Directed both at students of international finance and practitioners in the field, the book stresses the importance of treating the analysis of sovereign risk in a more general framework than is typically the case, identifying the components of both the demand and supply of sovereign loans.

The author also discusses the link between the unique aspects of sovereign lending, the interdependence of the international banking system and the potential instability in the world financial system.

This book looks at the effectiveness of the 1999 restructuring of the UK through the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the Assemblies for Northern Ireland and Wales, considering the process of devolution and its consequences on the key mechanisms of accounting and democratic accountability. Many of the chapters in this book examine whether devolution is enhancing democratic accountability, or creating a fragmentary state with conflict and tensions between the Westminster government and the devolved bodies.

The focus is on the financial mechanisms for democratic accountability both in the UK and in international comparator countries (New Zealand, Norway, and the US). This book examines the turbulent pattern of relationships between central and devolved government and explores whether the present arrangements for devolution in the UK represent an end game, or whether they may be merely a stepping stone to a more fully fledged federal state. It is argued that the main thrust of many of the financial reforms in the UK has confounded, obfuscated, and complicated the desire for democratic accountability.

The role of international banks within the developed economies has come under increasingly hostile public scrutiny, yet little attention has been paid to the structure and purpose of the banks themselves. Most existing studies concentrate on the part played by international banks as intermediaries in the domestic and international economy, failing to consider the foremost concern of the banks themselves their success as business enterprises.

This book examines the practical problems faced by the Universal Multinational banks (UMNBs) in the fields of strategic planning and business development. It explains the common constraints encountered by the UMNBs, showing that, whether they like it or not, current market pressures are governing their policies in all the developed economies. Through studying the management structures and business policies of these banks this book provides a much clearer picture of their activities in the world economy. Initially, it concentrates on the UMNBs of the USA since they have provided a strategic model for other global banking concerns. The UMNBs of Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Switzerland are then discussed to establish their similarities and differences: case studies are included at the end of each chapter to illustrate and reinforce the points made in the preceding text.

Although written in 1984 the author successfully predicted many of the subsequent developments in the field of information technology and competition in world markets, which led to the emergence of global financial enterprises.

How does financial deregulation affect the operation of the banking system in the UK? What are the consequences of the development of an electronic banking system? This book addresses these and other important questions in a survey of UK change in the financial sector and in banking in particular.

Attention is given to the role of building societies after the big bang and the implications for retail banking of competition in the housing finance market. Both the long and short term implications of regulatory reform for banks are dealt with together with the role of the Bank of England and what the changes have meant in terms of international banking. Concentrating on the three main areas of change deregulation, regulatory reform and technical innovation the book is an important pointer to the shape of banking in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Working Regions focuses on policy aimed at building sustainable and resilient regional economies in the wake of the global recession. Using examples of four 'working regions' - regions where research and design functions and manufacturing still coexist in the same cities - the book argues for a new approach to regional economic development. It does this by highlighting policies that foster innovation and manufacturing in small firms, focus research centers on pushing innovation down the supply chain, and support dynamic, design-driven firm networks. This book traces several key themes underlying the core proposition that for a region to work, it has to link research and manufacturing activities - namely, innovation and production - in the same place. Among the topics discussed in this volume are the issues of how the location of research and development infrastructure produces a clear role of the state in innovation and production systems, and how policy emphasis on pre-production processes in the 1990s has obscured the financialization of intellectual property. Throughout the book, the author draws on examples from diverse industries, including the medical devices industry and the US photonics industry, in order to illustrate the different themes of working regions and the various institutional models operating in various countries and regions.

How do firms become Client-centric? Effective Client Management in Professional Services is about putting the Client first, everywhere, in the activities of professional services firms. The book introduces The Client Management Model to enable firms to assess their level of Client orientation and relationship development. It also features The Client Management Index which enables firms to benchmark their result against their peers. Many firms are still developing and improving their commercial structures and approaches to attract, develop and retain Clients. Characteristically, professional services firms tend to lag their consumer goods and service industry counterparts in overall commerciality. Only recently have they discovered the value of having a strong brand promise with the associated employee engagement. In many firms achievement of Client satisfaction is not a strategic objective; this may need to be reviewed. This book provides a comprehensive, pragmatic guide to the Client relationship journey, from identifying potential Clients to their engagement, care, retention, development, loyalty and beyond. The handbook format has exercises and tools which can help to establish which Clients are likely to be the most lucrative and thus provide the desired financial returns. The book also includes insights from top practitioners, anecdotes, case studies, charts and useful exercises and checklists. Readers can also determine their own level of effectiveness using the end of chapter reviews and a diagnostic tool to produce a Client Management Profile.

Economic disparity between ethnic and racial groups is a ubiquitous and pervasive phenomenon internationally. Gaps between groups encompass employment, wage, occupational status and wealth differentials. Virtually every nation is comprised of a group whose material well-being is sharply depressed in comparison with another, socially dominant group.
This collection is a cross-national, comparative investigation of the patterns and dynamics of inter-group economic inequality. A wide range of respected experts discuss such issues as:
*a wide range of groups from the Burakumin in Japan to the scheduled castes and tribes in India
*policy attempts to remedy intergroup inequality
*race and labor market outcomes in Brazil.
Under the impressive editorship of William Darity Jr and Ashwini Deshpande, this collection forms an important book. It will be of interest to students and academics involved in racial studies, the economics of discrimination and labor economics as well as policy makers around the world.

This volume examines the first hundred years of the Institute of Banking's development within the banking business as a whole, with a particular emphasis upon changes in the staffing requirements of the banks and the importance of professional qualifications in the careers of their employees. The survey includes a description of early attempts to form a professional institute for bankers between the 1840s and the 1870s. By examining the objectives, growth of membership and the extension of the Institute's activities, this volume throws light upon the changing work and qualifications of bank personnel and offers a case study in the development of a large and important professional group.

This book examines the fundamental nature of banking in the economy of the 1970s and 80s, arguing that banking cannot be properly understood unless it is regarded as the retailing of financial services. In analysing the nature of banking the book demonstrates how banking might operate without regulatory constraints; surveys the patterns of regulatory constraint in a wide range of economies; analysis the effects of these various forms of constraint on the operation of a previously unregulated bank; examines the move to multinational banking; explores risks peculiar to multinational banking, whilst providing a diagrammatic illustration of those risks. When originally published this was one of the first books to treat banking from both a theoretical and empirical perspective and is unique in reviewing the case of a completely unregulated commercial bank and following the progression of banking through to the multinational stage.

Prompted by the widespread curiosity aroused by the proceedings of the Parker Bank Rate Tribunal, the author has written a non-technical account of daily life in a City office and Boardroom. The author describes the ways in which money is put to work, and explains why the Sterling Area is so important to Britain's prosperity. He also discusses political developments affecting the City and its future. The book includes references to America and Wall Street.

This volume draws together diverse sources of information from the EIB's own reports and bulletins, as well as reports of the Us Federal Reserve Board, the IMF and OECD, together with press and journal sources to examine the history, borrowing and lending operations from 1958-1980. It also discusses some of the environmental and social effects of its lending activities. Some consideration has also been given to the bank's operations beyond EU boundaries. The book sheds light on an important EU institution which is crucial to EU member states' infrastructure, industry and economy.

This volume is an extremely readable guide to the world of international finance by two former City Editors of The Times. It is designed for people who want to understand something of the world's financial affairs and learn how to follow jargon on the City pages of newspapers or money programmes on radio and television. Starting with the basic facts, the authors gently guide you through the world's money maze - so that by the time you have reached the last chapter you should be able to understand the newspaper extracts printed at the end of the book. The World's Money aims to answer some of the many questions of the times in which it was published: Why had there been so many monetary crises? How were they caused? What is the role of gold in international finance? How do exchange rates, the IMF, the World Bank, the eurodollar market work? What is the new World Money? How was the pound devalued? Can 1929 recur? The material is equally suitable for students, sixth-formers, economists and the armchair reader. Contemporary events are used as examples and illustrations, the history and the future of money discussed, so that the book is at once topical for its times and of lasting value.

Grid Parity provides an in-depth examination of the knowledge, insights, and techniques that are essential to success in financing renewable energy projects. An energy project finance expert with 35 years of experience in capital asset financing, the author provides a comprehensive overview of how to finance renewable energy projects in America today. He explores all components of "the deal" including tax, accounting, legal, regulatory, documentation, asset management and legislative drivers to this dynamic growth sector. Filled with case studies, the book provides a thorough examination of what it takes to compete in the green-energy marketplace.

This volume examines various banking systems from around the world as well as the mechanisms of international and central banking. Although inevitably a reflection of the banking landscape at the time it was originally published, the book nonetheless represents a valuable tool in providing information on the history of banks and the banking sector which laid the foundations of the system we know today.

The study of financial history has never been more important. This volume focuses on theories about the relationship of financial markets to the rest of the economy. Searching out information on financial institutions and markets from the past, this work tests theories from the 1980s and 90s with this data, mainly in two fields of economics: financial structure and performance and economic development. Understanding and testing the relationship between money and credit and the level of output in the economy, the author emphasizes, may help predict or prevent business cycles and even make it possible to increase the rate of development and growth of an economy. Although this volume focuses on one geographical and historical area of the US economy, the lessons and implications are relevant for the global economy of the 21st century.

The Tokyo market has often been a difficult financial environment for the non-Japanese to understand. This volume, written for an international readership provides a study of the financial centre behind one of the world s largest economies.

Does your product business feel unpredictable, slightly terrifying, and hungry for money? If so, you're not alone. Retail is the fastest growing small business sector, and for good reason. With accessible selling technology and billions of people shopping online, reaching your ideal customer is easier than ever before. But the truth is that making money in a product business is harder than it first appears. And without profits, your business becomes incredibly difficult to manage and almost impossible to grow. Fortunately for you, big retailers have spent decades developing methods of monitoring profit margins, forecasting and growing sales and managing stock to maximise their bottom line. In this book, small-business retail expert Catherine Erdly shows you how to easily apply those big business tools and perspectives to understand your business, get clear on what you need to do to grow profitably, and, ultimately, tame your tiger.

This comprehensive desktop reference addresses the diverse terms and acronyms that form the backbone of 21st century energy technologies, applications of those technologies, and the sustainability sector of the U.S. economy. The convergence of these disciplines has resulted in an explosion of specialized terms, acronyms, and jargon. The references encompass a wide range of legacy as well as emerging renewable energy technologies including the finance and sustainable segments of business that form an integral part of those technologies. This dictionary gives professionals and laymen alike, across the multi-disciplinary fields of energy, a tool to better understand and communicate energy matters and understand the energy issues and opportunities faced. There are over 8,000 entries, making it the largest dictionary ever compiled on these specific subjects. Although the book includes some highly technical terms, the writing and explanations are sufficiently clear for both academia and practitioners including students, professors, architects, accountants, attorneys, engineers, public policy makers, regulators, developers, real estate professionals, debtors, borrowers, standards setting organizations, journalists, and boards of directors. The author has created this dictionary to help both novices and experts cut through the confusion and understand the vocabulary of this fast-growing field. This comprehensive body of knowledge explains these technologies and thousands of other new technical terms and acronyms. Three sectors-energy, efficiency, and sustainability-are at the heart of the economic low-carbon future growth of our economy. The result is a practical tool that should find a central place on the desk of anyone involved in energy, management, and development of sustainability issues anywhere in the world.

Beginning with a theoretical analysis of housing finance in the context of housing markets and financial intermediation generally, the authors then analyse, drawing on international experience, each of the main types of housing finance system: informal, deposit taking, contract and mortgage bank. Various aspects of the market are covered using examples drawn from the UK and elsewhere, including the regulatory framework, contemporary developments and securitization and secondary markets. Critical public policy issues, such as housing and the real economy, and housing subsidies, are analysed in detail. Finally the authors examine the future for housing and the housing finance market.

This book was written at a time when the market for government stocks in London, the gilt-edged market of the title, had undergone a period of rapid innovation in the forms of its instruments - index-linked stocks, variable rate stocks, and other new types - and of methods of issue. This had been the response of a government that had needed to fund a massive public sector borrowing requirement despite its attempts to slash public expenditure. In the same period the opening of the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE), with its 20-year gilt contract, had introduced a new method for hedging risk for investment managers. This book charts and analyses these developments.

When originally published this was the first reference book to address itself to Islamic banking and finance and it offers comprehensive information on all major institutions which have commercial or banking interests in this field. It includes analysis of the principles behind interest-free banking and indicates its relationship with financial institutions in both Islamic countries and Western ones. It also lists the laws governing interest-free banking in countries where it is extensively in operation and provides essential information for all international financial institutions. The Directory lists all banks and financial institutions by country, giving details of their specific role and areas of operation.

The rush of entrepreneurial activity in China has been watched with interest by the financial world. This book, the result of an international symposium on Chinese accounting and financial management, assesses the little-known accounting scene in China which up until 1978 remained behind closed doors. Divided into four sections, the volume covers: Chinese perspectives on accounting the business and financial structure of China, including the re-emergence of a Chinese stock market the regulatory framework of accounting in China and comparisons with international accounting standards; the impact of current reforms in Chinese accounting practice the emergence of a new accounting profession in China. The concluding chapter provides an overview of the cultural context of the reforms which took place in the 1990s. By using comparisons with other Asian countries' accounting systems, like Taiwan, the contributors to the volume give an analysis of the state of accountancy in China during the 1990s.

This book describes the different banking systems of the twelve European Community countries and examines how they were affected by the Single European market of 1992. Exploring the implications of relevant EC legislation, the book highlights the problems that face financial institutions trying to expand their European operations and draws lessons from the efforts of major European banks to safeguard their own markets and independence in a more competitive European environment.

This report, prepared for the government by the National Consumer Council, examines money transmission, access to banking services, new technology, banking and the law, disputes between bank and customer, saving and borrowing. There are special sections on Northern Ireland and Scotland and on bank executor and trustee work - all from a consumer perspective. It is based on the findings of two surveys of consumer attitudes to banking services and evidence from the banks and building societies themselves.

This is widely acknowledged as a scholarly and well-documented study of early banking in England. It bridges gaps in the early history of English banking and deals with the operations of the pre-Bank of England bankers, the evolution of English paper money and the remarkable transactions of the early directors of the Bank of England. Although the main body of the book concentrates on the 16th and 17th centuries, the volume includes a brief survey of English banking in the 18th and early 19th centuries.