With North Korea on the offensive and the great European project losing its lustre, it's refreshing to see someone focusing on the what's driving many policy decisions around the world – money. More specifically, the bigwigs at Pimco have boiled down their thoughts on changes in the foreign exchange landscape and why it matters to each of us.

Their main point is that rather than being simply a means to facilitate trade, as has been the case since governments agreed the Bretton Woods formula in 1944, currency has become a policy tool.