Bonds are a vital part of the global capital markets and are essential for any investor's portfolio. In this book leading expert Moorad Choudhry demystifies bonds once and for all. This guide explains, in a simple, clear fashion, the importance of bonds and why all private investors should include them as part of their investment strategy. Many bonds offer secure returns at a lower risk than equities. Readers will gain insight into the advantages of holding bonds and why they should always form part of any savings portfolio. Covering, among other topics, government bonds, the yield curve and what drives the market, in an easy, accessible style, this book is a must for anyone who wants to adopt a sound investment strategy.

Kiyosi Ito, the founder of stochastic calculus, is one of the few central figures of the twentieth century mathematics who reshaped the mathematical world. Today stochastic calculus is a central research field with applications in several other mathematical disciplines, for example physics, engineering, biology, economics and finance.

The Abel Symposium 2005 was organized as a tribute to the work of Kiyosi Ito on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Distinguished researchers from all over the world were invited to present the newest developments within the exciting and fast growing field of stochastic analysis. The present volume combines both papers from the invited speakers and contributions by the presenting lecturers.

A special feature is the Memoirs that Kiyoshi Ito wrote for this occasion. These are valuable pages for both young and established researchers in the field.

The decade of the 1970s was one of turbulence in international monetary arrangements - the exchange rates fluctuated through a wide range, national price levels more than doubled fueled partly by several oil price shocks, and the external debts of the developing countries increased from $120 billion to

Globalization of capital markets has received new momentum and it will continue to be of major importance for the years to come. Partly, the increasing integration of financial markets and the rise of foreign direct investment is a consequence of world trade expansion. But in addition to this underlying trend, the worldwide collapse of socialist systems and the opening up of big economies like India and China have fuelled the development of globalized capital markets. This book takes stock of recent developments with emphasis on emerging capital markets.

The fixed income markets in emerging countries represent a new and potentially lucrative area of investment for investors. But along with the possibility of big returns, there is a much greater risk. The Handbook of Emerging Fixed Income and Currency Markets shows investors how to identify solid investment opportunities in these markets, assess the risk potential, and develop an investment approach to ensure long-range profits. Featuring contributions from leading experts around the world, this book provides a comprehensive and authoritative guide to these exciting new markets.

In times of economic and financial crises, the content of this book rings true. Drawing from interviews with executives, senior managers and/or auditors from renowned companies (eBay, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Levi Strauss & Co., Microsoft, Novartis and many others) and theory from fields of sociology and social psychology, this research study provides an understanding of how "tone at the top" imprints on an organization and why that imprint works. More specifically, it discusses how managers' principles and practices can actively shape an open-minded culture that enhances effective internal control.

An accessible guide to the pairs trading technique A leading arbitrage expert gives traders real tools for using pairs trading, including customizable Excel worksheets available on the companion website. Mark Whistler (Denver, CO) is the key developer of pairstrader.com as well as a licensed securities trader and broker and leading arbitrage expert.

During the years before 1914 the world s still largely unused resources were brought increasingly within the framework of a single world economy. This process owed much to Britain s ability to export capital on a scale which has never since been equalled. Yet periods of heavy investment overseas alternated with home investment booms that absorbed the greater part of Britain s savings. The reasons for this fluctuation, and the mechanism which linked Britain s economic development with the rest of the world, are still subject to debate. This volume illuminates the problems of the global economy today by examining different interpretations and research from history.

The financial crisis of the last decade has brought to the fore many discourses on the stability of the financial system under the current interest rate regime and whether issuing more debts, that create further divergence between the financial and real sector of the economy, is a sustainable solution to the ensuing debt crisis that followed. Invigorating economic development may need more than just achieving mere growth in GDP numbers and other mainstream macroeconomic key performance indices. Social equity, environmental conservation, inclusive development, and equitable income distribution are concepts that are increasingly given more weight in the measurement of economic development. The onset of the pandemic of the current decade has further emphasized the importance of these considerations as well as the concept of sharing of risks and return. This book analyses the past and current fiscal situation in Malaysia and identifies areas of improvements in the current tax system and public sector financing in generating the required revenue and financing government expenditure. The alternative fiscal framework proposed in this book covers a tax structure that features a simple and fairer tax system that is based on the ability to pay and public financing which is free of interest and provides opportunity for broader participation of the public. As Malaysia has a comprehensive framework as well as firm regulatory and government support for Islamic finance, the fiscal reform builds on an important feature of risk sharing Islamic finance that brings the real and financial sectors of the economy close together. The fiscal policy reform recommended in this book seeks to address the public debt burden, expand fiscal space, increase financial inclusion, reduce income and wealth disparities, increase employment and income for the growing population and ultimately improve social solidarity especially for a pluralistic country such as Malaysia.

This book is a sequel to the author's earlier Thinking About Credit (also published by Macmillan). Once again, he applies his undoubted experience to a number of topics in the area of credit evaluation and management. Of Thinking About Credit:

First published in 1976, the essays in this volume are concerned with the distribution of income and wealth. The papers were first presented at the Royal Economic Society's conference in 1974, which examined the evidence concerning the personal distribution of earnings, compared the distributions apparent in different periods and societies, and studied the association between personal attributes and income. The contributions, from internationally-renowned authors, reflect these areas, and address the questions surrounding inequality, the taxation of wealth and capital transfers that remain relevant in twenty-first century society.

Japan's economy, once the envy of the world, has recently experienced a period of malaise and stagnation. This is due in part to over-regulation and resistance to change within the Japanese bureaucracy. Many argue that this bureaucracy must be replaced with a system similar to that in the United States, involving ruthless competition, fluid job markets unhindered by notions of lifetime employment, tolerance of business failures, and the elevation of conflict over consensus in economic decision making. The author argues that not only will the bureaucracy, in the form of the Ministry of Finance, retain its position, it will also evolve to be more consistent with the transformed economic system allowing the Japanese economy to recover and retain its important role in the global economy.

The book details the history of the Ministry of Finance and Japan's financial markets since World War II. It describes the economic crisis in Asia and Japan's attempts to transform its bureaucracy to better compete in the global arena. Economists, business practitioners, trade specialists, and anyone interested in Japan's role in the world economy will find this lucid and detailed book an invaluable resource.

The book is about accountability processes and how they contribute solutions to our current environmental and global political problems. This book is different to other literature in this field. This is so because the dominant accountability discourse is shaped by what is defined as a neoliberal business case for social and environmental reform. This book assumes a nirvana stance within globalisation where all citizens operate within the parameters of the free market and will recover from adverse economic and political damage. Further this book uses neoliberalism and free-market reforms aims as examples to implement efficient management technologies and create more competitive pressures. Central to the argument of the book are perspectives on authenticity, expressivism and interpretivism which are found to provide a radical reworking of our understanding of being in the world. These frameworks offer a starting point for rethinking the way individuals, businesses and communities ought to be dealing politically with accountability and ecological crises. The argument builds to an accountability perspective that utilises work from expressivism, interpretivism, classical liberalism and postmodern theory. The theoretical quest undertaken in this book is to develop connections between accountability, democratic, ethical and ecological perspectives.

Profit Planning is ideal for practicing managers, entrepreneurs, accountants and financial controllers engaged in the hospitality and tourism sectors and for students of hospitality and tourism management interested in applying theory to practice. In particular, the content provides a complete guide to key managerial accounting techniques at the property level - the "cutting-edge" of day-to-day business decisions. This extended edition includes: * New bullet point format, allowing the reader to 'dip into' specific methods and techniques; * New research & developments applicable to practitioners at the property (business unit) level; * New chapters, such as cost structure, incorporating the author's profit planning framework implemented in numerous hotel and tourism organisations; * A new chapter on comparing & benchmarking performance for monitoring results against competitive set; * A new chapter on customer profitability analysis for identifying customer profiles in terms of profit contributors and loss-makers; * Extensive revision of chapters, such as financial statements, flexible budgets and pricing; * Revised edition now includes a major new section Step-by-Step: Quantitative analysis of cost functions in hotels & restaurants. A concise guide to improving the accuracy of cost estimates for routine competitive bidding and transaction negotiation, where lost margins lie; enabled by software e.g. Excel. An essential tool for all those in industry. Written in a user-friendly style, with a minimum of theory and technical jargon, it assumes readers already have a basic knowledge of accounting and financial statements.

Current research often highlights the importance of financial markets as well as financial system development. However, the current literature in this field still fails to adequately explain the relationship between financial market and macroeconomic development. Post-Keynesian Empirical Research and the Debate on Financial Market Development integrates the concept of financial intermediaries with Post-Keynesian macroeconomic modeling to discuss the relationship between financial markets and systems and macroeconomic development. Discussing key macroeconomic variables such as investment, savings, and productivity growth, this timely resource is essential for students, academicians, as well as finance and economics professionals interested in uncovering the latest research in this field.

First published in 1933, the original purpose of this book was to draw attention to the international aspects of monetary policy and to put forward the case for international co-operation in the monetary sphere. Paul Einzig highlights the negative impact that a lack of international spirit in monetary policy can have and promotes an increased understanding amongst nations. He discusses the failure of the Monetary and Economic Conference of June-July 1933 and expresses his belief that the monetary crisis of the time could have been solved, if not through an agreement, then through the inevitable inflationary effect of the increasing economic difficulties.

First published in 1932, this book discusses the suspension of the gold standard in Britain, and the economic events surrounding September 1931. It argues that despite specific errors made by individuals, groups, and individual nations, the attempts to save the pound had little chance of recovery. Indeed, years before its collapse, powerful, fundamental factors had been eroding its stability. Hence, the author does not entirely blame the influence of French policy, or Great Britain's political and economic decline after the war, but states that the collapse of sterling was co-ordinated by several factors of importance.

First published in 1934, this book explores prominent economic questions on the subject of rearmament and disarmament. Both rearmament and disarmament have a number of economic advantages and disadvantages and in each chapter Paul Einzig considers these in order to decide on which side the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Part I of the book examines the economics of armament in the light of real experience of recent history whilst Part II looks to the probable economic effort of future rearmament.

First published in 1933, this book looks at the key events relating to the fluctuations of sterling that surrounded the suspension of the gold standard in September 1931. It explores the idea that monetary authorities receive more recognition and admiration for their work from those abroad than those at home, whether well deserved or not. Indeed, after the economic episodes of September 1931, many people on the Continent regarded everything that happened to the pound as being the result of a carefully planned and executed monetary policy. Here, the author argues that the praise of British authorities from abroad was undeserved and that in actual fact, the behaviours of the monetary authorities in the aftermath of September 1931 were unsophisticated. This book describes the events following the pound's collapse as having all the ups and downs of a comedy.

The rapid pace and increasing convergence of internet, phone and other communications technologies has created extraordinary opportunities for business but the complexity of these new service mixes creates parallel opportunities for fraud and revenue leakage. Companies seeking to use communications technology as a delivery or payment platform for digital services are particularly at risk. They need to understand both their strategic and operational risks as well as those affecting their stakeholders - partners and customers. Effective risk management is as much about awareness, culture, training and organization as it is about technology. Mark Johnson's practical guide, Demystifying Communications Risk, highlights cases from a wide range of geographies and cultures and is designed to raise awareness of the multi-faceted and often complex forms that operational revenue risks take in the communications sector. It provides managers with an understanding of the nature and implications of the risks they face and the human, organizational and technological approaches that can help avoid or mitigate them.

Despite the political potency of money and banking issues, historians have largely dismissed the Progressive Era political debate over banking as irrelevant and have been preoccupied with explaining the shortcomings, limitations and inadequacies of the Federal Reserve Act. The picture that has emerged is one of bankers controlling the course of financial reform with the assistance of political leaders who were either subservient, hopelessly naive or insincere in their public opposition to bankers. This book places their exertions in a larger, unfolding political context and traces in an analytical narrative the interplay of sectional and economic interests, political ideologies and partisan clashes that shaped the course of banking reform.