Macrofinance Movie List for Enthusiasts

This is a carefully curated collection of documentaries, movies, and video clips spanning across multiple platforms that provide unique insights into the world of macrofinance.

ABACUS: Small Enough to Jail

This documentary tells the tale of the only bank indicted after the 2008 financial crisis. It narrates the legal battle faced by the Sung family, who ran Abacus Federal Savings Bank in New York’s Chinatown, revealing the trials of small businesses in the aftermath of the crisis.
2008 Financial Crisis, Abacus Federal Savings Bank, Chinatown, Family Business, Financial Crime, Legal Battle, Mortgage Fraud, New York, Sung Family.

Capitalism: A Love Story

Michael Moore’s take on the implications of capitalism in modern America. The film investigates the influence of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans, contrasting the American Dream with the reality faced by many.
American Dream, Capitalism, Corporate Dominance, Democracy, Economic Inequality, Michael Moore, Social Justice, United States, Wall Street.

Dirty Money

All episodes are highly recommended, and below are two notable examples.

Drug Short (Vyera & Valeant Pharmaceuticals)

This episode provides a different perspective on Martin Shkreli and the intertwining of the pharmaceutical and finance industries, highlighting cases of corporate fraud. It suggests that Shkreli was used as a scapegoat in the wider issues plaguing the industry.
Andrew Left (Citron Research), Bausch Health Companies Inc., Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital Management), Carl Icahn (Adversary), Corporate Fraud, Fahmi Quadir (Safkhet Capital), Herbalife, John Hempton (Bronte Capital), Lehman, Love The Stock Emotions, Merryl Lynch, Mike Pearson, MLM, MSMB Capital Management, Naked Shorting, Retrophin Portfolio Co., Roddy Boyd, Short Seller Due Diligence, Valeant.

The Wagon Wheel (Wells Fargo)

This episode exposes the fraudulent practices adopted by Wells Fargo to boost their numbers and share price. This includes illegal activities like opening lines of credit, creating bank accounts, charging typical fees, and promoting cross-selling.
Apollo, Blackstone, Cross-Selling, Dakota Access Pipeline, Fake Fees, Fraudulent Checking And Savings Accounts Opened, GWB, Jim Cramer, John Stumpf, Life Insurance Prudential, Money Movement Between Real & Fake Accounts, Navajo Nation, Plausible Deniability, Securitization, Student Loans, Timothy Sloan, Wachovia, Warren Buffet.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

This film offers an in-depth look at the fall of Enron Corporation. The story reveals how the combination of human greed, lack of regulation, and corporate fraud led to the company’s bankruptcy and downfall.
Bankruptcy, Corporate Fraud, Deregulation, Enron, Enron Scandal, Financial Crime, Greed, Kenneth Lay, Wall Street.

Ghost Exchange

The documentary explains the infamous 17-second glitch that occurred during Facebook’s listing on the NASDAQ exchange, leading to a loss of billions of dollars. The glitches' frequent occurrences, the pros, cons, and mechanics of High Frequency Trading (HFT), as well as the workings of stock exchanges, are discussed in-depth. The documentary also explores the impact of these events on global economic ties, with specific examples from countries like Greece and the UK.
2012, Algorithms, Collusion, Dark Pools, FB, Glitch, Greece Collapse, HFT, IPO, Jamie Dimon, Jeremy Barnum, JP Morgan, London Whale, NASDAQ, New Jersey, Order Routing, Pump And Dump, UK, Underwriters.

Goldman Sachs: Master of The World?

This documentary dives into the use of insider information by Goldman Sachs during the 2008 GFC, alleging that they knew about the impending crash as early as 2006. It discusses the use of specific accounting practices and changes in financial figures by Goldman Sachs.
3rd Largest Investment Bank(Behind Morgan Stanley And Merrill), AIG Bailout $10M & The $12.9M GS Received, Allowed To Convert To Holdings Company (Like Morgan Stanley), Barclays, Berkshire Hathaway, CDS, Cayman, Changes In Accounting Time Frames (Calendar Years), Collateral, Commodity Price Manipulation, Employee Bonus, European Sovereign Debt Crisis, Greece, Insider Trading, Italy, Lehman Brothers, Lloyd Blankfein & White House, Market Maker, Mark Patterson, Morgan Stanley Advisor, Mortgage Origination, Naked Short Selling (Overstock.Com), Nomura Holdings, Offshore Tax Havens, Orphan Month Accounting Practice, Portugal, Repurchase Agreement Accounting Gimmick, Revolving Door, Stephen Friedman, Synthetic CDO.

Gold & Silver

This video explores the historical and modern importance of gold and silver in the global economy. It delves into their roles as safe-haven assets during times of economic instability.
Commodities, Economy, Gold, Inflation, Safe Haven Assets, Silver, Global Finance.

Hank: 5 Years From the Brink

The documentary offers a perspective into the early stages of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and how Henry ‘Hank’ Paulson Jr., then Secretary of the US Treasury, handled the crisis. Paulson’s concerns about the Over The Counter (OTC) derivative markets, hedge funds, and other factors contributing to the GFC are thoroughly explained.
Airlines, Bailout, Derivatives, Goldman Sachs 1974, GWB, Housing, Lehman, Leverage, Moody’s, Mortgage, OTC, Ratings, Standard & Poors, Survive One Weekend, TARP, Too Big To Fail.

Hot Money

The documentary uncovers the unregulated world of hedge funds, offshore banks, and tax havens. It reveals how hot money, unregulated capital flowing from nation to nation, can destabilize global finance.
Hedge Funds, Offshore Banks, Capital Flow, Global Economy, Tax Havens, Unregulated Capital, Destabilization.

Inside Job

The Oscar-winning documentary directed by Charles Ferguson provides an in-depth analysis of the 2008 global financial crisis, looking at systemic corruption and the involvement of several key financial and political figures.
2008 Financial Crisis, AIG, Credit Default Swaps, Deregulation, Financial Regulation, Global Finance, Lehman Brothers, Mortgage-backed Securities, Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Wall Street.

Inside Lehman Brothers

This film provides an insider perspective on the activities of Lehman Brothers leading up to its collapse in 2008. It features first-hand accounts from former employees who attempted to expose the fraudulent practices within the firm.
2008 Financial Crisis, Banking Industry, Collapse, Corporate Fraud, Lehman Brothers, Mortgage Fraud, Whistleblowers.

Money Bots

Money Bots explores the world of high-frequency trading and the use of algorithms in finance. It questions whether these advancements in technology have made the financial markets more vulnerable to manipulation and crashes.
Algorithms, Financial Markets, High-Frequency Trading, Manipulation, Technology in Finance.

Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve

This documentary provides a comprehensive and critical examination of the United States Federal Reserve, the impact of its policies on the economy, and its role during and after the 2008 financial crisis.
2008 Financial Crisis, Central Banking, Federal Reserve, Financial Regulation, Monetary Policy, US Economy.

Quants, The Alchemists of Wall Street

Quants dives into the world of quantitative finance and its impact on global financial markets. It discusses the role of complex mathematical models in trading and risk management, and their contribution to financial crises.
Financial Crises, Mathematical Models, Quantitative Finance, Risk Management, Trading, Wall Street.

Saving Capitalism

Based on Robert Reich’s book, this documentary discusses economic inequality, corporate power, and the challenges facing the current capitalist system in the United States. It proposes ways to reform the system to ensure more equitable distribution of wealth and power.
Capitalism, Corporate Power, Economic Inequality, Reform, Robert Reich, United States, Wealth Distribution.

The China Hustle

This documentary reveals a massive fraud where Chinese companies are profiting from U.S. investors with the help of Wall Street banks. It unveils the story of high-return “Chinese” firms listed on the American stock exchange that are too good to be true.
Stock market, China, Wall Street, Financial fraud.

The Big Flaw

This film focuses on the inherent flaws of the modern financial system, investigating the root causes of financial instability, from debt accumulation to systemic risk.
Debt, Financial Crisis, Financial Stability, Systemic Risk.

The Big Short

Based on Michael Lewis’s book, The Big Short is a dramatization of the build-up to the 2008 financial crisis. It follows several key figures who predicted and profited from the collapse of the housing market.
2008 Financial Crisis, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Financial Markets, Housing Market, Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Wall Street.

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley

This film paints a deep and detailed portrait of Elizabeth Holmes and her biotech startup, Theranos. The company and its groundbreaking ‘Edison’ machine were set to revolutionize the medical industry. However, when things didn’t go as planned, the most significant corporate fraud since Enron was exposed.
Startup, Biotech, Silicon Valley, Corporate fraud.

The Price We Pay

The documentary exposes how offshore tax havens and corporate strategies affect economies and societies around the world. It illustrates the societal cost of tax evasion and avoidance by multinational corporations.
Corporate Strategies, Economy, Multinational Corporations, Offshore Tax Havens, Society, Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion.

The Wall Street Conspiracy

This film uncovers the darker side of Wall Street, highlighting the mechanisms behind market manipulation, financial fraud, and regulatory inadequacies. It shows how these actions can lead to economic instability and investor loss.
Economic Instability, Financial Fraud, Market Manipulation, Regulatory Inadequacies, Wall Street.

The Wall Street Code

This documentary delves into the world of algorithmic trading. It highlights how computer algorithms have taken over trading in financial markets and their potential risks and benefits.
Algorithmic Trading, Financial Markets, High Frequency Trading, Quantitative Finance, Technology in Finance.

Too Big to Fail

Based on the bestselling book by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Too Big to Fail dramatizes the events of the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on the actions of the U.S. government and the Wall Street executives involved.
2008 Financial Crisis, Bailout, Financial Regulation, Government Intervention, Wall Street.