Listen to the Interview

2/8/2022

Goodreads Giveaway

Book AND custom Undermoney-inspired skull-and-crossbones baseball hats give away—enter
@goodreads

Enter to win

1/21/2022

Reviews

New York Post: The best new books to read

The Post regularly compiles the best books released in the past month, and Undermoney is on the list!

1/21/2022

Intelligence

Serbia revokes Rio Tinto’s licenses to end $2.4bn Jadar lithium project

The Serbian government has revoked the lithium exploration licences granted to Rio Tinto amid environmental protests to effectively put an end to the proposed $2.4bn Jadar lithium project.

1/20/2022

Reviews

FOLC: A Conversation on Undermoney: Debut Novel by Jay Newman

Geopolitics

Notorious Money Launderer Reza Zarrab’s Lavish Life and New Business in Miami

Facing 130 years in prison, infamous Turkish-Iranian money launderer Reza Zarrab took a plea deal in 2017 agreeing to testify in U.S. courts.

12/28/2021

Geopolitics

Taliban faction in Pakistan spreads terror through extortion

Militants from a Pakistani insurgent group with ties to the Taliban are forcing victims to pay exorbitant fees or risk facing mortal consequences. In light of the current developments in Afghanistan, immediate intervention from Pakistani authorities must be a priority.

1/10/2022

Reviews

Totally Terrifying Political Thriller

So very current. All the bad guys are there, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia.

1/10/2022

What I'm Reading

Books I Love

See the list!

1/10/2022

Reviews

“Undermoney isn’t to be missed.”

"An elaborately detailed, ambitious financial and political thriller the likes we haven’t seen before despite it being about something as old as time itself – the pursuit of money and power."

Read the rest of the review on Best Thriller Books!

12/28/2021

Intelligence

UK Hands Down Largest Sentences for Money Laundering

A U.K. court sent two men behind bars for a total of 33 years for laundering the equivalent of nearly US$95 million and fraudulently claimed $13.44 million in COVID-19 Bounce Back Loans for their fake companies, the National Crime Agency reported.

12/31/2021

Intelligence

Will the UN Start to Take Cybercrime Seriously?

The U.N. is set to begin negotiations between its member states to establish legal instruments to confront the growing scourge of cybercrime, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime announced, adding that the discussion could be tough as countries have different ideas of what constitutes a cybercrime.

1/4/2022

Intelligence

Swedbank Ex-Chief Charged Over Money Laundering Scandal

Birgitte Bonnesen accused of fraud and market manipulation...

The Venezuela Crisis:

State Of Disaster | Full Documentary

Watch the Video

11/30/2021

Geopolitics

Former hedge fund manager calls out the UN’s ‘fat kleptocrats’

Watch at CNBC

11/24/2021

Geopolitics

Out of Africa

World Bank Props Up Despots With New ‘Corruption’ Loans New Item

Keep Your Eye on the U.N.’s Fat Kleptocats

With world leaders in New York, spotting corruption is as easy as watching a ‘public servant’ hop into an idling Bentley.

The Debt Frenzy

From Argentina to Zambia, investment firms are snatching up the poor world's debt.

Jay Newman on BloombergTV discussing Venezuela's elections

Jay Newman Says Venezuela Investors Face Torturous, Long Road

Argentina and holdout creditors flood papers in ad war

Read at REUTERS

11/24/2021

Geopolitics

After 15 Years, a Bond Trade Now Pays Of

Elliott Management’s wager on Argentinian government bonds has yielded $2.4 billion after many twists and turns

Read at WSJ

11/24/2021

Geopolitics

Jay Newman Says Venezuela Investors Face Torturous, Long Road

Watch Jay at Bloomberg

11/24/2021

Geopolitics

Climate Change Could Swamp Your Muni-Bond Portfolio

California localities warn of disaster when suing oil companies. So how come they don’t tell investors?

Read at WSJ

UNDERMONEY AT WORK

JAY NEWMAN

CHANNELS

MEDIA

Why the US dollar has become an at-risk currency

In the world of sovereign debt, bad ideas can never die

Nobody expects the Spanish arbitration

New York to investors: drop dead

How a Legendary Financier Became a Blockbuster Novelist

Mexico-on-Thames

The real reasons why Western companies chase Chinese sales

A Dollar Borrowed is a Dollar Earned

Between the Covers Summer Series

Waiting for Superbond

Following the Money with Jay Newman

Jay Newman on the Coming Crisis for Emerging Markets (PODCAST)

Just say no China has sprung a debt trap on many developing countries

Jay Newman on the Hidden Story of How Money is Moved Around the World

Paul Ollinger Podcast

SUGGESTED DONATION PODCAST

Spooks, oligarchs, sociopaths and a Putinesque puppet master — ‘Undermoney’ couldn’t be timelier

“The Richest People on the Planet are Criminals”

WHO’S WINNING THE MONEY WAR WITH RUSSIA: A CONVERSATION WITH JAY NEWMAN

THE THINGS I DIDN'T LEARN IN SCHOOL PODCAST

Financial Times: Unsafe at any price

Novelist Spotlight #49: International financier turns to fiction to tell tales of dark money and global politics

Russia’s Creditors May Have To Choose Between Getting Paid In Rubles Or Not Getting Paid At All

Author Spotlight: International financier turns to fiction to tell tale of dark money and global politics

Sky News interview

On The Money Interview

Around The Sun Interview

Russia will likely default with April 4 payment due of $2.2B: experts

Jay Newman Says Russia "Being Cute" on Bond Payments

Jay Newman Wants to Be the Wolfe of Wall Street

What a Russia bond default would mean for the markets

Will Russia Pay Its Debts? The Czar Made Good in 2001

Dollars or Rubles? Russian Debt Payments Are Due, and Uncertain.

If Putin Owes You Money, Good Luck Collecting It

Hedge Fund Veteran Jay Newman Says Russia’s Sovereign Debt Is Worthless

Market Huddle Interview

Brian Kilmeade Show Interview

Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault

A Crucial Clue in the $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Heist: A $500 Walmart Gift Card

Justice Department Targets ‘Spoofing’ and ‘Scalping’ in Short Seller Investigation

U.S. Requests Extradition of Former Honduran President

What Happens Next in 6 Minutes

Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020

Documentary: The Venezuela Crisis: State Of Disaster

The perils of Team Biden playing ‘make-believe’

Protectors Podcast Interview with Dr. Jason Piccolo

The Invisible Fight: Dark Money, Interview on The Rich Zeoli Show

Author Jay Newman 'Undermoney' a Spy Thriller Combined with Insider Trading

Classified 2016 email shows US diplomat warning of Hunter Biden deals in Ukraine

‘Undermoney’ WSJ Review: The Currency of Corruption

Fox Business: A conversation about what dark money can do

FOLC: A Conversation on Undermoney

Goodreads Giveaway

New York Post: The best new books to read

Serbia revokes Rio Tinto’s licenses to end $2.4bn Jadar lithium project

FOLC: A Conversation on Undermoney: Debut Novel by Jay Newman

How much darker can political money get? New GOP bill tries to further shield donors

Bain & Co, tax and Jacob Zuma: a tale of ‘state capture’ in South Africa

How shady Kazakh cash is building NYC’s poshest pads

Fed Governors trading on inside information: Undermoney at work

The City of London Is Hiding the World’s Stolen Money

Uganda Finds China’s Leverage Is in the Fine Print of Its Lending

'Anything goes': The 5 most and 6 least corrupt nations in the world

Buying Babies In Turkmenistan: 'Rampant' Corruption Drives Couples To Illegal Adoptions

No quick fix for Haiti — but corruption comes first

Congo Ousts Mining Leader in a Cloud of Corruption Claims

Sudanese security forces storm TV channels, beat journalists

Sudan’s coup imperils economic reforms and anti-corruption efforts

Libya orders arrest of second minister over corruption allegations

The Global Illicit Economy

Notorious Money Launderer Reza Zarrab’s Lavish Life and New Business in Miami

Taliban faction in Pakistan spreads terror through extortion

Totally Terrifying Political Thriller

Books I Love

“Undermoney isn’t to be missed.”

UK Hands Down Largest Sentences for Money Laundering

Just say no
China has sprung a debt trap on many developing countries