Appointed by George W. Bush as the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2006, Sheila Bair witnessed the origins of the financial crisis and in 2008 became--along with Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner--one of the key public servants trying to repair the damage to the global economy. "Bull by the Horns" is her remarkable and refreshingly honest account of that contentious time and the struggle for reform that followed and continues to this day.

Working capital refers to the money that a company uses to finance its daily operations. Proper management of working capital is critical to financial health and operational success. Working capital management (WCM) aims to maximize operational efficiency by maintaining a delicate balance among growth, profitability, and liquidity. WCM is a continuous responsibility focusing on a firm's day-to-day operations involving short-term assets and liabilities. By efficiently managing a firm's cash, accounts receivable, inventories, and accounts payable, managers can help maintain smooth operations and improve a company's earnings and profitability. By contrast, poor WCM could lead to a lower credit score, financial insolvency, legal troubles, liquidation of assets, and potential bankruptcy.This book provides an objective look into the dynamic world of WCM. Its coverage extends from discussing basic concepts and their applications to increasingly complex and real-world situations. The book stresses that WCM is a combination of both art and science. This volume spans the gamut from theoretical to practical while offering the right balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Readers can gain an in-depth understanding of this subject from experts in this field. Those who want a broad survey will benefit, as will readers looking for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. In summary, Working Capital Management: Concepts and Strategies provides a fresh look at this intriguing but often complex subject of WCM.

From an Islamic perspective, although the ownership of wealth is with God, humans are gifted with wealth to manage it with the objective of benefiting the human society. Such guidance means that wealth management is a process involving the accumulation, generation, purification, preservation and distribution of wealth, to be conducted carefully in permissible ways. This book is the first to lay out a coherent framework on how wealth management should be conducted in compliance with guiding principles from edicts of a major world religion. The book begins by defining wealth from both a secular perspective, and an Islamic perspective, before describing how wealth needs to be earned in lawful ways, preserved and used to benefit the needs of community, with a small part of the wealth given away to charity, and the remainder managed in accordance with laws and common practices, as established by a majority consensus of scholars of the religion in historical times. Each section of the book has relevant chapters that discuss the theory, as well as the application and the challenges in Islamic wealth management in real and financial markets. This book will appeal to students and researchers of Islamic wealth management, certainly Islamic economics and finance in general; policy makers; and a range of industry practitioners, such as investment managers, financial planners, accountants and lawyers.

Backing the Bold is a primer on the venture capital industry, business, and profession in Southeast Asia. The goal of the book's thirteen chapters has initially been to guide students of the Insignia Ventures Academy - Asia's first experiential venture capital accelerator - in their exploration of the venture capital industry and profession, specifically in the context of Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem and from the perspective of Insignia Ventures and its portfolio founders.Rather than being a book in the traditional sense of the word, such an origin and context for Backing the Bold has inevitably made this book a dynamic piece of literature, continuously growing and improving thanks to every new group of people who become part of the VC accelerator - as organizers, mentors, or participants.Now in print and in distribution, this first edition is available for all as a snapshot of Backing the Bold's progress as a continuously evolving repository of insights, best practices, and frameworks. It is for readers of any background or motivation to gain a better understanding of the venture capital investment process, portfolio management, and profession in the context of Southeast Asia's fast-growing technology markets.

This thought-provoking book introduces a financial economics perspective to the topic of eco-innovations and, more generally, sociotechnical transitions. It develops a model that illustrates how financial constraints can prevent the development of eco-innovations within companies and hinder the transition process towards a more sustainable regime. Edgardo Sica presents a review of the state of the art, as well as new data from original surveys aimed at testing the impact of financial constraints on eco-innovative decisions at radical and niche levels. He proposes a definitive conceptualisation of eco-innovations while stressing the relevance of the environmental performance of innovations, rather than the environmental motivation of the innovators. Through the use of a unique multilevel perspective model, the book critically analyses the extent to which financial constraints can hinder eco-innovative decisions, thereby crucially filling a gap in the current literature on eco-innovations. Firms, Finance and Sustainable Transitions will prove a stimulating read for academics, researchers and experts within the fields of eco-innovations, sustainable development, financial and environmental economics, and green finance.

As the spectrum of the internet of things (IoT) expands, artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted agile IoT is the way forward for sustainable finance. The depth of agile IoT has changed the financial market, and it may quickly evolve as a powerful tool in the future. The convergence of AI and IoT techniques will significantly extract valuable financial information and offer better services to customers. Some of the potential benefits of AI-assisted agile IoT for FinTech include prompt customer support, in-door client navigation, on-site queue management, improved customer experience, security and authenticity, wireless payments, increased business efficiency, self-checkout services, and business automation. There is no doubt that leveraging the complete potential of AI-assisted agile IoT will result in the creation of a new and innovative financial system. AI-Enabled Agile Internet of Things for Sustainable FinTech Ecosystems presents the advances in AI-assisted agile IoT for financial technologies (FinTech). It further explains the new applications, current issues, challenges, and future directions of the field of AI-assisted agile IoT for FinTech applications and ecosystems. Covering topics such as consensus algorithms, IoT-based banking, and secure authentication, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for business executives and managers, IT managers, librarians, students and faculty of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

The budget has been among the most pressing topics facing Brussels throughout the history of the EU. Features and Challenges of the EU Budget proposes a timely analysis of the most pertinent issues surrounding the EU budget with a multidisciplinary approach that includes historical, political, legal and economic interpretations. This thought provoking book considers the history of the EU budget and the European integration process, offering insight into the broader political implications of the budget for both Member State governments and for their citizens. Features and Challenges of the EU Budget also explores the legal and economic repercussions of the EU budget, examines the framework that controls it, and interrogates the budget's effects on European growth and competitiveness alongside its significance to the structural balances of Member States. At a time of uncertainty for the EU, this book provides a critical investigation of how political factors will affect the future of the EU budget. Featuring the unique contributions of academics from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, this insightful work will be of great interest to scholars and students investigating the politics, structure and economics of the EU. This book will also be useful to institutions offering courses or programmes concerning the EU and its budget. Contributors include: P. Becker, A. Isoni, R. Kaiser, M. Koelling, K. Mause, E. Perreau, M. Pierri, M. Schratzenstaller, M. Scotto, U. Villani-Lubelli, L. Zamparini