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Prepare for or enhance a career investing in the credit markets with this authoritative guide. The leveraged credit market is currently valued at over $4 trillion and is one of the fastest-growing asset classes, fueling demand for well-trained credit analysts. The Credit Investor's Handbook: Leveraged Loans, High Yield Bonds, and Distressed Debt is the definitive guide for young investment professionals embarking on a career investing in the leveraged credit markets – whether public, private, performing, or distressed. Experienced professionals will also immensely benefit from this guide as they refine their investment skills. Michael Gatto has twenty-five years of investing experience in the debt markets at Silver Point Capital (a $20 billion credit-focused fund) and Goldman Sachs' Special Situations Group. Furthermore, he is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business. Michael brings these experiences together in this comprehensive manual, teaching the skills to succeed in the dynamic and complex credit markets. Michael brings highly complex case studies to life using decades of his first-hand war stories and combines them with reflections from leading industry professionals, often infused with humor, to make the book accessible, readable, and fun. Michael's seven-step credit analysis process will prepare you for a career in credit investing at the top buy-side and sell-side firms on Wall Street by teaching you the technical skills needed to invest in the debt markets. Whether you are analyzing a loan origination in the private debt market, a new issue of a broadly syndicated loan (BSL), a high-yield bond (HY), or a secondary trade, the comprehensive knowledge gained from this book will equip you to make well-founded investment recommendations. Additionally, an entire section devoted to distressed debt investing incorporates a practitioner's perspective on the nuances of bankruptcy and restructurings to develop strategies to profit from opportunities in this opaque market. In clear, straightforward terms accessible to the layperson, Michael explains strategies pursued by distressed companies such as J. Crew and Serta that have led to creditor-on-creditor violence, giving you an insider’s perspective on some of the least understood transactions in the distressed arena. You will: Gain In-Depth Knowledge: Understand the complexities of credit markets, from trading dynamics to historical credit cycles, allowing you to identify debt investment opportunities—and avoid pitfalls. Master the Analytical Framework: Learn Michael's seven-step process for analyzing credit investments, including qualitative industry and business analysis, financial statement analysis, forecasting, corporate valuation, relative value analysis, and debt structuring. Learn How to Write an Investment Recommendation: Review real-life credit memos to understand how analysts translate this framework into recommendations that drive investment decisions at the top credit funds. Discover Key Concepts and Terminology: leveraged buyout financings (LBOs), trading levels (price, yields, and spreads), shorting, and credit default swaps. Navigate Distressed Debt: Explore the strategies and nuances of distressed debt investing, including bankruptcy, subordination, creditor-on-creditor violence, and high-profile case studies from the past three decades of Chapter 11 restructurings. This book caters to finance majors pursuing investing careers, credit analysts seeking to enhance their skills, and seasoned professionals aiming to expand their expertise. Professors, researchers, lawyers, and advisors servicing the credit industry will also find immense value in this comprehensive guide.

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'It is immediately clear why her books stand out from the crowd. Chilling and compelling plots, brilliant characterisation . . . Addictive from start to finish' RACHEL ABBOTTA detective hiding dark secrets, Kim Stone will stop at nothing to protect the innocent. In the darkness of a cold December morning, Detective Kim Stone steps through the doors of Halesowen Police Station. She's about to meet her team for the first time. The victim of her next case is about to meet his killer... When the body of a young man is found beheaded and staked to the ground in a secluded woodland area of the Clent Hills, Kim and her new squad rush to the crime scene. Searching the victim's home, Kim finds a little girl's bedroom and a hidden laptop, but where is the child? And why does the man's own sister seem relieved that he's dead? As Kim begins to unearth the shocking truth about the victim, a disturbing resemblance is spotted with the recent murder of a man found beneath the staircase of Redland Hall with multiple stab wounds. Both these men had dark secrets and Kim discovers a link to a women's shelter. As a child of the care system herself, Kim knows all too well what it means to be vulnerable. Could the shelter be the key to cracking this case? With the killer about to strike again, Kim is in deep water with a rookie squad. Inexperienced Stacey is showing signs of brilliance but struggling to hold her nerve and, while D.S. Bryant is reliable and calm, D.S. Dawson is a liability. With his home life in pieces, his volatile behaviour is already fracturing her fragile new team. Can Kim bring Dawson in line and pull her crew together in time to catch the killer before another life is taken? This time, one of her own could be in terrible danger . . .Discover where it all began for Kim and her team. An absolutely heart-stopping mystery thriller that will keep you glued to the pages, reading late into the night. Perfect for new readers to the million-copy bestselling series, and fans of Val McDemid, Mark Billingham and Karin Slaughter.Read what everyone is saying about First Blood and the Detective Kim Stone series: 'A great introduction to the best crime series on the shelves right now . . . I loved this book from cover to cover . . . A brilliant read which will have people turning the pages at a feverish rate' Nigel Adams Bookworm, five stars'I cannot begin to tell you how god damn good it is. First Blood is so bloody brilliant and so gripping . . . Totally blown my mind...Without a doubt one of my best reads this year leaving me with a book hangover' Baker's Not So Secret Blog, five stars'Superb!!! I love Kim - always have, always will!! . . . Breath-taking, heart-pounding, exciting and thrilling!!! I completely and utterly recommend reading not just this book, but the whole series!! Fab, fab, fab, fab, fab' Stardust Book Reviews, five stars'There is a smile on my face and goosebumps on my arms. Rarely have I been so satisfied with a novel . . . Breath-taking . . . A masterpiece, the star at the top of your Christmas tree . . . Get going with the series if you haven't already' Chocolate 'n' Waffles, five stars'Oh my life. This is the book that all Kim Stone fans have been waiting for and they didn't even know it . . . A dark and deadly case, high on thrills, intrigue, mystery and tension, perfectly pitched on pace and featuring the dry humour and banter we know and love . . . Top stuff - Loved it' Jen Med's Book Reviews, five stars

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The Most Thorough and Far-reaching Revision Yet!The new 5th edition of the Handbook of PVC Pipe Design and Construction is the most comprehensive and up-to-date reference on PVC pipe and fittings. It provides practical engineering and construction information. It includes recommendations applicable to the design and use of primarily underground PVC piping systems in both pressure and non-pressure applications. Previous editions have been used by engineers all across North America and around the globe in the utility and consulting engineering sectors, as well as in universities and technical institutions.New to the Fifth EditionFour new chapters PVC Pressure Pipe Installation PVC Non-Pressure Pipe Installation Trenchless Installation of PVC Pipe Molecularly Oriented Polyvinyl Chloride Pipe (PVCO) Updated and improved graphs and tablesMore open page format The collaborative result of thousands of hours of research and review, the contents of the 5th edition are numerically formatted by section and subsection, as well as by figure and table designation. This allows easy reference and quick access. The Handbook of PVC Pipe Design and Construction is a must-have reference for design engineers, public and private pipe utility managers, and students. A more complete text on PVC pipe is not available. Welcome to the PVC Pipe Association MissionOur mission is to promote use of longer-life, lower-maintenance, corrosion-proof PVC piping in water and wastewater systems – for real sustainability, strength and long-term asset management.OverviewFounded in 1971 as a non-profit organization, the Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association is the authoritative source of information on PVC pipe. It serves the engineering, regulatory, public health and standardization communities. Introduced in North America in 1951, corrosion-proof PVC piping offers a superior, proven and truly sustainable solution for underground infrastructure, helping municipalities spend smarter and giving taxpayers the best return on their dollar. Uni-Bell staff provide users with information on the design and application of gasketed-joint PVC pipe. We also produce technical publications and recommend standards recognized throughout the world. Moreover, research sponsored by Uni-Bell in the areas of buried pipe deflection, durability, ultraviolet aging, direct tapping, cyclic surge performance, etc., has demonstrated PVC’s versatility, ease of installation and maintenance, as well as its unsurpassed durability.The PVC pipe industry contributes in excess of $14 billion annually to the US economy and supports over 25,000 jobs. With over two million miles in service, PVC pipe is the product of choice for buried water, sewer, drainage and irrigation infrastructure. Preface Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipe Raw Materials Resistance to Aggressive Environments PVC Pipe Manufacturing and Testing Pressure Pipe and Fittings, Design and Selection Superimposed Loads on Buried Pipe Design of Buried PVC Pipe Installation-Specific Design Applications Hydraulics General Construction PVC Pressure Pipe Installation PVC NonPressure Pipe Installation Trenchless Installation of PVC Pipe Molecularly Oriented Polyvinyl Chloride Pipe (PVCO) Unit Conversion Tables Index

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Six Billion Dead—And One Man Intent on Putting a Stop to the Killing For more than fifty years, the Terran Republic and the Terran League have been killing one another. The death toll has climbed ever higher, year after year, with no end in sight. But the members of the Five Hundred, the social elite of the Republic's Heart Worlds, don't care. Their star systems are light-years from any threat of attack. Their children are sheltered from the “mandatory service” that falls so heavily on the Fringe Worlds' backs. Their trade connections with the Rishathan Sphere bring them wealth and influence. And their contracts to build ships, fighters, missiles, and all the other sinews of war have made them the wealthiest human beings in the history of the galaxy. Rear Admiral Terrence Murphy is a Heart Worlder. His family is part of the Five Hundred. His wife is the daughter of one of the Five Hundred's wealthiest, most powerful industrialists. His sons and his daughter can easily avoid military service, and political power is his for the taking. There is no end to how high he can rise in the Republic's power structure. All he has to do is successfully complete a risk-free military "governorship" in the backwater Fringe System of New Dublin without rocking the boat. Without dredging up any lunatic Fringe conspiracy theories. Without undercutting the Five Hundred's stranglehold on wealth and power. But the people sending him to New Dublin have miscalculated, because Terrence Murphy is a man who believes in honor. Who believes in duty—in common decency and responsibility. Who believes there are dark and dangerous secrets behind the façade of what "everyone knows." Terrence Murphy intends to meet those responsibilities and unearth those secrets, and he doesn't much care what the Five Hundred want. He intends to put a stop to the killing. Wherever that takes him, he will go. Whatever that costs him, he will pay. And whatever that requires, he will do. Terrence Murphy is coming for whoever has orchestrated fifty-six years of bloodshed and slaughter, and Hell itself is coming with him. A new novel in the world of In Fury Born, one of David Weber's most celebrated novels. About The Gordian Protocol: “Tom Clancy-esque exposition of technical details . . . absurd humor and bloody action. Echoes of Robert Heinlein . . . lots of exploding temporal spaceships and bodies . . . action-packed . . .” —Booklist “[A] fun and thrilling standalone from Weber and Holo. . . . Time travel enthusiasts will enjoy the moral dilemmas, nonstop action, and crisp writing.”—Publishers Weekly About David Weber: “[A] balanced mix of interstellar intrigue, counterespionage, and epic fleet action . . . with all the hard- and software details and tactical proficiency that Weber delivers like no one else; along with a large cast of well-developed, believable characters, giving each clash of fleets emotional weight.”—Booklist “[M]oves . . . as inexorably as the Star Kingdom’s Grand Fleet, commanded by series protagonist Honor Harrington. . . . Weber is the Tom Clancy of science fiction. . . . His fans will relish this latest installment. . . .”—Publishers Weekly “This entry is just as exciting as Weber’s initial offering. . . . The result is a fast-paced and action-packed story that follows [our characters] as they move from reaction to command of the situation. Weber builds Shadow of Freedom to an exciting and unexpected climax.”—The Galveston County Daily News “Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection and a deep understanding of military bureaucracy in this long-awaited Honor Harrington novel. . . . Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice to see Honor back in action.”—Publishers Weekly “This latest Honor Harrington novel brings the saga to another crucial turning point. . . . Readers may feel confident that they will be Honored many more times and enjoy it every time.”—Booklist “[E]verything you could want in a heroine. . . . Excellent . . . plenty of action.”—Science Fiction Age “Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!”—Anne McCaffrey “Compelling combat combined with engaging characters for a great space opera adventure.”—Locus “Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection. . . . Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice . . .”—Publishers Weekly

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Audience: Investors, entrepreneurs, companies considering going public, policy makers.Summary: Rigged financial markets and hopeless under-regulation on Wall Street are not new problems. In this book, Susanne Trimbath gives a sobering account of naked short selling, the failure to settle, and her efforts over decades, trying to get this fixed.Part I. Opening ActThis is a cautionary tale. What started as a regulatory failure has turned into a regulatory crisis. Shareholder democracy is in shambles. The institutions that were established to correct a problem of trade settlement failures (failures to deliver shares for settlement) have instead exacerbated the problem. They may not survive what comes next.Chapter 1: Primer. A non-technical explanation of the terminology and concepts used in the book, plus the economic implications of trading ""phantom"" stock and bonds.Chapter 2: Start at the Beginning. Twenty-five years ago, when I was working ""backstage at Wall Street"" a group of corporate trust specialists told me about a problem in shareholder voting rights. When I went to senior management at Depository Trust Company (DTC), then and still the largest securities depository in the world, brushed it off saying, ""You can't balance the world.""Part II. Back to Where I Left OffChapter 3: A Sidewalk Café in New York. At the request of a business colleague, I have coffee with a lawyer from Texas who tells me that a problem was about to blow up the financial markets: Wall Street brokers are using short sales and fails to deliver to grab the assets of American entrepreneurs. I feel a pang of guilt for not sticking it out to fix this before I left DTC in 1993. By 2003, it was a full-blown regulatory crisis!Chapter 4: Blind Men Describe an Elephant. When I start working on the issues after 2003, the lawyers, companies, investors and consultants I meet are like the blind men and a phantom share is the elephant. From a dentist in Michigan to a Republic operative in Washington DC, few of the self-described experts even knew what a naked short sale was before it either happened to them or someone hired them to pontificate on the subject.Part III. Committing to a CauseChapter 5: Real Experts Meet. The lawyers and several companies they represent are relying on poorly written reports provided by the Blind Men. Recognizing that the errors are piling up and having a negative impact on the outcomes in the court room, I bring in real experts, including the corporate trust specialists who first came to me in 1993. We coin the term ""phantom shares"" to describe the extra shares being created by short sales, stock lending and fails to deliver.Chapter 6: STA White Paper. The industry organization of corporate trust specialists, the Securities Transfer Association (STA) issues a report on over-voting after they are unable to get help from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Articles in their newsletter include a survey showing that over-voting – the direct result of investors voting phantom shares in corporate elections – impacts every public company. Almost immediately, the Securities Industry Association sends a letter to the NYSE describing how they can hide over-voting and the NYSE removes the last remaining rule that made it possible for a buyer to demand delivery of shares. A year later, over-voting is found in every corporate election surveyed by the STA. Even after the SIA implements processes to hide over-voting, the STA finds one-third of corporate elections are still receiving up to 25% more votes than there are shares outstanding.Chapter 7: Tax Consequences. My research shows that taxpayers and governments are losing out when interest and dividends are paid on phantom shares. The loss of tax revenue is not trivial: as much as $4.0 billion to the states and $1.5 billion to the federal government every year.Part IV. Success Seems PossibleChapter 8: Regulation SHO. I submit comment letters to the SEC that outline the financial and economic consequences of fails to deliver (FTD). When FTD reporting from NSCC to SEC begins, we are optimistic. Even though it is a list of victims (companies) but not the perpetrators (brokers), this is our first chance to see weekly and then daily data. We still don't know how old a fail is, but at least we have more frequent reports of the total value of fails and the number of shares failed per company. This chapter includes several of my comment letters explaining the implications for capital markets and the economy of the unfolding regulatory crisis, including the fact that Reg SHO had no enforcement teeth. It includes the attachments I submitted, like a copy of an NYSE audit proving that they knew that brokers were voting in corporate elections without regard to shareholder rights.Chapter 9: Criminal Cases Reveal Evidence. Although none of the lawsuits against the central clearing and settlement organizations (DTCC and its subsidiaries) is able to progress in the state courts, some organized crime cases result in settlement agreements and federal prosecutions. They move slowly but reveal evidence through discovery that supports the civil claims for several issuers against the brokers. This book does not detail financial crimes, but the cases against the primary perpetrators involved in manipulating Eagletech's stock are outlined to demonstrate the criminal strategies. We visit the more complete story of Eagletech Communications, Inc. in Chapter 10.Chapter 10: The Battle Goes Public. When a Dateline NBC segment on Eagletech is announced, the pajamahideen are emboldened, organizing protests and rallies including one on the sidewalk in front of DTCC's headquarters in Manhattan. The Dateline episode falls far short of the exposé everyone was hoping for. Later that year, the National Association of Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) holds a public forum in Washington, D.C. Publicity for the issue rises to the mainstream media, with a cover story in Bloomberg Markets magazine focused on the problems created by phantom votes. The CEO of a large public company is in the audience. I challenge him to buy shares of stock in his own company and find out if the seller fails to deliver. His broker debits his bank account for over $1 million dollars – then it takes two months for him to get delivery of the shares. In the face of this evidence and the harsh reality that it can happen to anyone, Patrick Byrne escalates his activities to warfare.Part V. Escalating CommitmentsChapter 11: Byrne's War. With the NASAA event as the backdrop, I push Patrick Byrne to stay focused on the real issue: corporate governance. He has me added to several email distribution lists with what he dubs the ""Pajamahideen"" – freedom fighters who work from home in their pajamas. Patrick hires a firm specializing in ""legislative strategies"" to arrange a media event in Washington DC. It is poorly attended and not widely reported with only one congressional aide at the event. Instead of explaining the important regulatory changes needed to protect corporate governance, Patrick has the team presentation focus on criminal activity. This chapter includes the text of my online interview with The Sanity Check.Chapter 12: Publicity Ramps Up with Meetings, Events and Interviews. I appear at the confirmation hearing when a former DTCC Board members is nominated as State Treasurer for New Jersey. I and some of the pajamahideen point to his Board role as making him complicit in hiding the fails to deliver. Afterward, DTCC will attempt to use one obscure new article about the hearing in an effort to disparage me (Chapter 15). Stories show up in every financial news outlet from print and online to radio and television. Bloomberg produces and airs a special report on ""Phantom Shares"" and I am the keynote speaker at the Securities Lending Conference in New York. I am contacted by an agent from the FBI-NY and he asks me to meet with the SDNY Attorney's office to brief them on fails and shorts. I present them with shocking evidence of system-wide problems in post-trade processing. I don't hear from them again.Chapter 13: Naked, Short and Greedy in LA. The CFA-LA initially agrees to put on an event about naked short selling. Bloomberg TV is prepared to broadcast the event. Then DTCC threatens action against CFA-LA if they have me as a speaker. CFA-LA caves and cancels the event. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne steps up with a small sponsorship and STP Advisory Services funds the remainder for a new event in October. With just a shoe-string budget, we are able to fill a meeting room at the Park Hyatt in Century City (Los Angeles) with attendees from all over the US.Part VI. All Seems LostAfter a series of promising events, what happened next offered one setback after another. In a painful, emotionally charged series of events for me, the goal of resolving the regulatory crisis seemed to move further and further away. Things were happening too quickly to have feelings about them: by the time it was over, I was just starting to have feelings about the kind of feelings I had when it was happening. DTCC's efforts to banish me to the background left me raw as I constantly had to keep up my guard against it. Paradoxically, all of the negativity drew a sense of even deeper commitment from me.Chapter 14: Resistance from Wall Street. DTCC escalates their efforts against me. It has the opposite effect, making more companies and investors trust me to speak out on their behalf. They contact the producers and sponsors for events that invite me to be keynote speaker. They even threaten to cancel program participation for a transfer agent who hires me as a consultant. In the end, the people and organizations that I worked with in my years at DTC come to my support with more speaker invitations.Chapter 15: Corporate Governance Fails at Overstock. The real blow comes when Patrick has the chance to close it out with the proxy voting charade at his annual meeting. He does nothing because he got the chairman slot he was so afraid ""they"" would take away from him. The real experts I bring in are ignored completely. I feel Patrick and his lawyers push me aside in favor of a series of yes-men and consultants with worn-out low-level government titles. He will lose his appeal in a million-dollar lawsuit brought against him and one of his writers for libel and defamation.Chapter 16: Senate Inaction. Patrick is a big political donor who is able to get some statements about ""naked short selling"" read into the record by congressmen from Utah. I was able to include a couple of paragraphs about fails to deliver. Under pressure from DTCC, the SEC and Wall Street's own political donations, Congress refuses to hold hearings to air the investors' side of the story. In 2012, the Washington Post will report finding lawmakers in 2008 were investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in short-selling funds.Part VII. When the Music StopsThen came the Wall Street bailout, appointing Geithner to Treasury to replace Paulson (who pillaged the Treasury on his way out of town), Dodd-Frank which does nothing but order a bunch of studies. Soon, everyone is so wrapped up in trying to figure out what the rules are going to be that no one is able to move forward with any action.Chapter 17: Media Interest after the Financial Crisis. When the financial crisis hits the markets, I am doing radio interviews every month. In September, Matt Taibbi interviews me for the Rolling Stone magazine article that would be quoted extensively because he called Goldman Sachs a ""great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money."" In 2013, Forbes was still referencing that article. The Daily Show produces a segment on short selling that gets attention as far up as the White House daily briefing.Chapter 18: CMKM and the UnShareholders. A diamond mining firm, CMKM, orders a ""cert pull"" to get all the company's shares out of the DTC. It reveals how many phantom shares are in circulation as a multitude of investors – dubbed the UnShareholders – are left holding the empty bag. Brokers begin deleting share positions as they stop returning calls to angry customers around the world, including several active-duty members of the military stationed overseas. But the evidence is there: brokers assigned phantom shares to their most vulnerable customers while getting real certificated-shares for themselves and favored clients. Before it shuts down, the UnShareholder project reveals the same circumstances applied to over 100 investors for 21 more companies across 15 brokerage firms. Launched June 9, 2008; closed in 2010. The investors were located throughout the US and in 5 other countries on three continents. In 2007, shareholders in British Columbia (Canada) sue their broker for refusal to provide certificates for shares shown in their account. The same day it was filed, it went directly before B.C. Supreme Court Justice H. Groberman, who ordered Canaccord to provide the share certificates ""without delay.""Chapter 19: Two Documentary Films. Sandra Mohr's Stock Shock is first out of the blocks among several films, including a few big Hollywood productions that would make the connection between failures in supervision, regulation and post-trade processing and the 2008 collapse of global capital markets. ""The bad guys won."" I am interviewed for the documentary Wall Street Conspiracy in July. When the stock market crashes in September, the producers invite me back to explain the connection with what I told them 2 months earlier. The transcript of that interview is included in this chapter.Part VIII. The Tragedy of a Downer EndingChapter 20: GAO Faults SEC and Other Revelations. In 2009, GAO would fault SEC for ignoring thousands of ""NSS"" complaints. My interview with the GAO is included in this chapter. The deeper tragedy is that so many companies lost access to the capital that is a keystone on US capital markets. Of the three companies highlighted in this book, Eagletech folded in 2006, CMKM held on until 2019 (as NHHI). Only Barker Minerals remains a functioning business despite the fact that the shares ceased trading after they could no longer afford to have financial statements produced by an external auditor.Chapter 21: Barker Minerals' Unique Approach. A Canadian mining firm, Barker Minerals Ltd. approached me in 2010 for help with a strategy they developed to ferret out which brokers were failing to deliver their stock for settlement. In contrast to denouncing short sellers, which was the basis for most complaints in the US, Barker called their analysis the ""Pro Long Strategy"" for its emphasis on protecting and supporting long-term shareholder investments. Barker Minerals continues in operations today, primarily using personal funding after the stock ceased trading on 5 April 2019.Part IX. Unresolved Regulatory CrisisFor decades, investors have settled for a small rate of return in their investment accounts, while the companies holding their money have earned trillions of dollars in income. If there is one lesson learned from my experiences over the last 15 years, it is that even a disorganized protest is still a protest. A small but vocal group of investors and entrepreneurs can shake up the system at least enough to get some transparency. The financial sector has lost its moral compass. Investors and entrepreneurs are on their own when they venture into US capital markets. They have to protect themselves and the wealth they hope to accumulate to ensure the future.

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