Written in a highly accessible style, A Factor Model Approach to Derivative Pricing lays a clear and structured foundation for the pricing of derivative securities based upon simple factor model related absence of arbitrage ideas. This unique and unifying approach provides for a broad treatment of topics and models, including equity, interest-rate, and credit derivatives, as well as hedging and tree-based computational methods, but without reliance on the heavy prerequisites that often accompany such topics. Key features A single fundamental absence of arbitrage relationship based on factor models is used to motivate all the results in the book A structured three-step procedure is used to guide the derivation of absence of arbitrage equations and illuminate core underlying concepts Brownian motion and Poisson process driven models are treated together, allowing for a broad and cohesive presentation of topics The final chapter provides a new approach to risk neutral pricing that introduces the topic as a seamless and natural extension of the factor model approach Whether being used as text for an intermediate level course in derivatives, or by researchers and practitioners who are seeking a better understanding of the fundamental ideas that underlie derivative pricing, readers will appreciate the book's ability to unify many disparate topics and models under a single conceptual theme. James A Primbs is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton.

Business is an understudied area in American religious history that has profound implications for how we understand the popularity and ongoing transformation of religion in the US. This volume explores the business aspects of American religious organizations by analyzing the financing, production, marketing, and distribution of religious goods and services and the role of wealth and economic organization in sustaining and even shaping worship, charity, philanthropy, institutional growth and missionary work. Treating religion and business holistically, the essays show how business practices have continually informed American religious life. Laying important groundwork for further investigation, the essays show how American business has operated as a domain for achieving religious purpose that historians of religion often overlook. Even when critics denounce its corruption and fallen state, business occupies a central place in American religious life that merits better understanding. Historically, religion has been more powerful in America when interwoven with business. Chapters on Mormon enterprise, Jewish philanthropy, Hindu gurus, Native American casinos, and the wedding of business wealth to conservative Catholic social teaching indicate the range of new studies stimulated by the business turn in American religious history. Other essays show how evangelicals joined neo-liberal economic practice and right-wing politics to religious fundamentalism to consolidate wealth and power, and develop marketing campaigns and organizational strategies that transformed the broader parameters of American religious life. All these essays stimulate new ways of thinking about American religious history, and about American success. Some essays in this volume expose the moral compromises religious organizations have made to succeed as centers of wealth and influence, and the religious beliefs that rationalize and justify these compromises. Other essays dwell on the application of business practices as a means of sustaining religious institutions and expanding their reach. Still others take account of controversy over business practices within religious organizations, and the adjustments religious organizations have made in response. Together, the essays collected here offer various ways of conceptualizing the interdependence of religion and business in the U.S., establishing multiple paths for further study of their intertwined historical development.

With the Solvency II deadline approaching, and full implementation expected from January 2016, affected entities are at varying states of readiness with embedding Solvency II into everyday practices becoming a major focus. Programme stakeholder communications needs to be robust to secure compliance and buy-in on both internal and external fronts. If your CEO fails to communicate to the markets your organization's ability to deliver on the EU Directive, or if a local Regulator finds that your Board has failed to embed a risk culture that is aligned with Solvency II, your ability to operate in the Solvency II world will be questioned. Solvency II: Stakeholder Communications and Change explains how to negate such risks. Gabrielle O'Donovan demonstrates how to approach stakeholder communications and change management in a structured and disciplined way, framed by the EU Directive's governance requirements. She demonstrates how to use a variety of tools and techniques to engage people with change and embed new ways of doing things. She reveals how to embed risk consciousness into your culture, helping you secure Solvency II approval and operate successfully in the Solvency II world. Based on the author's original research and the latest industry developments, Solvency II: Stakeholder Communications and Change is well-structured, readable and above all essential for all involved in Solvency II implementation.

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.

From business reports and capital structures to risk management and mergers, The 30 Day MBA in Business Finance offers comprehensive insights from the world's leading finance courses. Fill the gaps in your knowledge and develop your analytical and decision-making skills through this holistic guide to the finance sector, covering all of the modules you would find at a top business school. It also features an array of fascinating case studies from some of the world's most successful businesses, clarifying how these skills drive success. With its comprehensive insights and accessible guidance, The 30 Day MBA in Business Finance is essential reading whether you are a professional looking to accelerate your career or a student interested in expanding your knowledge. About the 30 Day MBA Series... MBAs are expensive, demanding and time-consuming. Covering marketing, finance and international business, this internationally bestselling series offers you the same world-class insights and guidance without the costly investment.

As the 55th anniversary of the bank holiday of March 1933 approached, financial instability was a main topic in the financial press. Daily reports appeared of international debt crises, of the covert bankruptcy of deposit insurance, and of the near bankruptcy of one great financial institution after another. The great stock market crash of October 19 and 20, 1987, demonstrated that extreme instability can happen. It is generally asserted that the consequences of October 19th and 20th would have been disastrous if the Federal Reserve and Treasury interventions had not set things right. In 1933, financial markets in the United States and throughout the capitalist world collapsed. In the light of historical experience, the past 55 years are the anomaly. The papers collected in this volume come from various backgrounds and research paradigms. A common theme runs through these papers that makes the collection both interesting and important: The authors take seriously the obvious evidence that capitalist economies progress through time by lurching. Whether a particular study starts from household utility maximization or from the processes by which productive structures are reproduced and expanded, the authors are united in accepting the evidence that financial instability is a significant characteristic of modern capitalism.

This book is about debt - a situation which affects a large and growing number of people. In Britain alone in 1986 more than 2 million people were sued for debt in the county courts. But debt cannot be understood apart from credit, and the 1980s have seen a substantial increase in the amount of credit available.

In The Indebted Society Janet Ford gives both an overview of the contemporary credit and debt society and a discussion of the borrower's experience and management of debt. As well as providing a critical examination of the growth and changing structure of credit provision, describing the social and economic base for such growth, and considering explanations for the emergence of default and contemporary attitudes to debt, she also presents a detailed study of forty households with mortgage arrears, placing these personal histories within the broader structure of a credit and debt society.

This impressive and pioneering work describes and analyses the management of the national debt of the United Kingdom from the Boer War (1899-1902) to the period of the Great Depression in the early 1930s. It therefore spans the expansion of the debt during the Great War of 1914-18 and the struggle to bring its structure and cost under control in the decade and a half following Armistice. The Management of the National Debt in the United Kingdom is the first definitive work on the subject. Using an impressive array of research, from archives and unpublished material, Jeremy Wormell has brought together material that is unavailable in any other form. It will be an invaluable resource for political and economic historians, as well as economists in general, civil servants, bankers and financial journalists.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, Heads or Tails answers the question: what changes should financial institutions undergo to ensure reliable protection against extreme risks? Recent massive failures among large and respected financial institutions, clearly demonstrate that contemporary risk management and regulation fail to provide adequate responses to the challenges set by extreme risks. Dr Evgueni Ivantsov combines analysis of the nature of extreme risk (so-called tail risk), risk management practices and practical solutions to build a robust, enterprise-wide, extreme risk management framework which includes three lines of defence, ranging from strategic to tactical, designed to help address the tail risk during different stages of its development. The author also discusses: c Why modern 'sophisticated' risk management frameworks, strong capitalisation and liquidity do not prevent banks from failure in the face of systemic crisis; c What it means to build an effective defence against systemic and catastrophic losses; c What risk architecture should look like to ensure that extreme risk events are identified early and efficiently mitigated; c How modern management practices, regulation and risk and business culture need to change to guarantee sustainability. While the context of Dr Ivantsov's writing is financial services, the book contains an important message for specialists from any industries exposed to the extreme risks (oil/gas, energy, mining, chemical productions, transportation, etc.). Until the shortcomings of current risk management and regulation are resolved, financial services and other at risk industries will repeat the painful mistakes of the past, over and over again.

The original guide to creating wealth!

With this seminal book, Wallace Wattles popularized the Law of Attraction, the powerful concept that inspired "The Secret." "The Science of Getting Rich" explains how to attract wealth, overcome emotional barriers, and apply foolproof methods to bring financial success into your life.

This special 100-year edition contains the complete, original text, along with never-before published biographical information on Wattles, and a foreword by Catherine Ponder, the doyenne of modern prosperity writers. It also features an introduction from personal development authority Tom Butler-Bowdon, plus another Wattles classic, "The Science of Being Great."

Add value to your organization via the mergers & acquisitions IT function As part of Deloitte Consulting, one of the largest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) consulting practice in the world, author Janice Roehl-Anderson reveals in M&A Information Technology Best Practices how companies can effectively and efficiently address the IT aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Filled with best practices for implementing and maintaining systems, this book helps financial and technology executives in every field to add value to their mergers, acquisitions, and/or divestitures via the IT function. * Features a companion website containing checklists and templates * Includes chapters written by Deloitte Consulting senior personnel * Outlines best practices with pragmatic insights and proactive strategies Many M&As fail to meet their expectations. Be prepared to succeed with the thorough and proven guidance found in M&A Information Technology Best Practices. This one-stop resource allows participants in these deals to better understand the implications of what they need to do and how

With increased resilience in the financial systems, emerging Asian economies were less affected by the recent global financial crisis, recovering more quickly from the crisis than major advanced economies. Yet, Asian financial systems remain underdeveloped. More open and efficient financial systems continue to be a key priority for Asia's development strategy. Emerging Asian economies need to tackle the new challenges to macroeconomic and financial stability posed by financial globalisation. This book identifies the key challenges to Asia's financial development in an era of rapid financial globalisation and discusses their policy implications for financial reforms and regional cooperation in East Asia. Particular areas of focus include: the impact of financial globalisation on economic stability and inequality in East Asian economies; the progress of Asia's regional financial cooperation and lessons from the recent European economic crisis; and the priority of financial reforms in individual Asian economies. Combining advanced econometric methods and in-depth case studies, this book provides rigorous and contextual analyses of the most critical issues for Asia's financial development. It offers a comprehensive and useful guide for students, academics, and policymakers interested in the current state and future prospects of Asian financial systems.

One of the most important trends in information systems today is the increasing use of electronic data interchange whereby paper is replaced by electronic communication for transactions between companies. Written for financial and accounting professionals as well as the MIS managers with whom they interface, this book offers a comprehensive discussion of the elements of EDI systems that are particularly useful in finance and accounting applications. Thierauf introduces the underlying framework for EDI, comparing it to the present paper operating mode; explains the fundamentals of national and international electronic communication, and explores the hardware and software necessary as well as the typical costs involved. Numerous real-world case studies are included to demonstrate the feasibility, development, and implementation of EDI systems in finance, accounting, and banking operations.

The text's structure follows a logical sequence from concept through application designed to assist the typical end user in the design and installation of an EDI system. Part One shows the relationship of EDI systems to various types of management information systems and discusses factors underlying both U.S. and international systems. In Part Two, Thierauf investigates the currently available EDI hardware and software and presents a custom-designed approach to software. In the final chapter of Part Two, Thierauf provides in-depth treatment of typical EDI applications as well as the design considerations for their development. The feasibility of undertaking an EDI system and detailed procedures for developing and implementing such a system form the focus of Part Three. Separate chapters cover EDI in strategic planning, banking, finance, and accounting. Numerous figures amplify points made in the text. In addition to providing a thorough guide to EDI for accounting, finance, and MIS professionals, this volume will also be ideal as a supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in business information systems.

Smart strategies for taking control of your money from bestselling author and personal finance expert Terry Savage--the new, fully updated third edition. The Savage Truths on Money are time-tested, but new technologies and techniques make it easier and more profitable to make your money work for you! Now, financial success can be achieved simply and automatically through new apps, tools, and access to low-cost money management tools and advice. Living in financial security--not constantly worrying about education costs, medical bills, or having enough money saved for retirement--is within anyone's reach. In this new edition of The Savage Truth on Money, author Terry Savage shares the time-tested truths of financial security, guides you on redirecting your finances, and helps you create a financial plan for your future--using all the resources of technology, the best people in the financial planning industry, and your own informed judgment. This must-have resource is a roadmap for navigating today's economic reality on the way to your best possible financial future. This invaluable guide will help you: Take responsibility for your own financial future, using technology to improve your financial decision-making Control your spending and deal with debt, protect your assets, and grow your savings Learn the basic truths about money, markets, and human emotions--and how to use that knowledge to your advantage Find financial advisors you can trust--fiduciaries who will put your interests first, and save you money on costs Make a realistic plan for college without being buried in debt--and deal with existing student loans Create--and reach--retirement goals that allow you to enjoy your financial success Whether you're just starting out and unsure of your next steps, or you're worried about how you'll manage your investments and plan your retirement, the third edition of The Savage Truth on Money is your one-stop guide for taking control of your finances today and reaping the benefits tomorrow.

At last, a mindful book about money that anyone can appreciate and understand The Little Book of Zen Money: A Simple Path to Financial Peace of Mind delivers easy-to-follow steps for combining sensible saving strategies with mindfulness practices to achieving financial peace of mind. Finally, you can know how to fix your finances without feeling stressed out! In this book, you'll find out that sound financial strategy is far more straightforward than the financial industry wants you to think. It reveals the path to mindful money simplicity, showing readers how to adopt behaviors that encourage responsible saving and spending. You'll learn about: How to journal your spending and saving so you keep track of the money you have coming in and going out Easy mindfulness exercises, mantras, and meditations that keep you centered, rational, and calm when it comes to your money Simple explanations of the financial industry and how to invest responsibly that anyone can understand Perfect for anyone who doesn't usually like books about money (or the complicated jargon they're often filled with), The Little Book of Zen Money proves that you don't need to be an expert, professional, or mathematician to get great financial advice.

This book offers a collaborative investigation of the policies and practices which have redeveloped local and national economies in the aftermath of the global economic crisis which erupted in 2008. It explores 'localised' models of economic development, including problems of diversity and balance and the role of firms, industries and clusters, alongside comparative studies of policy responses to the crisis at local, regional and national levels Global Economic Crisis and Local Economic Development seeks routes for economic development in a post-crisis world. The roles of innovation, entrepreneurship, knowledge infrastructures, public policies, business strategies and responses, as well as global contexts and positioning are explored as investigative themes which run throughout the collection as a whole. This text brings together a range of international disciplinary experts from economics, geography, history, business and management, politics and sociology. Its coverage is comparative and global, with contributions focusing on the U.S., Japan, China, and India, as well as European contexts and cases. This book is of value both for the intrinsic quality of its individual studies and for the contrasts and comparisons enabled by the collection when viewed as a whole. It has an accessible but rigorous style, making it ideal for a range of users including academics, researchers and students who study economic development and regional development.

An action plan for financial literacy and security Your Financial Action Plan offers a 12-step self-analysis guide for readers to determine how financially literate they are, and then provides 12 simple steps to help them forge the financial future they desire. Financial knowledge means financial power, and in Your Financial Action Plan, readers will be introduced to important personal financial issues including debt, mortgages, insurance, taxes, and much more. Filled with practical guidance and extensive expertise that only Bankrate could provide, Your Financial Action Plan will help readers avoid costly mistakes by helping them close the gap between knowing and executing financially sound strategies. While three out of five Americans believe they are in control of their personal finances, that same number of people actually haven't a clue how much life, auto, or health care insurance they should carry.; According to the Roper Survey on Financial Literacy commissioned by Bankrate last year, people deal with personal finance similarly to the way they deal with dieting--they often know what they should do, yet there is a disconnect when it comes to actually following through, causing

Learn how to get in on the ground floor of the booming cannabis industry with this comprehensive guide Investing in Cannabis: The Next Great Investment Opportunity examines the rapidly expanding world of cannabis investment. Written by a renowned expert in "vice investing," Investing in Cannabis takes an in-depth look at all aspects of publicly traded stocks in the cannabis industry for medical or recreational use, including: CBD / hemp companies Cannabis oil extraction Cannabis cultivation / agriculture companies Biotech / pharmaceutical companies This book focuses on the status and history of cannabis legalization plus concrete examples that every day investors can use to make intelligent and informed investments in any sector of the modern, legal cannabis industry. With an emphasis on good lists and data, the author guides readers through the ins and outs of the booming cannabis industry and attempts to distinguish between future breakout success stories and future busts. Investing in Cannabis is perfect for any person or institutional investor seeking to diversify their portfolio to include investments in this up-and-coming industry.

Starting from the practical viewpoint of, "I would rather be approximately right than perfectly wrong" this book provides a commonsense comprehensive framework for small business valuation that offers solutions to common problems faced by valuators and consultants both in performing valuations and providing ancillary advisory services to business owners, sellers, and buyers. If you conduct small business valuations, you may be seeking guidance on topics and problems specific to your work. Focus on What Matters: A Different Way of Valuing a Small Business fills a previous void in valuation resources. It provides a practical and comprehensive framework for small and very small business valuation (Companies under $10 million of revenues and often under $5 million of revenues), with a specialized focus on the topics and problems that confront valuators of these businesses. Larger businesses typically have at least Reviewed Accrual Accounting statements as a valuation starting point. However, smaller businesses rarely have properly reviewed and updated financials. Focus on What Matters looks at the issue of less reliable data, which affects every part of the business valuation. You'll find valuation solutions for facing this challenge. As a small business valuator, you can get direction on working with financial statements of lower quality. You can also consider answers to key questions as you explore how to value each small business. Is this a small business or a job? How much research and documentation do you need to comply with standards? How can you use cash basis statements when businesses have large receivables and poor cutoffs? Should you use the market method or income method of valuation? Techniques that improve reliability of the market method multiplier How might you tax affect using the income method with the advent of the Estate of Jones and Section 199A? Do you have to provide an opinion of value or will a calculation work? How do you calculate personal goodwill? As a valuation professional how can you bring value to owners and buyers preparing to enter into a business sale transaction? How does the SBA loan process work and why is it essential to current small business values? What is the business brokerage or sale process and how does it work? How do owners increase business value prior to a business sale? This book examines these and other questions you may encounter in your valuation process. You'll also find helpful solutions to common issues that arise when a small business is valued.

The last decade has seen a massive increase in international capital flows to emerging markets. This development has offered opportunities to those countries that have opened themselves up to overseas capital, but it has also created risks. In this volume, a team of policymakers and academics from 14 different countries, as well as representatives of the international financial institutions primarily responsible for responding to the crises, examine the challenges and options facing policymakers today. The book includes both detailed analysis of individual economies from around the world and in-depth analysis of the broad systemic issues of why crises occur and how we can prevent them. By looking at economies from many different parts of the world, the book provides a broad and comprehensive look at the similarities and differences in recent financial crises.

This is a clear guide to the German financial system. It begins by outlining its historical development, emphasising the growth of close ties between the banking system and industry, and goes on to describe in details the nature of the credit institutions in general and the money and capital markets.

The book emphasizes the crucial role played by the autonomy of the Bundesbank and it explains with clear illustrations the instruments available to it to conduct monetary policy. It analyses the type of monetary target adopted by the Bundesbank in the early 1970s and deals with the transferability of the West German financial system to other countries. Wherever relevant, parallels and differences between that system and the ones operating in the US and UK are pointed out.

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.