Finance and accounting Books

Book SynopsisThere are not many calculus books that are very accessible to students without a strong mathematical background and the large majority of financial derivatives students do not have a strong quantitative background. This book provides a short introduction to the subject with examples of its use in mathematical finance e. g pricing of derivatives.Table of ContentsPreface xiii 1 Brownian Motion 1 1.1 Origins 1 1.2 Brownian Motion Specification 2 1.3 Use of Brownian Motion in Stock Price Dynamics 4 1.4 Construction of Brownian Motion from a Symmetric Random Walk 6 1.5 Covariance of Brownian Motion 12 1.6 Correlated Brownian Motions 14 1.7 Successive Brownian Motion Increments 16 1.7.1 Numerical Illustration 17 1.8 Features of a Brownian Motion Path 19 1.8.1 Simulation of Brownian Motion Paths 19 1.8.2 Slope of Path 20 1.8.3 Non-Differentiability of Brownian Motion Path 21 1.8.4 Measuring Variability 24 1.9 Exercises 26 1.10 Summary 29 2 Martingales 31 2.1 Simple Example 31 2.2 Filtration 32 2.3 Conditional Expectation 33 2.3.1 General Properties 34 2.4 Martingale Description 36 2.4.1 Martingale Construction by Conditioning 36 2.5 Martingale Analysis Steps 37 2.6 Examples of Martingale Analysis 37 2.6.1 Sum of Independent Trials 37 2.6.2 Square of Sum of Independent Trials 38 2.6.3 Product of Independent Identical Trials 39 2.6.4 Random Process B(t) 39 2.6.5 Random Process exp[B(t) – t] 40 2.6.6 Frequently Used Expressions 40 2.7 Process of Independent Increments 41 2.8 Exercises 42 2.9 Summary 42 3 Itō Stochastic Integral 45 3.1 How a Stochastic Integral Arises 45 3.2 Stochastic Integral for Non-Random Step-Functions 47 3.3 Stochastic Integral for Non-Anticipating Random Step-Functions 49 3.4 Extension to Non-Anticipating General Random Integrands 52 3.5 Properties of an Itō Stochastic Integral 57 3.6 Significance of Integrand Position 59 3.7 Itō integral of Non-Random Integrand 61 3.8 Area under a Brownian Motion Path 62 3.9 Exercises 64 3.10 Summary 67 3.11 A Tribute to Kiyosi Itō 68 Acknowledgment 72 4 Itō Calculus 73 4.1 Stochastic Differential Notation 73 4.2 Taylor Expansion in Ordinary Calculus 74 4.3 Itō’s Formula as a Set of Rules 75 4.4 Illustrations of Itō’s Formula 78 4.4.1 Frequent Expressions for Functions of Two Processes 78 4.4.2 Function of Brownian Motion f [B(t)] 80 4.4.3 Function of Time and Brownian Motion f [t, B(t)]82 4.4.4 Finding an Expression for 83 4.4.5 Change of Numeraire 84 4.4.6 Deriving an Expectation via an ODE 85 4.5 Lévy Characterization of Brownian Motion 87 4.6 Combinations of Brownian Motions 89 4.7 Multiple Correlated Brownian Motions 92 4.8 Area under a Brownian Motion Path – Revisited 95 4.9 Justification of Itō’s Formula 96 4.10 Exercises 100 4.11 Summary 101 5 Stochastic Differential Equations 103 5.1 Structure of a Stochastic Differential Equation 103 5.2 Arithmetic Brownian Motion SDE 104 5.3 Geometric Brownian Motion SDE 105 5.4 Ornstein–Uhlenbeck SDE 108 5.5 Mean-Reversion SDE 110 5.6 Mean-Reversion with Square-Root Diffusion SDE 112 5.7 Expected Value of Square-Root Diffusion Process 112 5.8 Coupled SDEs 114 5.9 Checking the Solution of a SDE 115 5.10 General Solution Methods for Linear SDEs 115 5.11 Martingale Representation 120 5.12 Exercises 123 5.13 Summary 124 6 Option Valuation 127 6.1 Partial Differential Equation Method 128 6.2 Martingale Method in One-Period Binomial Framework 130 6.3 Martingale Method in Continuous-Time Framework 135 6.4 Overview of Risk-Neutral Method 138 6.5 Martingale Method Valuation of Some European Options 139 6.5.1 Digital Call 139 6.5.2 Asset-or-Nothing Call 141 6.5.3 Standard European Call 142 6.6 Links between Methods 144 6.6.1 Feynman-Kač Link between PDE Method and Martingale Method 144 6.6.2 Multi-Period Binomial Link to Continuous 146 6.7 Exercise 147 6.8 Summary 148 7 Change of Probability 151 7.1 Change of Discrete Probability Mass 151 7.2 Change of Normal Density 153 7.3 Change of Brownian Motion 154 7.4 Girsanov Transformation 155 7.5 Use in Stock Price Dynamics – Revisited 160 7.6 General Drift Change 162 7.7 Use in Importance Sampling 163 7.8 Use in Deriving Conditional Expectations 167 7.9 Concept of Change of Probability 172 7.9.1 Relationship between Expected Values under Equivalent Probabilities 174 7.10 Exercises 174 7.11 Summary 176 8 Numeraire 179 8.1 Change of Numeraire 179 8.1.1 In Discrete Time 179 8.1.2 In Continuous Time 182 8.2 Forward Price Dynamics 184 8.2.1 Dynamics of Forward Price of a Bond 184 8.2.2 Dynamics of Forward Price of any Traded Asset 185 8.3 Option Valuation under most Suitable Numeraire 187 8.3.1 Exchange Option 187 8.3.2 Option on Bond 188 8.3.3 European Call under Stochastic Interest Rate 188 8.4 Relating Change of Numeraire to Change of Probability 190 8.5 Change of Numeraire for Geometric Brownian Motion 192 8.6 Change of Numeraire in LIBOR Market Model 194 8.7 Application in Credit Risk Modelling 198 8.8 Exercises 200 8.9 Summary 201 Annexes A Annex A: Computations with Brownian Motion 205 A. 1 Moment Generating Function and Moments of Brownian Motion 205 A. 2 Probability of Brownian Motion Position 208 A. 3 Brownian Motion Reflected at the Origin 208 A. 4 First Passage of a Barrier 214 A. 5 Alternative Brownian Motion Specification 216 B Annex B: Ordinary Integration 221 B. 1 Riemann Integral 221 B. 2 Riemann–Stieltjes Integral 226 B. 3 Other Useful Properties 231 B. 4 References 234 C Annex C: Brownian Motion Variability 235 C. 1 Quadratic Variation 235 C. 2 First Variation 238 D Annex D: Norms 239 D. 1 Distance between Points 239 D. 2 Norm of a Function 242 D. 3 Norm of a Random Variable 244 D. 4 Norm of a Random Process 244 D. 5 Reference 246 E Annex E: Convergence Concepts 247 E. 1 Central Limit Theorem 247 E. 2 Mean-Square Convergence 248 E. 3 Almost Sure Convergence 249 E. 4 Convergence in Probability 250 E. 5 Summary 250 Answers to Exercises 253 References 299 Index 303

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe 2nd edition of The Futures Bond Basis, is an updated and revised version of Professor Moorad Choudhry's succinct but in-depth look at the government bond futures contract basis. It includes essential background on contract specifications and the theory of the basis.Table of ContentsPreface xiii About the author xix 1 Bond Futures Contracts 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.1.1 Contract specifications 4 1.2 Futures pricing 11 1.2.1 Theoretical principle 12 1.2.2 Arbitrage-free futures pricing 16 1.3 Hedging using bond futures 21 1.3.1 Introduction 21 1.3.2 Hedging a bond portfolio 26 1.3.3 The margin process 31 1.A Conversion factor for the long gilt future 34 Selected bibliography 38 2 The Government Bond Basis 39 2.1 An introduction to forward pricing 41 2.1.1 Introduction 41 2.1.2 Illustrating the forward bond basis 43 2.2 Forwards and futures valuation 46 2.2.1 Introduction 46 2.2.2 Forwards 47 2.2.3 Futures 49 2.2.4 Forwards and futures 50 2.2.5 Relationship between forward and future price 52 2.2.6 The forward–spot parity 54 2.2.7 The basis and implied repo rate 57 2.3 The bond basis: basic concepts 60 2.3.1 Introduction 60 2.3.2 Futures contract specifications 62 2.3.3 The conversion factor 67 2.3.4 The bond basis 75 2.3.5 The net basis 78 2.3.6 The implied repo rate 82 2.4 Selecting the cheapest-to-deliver bond 92 2.5 Trading the basis 94 2.5.1 The basis position 94 2.6 Exercises 97 Selected bibliography 100 3 Basis Trading and the Implied Repo Rate 103 3.1 Analysing the basis 104 3.1.1 No-arbitrage futures price 105 3.1.2 Options embedded in bond futures contracts 110 3.2 Bond delivery factors 112 3.2.1 The cheapest-to-deliver 112 3.2.2 Selecting delivery time 114 3.2.3 Changes in CTD status 117 3.A General rules of the CTD bond 119 3.B A general model of the CTD bond 121 Selected bibliography 122 4 The Fundamentals of Basis Trading 123 4.1 Rates and spread history 124 4.1.1 Net basis history 124 4.1.2 The implied repo rate 128 4.2 Impact of the repo rate 129 4.2.1 The repo rate 130 4.2.2 Short bond position squeeze 134 4.3 Basis trading mechanics 136 4.3.1 Using the conversion factor 137 4.3.2 Trading profit and loss 138 4.4 Timing the basis trade using the IRR 139 4.4.1 The implied repo rate (again) 139 4.4.2 The IRR across futures contracts: Bloomberg illustration 143 Selected bibliography 145 Appendices A Repo Financing and the Concept of the ‘special’ 147 A.1 Classic repo 150 A.2 Basket repo: Illustration using Malaysian government bonds 151 A.3 Special bonds in repo 155 B Relative Value Analysis: Bond Spreads 159 B.1 Swap spread and Treasury spread 161 B.2 Asset–swap spread 163 B.3 Z-Spread 165 B.4 Cash–CDS basis 169 References 173 C Liffe Long Gilt Delivery History, March 1996 to June 2001 175 Glossary 199 List of abbreviations 227 Index 229

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book was among the first ten on investing I ever read. . . . It remains important for anyone seriously interested in capital markets, financial journalism, or even their own personal investments.From the Foreword by Ken Fisher, CEO of Fisher Investments and Forbes columnist Loeb tells us to put all our eggs in one basket, and watch the basket.John Rothchild, Financial Columnist, Time magazine This book is very special in my life. It is the very first Wall Street book I ever read. After reading 1,200 additional finance books, The Battle for Investment Survival''s principles and concepts are still valid for consistent success.Victor Sperandeo, Author of Trader Vic on Commodities In The Battle for Investment Survival, the turf is Wall Street, the goal is to preserve your capital at all costs, and to win is to make a killing without being killed. This memorable classic, originally writtenTable of ContentsForeword ix Introduction xix 1. IT REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND FLAIR 1 2. SPECULATIVE ATTITUDE ESSENTIAL 5 3. IS THERE AN IDEAL INVESTMENT? 8 4. PITFALLS FOR THE INEXPERIENCED 11 5. HOW TO INVEST FOR CAPITAL APPRECIATION 15 6. SPECULATION VERSUS INVESTMENT 20 7. SOUND ACCOUNTING FOR INVESTORS 23 8. WHY COMMITMENTS SHOULD NOT BE HAPHAZARD 26 9. SOME “DON’TS” IN SECURITY PROGRAMS 29 10. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN CORPORATE REPORTS 32 11. CONCERNING FINANCIAL INFORMATION, GOOD AND BAD 37 12. WHAT TO BUY—AND WHEN 40 13. IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT TIMING 43 14. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, MARKET TRENDS, AND PUBLIC PSYCHOLOGY 46 15. PRICE MOVEMENT AND OTHER MARKET ACTION FACTORS 50 16. FURTHER TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS 55 17. MORE ON TECHNICAL POSITION OF MARKET—ITS INTERPRETATION AND SIGNIFICANCE 62 18. ADVANTAGES OF SWITCHING STOCKS 67 19. “FAST MOVERS” OR “SLOW MOVERS”? 70 20. DETECTING “GOOD” BUYING OR “GOOD” SELLING 73 21. QUALITIES OF THE GOOD INVESTOR OR INVESTMENT ADVISER 76 22. GAINING PROFITS BY TAKING LOSSES 78 23. YOU CAN’T FORECAST, BUT YOU CAN MAKE MONEY 82 24. STRATEGY FOR PROFITS 85 25. THE EVER-LIQUID ACCOUNT 91 26. A REALISTIC APPRAISAL OF BONDS 95 27. MERITS OF MINING SHARES 100 28. DIVERSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS 103 29. TRAVEL AS AN EDUCATION FOR INVESTORS 106 30. GENERAL THOUGHTS ON SPECULATION 109 31. INVESTMENT AND SPENDING 113 32. INVESTMENT AND TAXATION 117 33. INVESTMENT AND INFLATION 130 POSTSCRIPT 137 34. CASE HISTORY EXAMPLES 141 35. INVESTMENT TRUST INVESTING IS AVERAGE INVESTING 153 36. DO TAX LOSSES MEAN SAVINGS? 155 37. ODD-LOT INVESTORS AREN’T ALWAYS WRONG 157 38. WHAT WOMEN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT STOCKS 159 39. TIP TO THE INVESTOR: ALWAYS WRITE IT DOWN 162 40. WHAT IS BETTER: DOLLARS IN THE HAND—OR “IN THE BUSH”? 164 41. LAST WILLS AND TESTAMENTS SHOULD BE CAREFULLY DRAWN 166 42. PRICE OF STOCK IS WHAT COUNTS 168 43. CAREFUL INVESTORS LOOK FOR SIGNS OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT 170 44. ACT YOUR AGE WHEN INVESTING 172 45. INVESTORS SHOULD BUDGET FOR FUTURE FLUCTUATIONS 174 46. WHAT TO DO ABOUT LOSSES 176 47. SEVERAL FALLACIES OF THE MARKETPLACE 178 48. ARE YOU FAST ENOUGH TO SWITCH CAPITAL? 180 49. HOW A BULL MARKET AFFECTS YOUR INVESTMENT THOUGHTS 182 50. DON’T LET TAX QUESTIONS CLOUD INVESTMENT DECISIONS 184 51. STOP ORDERS NEED CAREFUL EVALUATION 186 52. CASH DIVIDENDS MAY SLOW GROWTH OF YOUNG COMPANY 188 53. MIDDLE COURSE HELPS BUYERS TO AVOID MARKET FALLACIES 190 54. WALL STREET PROVERBS ARE OFTEN FALLACIOUS 192 55. INVESTING IN NEW PRODUCTS 194 56. NEWS AND THE MARKET 196 57. A LITTLE INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE IS NECESSARY FOR EVERY CITIZEN 198 58. DON’T LOOK FOR MANAGEMENT AT BARGAIN RATES 200 59. MIRACLE PLAN INVESTING 203 60. THE STEP SYSTEM 208 61. DOUBLE DIVIDENDS 211 62. A LAYMAN LOOKS AT BUILDING 221 63. INVESTMENT MANAGER’S DILEMMA 228 64. I DON’T SELL—PEOPLE BUY FROM ME 230 65. MONEY FROM MARKET LETTERS 246 66. THE IDEAL CLIENT 250 67. PERPETUAL PROFITS 253 68. WHAT MAKES A STOCK “GOOD”? 255 69. A DOLLAR TODAY 257 70. THE LEOPARD NEVER CHANGES ITS SPOTS 259 71. WORDS FOR THE BEGINNER 264 72. MORE ON TAPE READING 270 73. WHAT’S THE VALUE OF WATCHING “TAPE”? 279 74. IMPORTANCE OF EQUITY INVESTMENTS 281 75. WALLFLOWER STOCKS 285 76. MORE DOUBLE DIVIDENDS 288 77. NEVER ACCEPT WITHOUT CHECKING 303 78. HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR INVESTMENTS 305

Read more less

Book SynopsisLet Barb Schwarzthe creator of the Home Staging conceptshow you what it takes to make it in the Home Staging industry. In 1972, Barb Schwarz coined the term Staging to refer to the process of preparing a home for sale, and turned her idea into a brand new industry. Today, thanks to Schwarz''s pioneering efforts, Home Staging has become a big business with enormous profit potential. If you are thinking about starting a Home Staging business of your own or just want to improve upon an existing one, then Building a Successful Home Staging Business is the book for you. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this practical guide will show you exactly how to set up a Home Staging business, and help you run and maintain the business as it grows. Some of the issues outlined throughout these pages include: How to write a business plan, market your company, and make the most of your resources How to work through the consulting, bidding, and StaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 From the Beginning 7 Chapter 2 Starting Your Home Staging Business 21 Chapter 3 Your Business Plan 35 Chapter 4 Cover Yourself! 45 Chapter 5 Services Provided by Home Stagers 61 Chapter 6 Bids, Fees, and Consultations 75 Chapter 7 Marketing Your Home Staging Business 95 Chapter 8 How to Work with Real Estate Professionals 117 Chapter 9 Lights, Camera, Action! Actual Staging 129 Chapter 10 The Future of Home Staging 155 Appendix A Sample Documents 171 Appendix B Increasing Real Estate Agent Earnings through Staging 201 Appendix C Showing Instructions for Homeowners 205 Appendix D Staging Criteria 207 Appendix E Moving Checklist 215 Appendix F Regional Chapters for the International Association of Home Staging Professionals 219 Index 231

Read more less

Book SynopsisMany people believe that the key to success in the stock market is buying low and selling high. But how many investors have the time, talent, and luck to earn consistent returns this way? In The Ultimate Dividend Playbook: Income, Insight, and Independence for Today's Investor, Josh Peters, editor of the monthly Morningstar DividendInvestor newsletter, shows you why you don't have to try to beat the market and how you can use dividends to capture the income and growth you seek.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction ix Chapter 1 Income? From Stocks? 1 Chapter 2 Dividends, Values, and Returns 25 Chapter 3 Corporations: Dividend Machines 49 Chapter 4 Dividend Insight 69 Chapter 5 Dividends Past, Present, and Projected 87 Chapter 6 Is It Safe? 101 Chapter 7 Will It Grow? 125 Chapter 8 What’s the Return? 149 Chapter 9 Independence 169 Chapter 10 Managing a Dividend Portfolio 183 Chapter 11 The Future of Dividends 205 Epilogue 221 Appendix 1 The Nuts and Bolts of Dividend Payments 225 Appendix 2 Dividends and Taxes 241 Appendix 3 Banks 257 Appendix 4 Utilities 277 Appendix 5 Real Estate Investment Trusts 295 Appendix 6 Energy Partnerships 313 Appendix 7 Other Dividend Opportunities 333 Index 337

Read more less

Book SynopsisDow Theory for the 21st Century includes everything that the serious investor needs to know about the stock market and how to become financially successful. Expanding upon Charles Dow''s 20th century stock market theory, author Jack Schannep provides readers with a better understanding of the ingredients that make up the world of finance, specifically the American stock market, in order to help them achieve investment success.Trade Review'This book is the definitive guide to modern-day Dow Theory from probably its most consistently successful practitioner.' (Investors Chronicle, June 2010).Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: The What and Why of this Book xi Part I The Traditional Dow Theory Chapter 1 By Way of Background 3 Chapter 2 Signals Described 17 Chapter 3 A Look at the Record 25 Chapter 4 Give-and-Take about the Theory 37 Part II Bulls and Bears Chapter 5 Bull Markets 53 Chapter 6 Bear Markets 61 Chapter 7 Bull and Bear Markets of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 69 Part III The Dow Theory for the Twenty-First Century Chapter 8 Capitulation: The Selling Climax 79 Chapter 9 The Heart of the Theory 97 Part IV Other Important Indicators Chapter 10 Schannep Timing Indicator: The Other Major-Trend Indicator 123 Chapter 11 “Three Tops and a Tumble”: Leading Topping Indicators 129 Chapter 12 Bonus Indicators 145 Part V The Epitome of Synergy Chapter 13 The All-Inclusive Composite Indicator 169 Chapter 14 Practical Uses: Putting It All Together 177 Appendix A “Official” Complete and Detailed Record of the Original Dow Theory 183 Appendix B Capitulation Indicators Detailed Record 195 Appendix C CPA Verification of the Schannep Indicator 203 Appendix D Complete Record of the Composite Timing Indicator 207 About the Author 217 Index 219

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe goal of the Fisher Investments On Industrials is to provide the average investor with the tools necessary to understand and analyze investment opportunities within the global Industrial sector.Table of ContentsForeword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Part I: Getting Started in Industrials 1 Chapter 1: Industrials Basics 3 Industrials Basics 4 Industrials Characteristics 7 The Modern Production Process 14 Chapter 2: History of Modern Manufacturing 21 The Advancement of Trade and Investment 22 The Rise of Asia and Changes in the Manufacturing Landscape 29 The State of US Manufacturing 41 Chapter 3: Industrials Sector Drivers 47 Corporate Spending 48 Government Spending 59 Part II: Next Steps: Industrials Details 65 Chapter 4: Industrials Sector Breakdown 67 Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) 67 Global Industrials Benchmarks 69 Capital Goods Industry Group 75 Transportation 85 Commercial & Professional Services 93 Chapter 5: Staying Current: Tracking Sector Fundamentals 97 What to Watch 97 Corporate and Government Spending-Related Metrics 98 Industry Specific Indicators 111 Chapter 6: The Infrastructure Market 117 A Very Big Market 118 Infrastructure Investment Drivers 120 Risks to Infrastructure Growth 123 Participating in the Infrastructure Boom 125 Part III: Thinking Like a Portfolio Manager 131 Chapter 7: The Top-Down Method 133 Investing Is a Science 133 Einstein’s Brain and the Stock Market 134 The Top-Down Method 136 Top-Down Deconstructed 142 Managing Against an Industrials Benchmark 149 Chapter 8: Security Analysis 155 Make Your Selection 156 A Five-Step Process 157 Important Questions to Ask 164 Chapter 9: Allocating your “Capital Good” 171 Strategy 1: Adding Value at the Industry Level 171 Strategy 2: Adding Value at the Security Level 179 Strategy 3: Industrials Sector Downturn 180 How to Implement Your Strategy 180 Appendix: Industrials Websites and Data Sources 183 Notes 185 Glossary 194 About the Authors 197 Index 198

Read more less

Book SynopsisA detailed look at the worst M&A deals ever and the lessons learned from them It''s common knowledge that about half of all merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions destroy value for the buyer''s shareholders, and about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailing at the time the deal is announced. In Deals from Hell, Robert Bruner, one of the foremost thinkers and educators in this field, uncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer look at twelve specific instances of M&A failure. Through these real-world examples, he shows readers what went wrong and why, and converts these examples into cautionary tales for executives who need to know how they can successfully navigate their own M&A deals. These page-turning business narratives in M&A failure provide much-needed guidance in this area of business. By addressing the key factors to M&A success and failure, this comprehensive guide illustrates the best ways to analyze, design, and implement MTable of ContentsForeword by Arthur Levitt, Jr. Acknowledgments. 1. Introduction. I. The Foundations of M&A Failure. 2. Where M&A Pays and Where It Strays:A Survey of Research. 3. Profiling the Outlying M&A Deals. 4. Real Disasters and M&A Failure. II. Case Studies of M&A Failure. 5. February 1968: Merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads. 6. December 1986: The Leveraged Buyout of Revco Drug Stores. 7. September 1989: The Acquisition of Columbia Pictures by Sony Corporation. 8. September 1991: The Acquisition of NCR Corporation by AT&T Corporation. 9. December 1993: Renault’s Proposed Merger with Volvo. 10. December 1994: The Acquisition of Snapple by Quaker Oats. 11. May 1999: Mattel’s Acquisition of The Learning Company. 12. January 2001: Merger of AOL and Time Warner. 13. December 2001: Dynegy’s Proposed Merger with Enron. 14. January 2002: Acquisition Program of Tyco International. III. Avoiding the Deal from Hell. 15. Conclusions and Implications. 16. Memo to the CEO:A Coda on Growth. References. About the Author. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe proven business principles of Warren Buffett Warren Buffett is one of the most admired and prolific investors and managers in corporate America. Warren Buffett on Business is a timeless guide to strategies that can help you run a successful business. This book is a one-of-a-kind collection of Buffett''s letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway written over the past few decades, and in a clear, simple style distills the basic principles of sound business practices. Through Buffett''s own remarkable words, this practical management handbook shares valuable insights on communicating with, and treating employees and shareholders fairly; responsible corporate governance; ethical behavior; patience and perseverance; admitting mistakes; and having a passion for work. Contains priceless pearls of business and management wisdom, woven into a delightful narrative Designed in an accessible manner and organized by business and managTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction xi Chapter 1 Shareholders as Partners 1 "Although our form is corporate, our attitude is partnership." Chapter 2 Corporate Culture 5 "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and fi ve minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." Chapter 3 Corporate Governance 15 "At Berkshire, board members travel the same road as shareholders." Chapter 4 Berkshire Managers 29 "They love their businesses, they think like owners, and they exude integrity and ability." Chapter 5 Communication 33 "As managers, Charlie and I want to give to our owners the financial information and commentary we would wish to receive if our positions were reversed." Chapter 6 Acquisition of Nebraska Furniture Mart 43 "We gave Mrs. B a check for $55 million and she gave us her word. That made for an even exchange." Chapter 7 Acquisition of GEICO 51 "The security I like best" Chapter 8 Acquisition of General Reinsurance 57 "Long ago, Mark Twain said: 'A man who tries to carry a cat home by its tail will learn a lesson that can be learned in no other way.' If Twain were around now, he might try winding up a derivatives business. After a few days, he would opt for cats." Chapter 9 The Assessment and Management of Risk 71 "Don't think, however, that we have lost our appetite for risk. We remain prepared to lose $6 billion in a single event, if we have been paid appropriately for assuming that risk." Chapter 10 Executive Compensation 77 "At Berkshire . . . I am a one man compensation committee who determines the salaries for the CEOs of around 40 significant operating businesses. How much time does this aspect of my job take? Virtually none. How many CEOs have voluntarily left us for other jobs in our 42-year history? Precisely none." Chapter 11 Time Management 83 "When my mother got to be eighty the most important thing in how long you live is how long your parents live. I got her an exercise bike, put her on a strict diet, and she's just piling up the years for me." Chapter 12 How to Manage a Crisis 87 ". . . I will attempt to do it in the manner of a fellow that has never met a lawyer." Chapter 13 Management Principles and Practices 99 "Simple, old and few." Chapter 14 Executive Behavior 131 "Many CEOs attain their positions because they possess an abundance of animal spirits and egos. . . . When such a CEO is encouraged by his advisors to make deals, he responds such as would a teenage boy who is encouraged by his father to have a normal sex life. It's not a push he needs." Chapter 15 Mistakes I've Made 141 "I can look back on every year in terms of mistakes I've made. The dumbest mistake I ever made was, will probably be in the future." Chapter 16 Personal Investing 151 "Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be higher fi ve, ten, and fi fteen years from now." Chapter 17 Buffett, the Teacher 165 "If I talk to 50–60 year olds, basically they want to be entertained by my predictions and if I talk to 20 year olds or even 25 year olds, they ask me the questions on their minds. . . . The idea is that they listen and you may change some lives." Chapter 18 Humor and Stories 175 "In the words of the prophet Mae West: too much of a good thing is wonderful." Appendix A Warren E. Buffett, A Chronological History 181 Appendix B Berkshire Hathaway Inc., An Owner's Manual, Owner-Related Business Principles, January 1999 189 Appendix C Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Code of Business Conduct and Ethics 201 Appendix D July 23, 2008, Memo to Berkshire Hathaway Managers 209 Appendix E Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Corporate Governance Guidelines, as Amended on February 27, 2006 213 Appendix F Intrinsic Value 219 Appendix G The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville 223 Appendix H Berkshire's Corporate Performance versus the S&P 500 237 Appendix I Berkshire Hathaway Common Stock—Year-End Stock Prices 241 Notes 243 About the Author 259

Read more less

Book SynopsisBehavioural investing seeks to bridge the gap between psychology and investing. All too many investors are unaware of the mental pitfalls that await them. Even once we are aware of our biases, we must recognise that knowledge does not equal behaviour.Trade Review"It is quite simply the best and most comprehensive treatment of the subject to date." (Financial Times, Monday 3rd December 2007) "The Year's most exhaustive, and often entertaining, coverage of the behavioural literature." (Financial Times, Saturday 15th December 2007) "...one of the few 'must read' books on the topic of investing." (The Herald - Glasgow, Saturday 2nd February 2008) "…a fantastic insight into how markets operate… [and] one of the few "must read" on the topic of investing." (The Herald, Sat 2nd February 2008)Table of ContentsPreface xvii Acknowledgments xxi Section I: Common Mistakes and Basic Biases 1 1 Emotion, Neuroscience and Investing: Investors as Dopamine Addicts 3 Spock or McCoy? 5 The Primary of Emotion 5 Emotions: Body or Brain? 6 Emotion: Good, Bad of Both? 7 Self-Control is Like a Muscle 11 Hard-Wired for the Short Term 13 Hard-Wired to Herd 14 Plasticity as Salvation 15 2 Part Man, Part Monkey 17 The Biases We Face 19 Bias #1: I Know Better, Because I Know More 19 The Illusion of Knowledge: More Information Isn’t Better Information 20 Professionals Worse than Chance! 21 The Illusion of Control 22 Bias #2: Big ≠ Important 23 Bias #3: Show Me What I Want to See 23 Bias #4: Heads was Skill, Tails was Bad Luck 24 Bias #5: I Knew it all Along 25 Bias #6: The Irrelevant has Value as Input 25 Bias #7: I Can Make a Judgement Based on What it Looks Like 27 Bias #8: That’s Not the Way I Remember it 28 Bias #9: If you Tell Me it Is So, It Must be True 29 Bias #10: A Loss Isn’t a Loss Until I Take It 30 Conclusions 35 3 Take a Walk on the Wild Side 37 Impact Bias 39 Empathy Gaps 40 Combating the Biases 44 4 Brain Damage, Addicts and Pigeons 47 5 What Do Secretaries’ Dustbins and the Da Vinci Code have in Common? 55 6 The Limits to Learning 63 Self-Attribution Bias: Heads is Skill, Tails is Bad Luck 67 Hindsight Bias: I Knew it All Along 69 Skinner’s Pigeons 71 Illusion of Control 72 Feedback Distortion 73 Conclusions 76 Section II: The Professionals and the Biases 77 7 Behaving Badly 79 The Test 81 The Results 82 Overoptimism 82 Confirmatory Bias 83 Representativeness 84 The Cognitive Reflection Task (CRT) 85 Anchoring 87 Framing 87 Loss Aversion 89 Keynes’s beauty contest 90 Monty Hall Problem 92 Conclusions 94 Section III: The Seven Sins of Fund Management 95 8 A Behavioural Critique 97 Sin city 99 Sin 1: Forecasting (Pride) 99 Sin 2: The Illusion of Knowledge (Gluttony) 100 Sin 3: Meeting Companies (Lust) 100 Sin 4: Thinking You Can Outsmart Everyone Else (Envy) 100 Sin 5: Short Time Horizons and Overtrading (Avarice) 101 Sin 6: Believing Everything You Read (Sloth) 101 Sin 7: Group-Based Decisions (Wrath) 101 Alternative Approaches and Future Directions 102 Sin 1: Forecasting (Pride) 103 9 The Folly of Forecasting: Ignore all Economists, Strategists, & Analysts 105 Overconfidence as a Driver of Poor Forecasting 109 Overconfidence and Experts 110 Why Forecast When the Evidence Shows You Can’t? 114 Unskilled and Unaware 115 Ego Defence Mechanism 115 Why Use Forecasts? 119 Debasing 120 10 What Value Analysts? 123 Sin 2: Illusion of Knowledge (Gluttony) 131 11 The Illusion of Knowledge or Is More Information Better Information? 133 Sin 3: Meeting Companies (Lust) 141 12 Why Waste Your Time Listening to Company Management? 143 Managers are Just as Biased as the Rest of Us 145 Confirmatory Bias and Biased Assimilation 148 Obedience to Authority 151 Truth or Lie? 153 Conclusions 157 Sin 4: Thinking You Can Outsmart Everyone Else (Envy) 159 13 Who’s a Pretty Boy Then? Or Beauty Contests, Rationality and Greater Fools 161 Background 163 The Game 163 The Solution 164 The Results 165 A Simple Model of Our Contest 168 Comparison with Other Experiments 170 Learning 173 Conclusions 174 Sin 5: Short Time Horizons and Overtrading (Avarice) 177 14 ADHD, Time Horizons and Underperformance 179 Sin 6: Believing Everything You Read (Sloth) 187 15 The Story is The Thing (or The Allure of Growth) 189 16 Scepticism is Rare or (Descartes vs Spinoza) 197 Cartesian Systems 199 Spinozan Systems 199 Libraries 200 A Testing Structure 200 The Empirical Evidence 200 Strategies to Counteract Naïve Belief 203 Sin 7: Group Decisions (Wrath) 207 17 Are Two Heads Better Than One? 209 Beating the Biases 215 Section IV: Investment Process as Behavioural Defence 217 18 The Tao of Investing 219 Part A: the Behavioral Investor 223 19 Come Out of the Closet (or, Show Me the Alpha) 225 The Alpha 228 The Evolution of the Mutual Fund Industry 229 Characteristics of the Funds 231 The Average and Aggregate Active Share 231 Persistence and Performance 231 Conclusions 233 20 Strange Brew 235 The Long Run 237 Death of Indexing 238 Getting the Long Run Right 238 The Short Run 239 Tactical Asset Allocation 239 Equity Managers 240 Break the Long-Only Constraint 242 Add Breadth 244 Not Just an Excuse for Hedge Funds 245 Truly Alternative Investments 245 Conclusions 246 21 Contrarian or Conformist? 247 22 Painting by Numbers: An Ode to Quant 259 Neurosis or Psychosis? 261 Brain Damage Detection 262 University Admissions 263 Criminal Recidivism 263 Bordeaux Wine 263 Purchasing Managers 264 Meta-Analysis 264 The Good News 267 So Why Not Quant? 268 23 The Perfect Value Investor 271 Trait I: High Concentration In Portfolios 273 Trait II: They Don’t Need to Know Everything, and Don’t Get Caught in the Noise 276 Trait III: A Willingness to Hold Cash 276 Trait IV: Long Time Horizons 277 Trait V: An Acceptance of Bad Years 278 Trait VI: Prepared to Close Funds 278 24 A Blast from the Past 279 The Unheeded Words of Keynes and Graham 281 On the Separation of Speculation and Investment 281 On the Nature of Excess Volatility 282 On the Folly of Forecasting 283 On the Role of Governance and Agency Problems 284 On the Importance (and Pain) of Being a Contrarian 285 On the Flaws of Professional Investors 286 On the Limits to Arbitrage 286 On the Importance of the Long Time Horizon 287 On the Difficulty of Defining Value 288 On the Need to Understand Price Relative to Value 288 On Why Behavioural Errors don’t Cancel Out 289 On Diversification 289 On the Current Juncture 289 On the Margin of Safety 290 On Beta 291 On the Dangers of Overcomplicating 291 On the Use of History 291 25 Why Not Value? The Behavioural Stumbling Blocks 293 Knowledge ≠ Behaviour 295 Loss Aversion 296 Delayed Gratification and Hard-Wiring for the Short Term 297 Social Pain and the Herding Habit 300 Poor Stories 301 Overconfidence 301 Fun 303 No, Honestly I Will Be Good 303 Part B: the Empirical Evidence: Value in All Its Forms 305 26 Bargain Hunter (or It Offers Me Protection) 307 Written with Rui Antunes The Methodology 308 Does Value Work? 309 The Anatomy of Value 310 The Siren of Growth 311 Growth Doesn’t Mean Ignoring Valuation 311 The Disappointing Reality of Growth 313 Analyst Accuracy? 314 Value versus Growth 316 Key points 317 Regional Tables 318 Global 318 USA 320 Europe 323 Japan 325 27 Better Value (or The Dean Was Right!) 329 Written with Rui Antunes 28 The Little Note that Beats the Market 337 Written with Sebastian Lancetti The Methodology and the Data 339 The Results 340 The Little Book Works 340 Value Works 341 EBIT/EV Better than Simple PE 341 Quality Matters for Value 341 Career Defence as an Investment Strategy 342 What About the Long/Short View? 343 The Future for the Little Book 344 Tables and Figures 345 Regional Results 345 29 Improving Returns Using Inside Information 355 Patience is a Virtue 357 Using Inside Information 357 A Hedge Perspective 359 Risk or Mispricing? 359 Evidence for Behavioural Errors 360 Evidence Against the Risk View 361 European Evidence 363 Conclusions 365 30 Just a Little Patience: Part I 367 31 Just a Little Patience: Part II 375 Written with Sebastian Lancetti Value Perspective 377 Growth Perspective 380 Growth and Momentum 381 Value for Growth Investors 382 Value and Momentum 383 Implications 383 32 Sectors, Value and Momentum 387 Value 389 Momentum 389 Sectors: Value or Growth 390 Stocks or Sectors 391 33 Sector-Relative Factors Works Best 395 Written with Andrew Lapthorne Methodology 398 The Results 398 Conclusion 403 34 Cheap Countries Outperform 405 Strategy by Strategy Information 409 Part C: Risk, but Not as We Know It 423 35 CAPM is CRAP (or, The Dead Parrot Lives!) 425 A Brief History of Time 427 CAPM in Practice 427 Why Does CAPM Fail? 431 CAPM Today and Implications 432 36 Risk Managers or Risk Maniacs? 437 37 Risk: Finance’s Favourite Four-Letter Word 445 The Psychology of Risk 447 Risk in Performance Measurement 447 Risk from an Investment Perspective 448 Section V: Bubbles and Behaviour 453 38 The Anatomy of a Bubble 455 Displacement 457 Credit Creation 457 Euphoria 459 Critical Stage/Financial Distress 459 Revulsion 463 39 De-bubbling: Alpha Generation 469 Bubbles in the Laboratory 471 Bubbles in the Field 472 Displacement: The Birth of a Boom 473 Credit Creation: Nurturing the Boom 473 Euphoria 476 Critical Stage/Financial Distress 477 Revulsion 483 Applications 487 Asset Allocation 487 Alpha Generation 488 Balance Sheets 489 Earnings Quality 489 Capital Expenditure 490 Long-Only Funds 491 Summary 491 40 Running with the Devil: A Cynical Bubble 493 The Main Types of Bubble 496 Rational/Near Rational Bubbles 496 Intrinsic Bubbles 498 Fads 499 Informational Bubbles 499 Psychology of Bubbles 500 Composite Bubbles and the De-Bubbling Process 500 Experimental Evidence: Bubble Echoes 503 Market Dynamics and the Investment Dangers of Near Rational Bubbles 503 Conclusions 505 41 Bubble Echoes: The Empirical Evidence 507 Conclusions 516 Section VI: Investment Myth Busters 519 42 Belief Bias and the Zen Investing 521 Belief Bias and the X-System 524 Confidence Isn’t a Proxy for Accuracy 528 Belief Bias and the Zen of Investing 528 43 Dividends Do Matter 529 Conclusions 540 44 Dividends, Repurchases, Earnings and the Coming Slowdown 541 45 Return of the Robber Barons 549 46 The Purgatory of Low Returns 563 47 How Important is the Cycle? 573 48 Have We Really Learnt So Little? 581 49 Some Random Musings on Alternative Assets 587 Hedge Funds 589 Commodities 590 Which Index? 590 Composition of Commodity Futures Returns 591 The Times They are A-Changin’ 591 Conclusions 595 Section VII: Corporate Governance and Ethics 597 50 Abu Ghraib: Lesson from Behavioural Finance and for Corporate Governance 599 Fundamental Attribution Error 601 Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment 602 Milgram: The Man that Shocked the World 604 Conditions that Turn Good People Bad 608 Conclusions 609 51 Doing the Right Thing or the Psychology of Ethics 611 The Ethical Blindspot 613 The Origins of Moral Judgements 614 Examples of Bounded Ethicality and Unconscious Biases 617 Implicit Attitudes (Unconscious Prejudices) 617 In-Group Bias (Bias that Favours Your Own Group) 619 Overclaiming Credit (Bias that Favours You) 620 Conflicts of Interest (Bias that Favours Those Who Can Pay You) 621 Mechanisms Driving Poor Ethical Behaviour 627 Language Euphemisms 628 Slippery Slope 628 Errors in Perceptual Causation 628 Constraints Induced by Representations of the Self 629 Combating Unethical Behaviour 629 52 Unintended Consequences and Choking under Pressure: The Psychology of Incentives 631 Evidence from the Laboratory 635 Evidence from the Field 638 Child Care Centres 638 Blood Donations 638 Football Penalty Kicks 639 Basketball Players 640 Back to the Laboratory 640 Who is Likely to Crack Under Pressure? 641 Conclusions 643 Section VIII: Happiness 645 53 If It Makes You Happy 647 Top 10 653 54 Materialism and the Pursuit of Happiness 655 Aspiration Index 657 Materialism and Happiness: The Evidence 658 Problems of Materialism 660 What to Do? 660 Why Experiences Over Possessions? 663 Conclusions 665 References 667 Index 677

Read more less

Book SynopsisBased on class-tested material, this book is an excellent introduction to global financial markets. The authors link theory and real world issues in their coverage of equity, bond and FX strategies including methods such as chartism, neural networks and chaos theory. Raising funds in the money markets and via equity and debt securities, as well as dividend and merger policy provide further practical illustrations of theoretical ideas. Futures, options and swaps and their use in speculation, hedging and arbitrage are also examined. The authors include a vast array of pedagogy, including chapter objectives summaries; end of chapter exercises; numerous real-world examples and case vignettes; Excel spreadsheets providing simulations for the reader; a glossary of terms; clear, simple and consistent mathematical notation.Table of ContentsPreface ix List of Symbols and Abbreviations xv Part 1: Financial Markets Chapter 1 Markets and Players 3 Chapter 2 Raising Finance 19 Chapter 3 Financial Instruments 39 Chapter 4 Trading Securities 63 Chapter 5 Investment Companies 73 Part 2: Valuation Chapter 6 Valuation Techniques 85 Chapter 7 Cost of Capital 109 Chapter 8 Valuing Firms 125 Part 3: Asset Returns and Portfolio Theory Chapter 9 Measuring Asset Returns 153 Chapter 10 Portfolio Theory 189 Chapter 11 International Portfolio Diversification 221 Chapter 12 Single-Index Model 239 Chapter 13 CAPM and APT 265 Part 4: Equity Markets Chapter 14 Stock Valuation and the EMH 291 Chapter 15 Behavioural Finance and Anomalies 317 Chapter 16 Predicting Stock Returns 337 Chapter 17 Technical Trading Rules 353 Part 5: Foreign Exchange Market Chapter 18 Spot and Forward Markets 379 Part 6: Fixed-Income Markets Chapter 19 Money Markets 417 Chapter 20 Bond Markets 439 Chapter 21 Term Structure of Interest Rates 465 Chapter 22 Bond Market Strategies 481 Part 7: Derivatives Chapter 23 Derivative Securities 507 Chapter 24 Futures Markets 533 Chapter 25 Options Markets 559 Chapter 26 Options Pricing 589 Chapter 27 Energy and Weather Derivatives 623 Part 8: Portfolio Management Chapter 28 Private Equity 645 Chapter 29 Performance of Mutual Funds 655 Chapter 30 Hedge Funds 675 Chapter 31 Market Risk and Value at Risk 697 Glossary 719 Internet Sites 741 References 745 Index 755

Read more less

Book SynopsisA detailed look at one of the most underestimated aspects of trading-selling In The New Sell and Sell Short, Second Edition, Dr. Alexander Elder explains how to exit a stock at the right time and how to initiate a short position to profit from a stock that is showing weakness. Often overlooked, selling properly enables a trader to cut losses and maximize profits. Moreover, short selling in a weak market can generate big profits and should be a part of every trader''s arsenal of tools. The new edition contains numerous examples of short selling stocks from the 2008-2009 bear market, demonstrating very clearly why traders do themselves a disservice by only focusing on the long side. In addition, the new edition contains an extensive study guide to help readers master the material prior to trading. Elder shares real-world examples that show how to manage your positions by adjusting your exit points as a trade unfolds. Contains new examples and insightTable of ContentsIntroduction xv Why Sell? xv About the Q&A xvii Part One Psychology, Risk Management, & Record-keeping 1 Chapter 1 On Buying 3 THE Three Great Divides 3 One Trader’s Toolbox 7 Chapter 2 Trading Psychology and Risk Management 9 Your Mind as a Trading Tool 9 Risk Control 11 Chapter 3 On Keeping Records 13 Good Records Lead to Good Trading 13 Trader’s Spreadsheet—basic Accountability 14 Trading Diary—your Key to Lasting Success 16 How to Document Your Trading Plan 20 Margret’s Method—put it on the wall 24 How to Grade Your Performance 24 Two Types of Trading 26 Questions 29 Answers 45 Part Two How to Sell 57 Chapter 4 Selling at a Target 61 Selling at a Moving Average 63 Selling at Envelopes Or Channels 71 Selling at Resistance Levels 83 Chapter 5 Selling on a Stop 95 The Iron Triangle 97 Market Or Limit Orders 99 Hard and Soft Stops 101 A Bad Place 102 Reducing Slippage—tighter by a Penny 109 Nic’s Stop—tighter by a Day 110 When to Use Wider Stops 117 Moving Stops 120 A Safezone Stop 123 Volatility-drop Trailing Stops 124 Chapter 6 Selling “Engine Noise” 129 Weakening Momentum 130 An “engine Noise” Exit From a Short-term Trade 132 A Discretionary Exit From a Long-term Trade 135 Selling Before Earnings Reports 139 The Market Rings a Bell 143 Trading with the New High–new Low Index 148 The Decision Tree for Selling 151 Questions 157 Answers 183 Part Three How to Sell Short 203 Chapter 7 Shorting Stocks 207 Your First Shorts 211 The Asymmetry of Tops and Bottoms 214 Shorting Tops 216 Shorting Downtrends 221 Shorting Fundamentals 224 Finding Stocks to Short 233 Short Interest 237 Chapter 8 Shorting Non-Equity Instruments 243 Shorting Futures 243 Writing Options 252 Forex 258 Questions 265 Answers 279 Part Four Lessons of the Bear Market 291 Chapter 9 Bears Make Money 293 The Bear Was Beginning to Stir in Its Cave 293 The Sentiment Indicators Are Early 295 The Top of the Bull Market 297 Bearish Divergence at the 2007 Top 299 The Bubble Pops: Mgm 300 Shorting a High-flyer 302 A Bear Market Is a Destroyer of Value 304 Swinging in and Out of a Major Downtrend 307 Trading in a Downchannel 308 Prepared for a Surprise 310 “Bull Markets Have No Resistance And Bear Markets Have No Support” 312 For Whom the Bell Tolls Or the Hound Barks Twice 315 Mr. Buffett Buys Too Soon 317 May I Pour Some Gasoline on Your Fire? 319 Keep Shorting on the Way Down 321 Chapter 10 Groping for a Bottom 325 This Stock Market Is Not Going Down to Zero 325 A “double Helix” Gives a Buy Signal 327 Just in Time for the Party 328 My Favorite Major Bottom Signal 331 Selling a Bull 332 Every Bull Stumbles 335 A Screaming Short 337 Conclusion 341 Handling Profits—the Personal Dividend 342 The Road Into the Future 343 References 345 Acknowledgments 347 About the Author 349

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the story of John Sussex, a highly successful derivatives trader whose career has spanned the radical technological, social and political changes that took place in the City of London during the Eighties and Nineties.Trade Review"Packed full of exclusive - until now unreported - stories...Financial experts and novices alike will be gripped" (HereIsTheCity.com, July 22nd 2009) ‘...grants an insight into the boom days of finance, revealing the tactics needed to survive in this often brutal industry'. (CEO Middle East, July 2009).Table of Contents1. The Chicago Inferno. 2. A New Liffe. 3. What's in a Name? 4. Laws of the Jungle. 5. The Royal Exchange Days. 6. Local Heroes. 7. The Crash of 1987. 8. Cannon Bridge Boom. 9. The Omen. 10. Crimes and Misdemeanours. 11. Bubble. 12. The Liffe Board. 13. My Rogue Trader. 14. Liffe After the Floor. 15. The Last Hurrah.

Read more less

Book SynopsisForensic Accounting For Dummies serves as a handy resource for anyone looking to pursue a career in this growing field. It is an essential tool for anyone interested in understanding how financial fraud occurs and what to do when one finds, or suspects it, within their own organisation.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Investigating Forensic Accounting 7 Chapter 1: Why the World Needs Forensic Accountants 9 Chapter 2: Steering Your Career toward Forensic Accounting 21 Chapter 3: Getting to Know the Most Common Fraud Schemes 33 Chapter 4: Forensic Accounting Minus the Fraud 51 Part II: The Anatomy of Occupational Fraud 67 Chapter 5: Cooked Books: Finding Financial Statement Fraud 69 Chapter 6: Investigating Inventory Fraud 83 Chapter 7: Examining Revenue Recognition Problems 93 Chapter 8: Studying Securities Fraud 107 Part III: It’s All in the Family: Fraud against Individuals 119 Chapter 9: Divorce with a Side of Fraud 121 Chapter 10: Protecting Estates, Trusts, and the Elderly 133 Chapter 11: Recognizing Real Estate Fraud 143 Part IV: Meeting Your Methods of Investigation 157 Chapter 12: Walking through the Investigation Process 159 Chapter 13: Tracing the Flow of Money 171 Chapter 14: Going to the Source: Obtaining Records 183 Chapter 15: Tapping into Electronic Evidence 199 Chapter 16: Who Wants to Know? Reporting on Your Findings 213 Chapter 17: Preparing for Trial: Business Litigation 227 Chapter 18: Organizing Evidence and Serving as an Expert Witness 243 Chapter 19: Peeking Inside Federal Government Fraud Cases 255 Part V: Preventing Occupational Fraud 271 Chapter 20: Helping Small Businesses Prevent Fraud 273 Chapter 21: Assisting Larger Businesses with Fraud Prevention 289 Chapter 22: Keeping Employees Honest (and Happy) 305 Chapter 23: Applying Technology to Fraud Prevention 315 Part VI: The Part of Tens 329 Chapter 24: Ten Entertaining Portrayals of Fraud 331 Chapter 25: Ten Fairly Common – and Unsuspected – Frauds 337 Chapter 26: Ten Truly Strange Fraud Stories 343 Index 353

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe updated edition to one of the most popular books on technical analysis Japanese candlestick charting and analysis is one of the most profitable yet underutilized ways to trade the market.Table of ContentsPreface to the New Edition v Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 The Reversal Patterns 21 Chapter 3 Continuation Patterns 105 Chapter 4 Major Signals Explained 131 Chapter 5 Finding and Learning the Signals Made Easy 159 Chapter 6 Common Patterns 167 Chapter 7 Revolutionizing Investor Psychology 209 Chapter 8 Analyzing Profitable Trades 227 Chapter 9 Maximizing Profits 245 Chapter 10 Trading Programs 263 Chapter 11 Using Candlesticks to Improve Elliott Wave Analysis 283 Chapter 12 Option Trading Refined 303 Chapter 13 Candlesticks with Commodities and Futures 313 Chapter 14 Trend Analysis: Improving the Probabilities 319 Chapter 15 Eliminating Mental Trading Flaws with Candlestick Analysis 333 Chapter 16 Candlestick Trading Rules 343 Chapter 17 Conclusion 351 Glossary 355 About the Author 361 Index 363

Read more less

Book SynopsisA one-of-a-kind book that shows you how to cash in on the latest investing trend--short selling "The Art of Short Selling is the best description of this difficult technique.Table of ContentsFACTS AND PRACTITIONERS. Overview: Wealth with Risk. Short Sellers. CATEGORIES AND EXAMPLES. Bubble Stocks. High-Multiple Growth Stocks, Part 1: High Risk, Low Return. High-Multiple Growth Stocks, Part 2: High Returns, FalteringGrowth. If You Can't Read It, Short It. Money Suckers: Coining Money to Live. If You Can't Fix It, Sell It. Industry Obsolescence: Theme Stocks. All of the Above: Crazy Eddie. HISTORY AND GENERAL LESSONS. Shortcomings. History and Controversy. Six Pillars of Fundamental Short Selling. Appendix. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA CLASSIC REVISITED--AND JUST IN TIME The most popular and respected guide to every facet of the stock market has now been thoroughly updated to reflect the dramatic shifts that have taken place over the past several years. This Wall Street classic continues to provide the most current and comprehensive coverage of the market''s participants, principles, and practices. In easy-to-follow, straightforward terms, The Stock Market, 7th Edition shows you how the market works. Beginning with the basics, it takes you from the market''s history and products to its basic structure and operation, to the actual techniques used by shareholders and traders. Based on the authors'' more than 70 years'' combined experience in the field of finance, it shows you how to buy stocks, transact a buy order, and master the often tricky techniques of money management, pyramiding, options, and much more. Every topic is examined from both a broad top-down perspective and with step-by-stepTable of ContentsFUNDAMENTAL INFORMATION. Securities Markets and Securities Owners. Corporate Securities. U.S. Government and Municipal Securities. Reading the Financial Page. WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE. The New York Stock Exchange: Its Function and History. The New York Stock Exchange: Organization and Membership. Listed Stock and Bond, Tickers, and Quotations of the New York Stock Exchange. Trading Procedures. The NASDAQ Stock Market and the National Association of Securities Dealers. The American Stock Exchange and Other U.S.Stock Exchanges. Foreign Markets. WORK OF THE SECURITIES HOUSES. The Customer and the Broker. Margin Trading. Investment Banking. Securities Delivery, Transfer, and Clearing. REGULATIONS. Manipulation in the Old Market. Regulation, Self-Regulation, and Compliance. INVESTING PRACTICES AND SPECIAL INSTRUMENTS. Stock Price Averages and Indexes. Investing and Trading in Common Stocks. Investment Companies. Fundamentals of Stock Prices. Technical Analysis of Stock Prices. Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives. Convertible Securities, Warrants, and Rights. Sources of Information and Security Rating. Glossary. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisApplying Buffett's principles to technology and international investing From the bestselling author of The Warren Buffett Way and The Warren Buffett Portfolio comes The Essential Buffett: Timeless Principles for the New Economy.Trade Review"A comprehensive primer on applying Buffett's investment strategy to the new economy." (Fortune, April 30, 2001)Table of ContentsThe Unreasonable Man. The World's Greatest Investor. Lessons From the Three Wise Men of Finance. Guidelines for Buying a Business: Twelve Immutable Tenets. Focus Investing: Theory and Mechanics. Managing Your Porfolio: The Challenge of Focus Investing. The Emotional Side of Money. New Opportunities, Timeless Principles. Notes. Acknowledgments. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOvercome the obstacles that can prevent you from winning at the trading game A trader's emotional state is vital to being a successful investor. There are many psychological factors that can affect the decisions one makes in the course of a trading day.Table of ContentsIntroduction. GETTING IN THE ZONE. Defining the Zone. Overcoming the Past. Using a Goal. PREPARING FOR THE TRADE. Gathering Information. Understanding the Analysis. Learning More. CONTROLLING THE RISK. Managing the Risk. Tolerating the Pain. TRADING CONSISTENTLY. Learning from Your Mistakes. Overcoming Psychological Obstacles. Stepping Up to the Challenge. USING ADVANCED STRATEGIES. Taking Advantage of Capitulation. Short-Selling. Conclusion. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA truly enlightening work filled with fundamental strategies that have worked for others. Martin Fridson documents the essential principles inherent in every billionaire's success.Trade Review"How to Be a Billionaire offers fascinating insight into the subject of building wealth. As a result of his exhaustive research, Martin Fridson is able to explain the wealth-creation process from a unique perspective. As the reader will discover, there is no single formula for success, but there are certain categories into which these concepts can be placed. My personal advice is to remember the words of Winston Churchill who said, 'Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.'" -Ross Perot "Martin Fridson has created the ultimate roadmap to the American Dream. He comes as close to extracting a formula for the acquisition of wealth as any book I have ever read." -Jeff Sagansky CEO, Paxson Communications "Martin Fridson's book has a number of very insightful and thoughtful analyses, something you don't pick up in many business schools." -Philip F. Anschutz Chairman and CEO, The Anschutz Corporation "How to Be a Billionaire is a powerful arsenal of dead-on strategies for increasing your personal wealth and business acumen. Marty Fridson details the tactics of self-made billionaires with great intelligence and insight. I wish this book had been available when I was starting my career." -Spencer Hays Founder, Tom James Company Executive Chairman, Southwestern/Great American, Inc. Chairman, Athlon PublicationsTable of ContentsACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE. Do You Sincerely Want to Be Superrich? How Important Is Choosing an Industry? FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGIES. Take Monumental Risks. Do Business in a New Way. Dominate Your Market. Consolidate an Industry. Buy Low. Thrive on Deals. Outmanage the Competition. Invest in Political Influence. Resist the Unions. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER. Your Turn. Notes. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn Neff, recently retired as money manager of Vanguard's Windsor Fund, reveals how he flies in the face of--or creates--conventional investment wisdom, and expounds upon the techniques, approaches, and investment decisions that have won him recognition as one of the top five institutional investors in the world.Table of ContentsForeword. Preface. Prologue: Citi Saga. MY ROAD TO WINDSOR. Journey East. Grubbing It Out. Basic Training. Banker's Hours. Baptism by Fire. Taking Command at Windsor. ENDURING PRINCIPLES. Elements of Style. The Bargain Basement. Care and Maintenance of a Low P/E Portfolio. A MARKET JOURNAL. The Silly Season. Four Yards and a Cloud of Dust. The Right Stuff. Good Guys Persevere. Déjà Vu. Epilogue: Rivers and Markets. Appendices. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAswath Damodaran is simply the best valuation teacher around. If you are interested in the theory or practice of valuation, you should have Damodaran on Valuation on your bookshelf. You can bet that I do. -- Michael J. Mauboussin, Chief Investment Strategist, Legg Mason Capital Management and author of More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places In order to be a successful CEO, corporate strategist, or analyst, understanding the valuation process is a necessity. The second edition of Damodaran on Valuation stands out as the most reliable book for answering many of today?s critical valuation questions. Completely revised and updated, this edition is the ideal book on valuation for CEOs and corporate strategists. You''ll gain an understanding of the vitality of today?s valuation models and develop the acumen needed for the most complex and subtle valuation scenarios you will face.Table of ContentsPreface. Chapter 1: Introduction to Valuation. Introduction to Chapters 2-6: Discounted Cashflow Valuation. Chapter 2: Estimating Discount Rates. Chapter 3: Measuring Cash Flows. Chapter 4: Forecasting Cash Flows. Chapter 5: Equity Discounted Cash Flow Models. Chapter 6: Firm Valuation Models. Introduction to Chapters 7-9: Relative Valuation. Chapter 7: Relative Valuation: First Principles. Chapter 8: Equity Multiples. Chapter 9: Value Multiples. Introduction to Chapters 10-17: Loose Ends in Valuation. Chapter 10: Cash, Cross Holdings and Other Assets. Chapter 11: Employee Equity Options and Compensation. Chapter 12: The Value of Intangibles. Chapter 13: The Value of Control. Chapter 14: The Value of Liquidity. Chapter 15: The Value of Synergy. Chapter 16: The Value of Transparency. Chapter 17: The Cost of Distress. Chapter 18: Closing Thoughts. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf youa ve picked up this book, you probably recognize the value of fundamental analysis, but arena t sure you can master it. With Getting Started in Fundamental Analysis as your guide, youa ll quickly become familiar with the key concepts and learn how to put them into action in the real world.Table of ContentsIntroduction: How Fundamental are the Fundamentals? Chapter 1. Financial Statements and What They Reveal. Chapter 2. Basic Stock Market Theories. Chapter 3. The Audited Statement – Flawed but Useful. Chapter 4. Finding Financial Information Online: Step-by-Step Explanations. Chapter 5. How Accurate Are the Numbers? Chapter 6. Confirmation: The Trend of the Trends. Chapter 7. Balance Sheet Ratios: Making the Analysis. Chapter 8. Income Statement Ratios: Tracking the Profits. Chapter 9. The Popular P/E Ratio and How to Use It. Chapter 10. Using Fundamental—and Technical—Analysis Together. Chapter 11. Indicators That Go Beyond the Statements. Glossary. Notes. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA real estate guide unlike any other, The Insider''s Guide to 52 Homes in 52 Weeks is the true story of a seemingly impossible investing challenge and the two investors who pulled it off--all to prove that you can do it too. Successful real estate investors Dolf de Roos and Gene Burns wanted to show skeptical investors that there are always great deals to be found. So they set out to buy fifty-two homes in just one year. Not only did they succeed, they did it in less than ten months and earned a lot of money in the process! Tracing this ten-month real estate adventure in depth and detail, The Insider''s Guide to 52 Homes in 52 Weeks explains the authors'' strategies and techniques for acquiring almost any property in any market. Inside, you''ll find step-by-step guidance on: Finding the perfect market to invest in Designing your strategy and getting started Making your first deal Finding the help you need to succeed Changing stTrade ReviewTo prove there are good real estate investments out there in any market, the authors challenged themselves to buy one home every week for an entire year. They used a variety of acquisition and financing techniques and present a mix of strategies all good investors should be ready to use. (Realtor Magazine, July 2006)Table of ContentsIntroduction. Chapter 1. The Real Estate Challenge. Chapter 2. What We Did in Vegas, and What You Can Do Anywhere. Chapter 3. Determining Your Strategy and Gertting Started. Chapter 4. Our First Deals. Chapter 5. Learning to Ask for Help. Chapter 6. Shift in Strategies. Chapter 7. Networking. Chapter 8. Being Flexible. Chapter 9. Why Las Vegas will Continue to Grow. Chapter 10. You Can Do it Too. Appendix A: Authorization to Release Information. Appendix B: Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed. Appendix C: Limited Power of Attorney. Appendix D: Binding Legal Agreement. 52 Homes—Some Photos. Further Tips, Tools, and Information. About the Authors. Other Books by Dolf de Roos. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Elliott Wave Principle is based on the concept that stock market prices rise and fall in patterns which can be linked together into waves. It is examined here as an analytical tool which describes how the stock market behaves, and forecasts future trends.Table of ContentsPart I: Elliott Theory The Broad Concept Guidelines of Wave Formation Historical and Mathematical Background of the Wave Principle Part II: Elliott Applied Ratio Analysis and Fibonacci Time Sequences Long Term Waves and an Up-to-Date Composite Stocks and Commodities Other Approaches to the Stock Market and Their Relationship to the Wave Principle Elliott Speaks Appendix: Long Term Forecast Update, 1982 - 1983 Publisher's Postscript

Read more less

Book Synopsis* Covers free banking monetary thought in a clear, accessible manner* Offers an effective balance between theory and practical applications* Combines plain text with formal explanations* Discusses models such as Diamond--Dybvig and seigniorage. .Trade Review"The Theory of Monetary Institutions is a thorough and insightful treatment of the emergence and evolution of money and banking regimes. Professor White's brilliant exposition of alternative regimes is innovative and sheds a great deal of light upon the crucial features of contemporary money and banking institutions. This tour-de-force is a 'must-read'." Steve H. Hanke, The John Hopkins University "Larry White's The Theory of Monetary Institutions provides a very clear, extremely readable and up-to-date overview of monetary theory. White provides a uniquely insightful perspective into a difficult and controversial area, and his arguments and analysis are unbeatable. All monetary economists should read it." Kevin Dowd, University of Sheffield "White has written an academically rigorous text covering the theory of money, banking, and monetary policy. The text stands out from others in the way it describes the evolution of economists' thinking about monetary institutions. White excels in combining the historic with the contemporary, the abstract with the tangible, and the theoretical with the practical. The chapters on alternative monetary regimes will no doubt challenge many widely-held views about the proper role of government within an economy's monetary system." James A. Overdahl "Lawrence H. White has emerged as one of the most thoughtful monetary economists of his generation, and The Theory of Monetary Institutions fills an important lacuna in the literature. The book is mature and balanced; its encyclopedic knowledge of the literature covers a far broader range of material than conventional texts. I am aware of no other book that does such a superb job of placing institutional arrangements in theoretical and historical perspective." Hugh Rockoff, Rutgers UniversityTable of ContentsList of Figures and Tables. Preface. Acknowledgments. Part 1: The Evolution of Market Monetary Institutions:. The Mystery of Money. Menger's Theory Restated. Some Implications of the Theory. From Simple Commodity Money to Coins. Bank-Issued Money. Regular Par Acceptance. Clearing Arrangements. The Path to Fiat Money. Spontaneous Separation Between the Media of Redemption and Account?. Questions. Part II: Commodity Money:. Determining the Price Level. The Simple Stock-Flow Analytics of Gold Supply and Demand. The Historical Sources of Gold Supply Disturbances. The Benefits of a Gold Standard. The Resource Costs of a Gold Standard. Is a Gold Standard Worth the Resource Cost?. Questions. Part III: Money Issue by Unrestricted Banks:. The Purchasing Power of Money. Bank Optimization and the Equilibrium Quantity of Bank-Issued Money. Correcting Over-Issue by an Individual Bank. Correcting Over-Issue by the System as a Whole. Responding to Shifts in Demand. Shifts Between Deposits and Currency. Questions. Part IV: The Evolution and Rationales of Central Banking:. Central Banking Roles and Clearinghouse Associations. The Origins of Government Central Banks. Historical Cases. Questions. Part V: Should Government Play a Role in Money?. Is Some Aspect of Money a Public Good?. Are There Relevant External Benefits in the Choice of Which Money to Use?. Are There Relevant External Benefits to the Choice of How Much Money to Hold?. iv. Is the Supply of Base Money a Natural Monopoly?. Questions. Part VI: Should Government Play a Role in Banking? . The Problem of Bank Runs. Inherent Vulnerability in Theory: The Diamond-Dybvig Model. The Fragility of the Diamond-Dybvig Bank: A Numerical Example. Deposit Insurance in the Diamond-Dybvig Model. Criticism of the Diamond-Dybvig Model. Are Deposit Contracts Inherently Fragile?. Historical Evidence on Inherent Vulnerability. Is There a Natural Monopoly in Bank-Issued Money?. Questions. Part VII: Seigniorage:. The Sources of Seigniorage. Maximizing the Take from Seigniorage. Reserve Requirements. Other Legal Restrictions. The Dynamics of Hyperinflation. The Transition Between Steady States: Is Honesty a Government's Best Policy?. How Well Does Seigniorage Explain Actual Governments' Behavior?. Questions. Appendix. Part VIII: Central Bank as Bureaucracy:. Bureaucratic Explanation of the Fed's Operating Procedures. Bureaucracy and "inflationary bias". Questions. Part IX: Political Business Cycle Hypotheses:. The Nordhaus-MacRae Model. The Rational Expectations Critique. An Alternative Formulation: Wagner's Political Seigniorage Cycle. The "Partisan" Political Business Cycle Theory. Questions. Part X: Discretion and Dynamic Inconsistency:. The Kydland-Prescott Model. Positive Implications: Using the Model to Explain Changes in Inflation. Policy Implications Under Discretion. Rules Versus Discretion. Subsequent Literature. Questions. Appendix. Part XI: Monetary Rules:. Benefits and Burdens of Counter-Cyclical Policy. Independence for the Central Bank. Arguments for Rules. Friedman's Proposals. McCallum's Case for a Feedback Rule. Simple Versus Complicated Rules. Questions. Part XII: Competitive Supply of Fiat-Type Money:. i. Klein's Model with Perfect Foresight. ii. Klein's Model with "Imperfect Foresight". Is the Equilibrium Rate of Inflation Bounded under Imperfect Foresight?. Conclusion. Questions. Part XIII: Cashless Competitive Payments and Legal Restrictions:. The Greenfield-Yeager Proposal. Is Bundles-Worth Redemption Workable?. Other Concerns About the GY Proposal. The Legal Restrictions Theory. Historical Evidence on the Non-Coexistence Prediction. Questions. References. Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBased on a ten-year examination of control systems in over 50 U.S. businesses, this book broadens the definition of control and establishes a critical bridge between the disciplines of strategy and accounting and control. In addition to the more traditional diagnostic control systems, Simons identifies three new control systems that allow strategic change: belief systems that communicate core values and provide inspiration and direction, boundary systems that frame the strategic domain and define the limits of freedom, and interactive systems that provide flexibility in adapting to competitive environments and encourage organizational learning. These four control systems, according to Simons, will provide managers with the basic levers for pursuing strategic objectives.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the book for professionals in the payments industry. Written in an engaging and accessible style, it enables new and experienced payments practitioners alike to understand the fundamentals of the various payment ecosystems, and to quickly get up to speed on developments in the industry.From cards to bank and alternative payments, the jargon is debunked and myths are busted. For each ecosystem, a simple framework is used: mechanics, economics, risks, and future outlook, enabling comparison and the evaluation of the best applications in different scenarios. The book also provides an overview of the global regulatory landscape. Drawing on real examples throughout, it weaves together the underpinning ecosystem principles, legislation, and key stakeholders. It offers readers practical advice regarding, and insights into, the key disciplines and equips them with an understanding of the key issues and opportunities. Also including an extensive and comprehensive

Read more less

Book SynopsisSuitable for exams until December 2024

Read more less

Book SynopsisSuitable for exams until December 2026

Read more less

Book SynopsisSuitable for exams until December 2026

Read more less

Book SynopsisSuitable for exams until December 2026

Read more less

Book SynopsisA do-it-yourself guide to investing like the renowned Harvard and Yale endowments. The Ivy Portfolio shows step-by-step how to track and mimic the investment strategies of the highly successful Harvard and Yale endowments. Using the endowment Policy Portfolios as a guide, the authors illustrate how an investor can develop a strategic asset allocation using an ETF-based investment approach. The Ivy Portfolio also reveals a novel method for investors to reduce their risk through a tactical asset allocation strategy to protect them from bear markets. The book will also showcase a method to follow the smart money and piggyback the top hedge funds and their stock-picking abilities. With readable, straightforward advice, The Ivy Portfolio will show investors exactly how this can be accomplishedand allow them to achieve an unparalleled level of investment success in the process. With all of the uncertainty in the markets today, The Ivy PortfoliTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xi Part One: Constructing Your Ivy Portfolio 1 Chapter 1 The Super Endowments 3 Endowments Are Different 4 Size Matters . . . 8 . . . and So Does Performance 11 Active Management over Passive 14 Summary 16 Chapter 2 The Yale Endowment 17 History of the Endowment 18 David Swensen’s Ascent 22 Of Alphas and Betas 30 Outlining the Yale Process 33 Domestic Equity 34 Foreign Equity 35 Fixed-Income 37 Real Assets 37 Private Equity 38 Summary 39 Chapter 3 The Harvard Endowment 41 History of the Endowment 42 The Owner’s Mentality 43 Harvard’s Swensen 45 More Money, More Problems 48 How Harvard Does It 50 Summary 53 Chapter 4 Building Your Own Ivy League Portfolio 55 Do as I Do—Shadowing the Super Endowments 56 Risk-Adjusted Returns 64 Do as I Say 66 Inflation Is the Enemy 68 Creating an All-Weather Policy Portfolio through Indexing 71 Implementing Your Portfolio 74 Rebalancing Your Portfolio 77 Summary 78 Part Two: Alternatives 81 Chapter 5 Private Equity 83 What Is Private Equity? 84 Historical Returns and Benchmarking 85 How to Invest in Publicly Listed Private Equity 91 Summary 96 Chapter 6 Hedge Funds 97 A Brief Introduction to Hedge Funds 98 Fund of Funds 101 Options to Invest in Hedge Funds 113 Individual Hedge Funds 123 Fund of Funds 125 Practical Considerations 131 Summary 132 Part Three: Active Management 133 Chapter 7 Winning by Not Losing 135 Losing Hurts 136 The Quantitative System 141 Out-of-Sample Testing and Systematic Tactical Asset Allocation 151 Extensions 158 A Rotation System 159 Practical Considerations and Taxes 160 Discipline 162 The Systems versus the Endowments 165 Why It Works 166 Summary 169 Chapter 8 Following the Smart Money 171 Introduction to the 13F 172 Combining the Top Fund Managers to Create Your Own Fund of Funds 182 Summary 185 Chapter 9 Develop an Action Plan 187 Implementing Your Ivy Portfolio 188 Portfolios Discussed in The Ivy Portfolio 191 Appendix A: A Brief Review of Momentum and Trend Following 195 Appendix B: Additional Charts 199 Appendix C: Recommended Reading 207 Bibliography 211 About the Authors 218 Index 219

Read more less

Book SynopsisShows senior executives how to ensure that their companies incorporate the necessary processes, organization, and technology to accomplish strategic goals. This book shows how successful CEOs and directors shape, lead, and oversee their organizations to achieve corporate goals. It outlines the future of corporate governance.Table of ContentsForeword xiii Preface xix Acknowledgments xxiii Chapter 1: What is GRC, and Why Does It Matter? 1 What is GRC? 2 Why GRC Matters 3 Chapter 2: Culture, the Critical Driver 5 What is Culture? 5 More Cultural Failures 6 Companies That Got It Right 8 Being Legal, Honest, Candid, and . . . 10 Integrity versus Spin 13 Speaking the Same Language 16 Chapter 3: Cost-Effective Compliance Programs 21 The Back-Breaking Costs 22 Beyond the Direct Costs 24 Major Mistakes at Platinum-Branded Companies 24 How Companies Got Where They Are 30 Keys to Getting It Right 31 The Compliance Office 36 Making It Happen 38 The Rewards 39 Chapter 4: Ethics Programs: Another Foundational Block 41 Tone at the Top 42 Problems at Daimler 42 Elements of an Ethics Program 43 Setting the Tone at the Top: Hewlett-Packard 51 Chapter 5: Risk Management and the Financial System's Near Meltdown 59 What Went So Terribly Wrong 59 The Regulatory System 63 Merrill Lynch 65 Where Were the Boards? 68 Did CEOs See It Coming? 70 Chapter 6: What Is Risk Management About? 75 Risk 76 Risk Management 79 Enterprise Risk Management 80 Is It Really Worth the Effort? 85 ERM Application Techniques 88 Key Risk Indicators 91 BP 92 Chapter 7: Implementing ERM 99 Drivers for ERM 99 Pitfalls 102 Effective Implementation 106 Roles and Responsibilities 114 Chapter 8: Does Internal Control Really Matter? 119 Impact of SOX 404 on Financial Reporting 122 Responsibility for SOX 404 124 Other Relevant SOX Provisions 126 Do Effective Financial Reporting Controls Really Prevent Fraudulent Financial Reporting? 127 Real Life in the C-Suite 130 Chapter 9: Control over Operational Performance 133 IT Controls 134 Société Générale 135 Washington Mutual 139 Countrywide Financial Corporation 143 The Foreclosure Fiasco 144 Chapter 10: Boards of Directors’ Focus 153 A Focus on the Rules 155 Truly Effective Boards 156 A Public Watchdog? 158 Societal Responsibility 160 Potential Pitfalls 163 Chapter 11: Overseeing Strategy and Risk Management 169 Strategy 169 Risk Management 173 Chapter 12: CEO Compensation, Succession Planning, and Crisis Management 185 CEO Compensation 185 Succession Planning 192 Crisis Management 196 Chapter 13: Performance Measurement and Reporting 201 Performance Measures 201 Financial Reporting 205 Chapter 14: Building an Effective Board 219 Looking Objectively 220 A Shift in Direction 221 Building a Better Board 223 Board Assessments 226 Bottom Line 230 Chapter 15: Avoiding Board Pitfalls 231 Following the Herd 231 Obtaining Critical Information 238 A Leaky HP Board 245 Another Leak—What Was He Thinking? 249 Chapter 16: Where the Power Lies 251 A Tug of War 252 Shareholder Activism 252 Recent Achievements 253 Dodd-Frank’s Proxy Access 256 Where to Draw the Line 261 Finding the Right Balance 262 Where We Need to Evolve 264 Chapter 17: Structural Issues at the Board 265 Combined versus Separate Chairman and CEO 265 Empowering CEOs in a Shifting Landscape 271 Director Compensation 274 Chapter 18: Looking to the Future 281 New Models for Board Governance 281 A Healthy Governance Environment 285 Boards’ Perspectives on Risk 289 Grasping the Holy Grail of Governance 290 What the Future Holds 293 About the Author 299 Index 301

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt''s not all about the money; the key to true riches Leo Tolstoy said, Nobody knows where the human race is going. The highest wisdom, then, is to know where you are going. Yet many today chase the false rabbits of success: status, luxury, reputation and material possessions. In the quest to have it all, our lives often lack real meaning and purpose. Beyond Wealth is the antidote. New York Times bestselling author Alexander Green takes things right down to brass tacks: We are here for a short time. Knowledge is limitless. Therefore, the most critical knowledge is not any particular skill but rather wisdom about how to live. Fortunately, men and women have had several thousand years to think about what it means to live the good life. And the answers found here, from Plato and Aristotle to Mahatma Gandhi and Stephen Hawking, will both surprise and delight you. Beyond Wealth provides insightful commentary on the most important aspects of our Table of ContentsForeword ix Introduction xiii PART ONE: DOLLARS AND SENSE 1 Are the Rich Smarter than You? 5 Are You Losing Your Soul? 10 Impatient Optimism . . . and Radical Generosity 14 You Can’t Google This 18 The Only Thing that Really Matters 22 The Principle Thing 25 The One Thing that Changes Everything 28 The Trouble with Happiness 31 The Key to Personal Freedom 35 Change Your Perspective, Change Your Life 38 How Your World Will At Last Be Built 42 The Most Important Job on Earth 46 One of Life’s Great Miracles 51 The Power of Negative Visualization 55 How to Reclaim Your Life 58 Why It’s One of the Seven Deadly Sins 62 The Ruling Passion of the Noblest Minds 65 PART TWO: WEALTH BEYOND MEASURE 69 Are You Uncurious? 71 The Road Not Taken 74 They Make Us All Richer 77 Are You Ready for the Grand Tour? 81 The Quintessence of Life 85 What Women Really Want 89 An Incandescent Drop of American Fire 92 The Most Civilized Thing in the World 95 How to Eat Like a Zen Master 99 The Sublimest Activity of the Human Mind 103 Drunken Monkey Ice Cream . . . and the Wisdom of Thornton Wilder 107 The Lost Art of Conversation 110 What Success Really Means 113 What Are Your Sins of Omission? 116 The Beauty of Slowing Down 120 When Entertainment Becomes Art 123 Do You Have a Secret? 128 Are You Amusing Yourself to Death? 133 In Praise of Idleness 137 The Tyranny of the New 140 Why You Should Know “The Indispensable Man” 143 A Revelation at 4,500 Feet 146 PART THREE: KNOWING AND BELIEVING 149 Tolstoy’s Forbidden Book 151 A Shameless Veneration of Heroes 154 A Path to Personal Freedom 158 Your Greatest Risk 162 Are You Part of “The Great Conversation”? 166 A 2,600-Year-Old Manual for Living 170 If You Knew What Jim Brown Knows 176 The Noblest Expression of the Human Spirit 179 The Art of Living Consciously 183 How to Let Your Life Speak 188 A Legacy of Inspiration 192 The Only Thing New in the World 195 The University on Your Shelf 198 We Are All Greeks Now 202 The Wisdom of Hillel 205 Meditations of the Philosopher-King 208 PART FOUR: MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH 211 Discovering a New Sense of the Sacred 214 The Highest of Arts 218 Emerson: The Quintessential American 221 The Life You Can Save 224 Coming of Age in the Milky Way 229 The Literature of Truth 234 Your Connection to Everything 238 The Difference between Knowing and Believing 241 The Lessons of Haiti 244 Your Trip to “The Undiscovered Country” 247 The Beginning of Wisdom 252 Of Lost Souls and Lucky Stiffs 255 How to Pull the Universe Out of a Hat 258 It Makes Everything Meaningful 262 The Truth about Myths 265 Your Place In “The Great Story” 269 Seven Principles of Spirituality 277 Afterword 285 Appendix 287 Further Reading 289 Acknowledgments 295 About the Author 297 Index 299

Read more less

Book SynopsisA timeless approach to investing wisely over an investment lifetime With the current market maelstrom as a background, this timely guide describes just how to plan a lifetime of investing, in good times and bad, discussing stocks and bonds as well as the relationship between risk and return.Table of ContentsForeword ix Preface xiii Chapter 1 A Brief History of Financial Time 1 In the Beginning 2 Near-Death in Venice 8 The Incredible Shrinking Risk Premium 11 Summary 12 Chapter 2 The Nature of the Beast 13 Of Ravens and Returns 13 History versus Math 18 Mr. Gordon’s Curious Equation 25 Math Detail: The Discounted Dividend Model 29 Home Sweet Home? 35 Adventures in Equity 38 Math Detail: Risk 43 Throwing Dice with God 47 Gene Fama Looks for Angles and Finds None 49 Sandbagged by a Superstar 52 Jack Bogle Outfoxes the Suits 56 It Is Better to Be Lucky Than Smart 63 Bond Funds: A Flatter Playing Field 64 Summary 65 Chapter 3 The Nature of the Portfolio 69 Four Essential Preliminaries 71 The Asset Allocation Two-Step 74 Math Detail: Mean-Variance Analysis 83 With Luck, Zigs, and Zags 84 Chasing Rainbows 88 Summary 93 Chapter 4 The Enemy in the Mirror 95 Inner Demons 97 Behaving Badly 100 Bargain-Basement Psychotherapy 116 Summary 125 Chapter 5 Muggers and Worse 127 The World's Largest Bad Neighborhood 128 The Fund Funhouse 135 Summary 142 Chapter 6 Building Your Portfolio 143 Financial Planning for a Lifetime: The Basics 143 Saving for Retirement: Nuts and Bolts 145 How to Save: Dollar Cost Averaging and Value Averaging 152 Four Investors, Four Plans 154 The Rebalancing Question 166 Math Detail: Rebalancing, Momentum, and Mean Reversion 169 Teach Your Children Well 172 Summary 174 Chapter 7 The Name of the Game 179 Investment Theory and History: The Short Course 180 The Portfolio Theory of Everything 181 We Have Met the Enemy, and He Is Us 181 Heads I Win, Tails You Lose 182 Fire When Ready 182 The Books You Need . . . Aged Like Fine Wine 185 Notes 188 Acknowledgments 193 About the Author 195 Index 196

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe enduring legacy of a legendary investor Called the greatest stock picker of the century by Money magazine, legendary fund manager Sir John Templeton is remembered as one of the world''s foremost investors, known for his pioneering insights and phenomenal investment performance over a professional career which spanned more than half a century. Templeton's Way with Money provides a unique, professional 21st century appraisal of what made this formidable investor the success he wasand why his methods remain as valid today as they were during his long and successful lifetime. Written by two investment experts, one of whom worked closely with Sir John for ten years, and drawing on previously unpublished documents, the book explains in detail how John Templeton''s simple but effective investment philosophy of riding out the ups and downs of the market cycle continues to be as relevant as ever for professional and private investors alike. Key featureTrade ReviewAll investors should read this book the tips, as well as the story of how he made his billions, are well worth the book s price. (Money Week, 20th April 2012)Table of ContentsIntroduction vii Chapter 1 The Man and His Life 1 Chapter 2 Investment Counsel 29 Chapter 3 Fund Manager 65 Chapter 4 Philosophy in Action 101 Chapter 5 Why the Templeton Method Works 131 Chapter 6 Past, Present, and Future 161 Appendix John Templeton’s Advice to Investors 185 Notes 235 Selected Bibliography 241 Acknowledgments 243 About the Authors 245 Index 247

Read more less

Book SynopsisValuation is the key to smart investing this book shows you how The Little Book of Investing Like the Pros gives individual investors a crash course in the tools and techniques used on Wall Street.Table of ContentsAbout the Authors ix Foreword by Howard Marks xv Acknowledgments xix Disclaimer xxv Introduction 1 Chapter One Step I: Idea Generation 19 Screens 22 Bottom-Up Approach 24 Top-Down Approach 59 Chapter Two Step II: Identifying the Best Ideas 71 Idea Review Framework 73 Investment Thesis 77 Business Overview 82 Management 91 Risks & Considerations 96 Financials & Valuation 99 Chapter Three Step III: Business & Financial Due Diligence 121 Business Due Diligence 123 Financial Due Diligence 148 Chapter Four Step IV: Valuation & Catalysts 171 Valuation 173 Market and Intrinsic Valuation 174 Buyout Valuation 194 Catalysts 206 Setting the Price Target 227 Chapter Five Step V: Investment Decision & Portfolio Management 233 Making the Investment Decision 236 Monitor the Investment 243 Portfolio Construction 250 Portfolio & Risk Management 263 Post-Mortem: Delphi Automotive 279 Bibliography & Recommended Reading 289

Read more less

Book SynopsisPacked with anecdotes of individuals who have traveled down each road to wealth, this book extracts useful lessons on how you, too, can achieve wealth, and hold onto it. It provides tools for determining what you need to do to position yourself for success and "Guideposts" and "Warning Signs" to help keep you safely on your road to success.Table of ContentsPreface: Now, More Than Ever ix Acknowledgments xxiii About the Authors xxvii Chapter 1 The Richest Road 1 Picking a Path 3 Newer or Better? 4 Built to Sell or Built to Last? 6 Bootstrap or Finance? 10 Public or Private? 11 The Big Bull’s-Eye 13 Founders Are Quitters—Just Do It 17 Chapter 2 Pardon Me, That’s My Throne 23 Gray Hair and Dues-Paying 24 A CEO-volution (Through My Father’s Eyes) 25 How to Lead 33 How to Get the Job 34 Aim Small . . . at First 36 The Big Payday 37 CEOs and Superheroes 40 The Best Part 43 Executive Education 43 Chapter 3 Along for the Ride: Ride-Alongs 47 Why Ride Along? 48 Pick the Right Firm 50 Be the Right Guy 55 Ride-Along Reading 59 Chapter 4 Rich . . . and Famous 61 The Talent Show 63 Potholes Ahead No One Sees! 67 Mogul Meandering 72 Read Your Way to Fame 78 Chapter 5 Marry Well. Really Well 81 How to Marry a Millionaire Billionaire 83 Like a Fine Wine—Well Maintained 90 Men Can Play, Too! 93 Love, Marriage, and Money 96 Do It by the Book 97 Chapter 6 Steal It—Like a Pirate, but Legally 99 Crusader or Pirate? 100 Raider’s Road 101 The Richest Legal Road 103 Tort Us and the Scare 104 Target Practice 112 When a Pirate Becomes a Villain 115 The Inside Track 117 Chapter 7 OPM—Not Opium: Where Most of the Richest Are 121 Basic OPM Career Rules 122 Steps to OPM Wealth 124 Hedge Your Bets 130 Private Equity’s Big Bucks 135 Don’t Break the Law 137 Love Capitalism, Not Social Acceptance 142 Chapter 8 Inventing Income 145 The True Inventors 146 Writing for Dollars 148 Political Pensions—and Good News 153 If You Can’t Be President . . . 155 Think Tanks Run Amok—a Sham-Scam 159 Monetized Reading 161 Chapter 9 Trumping the Land Barons 165 The Magic 166 Monetize It 166 The Fool’s Bargain 169 Flippin’s for Friggin’ Losers 171 Getting Started 172 Buy, Build, or Both? 175 Where to Be and Not to Be; That Is the Question 177 Baron Books 181 Chapter 10 The Road More Traveled 183 Income Matters 184 Saving Grace 186 Get a Good Rate of Return (Buy Stocks) 191 The Right Strategy 194 Bonds Are Riskier Than Stocks—Seriously 202 Like Hetty? 205 Reading for Dollars 206 Notes 209 Index 227

Read more less

Book SynopsisPraise for INTERMARKET ANALYSIS John Murphy has done it again. He dissects the global relationships between equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities like no one else can, and lays out an irrefutable case for intermarket analysis in plain English. This book is a must-read for all serious traders. -Louis B. Mendelsohn, creator of VantagePoint Intermarket Analysis software John Murphy''s Intermarket Analysis should be on the desk of every trader and investor if they want to be positioned in the right markets at the right time. -Thom Hartle, President, Market Analytics, Inc. (www.thomhartle.com) This book is full of valuable information. As a daily practitioner of intermarket analysis, I thought I knew most aspects of this invaluable subject, but this book gave me several new ideas. I thoroughly recommend it for beginners and professionals. -Martin Pring, President of Pring.com and editor of the Intermarket Review NewsletterTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction to Intermarket Analysis xi 1. A Review of the 1980s 1 2. 1990 and the First Persian Gulf War 17 3. The Stealth Bear Market of 1994 33 4. The 1997 Asian Currency Crisis and Deflation 51 5. 1999 Intermarket Trends Leading to Market Top 65 6. Review of Intermarket Principles 81 7. The NASDAQ Bubble Bursts in 2000 97 8. Intermarket Picture in Spring 2003 115 9. Falling Dollar During 2002 Boosts Commodities 131 10. Shifting from Paper to Hard Assets 145 11. Futures Markets and Asset Allocation 159 12. Intermarket Analysis and the Business Cycle 179 13. The Impact of the Business Cycle on Market Sectors 199 14. Diversifying with Real Estate 217 15. Thinking Globally 235 Appendix 247 Index 263

Read more less