Search results for ""Currency""

PROFITING FROM THE WORLD'S ECONOMIC CRISIS In Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis, author Bud Conrad, Chief Economist for Casey Research, predicts a rough road ahead for us—due to economic imbalances that have built up over the past decade—but reveals how you can prosper during these difficult times by tracking global market trends and finding investment opportunities that match those trends. With this book, Conrad outlines the long-term direction of our economy as driven by increasing U.S. government and trade deficits, oil prices, Social Security and Medicare obligations for baby boomers, the credit crisis, and the weakening dollar. He also examines why some of the government's actions—such as bailing out banks and curbing interest rates—fail to address more serious, long-term issues such as too much debt. The crisis we have entered is not a typical business recession, but, instead, a major deleveraging which is the biggest shift since the Great Depression. The stagflation of the U.S. economy will present great challenges on a global scale. And since no market travels in a straight line, you need to be positioned correctly, with the right investments, to protect yourself and profit from the twists and turns you'll inevitably face in today's turbulent economic environment. Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis deftly addresses how to gain your financial footing during these difficult times by highlighting global investment opportunities—such as gold, interest rates, currency, and commodities—that are likely to help you profit in the coming years. Visit www.caseyresearch.com

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The first full-length examination of the medieval Charlemagne tradition in the literature and culture of medieval England, from the Chanson de Roland to Caxton. The Matter of France, the legendary history of Charlemagne, had a central but now largely unrecognised place in the multilingual culture of medieval England. From the early claim in the Chanson de Roland that Charlemagne held England as his personal domain, to the later proliferation of Middle English romances of Charlemagne, the materials are woven into the insular political and cultural imagination. However, unlike the wide range of continental French romances, the insular tradition concentrates on stories of a few heroic characters: Roland, Fierabras, Otinel. Why did writers and audiences in England turn again and again to these narratives, rewriting and reinterpreting them for more than two hundred years? This book offers the first full-length, in-depth study of the tradition as manifested in literature and culture. It investigates the currency and impact of the Matter of France with equal attention to English and French-language texts, setting each individual manuscript or early printed text in its contemporary cultural and political context. The narratives are revealed to be extraordinarily adaptable, using the iconic opposition between Carolingian and Saracen heroes to reflect concerns with national politics, religious identity, the future of Christendom, chivalry and ethics, and monarchy and treason. PHILLIPA HARDMAN is Readerin Medieval English Literature (retired) at the University of Reading; MARIANNE AILES is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Bristol.

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The forecast demise of nationalism under the new moral orders of communism and internationalism has proved illusory. In the present century, to an extent greater perhaps than in all others, nationalism has been the dominant force in the affairs of humankind. Why should this have been? Why is it that a national identity should continue to be the aspiration of almost all peoples without one and, at the same time, the justification - in the process of obtaining, securing and expanding it- for casting aside every trace and tradition of civility? In Encounters with Nationalism Ernest Gellner seeks some answers. His approach is to consider first the ideas of the main modern thinkers on the subject, from Marx, List, Malinowski and Carr, to Masaryk, Heidegger, Patocka, Hroch, Havel and Said. He examines the origins, subjects and context of their writings, their interactions with culture and politics, and their influence - both on theory and on events. The range is wide, covering Eastern, Western and Islamic societies, and includes extensive discussions of the related themes of civil society, theocracy, communism, imperialism, capitalism and liberalism. Professor Gellner is never less than trenchant. He is concerned here not only to understand, but to criticize. He confronts several powerful and fashionable notions that fuel and/or attempt to explain contemporary nationalism - among them postcolonialism. On the one hand he exposes their incoherence and irresponsibility; on the other he places them alongside ideas of real currency. Nor does he evade the controversy surrounding the nature of judgement itself: the reader will also find here concise and penetrating discussions of relativism, pluralism, objectivity and the possibility of universal values.

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Capitalism and slavery stand as the two economic phenomena that have most clearly defined the United States. Yet, despite African Americans' nearly $500 billion annual spending power, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the ways U.S. businesses have courted black dollars in post-slavery America. Robert E. Weems, Jr., presents the first fully integrated history of black consumerism over the course of the last century. The World War I era Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to northern and southern cities stimulated initial corporate interest in blacks as consumers. A generation later, as black urbanization intensified during World War II and its aftermath, the notion of a distinct, profitable African American consumer market gained greater currency. Moreover, black socioeconomic gains resulting from the Civil Rights movement which itself featured such consumer justice protests as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, further enhanced the status and influence of African American shoppers. Unwilling to settle for facile answers, Weems explores the role of black entrepreneurs who promoted the importance of the African American consumer market to U.S. corporations. Their actions, ironically, set the stage for the ongoing destruction of black-owned business. While the extent of educational, employment, and residential desegregation remains debatable, African American consumer dollars have, by any standard, been fully incorporated into the U.S. economy. Desegregating the Dollar takes us through the "blaxploitation" film industry, the vast market for black personal care products, and the insidious exploitation of black urban misery by liquor and cigarette advertisers. Robert E. Weems, Jr., has given us the definitive account of the complicated relationship between African Americans, capitalism, and consumerism.

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The political and economic history of Latin America has been marked by great hopes and even greater disappointments. Despite abundant resources - and a history of productivity and wealth - in recent decades the region has fallen further and further behind developed nations, surpassed even by other developing economies in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. In "Left Behind", Sebastian Edwards explains why the nations of Latin America have failed to share in the fruits of globalization and highlights the dangers of the recent turn to economic populism in the region. He begins by detailing the many ways Latin American governments have stifled economic development over the years through excessive regulation, currency manipulation, and thoroughgoing corruption. He then turns to the neoliberal reforms of the early 1990s, which called for the elimination of deficits, lowering of trade barriers, and privatization of inefficient public enterprises - and which, Edwards argues, held the promise of freeing Latin America from the burdens of the past. Flawed implementation, however, meant the promised gains of globalization were never felt by the mass of citizens, and growing frustration with stalled progress has led to a resurgence of populism throughout the region, exemplified by the economic policies of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. But such measures, Edwards warns, are a recipe for disaster; instead, he argues, the way forward for Latin America lies in further modernization reforms, more honestly pursued and fairly implemented. As an example of the promise of that approach, Edwards points to Latin America's giant, Brazil, which in recent years has finally begun to show signs of reaching its true economic potential.

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Book clubs are everywhere these days. And women talk about the clubs they belong to with surprising emotion: "You will never know what a difference it made in my life". But why are the clubs so important to them? Which women join book clubs and why? And what do the women discuss when they meet? To answer questions like these, Elizabeth Long spent years observing and participating in women's book clubs in the Houston area and interviewing members from dozens of different discussion groups. Far from being an isolated activity, she finds that for club members reading is an active and social pursuit, a crucial way for them to reflect creatively on the meaning of their lives and their place in the social order. Similar to their 19th-century predecessors, whom Long also considers, women today find in reading groups the inspiration, support and self-confidence to reimagine themselves both individually and collectively. Tracing how this process works, Long takes us on a guided tour of the book clubs themselves, from how they are formed and organized to how members choose which books to read. Through vivid examples, she shows how women use literature to achieve personal insight and empowerment. She then turns her attention to the emergence of book clubs that are run through chain bookstores, television shows and the Internet, and considers the importance of such clubs for women as a broader cultural forum. Far from just an excuse to get together once a month, book clubs are here revealed to be a vital arena for self-formation, one that has as much currency now as it did a century ago.

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When you write software, you need to be at the top of your game. Great programmers practice to keep their skills sharp. Get sharp and stay sharp with more than fifty practice exercises rooted in real-world scenarios. If you're a new programmer, these challenges will help you learn what you need to break into the field, and if you're a seasoned pro, you can use these exercises to learn that hot new language for your next gig. One of the best ways to learn a programming language is to use it to solve problems. That's what this book is all about. Instead of questions rooted in theory, this book presents problems you'll encounter in everyday software development. These problems are designed for people learning their first programming language, and they also provide a learning path for experienced developers to learn a new language quickly. Start with simple input and output programs. Do some currency conversion and figure out how many months it takes to pay off a credit card. Calculate blood alcohol content and determine if it's safe to drive.Replace words in files and filter records, and use web services to display the weather, store data, and show how many people are in space right now. At the end you'll tackle a few larger programs that will help you bring everything together. Each problem includes constraints and challenges to push you further, but it's up to you to come up with the solutions. And next year, when you want to learn a new programming language or style of programming (perhaps OOP vs. functional), you can work through this book again, using new approaches to solve familiar problems. What You Need: You need access to a computer, a programming language reference, and the programming language you want to use.

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Throughout the Western world, governments and financial elites responded to the financial crisis of 2008 by trying to restore the conditions of business as usual, but the economic, social and human damage inflicted by the crisis has given rise to a reconsideration of the inevitability of unfettered capitalism as a fact of life. A number of economic practices and organizations emerged in Europe and the United States that embodied alternative values: the value of life over the value of money; the effectiveness of cooperation over cut-throat competition; the social responsibility of corporations and responsible regulation by governments over the short-term speculative strategies that brought the economy to the brink of catastrophe. This book examines the blossoming of innovative new experiments in organizing work and life that emerged in the wake of the financial crisis: cooperatives, barter networks, ethical banking, community currencies, shared time banks, solidarity networks, sharing of goods, non-monetary transactions, etc., experiments that paved the way for the emergence of a sharing economy in all domains of activity oriented toward the satisfaction of human needs. Other innovations included the creation of cryptographic virtual currencies, epitomized by bitcoin, which blended a libertarian, entrepreneurial spirit with information technology to provide an alternative to standard forms of currency. On the basis of a cross-cultural analysis of alternative economic practices, this book develops an important theoretical argument: that the economy, as a human practice, is shaped by culture, and that the diversity of cultures, as revealed in a time of crisis, implies the possibility of different economies depending on the values and power relations that define economic institutions. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in sociology, economics and the social sciences generally, and to anyone who wishes to understand how our societies and economies are changing today.

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Data has become the new currency; organizations are drowning in it, but few are cashing in on its true value. The Analytics Lifecycle Toolkit translates the entire analytics lifecycle into actionable insights, providing a framework for building an effective analytics capability and the processes that turn data into action. Part 1 describes the “who,” “how,” and “why” of modern enterprise analytics, giving leaders clear insight into the value of strategically-aligned capabilities. Part 2 details best practices that include problem framing, data sensemaking, model development, change management, data management, product management, and more. Part 3 rounds out the discussion by providing guidance on sustaining high performance and guiding the analytics function into new phases of business. For organizations who see the value of analytics but lack the depth of knowledge needed to structure appropriate solutions, this book breaks the cycle of frustration and provides a roadmap for putting the right people, processes, and technologies into place. For those who have already implemented analytics, this book serves as a reference for leadership and a “refresher course” to update the team on the latest in practices and processes. Rather than a simple catalogue of analytics models, the discussion emphasizes underlying principles in key process areas to help organizations build analytics capabilities tailored to their specific needs—allowing them to harvest the highest-value information to better inform strategic decisions. In line with the book’s practical focus, the companion website provides downloadable resources, tools, videos, and more to support and streamline implementation. The discussion itself assumes no prior knowledge of analytics and explicitly clarifies complex concepts and terms, using real-world examples to illustrate what effective practice looks like on the ground. With clear guidance, expert insight, and a wealth of practical tools, The Analytics Lifecycle Toolkit is an essential resource for any organization seeking an optimized analytics program.

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A pocket-sized travel guide, packed with expert advice and ideas for the best things to see and do in Paris, and complemented with a sturdy pull-out map - perfect for a day trip or a short break.Whether you want to lose yourself in the galleries of the Louvre, seek out the best boulangeries, bars and bistros, or simply wander along the Seine - this great-value, concise travel guide will ensure you don't miss a thing. Inside Mini Map and Guide Paris:- Easy-to-use pull-out map shows Paris in detail, and includes a Métro map- Colour-coded area guide makes it easy to find information quickly and plan your day- Illustrations show the inside of some of Paris's most iconic buildings- Colour photographs of Paris's museums, architecture, shops, cathedrals and more- Essential travel tips including our expert choices of where to eat, drink and shop, plus useful transport, currency and health information and a phrase book- Chapters covering Île de la Cité and Île St-Louis; The Marais; Bastille and Oberkampf; République and Canal St-Martin; Belleville and Ménilmontant; La Villette; Montmartre and Pigalle; Opéra and Grands Boulevards; Louvre and Les Halles; Eiffel Tower and Invalides; Champs-Élysées and Chaillot; St-Germain-des-Prés; Latin Quarter; Jardin des Plantes and Place d'Italie; Montparnasse and Jardin du Luxembourg Mini Map and Guide Paris is abridged from DK Eyewitness Travel Guide ParisStaying for longer and looking for a more comprehensive guide? Try our DK Eyewitness Top Ten Paris. About DK Eyewitness Travel: DK's Mini Map and Guides take the work out of planning a short trip, with expert advice and easy-to-read maps to inform and enrich any short break.

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Explore the inevitable collapse of the fiat monetary system Paper Money Collapse: The Folly of Elastic Money, Second Edition challenges the mainstream consensus on money and monetary policy. While it is today generally believed that the transition from 'hard' and inflexible commodity money (such as a gold standard) to entirely flexible and potentially unlimited fiat money under national central banks allows for superior economic stability, Paper Money Collapse shows that the opposite is true. Systems of highly elastic and constantly expanding money are not only unnecessary, even for growing economies, they are always extremely destabilizing. Over time, they must lead to substantial imbalances, including excessive levels of debt and distorted asset prices, that will require ever faster money production to sustain. Ultimately, however, there is no alternative to a complete liquidation of these distortions. Based on insights of many renowned economists and in particular of the Austrian School of Economics, the book explains through rigorous logic and in precise language why our system of flexible fiat money is incompatible with a market economy and therefore unsustainable. Paper money systems have always led to economic disintegration—without exception—throughout history. It will not be different for our system and we may be closer to the endgame than many think. The updated second edition incorporates: A new introduction and an extended outlook section that discusses various "endgames" Responses to criticisms, alternative views, and a critical assessment of 'solutions' Comments on recent policy trends, including attempts to exit the 'easy money' policy mode An evaluation of new crypto-currency Bitcoin Paper Money Collapse: The Folly of Elastic Money, Second Edition clarifies the problem of paper money clearly and eloquently, and proposes multiple routes to a solution.

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Ambitious in scope and innovative in concept, this book offers an overview and critique of the conventions surrounding artistic creativity and intellectual endeavor since the outset of "the broader modernity", which the author sees as beginning with the decline of feudalism and the Church. As a work of intellectual history, it suggests that art and the conventions associated with the artistic constitute a secular institution that has supplanted pre-Reformation theology. From the perspective of the "subject," modernity has entailed a heightened sense of individuation, moral conflict, and pervasive loss and disaster. Yet the pitfalls that have earmarked personal experience have taken on positive value in an artistic enterprise that aspires to be a salutary replacement for externally imposed theological dogmas. Beginning with Luther, Calvin, and Shakespeare and culminating with the Kantian notion of the artist as an "original genius," the author reconstructs the steps by which art and creative activity were installed as the redemptive values of a modernity in which human beings were forced to define knowledge and establish authority according to their own devices. In the process, the author reads passages from Plato, Proust, Donne, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kleist, Rousseau, Melville, Wittgenstein, as well as Benjamin, as well as the graphic works of Holbein, Dürer, Mondrian, and Rothko. As a work of critical theory, The Aesthetic Contract posits an alternative model to Kant's "original genius." The author explores an understanding of art powered by the notion of the aesthetic contract, in which artists and intellectuals choose to operate within the parameters of certain explicit experiments until the contractual clauses that delimit these endeavors lose their currency or validity. As an intellectual analog to Rousseau's social contract, the aesthetic contract has allowed the modern artist to address issues of knowledge, authority, and experience once thought to fall within the domain of arbitrary, remote, and inaccessible agencies.

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Want to become an accountant? Own a small business but need help balancing your books? Worried about managing your finances under the cloud of the recession? This hands-on workbook gets you up to speed with the basics of business accounting, including reading financial reports, establishing budgets, controlling cash flow, and making wise financial decisions. The question and answer sections encourage you to find your own solutions to challenging accounting problems - and there's plenty of space to scribble your workings out! Accounting Workbook For Dummies is the only book that makes truly light work of the financial fundamentals that many businesspeople try to bluff their way through every day. Accounting Workbook For Dummies, UK Edition covers: Part I: Business Accounting Basics Chapter 1: Elements of Business Accounting Chapter 2: Financial Effects of Transactions Chapter 3: Getting Started in the Bookkeeping Cycle Chapter 4: The Bookkeeping Cycle: Adjusting and Closing Entries Part II: Preparing Financial Statements Chapter 5: The Effects and Reporting of Profit Chapter 6: Reporting Financial Condition in the Balance Sheet Chapter 7: Coupling the Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet Chapter 8: Reporting Cash Flows and Changes in Owners' Equity Chapter 9: Choosing Accounting Methods Part III: Managerial, Manufacturing, and Capital Accounting Chapter 10: Analysing Profit Behavior Chapter 11: Manufacturing Cost Accounting Chapter 12: Figuring Out Interest and Return on Investment Part IV: The Part of Tens Chapter 13: Ten Things You Should Know About Business Financial Statements Chapter 14: A Ten-Point Checklist for Management Accountants Main changes in the UK edition include: UK Accounting practice Currency UK institutions - Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise etc National Insurance, PAYE UK taxation and VAT Partnerships and Limited company information UK legal practice UK specific forms UK specific case studies

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The derivative practitioner’s expert guide to IFRS 9 application Accounting for Derivatives explains the likely accounting implications of a proposed transaction on derivatives strategy, in alignment with the IFRS 9 standards. Written by a Big Four advisor, this book shares the author’s insights from working with companies to minimise the earnings volatility impact of hedging with derivatives. This second edition includes new chapters on hedging inflation risk and stock options, with new cases on special hedging situations including hedging components of commodity risk. This new edition also covers the accounting treatment of special derivatives situations, such as raising financing through commodity-linked loans, derivatives on own shares and convertible bonds. Cases are used extensively throughout the book, simulating a specific hedging strategy from its inception to maturity following a common pattern. Coverage includes instruments such as forwards, swaps, cross-currency swaps, and combinations of standard options, plus more complex derivatives like knock-in forwards, KIKO forwards, range accruals, and swaps in arrears. Under IFRS, derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting may significantly increase earnings volatility. Compliant application of hedge accounting requires expertise across both the standards and markets, with an appropriate balance between derivatives expertise and accounting knowledge. This book helps bridge the divide, providing comprehensive IFRS coverage from a practical perspective. Become familiar with the most common hedging instruments from an IFRS 9 perspective Examine FX risk and hedging of dividends, earnings, and net assets of foreign subsidies Learn new standards surrounding the hedge of commodities, equity, inflation, and foreign and domestic liabilities Challenge the qualification for hedge accounting as the ultimate objective IFRS 9 is set to replace IAS 39, and many practitioners will need to adjust their accounting policies and hedging strategies to conform to the new standard. Accounting for Derivatives is the only book to cover IFRS 9 specifically for the derivatives practitioner, with expert guidance and practical advice.

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The first biography of the colorful life Madalyn Murray O'Hair—America's most famous (and despised) atheist In 1964, Life magazine called Madalyn Murray O’Hair “the most hated woman in America.” Another critic described her as “rude, impertinent, blasphemous, a destroyer not only of beliefs but of esteemed values.” In this first full-length biography, Bryan F. Le Beau offers a penetrating assessment of O’Hair’s beliefs and actions and a probing discussion of how she came to represent both what Americans hated in their enemies and feared in themselves. Born in 1919, O’Hair was a divorced mother of two children born out of wedlock. She launched a crusade against God, often using foul language as she became adept at shocking people and making effective use of the media in delivering her message. She first gained notoriety as one of the primary litigants in the 1963 case Murray v. Curlett which led the Supreme Court to ban school prayer. The decision stunned a nation engaged in fighting “godless Communism” and made O’Hair America’s most famous—and most despised—atheist. O’Hair led a colorful life, facing assault charges and extradition from Mexico, as well as the defection of her son William, who as an adult denounced her. She later served as Hustler publisher Larry Flynt’s chief speech writer in his bid for President of the United States. Drawing on original research, O’Hair’s diaries, and interviews, Le Beau traces her development from a child of the Depression to the dictatorial, abrasive woman who founded the American Atheists, wrote books denouncing religion, and challenged the words “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, “In God We Trust” on American currency, the tax exempt status of religious organizations, and other activities she saw as violating the separation of church and state. O’Hair remained a spokesperson for atheism until 1995, when she and her son and granddaughter vanished. It was later discovered that they were murdered by O’Hair’s former office manager and an accomplice. Fast-paced, engagingly written, and sharply relevant to ongoing debates about school prayer and other religious issues, The Atheist tells the colorful life-story of a woman who challenged America’s most deeply held beliefs.

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"We cannot continue to accept the view that when times are good wewill prosper and when times are bad we will suffer. . . . We mustmove from a business of commissioned services to one of directparticipation in all our clients' endeavors, where productiveparticipation establishes us as trusted partners, the currency fora continuing relationship." --John E. Harrigan and Paul R.Neel In their drive to compete effectively in the emerging worldeconomic order, today's enterprise organizations are undergoing aperiod of radical redesign, restructuring, and redefinition. Asthey do so, they are coming to rely more and more upon designprofessionals to help them build their roads to the future. Thismeans that unlimited opportunities now await the architect who canlook beyond the everyday aspects of professional practice and learnas much as possible about his or her clients' worlds. But forgingenduring partnerships with clients requires more than just provendesign skills on the part of an architect. Today's successfularchitect is as much a business executive as an artist. He or sheis conversant in an array of core business skills--includingmarketing, client relations, leadership, strategic management, andothers--rarely covered in professional education programs. Based, in large part, upon Professor John E. Harrigan's innovativeexecutive program for architects at California Polytechnic StateUniversity, The Executive Architect fills that critical gap inprofessional education. In addition to schooling designers in awide range of crucial business concepts, tools, and techniques, itprovides a complete blueprint for transforming a practice from onebased on the fulfillment of commissioned services to one based onan ongoing engagement with every aspect of clients' worlds--theirgoals, risks, opportunities, and unique corporate cultures. In creating this innovative guide, authors Harrigan and Neel drewon the experiences of more than a dozen of the nation's mostrespected executive architects, including Arthur Gensler, CharlesLuckman, and Judy Rowe. Throughout the book, these industry leadersoffer their insights, advice, and guidance on a wide range oftopics, from leadership to benchmarking, from forming strategicpartnerships to building knowledge base systems. Also featuredthroughout the book are numerous instructive case studies. Based onthe Harvard Business School model, these studies present a broadarray of successful decision-making examples. The Executive Architect helps designers acquire the skills neededto expand beyond the boundaries of current practice and to exploitthe unlimited opportunities and challenges of doing business in thenew world economic order.

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Praise for The CME Group Risk Management Handbook "Wow! The CME Group Risk Management Handbook is a 'ten strike' and long overdue. A must-read and reference for the risk management industry!" —Jack Sandner, retired chairman of CME Group, member of the Executive Committee "This is a powerful book for its integration of futures and options markets with an understanding of the whole economy. It is an eye-opener to see how central these markets are to our economic lives." —Robert J. Shiller, Okun Professor of Economics, Yale University; Chief Economist, MacroMarkets LLC "Risk management is essential to successful investing, and The CME Group Risk Management Handbook provides the essentials for understanding risk management. In the wake of the financial turmoil of the last few years, managing risk should be part of any investment program. Among the key elements of risk management are stock index, bond, currency, and commodity futures as well as a growing number of futures, options, swaps, and other financial instruments built on indices tracking housing prices, weather conditions, and the economy. The CME Group Risk Management Handbook offers a comprehensive guide for using all of these to better manage financial risks." —David M. Blitzer, PhD, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee, S&P Indices "Dare we ignore the advice of a financial institution, the largest of its kind in the world, that navigated the recent financial crisis without the aid of a single TARP dollar or access to the Fed's cheap loans? For CME Group, risk management has meant risk minimization as it enters its 151st year of life and its 85th year of central counterparty clearing without a single trading debt unpaid. It has been, and continues to be, a leader by example." —Philip McBride Johnson, former CFTC chairman "For the first time, a comprehensive handbook outlining the futures market in today's world is available. The CME Group Risk Management Handbook covers futures basics for the novice trader, while the veterans will benefit from an in-depth look at options and hedging. This handbook is a necessity for any professional, investor, or other market participant seeking to manage risk in the perpetually changing futures market." —H. Jack Bouroudjian, CEO, Index Futures Group

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Cow People records the fading memories of a bygone Texas, the reminiscences of the cow people themselves. These are the Texans of the don't-fence-me-in era, their faces pinched by years of squinting into the desert glare, tanned by the sun and coarsened by the dust of the Chisholm Trail. Their stories are often raucous but just as often quiet as hot plains under a pale Texan sky.A native Texan, J. Frank Dobie had an inborn knowledge of the men and customs of the trail camps. Cattlemen were as various as the country was big. Ab Blocker was a tall, quiet man who belonged totally to the cattle and the silent plains. But big men often had big lungs. "Shanghai Pierce was the loudest man in the country. He would sit at one end of a day coach and in normal voice hold conversation with some man at the other end of the coach, who of course had to yell, while the train was clanking along. He knew everybody, yelled at everybody he saw."Texas bred tall men and taller stories. There was Findlay Simpson, who played havoc with fact but whiled away the drivers' long, lonely evenings with his tales. Old Findlay told of a country so wet that it bogged down the shadow of a buzzard, and of cattle that went into hibernation during rugged winters; he once spun yarns for three days straight, outlasting his listeners in a marathon of endurance.All real cow people—from the cattle drivers to the cattle owners—lived by a simple code based on the individual's integrity. Bothering anyone else's poke or business uninvited was strictly forbidden, and enforcement of this unwritten law was as easy as pulling a trigger. Honesty was taken for granted, and a cowman's name on a check made it negotiable currency.Yet Texas had its "bad guys"—the crooks, the thieves, even the tightwads. "A world big enough to hold a rattlesnake and a purty woman is big enough for all kinds of people," wrote Dobie. This is the world whose vast and various population the reader will find in Cow People.

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Personal relationships are the real bedrock of long-term success in any business and any industry. But in today's global economy, forging bonds across cultural divides requires a heightened level of sensitivity. In You Can't Lead with Your Feet on the Desk, the leader of Marriott International Lodging, Ed Fuller, delivers real-world advice on how to connect with, manage, and do business with people in any culture, including employees, suppliers, and customers who often have roots in other cultures. Fuller, who grew Marriott's international business from sixteen hotels in six countries to 400 properties in seventy countries, explains how to navigate cultural nuances and language differences, unfamiliar geography, and frustrating bureaucracy. Building trust, shared values, and commitment to a business partnership is harder in cross-cultural situations, but it can and must be done if you want to be successful in today's world. No matter the country or community, relationships are the currency of every culture. Fuller explains how to build these relationships, how to discover the other person's interests and needs—and why you have to get your feet off the desk, cross the cultural borders, and go meet them in the context in which they're most comfortable. Fuller prepares you for this journey with guiding principles for avoiding missteps and for creating lasting connections crucial to every business leader: Build relationships through mutual respect Earn trust quickly by delivering during a crisis Understand how verbal and nonverbal cues can make or break a deal Lead from the front and be willing to give yourself the tough jobs Learn the local customs and history in order to create positive relationships Your skills at forming and maintaining close ties with associates and partners give you the competitive advantage. So, ditch the desk, and learn how to overcome differences in today's multicultural business environment. "This is a must-read! Every American needs to know how to work with others in this multicultural society. The diversity of the American business community has expanded over the past decades. As a leader you need to know how to manage and interact in our multi-cultural business environment. Ed Fuller has given you the guideposts, the pitfalls have been identified, and the opportunities are yours. This is an essential read for all leaders and one that I highly recommend."—JAMES STAMAS Founding Dean, School of Hospitality Administration, Boston University

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The 7th edition of this powerful review tool helps you assess and build your knowledge of the information covered in the Core Curriculum for High Acuity, Progressive, and Critical Care Nursing - and achieve Adult CCRN® or PCCN® certification. Three 150-question exams mirror the style and content of the CCRN exam and PCCN exam. You can also access these same practice exams, along with 100 additional questions, on an accompanying Evolve website for interactive practice. Integration of the ACCN Synergy Model for Patient Care ensures that the needs or characteristics of patients and families influence and drive the characteristics or Developed in conjunction with and based on the AACN Core Curriculum for High Acuity, Progressive, and Critical Care Nursing, the Certification and Core Review is an ideal study companion to the Core Curriculum. Each exam mirrors the certification exam content, question format, and content distribution, giving you realistic practice for the Adult CCRN® exam and PCCN® exam. Answers are provided for each question, accompanied by rationales and references, to assist you in remediation. NEW! Three 150-item interactive exams on a secure Evolve site allow for access to interactive exam practice on any HTML5-compatible device, including desktop computers, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. Exams address the complete range of vital content in critical care nursing and challenge your mastery of the essential knowledge base for Adult CCRN® and PCCN® certification. NEW and EXPANDED! 100 additional interactive questions on Evolve go beyond what can be found in the printed or electronic book, and provide even more practice for the Adult CCRN® exam and PCCN® exam. NEW and UPDATED! Content distribution matches that of the latest Adult CCRN® exam and PCCN® exam test blueprints, so you better know what to expect come exam day. NEW! Updated content throughout ensures currency, accuracy, and consistency with standardized guidelines and the latest evidence-based practice. UPDATED and NEW! All questions feature integration of the AACN Synergy Model, including both patient characteristics (resiliency, vulnerability, stability, complexity, resource availability, participation in care, participation in decision making, and predictability) and nurse characteristics (clinical judgment, advocacy/moral agency, caring practices, collaboration, systems thinking, response to diversity, facilitation of learning, and clinical inquiry). NEW! New behavioral and psychosocial content addresses new content now found on AACN's Adult CCRN® exam and PCCN® exam. NEW! Updated illustrations reflect current clinical procedures and assessment skills.

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"The sillier the market's behavior, the greater the opportunity for the business-like investor. Follow Graham and you will profit from folly rather than participate in it."-Warren E. Buffett. "[Graham] is the genius who literally created the framework for investment analysis that leads to successful investing. Like that other genius Edison, Graham created light where there was none." -Bill Ruane, Sequoia Fund. "It's never the wrong time to invoke the name of Benjamin Graham, value investor par excellence." -Money "The search for intelligent investing should begin with the remarkable Benjamin Graham's timeless teachings. Read Lowe's book and you'll learn to seek what the original master sought as she helps Graham reclaim his rightful place as the most important and extraordinary investment writer of any generation."-Kenneth Lee, author of Trouncing the Dow. Known as the "father of value investing," Benjamin Graham was-and is-one of America's most lauded financial thinkers. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a former student of Graham, extols him to this day. Brilliant, successful, and ethical, he revolutionized investment philosophy by introducing the concepts of security analysis, fundamental analysis, and value investing-theories that have become timeless essentials of the field. Now, Janet Lowe, author of Benjamin Graham on Value Investing and Warren Buffett Speaks, reintroduces the foundations of Graham's eminence-including his ever-relevant market observations and his assessment of long-term economic problems-by presenting a unique compilation of his writings that contains rare and/or previously unpublished articles, lectures, and interviews. Almost twenty-five years after his death, Benjamin Graham continues to have one of the largest and most loyal followings of any investment philosopher of this century. A prolific and popular writer whose trademark was blending original ideas with wit and intelligence, he has guided and inspired Wall Street professionals with his thoughtful ruminations and piercing insights on a host of investment and economic topics. Though bits and pieces of this material are widely quoted even today, the full writings have not always been easy to find-until now. The result of in-depth research, The Rediscovered Benjamin Graham brings together the very best the investment legend had to offer, including such incisive works as: * "Inflated Treasuries and Deflated Stocks: Are Corporations Milking Their Owners?" * "The Ethics of American Capitalism". * "Proposals for an International Commodity-Reserve Currency". * "The New Speculation in Common Stocks". * "Is American Business Worth More Dead Than Alive?". * "The Simplest Way to Select Bargain Stocks". A groundbreaking volume that fills an important niche in investment literature, The Rediscovered Benjamin Graham is destined to become as timeless a classic as its distinguished subject. Jacket Design: Don Welsh

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Buying this book could be the smartest investment you make thisseason. If that sounds like a bold claim, just take a look at thelist of contributors. In it you'll find the names of twenty-nine ofthe world's foremost experts in asset allocation. Over the courseof twenty chapters, these accomplished institutional investors,academics, analysts, and traders school you in all of the hottestnew portfolio management techniques now in use around theglobe. Not another abstruse discourse on the theoretical pros and cons ofasset allocation, Global Asset Allocation is a working,nuts-and-bolts guide for institutional investors. It outfits youwith a set of versatile new tools and techniques designed to solvereal-world problems and guide your portfolio managementdecision-making. While broad theoretical considerations are given their due, thelion's share of this book's coverage is commanded by cutting-edgetechnical issues such as mean variance optimization, allocatingbetween styles of equity management, optimal fixed incomeportfolios, asset/liability forecasting, the critical time horizon,target asset allocation, and chaos theory. In addition to all of the traditional classes of asset allocations,Global Asset Allocation explores a number of new and emerginginvestment horizons. Foremost among these is "the ultimateinvestment frontier," international markets, to which a sizeableportion of the book (all of Part Two) is devoted. You'll findin-depth discussions of the qualitative and quantitative aspects ofglobal asset allocation, in which various experts describe thelatest global asset allocation models, optimization methods,forecasting techniques, global bond and currency managementstrategies, risk and return analysis in country-to-countryallocation strategies, active and passive management portfoliostrategies, and much more. Offering world-class strategies for managing global portfolios,Global Asset Allocation is an essential resource for corporatefinance professionals, pension plan sponsors, analysts, andportfolio managers looking to expand their repertoire of financialmanagement skills. From asset liability forecasting and target asset allocation, tocritical time horizon and implementing overlay strategies, thisgroundbreaking new guide educates institutional investors instate-of-the-art portfolio management strategies guaranteed tominimize risk while maximizing returns. Bringing you the combinedinsights and expertise of twenty-nine prominent investment expertsfrom around the world, Global Asset Allocation is a workinghandbook, designed to guide your portfolio managementdecision-making and help you to solve real-world problems. * The latest asset allocation models, optimization methods, andforecasting techniques, including passive and active portfoliostrategies * Includes six major chapters on global asset allocation, includingcurrency management and emerging market investing Traders, portfolio managers...investment professionals of everyilk: read this book, and use the versatile new strategies, tools,and techniques it describes to give your investment skills arazor-sharp, winning edge.

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The most comprehensive and in-depth study of the formation, practical applications, history, and natural recycling of salt, including the global and geological implications of its formative process, natural movement, and development in the Earth's subsurface. Like water, salt is one of the most commonplace items in our everyday lives. From the omnipresent shaker that you see on every table in every restaurant, to the ocean water we swim in, salt is something that we rarely think about. But there is much more to the story of salt than most people think. Not only is salt a natural resource that must be captured and refined for public consumption, but "salt domes," large deposits of salt that form under the ground, are important for finding and drilling for petroleum and natural gas. Salt is so important that, in ancient times, it was sometimes used as a currency in various cultures around the world, and it has been used as a food preservative, long before refrigeration was invented. Salt is something we rarely think about, but it is one of the most important natural resources that exists. This is the first integrated study of salt's global development in the Earth's subsurface, its tectonic history and kinematic evolution, "live" salt-naphtide interconnections, and their geological recycling. The Earth's salt is shown as a peculiar umbilical thread in the analysis of numerous geological processes of salt formation, transformation, migration, discharge and regeneration, and their association with hydrocarbons. Presented here is the science of salt, including the active salt bodies' "live" in Earth's subsurface, their fate and influence over the other geological processes, including grandiose systems of kinetically interrelated allochthonous nappe-like and sub-vertical bodies formed by the migrating salt. Also included are a description of sub-conformable sheet-like salt bodies formed not by the evaporation but by emigration of buried brine-salt masses and their discharge at new, younger stratigraphic levels, a description of a phenomenon of the "halo-volcanism" due to depth breakthroughs and explosive discharges of the hydrocarbon-brine-salt masses, an examination of the over-diapir surface and brine lakes with fluctuating levels, and many other things. The book provides new interpretations of numerous issues reflecting the salt "life" manifestations and gives a key to a broad circle of the geological enigmas, from global events like the Messinian crisis in the Mediterranean to Biblical legends and enigmas of the Dead Sea-lake. Whether you are a scientist or student working in the natural or Earth sciences, a geologist, an anthropologist, a petroleum engineer, a petrophysicist, or any other engineer or student working in petroleum engineering, this groundbreaking work is a must-have. Perfect for any scientist or engineer's library, this volume can be a must-read page-turner or a valuable reference work.

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'The thoroughgoing disaster inflicted on the global economy in 2008 by the gambling of the financial system should have resulted serious sanctions for financial actors and the jettisoning of any belief in the efficacy and fairness of the neoliberal regime. But the tepid action of policy makers has allowed the system to muddle through and undermined any remaining trust and faith among the polity. It is not hard to see the breakdown of political stability across the world in the last two to three years as resulting direct from the justified belief that the rules of the global economy favor the very few. In this book, a group of critical scholars painstakingly identify and illuminate key aspects of the global financial system that continue to reinforce global inequalities of power and that contribute to dangerous political and economic instability. Through a series of thorough case studies ranging from the macroeconomic instability engendered by untrammeled capital flows, to the way sovereign debt restructuring favors northern creditors, to the hierarchy of the monetary system that concentrates enormous power in the hands of a few central banks, these studies throw light on the ways global financial neoliberalism and political and social power work to undermine macroeconomic stability and social justice. It will be read by serious scholars of the political economy of finance with great interest.'- Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University, India and Institute for New Economic ThinkingThe essays in this book describe and analyze the current contours of the international financial system, covering both developed and developing countries, and focusing on the ways in which the current international financial system structures and is affected by profound inequalities in the international system. This keen analysis of key topics in international finance takes a heterodox perspective, with focus on the role of inequalities in power in shaping the structure and outcomes in the international sphere.The Political Economy of International Finance in an Age of Inequality begins with a discussion of capital flows and financial crisis, moves into an up-to-date discussion of the political economy of currency unions, and then focuses on analysis of capital flows and economic crises. New and established academics present a broad variety of special case studies within that general framework focusing on understudied yet important up to date cases from understudied regions and countries for a unique and important exploration of the field.This book will be of interest to students and specialists in international finance, who will benefit from the combination of the strong general framework and illustrative case studies. Its approach will appeal both to generalists and specialists.Contributors include: M. Arora, E. Braunstein, H. Comert, D. Dutt, N. Eichacker, G. Epstein, I. Grabel, S. Khalil, M. Majd, F. Perez, L.D. Rosero, Z. Ybrayev

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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are revolutionizing the investment industry. From their introduction in 1993, ETFs have expanded exponentially over the past fifteen years. You, as an informed investor, need to know what makes ETFs unique, how they work, and which funds may help you achieve your financial goals. The updated edition provides the most current look at the ETF market, where the number of funds has doubled since the book first published in December 2007. A huge number of bonds funds, commodities funds, currency funds, leverage and short funds have been introduced. In addition, actively managed ETFs are here now, and some major mutual fund companies, like Fidelity and PIMCO, are getting into the market. Remarkably, the terminology in the ETP marketplace is also evolving at a rapid pace. The acronym ETP for exchange-traded product has become an industry standard. The term did not exist two years ago. Written by veteran financial professional and experienced author Richard Ferri, The ETF Book, Updated Edition gives you a broad and deep understanding of this important investment vehicle and provides you with the tools needed to successfully integrate exchange-traded funds into any portfolio. This detailed, yet clearly articulated guide contains the most up-to-date information on navigating the growing number of ETFs available in today's marketplace. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this guide addresses everything from ETF basics and in-depth fund analysis to the tax benefits of using ETFs. Included are a variety of portfolio management strategies using ETFs and examples of different model portfolios that you can easily adapt to your own investment endeavors. Whether you're just getting started or are a seasoned ETF investor, The ETF Book, Updated Edition will help enhance your understanding of this evolving field by: Examining the fundamental differences between exchange-traded portfolios Highlighting how to effectively implement a wide selection of ETFs?from Exploring specific ETF strategies?from buy and hold to market timing and sector rotation Introducing Index Strategy Boxes?a new way to understand index construction and how a fund is investing your money And much more Each chapter of The ETF Book, Updated Edition offers concise coverage of various issues. It is filled with in-depth insights on different types of ETFs and practical advice on how to select and manage them. The appendixes are an added benefit, offering an ETF Resource List, which will point you to more places for information on these structures, and a detailed Glossary to help you with industry-specific definitions. The ETF Book, Updated Edition is an invaluable road map for developing a winning investment strategy. Armed with the knowledge found throughout these pages, you'll be prepared to build a solid portfolio of ETFs that will benefit you for years to come.

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"One of the ways companies are looking for competitive advantage in this frenetic [business] environment . . . is through the use of a tactical technique called shared services. . . . In this book, we bridge [the] chasm between the theory of how a shared services operation 'ought to' work and the practical issues involved in how to make it work, how to carry out a successful implementation of a shared service operation in your business."-from the Preface. Gaining competitive advantage in today's fierce business environment requires focus throughout the company on value, as measured by quality, cost, speed, and service. In the quest for superior performance, a growing number of companies are now turning to shared services, a tactical technique by which corporations can organize financial and other transaction-oriented activities to reduce costs and provide better service to business unit partners. Written by four authorities, three PricewaterhouseCoopers consultants and the executive who has directed the shared service efforts at Lucent Technologies, this comprehensive resource-the first of its kind-examines shared services from the macro issues that compel senior management to embrace this approach through the design and implementation of a shared services environment that leads to increased customer and shareholder value. Of all the tools available for gaining competitive advantage, why shared services? One of the principal reasons is that it creates, through consolidation of often disparate activities, more of a "one company" feel among business units. The benefits of this are twofold: one, it enables companies to show a consistent face to clients and customers, vendors and suppliers, shareholders and potential shareholders; two, it provides increased flexibility to all of the business' operations, allowing corporate leaders to maintain a global perspective while at the same time allowing business unit leaders to take strong, customer-focused actions. Providing both a domestic and global view, Shared Services addresses the full spectrum of issues, including: * Assessing whether shared services is right for you-issues to consider, goals to be reached. * Getting started-building support, establishing an effective organization, instituting continuous communication. * Setting up the infrastructure-billing shared services to business units, dealing with tax and legal entity issues. * International challenges-complexity, time zone, legal issues, currency stability, and security. * Program and project management-structures, planning, execution, and control. A groundbreaking book that examines a timely and important topic, Shared Services is an accessible and thorough guide to what could be a critical component in achieving long-term business success. This comprehensive resource is the first to introduce, explain, and explore shared services, an innovative business strategy that involves centralizing various business units, including accounting and transactional operations, to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. Presenting a practical and easy-to-follow blueprint for the smooth and sound implementation of shared services in your organization, Shared Services: Adding Value to the Business Units covers all the fundamentals, from how to get started to proper management techniques.

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