Goldman Sachs, the nation's leading investment firm, with a solid-gold reputation and a first-class list of clients, began as a family business in a lower Manhattan basement in 1869. The secrets behind the remarkable success of Goldman Sachs since then are revealed in unprecedented depth in this fascinating and authoritative narrative history of the firm.

Former Goldman Sachs vice president Lisa Endlich draws on her insider's knowledge and access to all levels of management to bring to life a unique company that has long held its mystique intact. The most stunning accomplishments in modern American finance are explored through the story of how Goldman Sachs reached its summit.

Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success provides a rare and revealing look inside an institution -- until recently the last private partnership on Wall Street -- and inside the financial world at its highest levels. Included here, in a new chapter, is a first look at the history behind the firm's landmark initial public offering.

Improving nutrition requires a multisectoral effort, which complicates the task of determining basic information, such as how much is being spent and on what. This book presents the key elements of a Nutrition Public Expenditure Review (NPER) and offers guidance and practical considerations, drawing upon good practices from past NPERs.

VAT: An Introduction initiates students and practitioners into the South African value-added tax (VAT) system by guiding them through the basic principles of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (VAT Act). It covers the processes to be followed when dealing with VAT and sheds light on the most important case law and VAT legislation.

Complex concepts and the key objectives and principles of the VAT system are explained simply and clearly, without using unnecessary jargon. This makes VAT: An Introduction suitable for anyone who has to apply basic VAT principles in a business environment or provide general VAT advice and assistance.

The book is also an excellent study guide for students. It will help students understand the mechanics of the South African VAT system and the practical implications of VAT. Students and practitioners will find the revision questions at the end of each chapter useful to test their understanding and knowledge of the fundamentals of VAT.

Real estate is sold as a much safer investment than the constantly fluctuating stock market. Share price volatility is compared unfavourably with the steadier and impressive gains made from real estate which is, we are told, 'as safe as houses'. As millions of Americans - and countless others in the Western world - have recently found to their cost, house prices can also suddenly and dramatically drop. Yet no other text on real estate, either current or from the past, mentions this fact, reinforcing the perception that real estate is an almost risk-free investment. Now for the first time, and long overdue, a book that details and explains the cyclical nature of real estate. The latest real estate downturn in the USA (and in other countries) is just one of many that have occurred since 1800 with astonishing regularity. This book is the story of the American experience of those downturns: the move out of recession, how the banking system facilitates that move, the boom and the characters that shaped it, the bust and accompanying bank failures, and then the recession, or worse, depression. This is always followed by a new cycle repeating each phase again, varied only by the new ways bankers find to avoid the regulations put in place after each collapse to ensure it will never happen again. The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking explains, quite simply, how the real estate cycle originates, offers a fascinating study of US history to illustrate the stages through which each cycle passes, then explains why this cycle of boom and bust must repeat, given present economic conditions. Real estate can only be a truly winning investment if you know the cycle. For investors, the author has designed an 18-year Real Estate Clock which plots the progress of the cycle, with tell-tale signs so that investors can recognise exactly where they are in the cycle at any point in time and so help them decide whether to invest, sit tight or sell. He has refined this clock over a period of many years and those who have attended his courses have found it an invaluable and remarkably accurate guide for their investment strategies, not only in real estate. With its invaluable insights and practical guidance, The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking is a book for both novice and experienced investors alike who want to know why the real estate cycle moves as it does, learn how this movement can be forecast well in advance, and more importantly, wish to learn how to profit from this knowledge. A must read for any serious investor.