Finance and the finance industry Books

Book SynopsisAs president of the World Bank for a decade, James Wolfensohn tackled world poverty with a passion and energy that made him a uniquely important figure in a fundamental arena of change. Using a lifetime of experience in the banking sector, he carved a distinct path in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe for the institution that serves as the major lender to the world's poor. In A Global Life , Wolfensohn tells his astonishing life story in his own words. A man of surpassing imagination and drive, he became an Olympic fencer and a prominent banker in London and New York. An Australian, he navigated Wall Street with uncommon skill. Chairman of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy centre for many years, he is also an amateur cellist. But it was his tenure at the World Bank that made him an international force. While at the helm of this controversial institution, Wolfensohn motivated, schemed, charmed, and bullied all the constituencies at his command to broaden the distribution of the world's wealth. Now he bluntly assesses his successes and failures, reflecting on the causes of continuing poverty. Much more than a business story, this is a deeply reflective account of a fascinating career and personality.Trade ReviewKirkus, August 15, 2010 "The author's candor ... is refreshing, as is his frank assessment of his own strengths and shortcomings... An often engaging memoir that is especially strong in its insights into global poverty." Kofi A. Annan "A Global Life is an eloquent and moving memoir of one man's journey to make a difference in the world. In his typically candid and refreshing style, Jim Wolfensohn describes the milestones in his life which led him to believe that unless we tackle the core issues of development and poverty, we will not create a peaceful world for our children. This is a book that will inspire all those who see the need for change in this world, and wish to make a contribution." Michael Beschloss"Jim Wolfensohn is not only a hero to the world's poor, but a preeminent global leader in politics, philanthropy, business and finance, the arts, international security, and even sports. He is a force of nature; there is no one else like him; and this elegant and absorbing book gives us the inside story of how he did it all. Anyone who seeks to understand the global history of the last half-century should be sure to read it." Vartan Gregorian

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Book SynopsisOne reason for the exacerbation of recent stock market crises is a lack of understanding by investors of financial ratio analysis and what it can reveal about the way companies operate. Stock markets are efficient in that they incorporate, and even anticipate, information about companies based on financial accounting data that is provided by companies. However, market efficiency results from extensive analysis performed by financial analysts. Much of this financial analysis is based on the analysis of company-provided financial information that is then analyzed using financial ratio analysis. The goal of this book is to provide a detailed step-by-step demonstration of how to download data from Internet sources, transfer the data into a spreadsheet, and conduct a financial ratio analysis. The company selected for financial analysis is Coca Cola but the same process outlined in the proposed book could be applied to any company. The data retrieved from the financial statements is copied to a worksheet and used to compute and to graph the financial ratios. The ratios and graphs are used to determine the performance drivers of Coca-Cola. The proposed book can be used as a supplement to basic courses in Corporate Finance, Financial Statement Analysis or in a variety of executive education courses dealing with financial accounting and corporate finance.

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Book SynopsisLearning practitioners have, for too long, been struggling to shift the perception of learning and development from a function that is a cost to the organization, to that of a function that is central to delivering value-added activities for the organization. The ability to deliver a return on investment is not about investing in good evaluation mechanisms, although this is important. It is imperative that the learning practitioner owns the numbers and works with financial metrics in order to bid for adequate resources and support the organization’s strategic ambitions. This book offers a brief overview of both a theoretical and a practical framework. The theoretical underpinning provides an examination of how the theories and research about human and group dynamic processes and self-renewal can be utilized in intervention design. The emphasis is on the “self-renewal” ability of the individual and the facilitation of the movement of groups to improve the health and effectiveness of organizations in a sustainable way.

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Book SynopsisIn the venture capital (VC) industry, firms often co-invest with other peers in syndicated deals. The process of syndication is a form of investment alliance that generates networks of VC firms and start-up companies. Despite the prominent role played by syndicates, extant entrepreneurship literature found contradicting evidence on the relationship between the practice of syndication and the performance of both the start-up and the investors. In fact, our understanding of the circumstances under which syndicates have the potential to boost performance, rather than hamper them, is still limited. This book intends to fill this gap and explore the performance dynamics surrounding networks in the venture capital industry. The text also provides introductory knowledge to those interested in network studies and methods.

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Book SynopsisEste libro es un libro de trabajo canalizado por el fundador de Access Consciousness, Gary M. Douglas, para darte mayor claridad y facilidad con el dinero - Pasos simples para obtener claridad sobre el dinero y cómo empezar a tener más! Qué tal si el dinero es sólo un vehículo para cambiar al mundo? Qué tal si estuvieras dispuesto a recibir cantidades ilimitadas de dinero?

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