*One of Glamour's Best Books of 2020* Popular podcast host and personal finance expert Lindsay Goldwert explores what professional dominatrixes can teach us about confidence, power, and happiness. Imagine, for a moment, a world where the usual power dynamic is turned on its head. Where women not only stop apologizing, but seize-and enjoy-control. This is the quickly mainstreaming world of BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism)-and it has a lot to teach women about empowerment, negotiation, open-mindedness, and more. Journalist Lindsay Goldwert, intrigued by this seismic cultural shift, traveled across the United States to meet the stars of the subculture, who spoke frankly with her about their lives and work. In this "lively, funny, thoughtful channeling of wisdom" (Sara Benincasa, author of Real Artists Have Day Jobs), these Alpha women show you how you can reset the power dynamic in any situation to get what you want-whether it's from a husband, a boss, or partner. They share strategies for revolutionizing not only your sex life, but your career, your relationships, and most importantly, your inner foundations. With bondage gear popping up on the big screen, the runway, the red carpet, and in celebrity lingerie lines, BDSM is officially moving out of the dungeon and into the sun. Let Bow Down help you learn how to use it. "Whether your fantasies lie in the bedroom or the boardroom, Lindsay will give you the courage to go forth and dominate." (Sarah Cooper, author of How to Be Successful without Hurting Men's Feelings).

In the last twenty years, several periods of turmoil have shaped the financial and economic system. Many regulatory policies, such as Basel III, have been introduced to overcome further crises and scandals. In addition, monetary policy has experienced a transition from conventional to unconventional frameworks in most industrialized and emerging economies. For instance, turning to hedge and diversification of portfolios, commodities markets have attracted increasing interest. More recently, new forms of money have been introduced, such as virtual money. These changes have influenced governance features at both macro and micro levels. Therefore, calls for ethical and sustainable standards in financial and economic spheres have been growing since 2007.Financial and Economic Systems: Transformations and New Challenges provides readers with insights about future transformations and challenges for financial and economic systems. Prominent contributors focus on different aspects, providing a global overview of crisis implications. The book is split into four main areas: Changes in the Real Sphere, covering issues related to yields, risk, unconventional monetary policy, and macroprudential policy; Financial Markets and Macroeconomics, covering uncertainty in finance and economics; CSR, Sustainability and Ethical Finance, highlighting the emergence of corporate social responsibility; and Digitalization, Blockchain and FinTech and the consequences of these transformations on markets and economic systems.

As microfinance is increasingly being absorbed into broader debates on financial inclusion and sustainable development, there is a growing number of professionals operating in international relations and development who are often confronted with sweeping statements about the alleged benefits and risks of microfinance. This book provides a concise introduction to microfinance - the key issues, debates, research agenda and public policy relevance. Illustrated by real-life examples, the book's sections also highlight key publications and data sources and identify gaps for future research. The book will be an invaluable resource both for development economists and for scholars in neighbouring disciplines who need to get up to speed quickly on the current debates and research in microfinance.

Energy issues feature frequently in the economic and financial press. Specific examples of topical energy issues come from around the globe and often concern economics and finance. The importance of energy production, consumption and trade raises fundamental economic issues that impact the global economy and financial markets. This volume presents research on energy economics and financial markets related to the themes of supply and demand, environmental impact and renewables, energy derivatives trading, and finance and energy. The contributions by experts in their fields take a global perspective, as well as presenting cases from various countries and continents.

Sukuk markets have grown significantly worldwide since their emergence- in Islamic jurisdictions as well as conventional jurisdictions including the US, the UK, Germany, China, France and Singapore. The practices of sukuk markets, however, have come under close scrutiny. The legal and regulatory risks arising from the existing general legal environment and their impact on those investing and trading in sukuk markets has not received adequate attention. The topic of sukuk has been subject to extensive research and academic discussion from different perspectives, but the existing literature has not adequately addressed the issues associated with these markets. This book examines the contemporary issues encountered in the foundation and operation of sukuk markets by providing an in-depth discussion of the issues facing sukuk markets from legal and regulatory perspectives and focusing attention on how soundness can be ensured in the wider context. These issues go to the heart of what the sukuk market is really about, as recent debate has recognised in sukuk the replication of conventional bonds in ways that are considered unsatisfactory from an Islamic law point of view.

For many academics, students, and professionals, the field of commodities is a black box. This book explores commodities in a holistic manner, presenting concepts from a multidisciplinary business and financial perspective, and offering a panoramic view of the global commodity business and markets. In this book, the author presents core issues related to global commodities with recent data including COVID-19. The book introduces the key physical commodities traded globally and some related issues such as the global supply chain, global trading, transportation, storage, and how to finance global commodity trades. Then, it discusses how global commodity businesses and traders manage global risks related to commodity production (generation or extraction), transportation, storage, the final delivery, and currency exchange. Additionally, the book discusses financial commodities, the origins of global commodity derivatives and exchanges, the rationale behind the birth of commodity futures and trading, hedging, speculation, financialization, and manipulation of commodity markets, and how financial trading is executed in real life. In the last section, the author also discusses sustainability issues related to global commodities and the financial valuation aspects of the global commodity businesses supported by examples from real cases with recent data.

The essence of this text is the application of The Basel II Framework Use Test. I will illustrate the facets of Use Test adherence with risk management tools and strategies that complement a bank's pursuit of Advanced Internal Ratings Based Approach, Basel II Framework compliance. I will simultaneously pay close attention to the specific Basel II Framework, Use Test adherence measures. This book offers the practitioner a useful prescription for ensuring that their bank covers the necessary bases when pursuing its Basel II Framework implementation. It additionally puts into proper context where banks should be concerned in their pursuit of the Use Test, with specific attention to regulator, boards and executives concerns that the bank continues to operate with sound fiscal behaviour. The very foundation of a bank's lending practices is the credit cycle. This book identifies both the traditional model and the newly minted Basel II model of the credit cycle. It also demonstrates practices that create sustainable business processes which optimize the risk-reward drivers of a retail banking environment. It focuses on the different operational areas of the bank and the role each plays within the Basel II credit cycle. Finally, it provides a foundation for which the credit practices present in Marketing, Underwriting, Account Management, Portfolio Management, Recoveries and Collections and Regulatory Capital setting can be justly applied. Banks must make use of The Basel II Framework estimation tools, thus confirming that they are predictive, accurate and reliable in the estimation of regulatory capital as well as in the day-to-day running of the bank. In spite of the prescriptive nature ofThe Basel II Framework model estimates this book will illustrate how to exploit their elemental design into profitable pursuits. While one fundamental challenge relating to Basel II Framework adherence is incorporating these tools into the Credit Cycle, another focuses on enhancing and improving existing credit practices found within the bank's organizational structure in light of traditional banking shareholder drivers. This book thus simplifies this directive.

Financial econometrics combines mathematical and statistical theory and techniques to understand and solve problems in financial economics. Modeling and forecasting financial time series, such as prices, returns, interest rates, financial ratios, and defaults, are important parts of this field.

In Financial Econometrics, you'll be introduced to this growing discipline and the concepts associated with it--from background material on probability theory and statistics to information regarding the properties of specific models and their estimation procedures.

With this book as your guide, you'll become familiar with: Autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) and GARCH modeling Principal components analysis (PCA) and factor analysis Stable processes and ARMA and GARCH models with fat-tailed errors Robust estimation methods Vector autoregressive and cointegrated processes, including advanced estimation methods for cointegrated systems And much more

The experienced author team of Svetlozar Rachev, Stefan Mittnik, Frank Fabozzi, Sergio Focardi, and Teo Jasic not only presents you with an abundant amount of information on financial econometrics, but they also walk you through a wide array of examples to solidify your understanding of the issues discussed.

Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, Financial Econometrics provides comprehensive coverage of this discipline and clear explanations of how the models associated with it fit into today's investment management process.

"What can national organizations such as NSFRE do to assure that fund raisers are informed about public policies with which they must comply? Is it appropriate to require our members to take certain courses or pass certain tests in order to maintain their membership? Is there anything we can do to ensure that fund raisers who are not members of our association stay informed and act in compliance with relevant laws and regulations? Can the profession adequately regulate itself? Is licensing of fund raisers a good idea? If so, what group should be responsible for licensing—a governmental entity, a quasi-governmental entity, an elected or appointed body of practitioners?

"...there is a very real need for comprehensive education and training programs that will help develop basic understandings and a common language with which fund raisers can communicate with each other—and with donors, policymakers, and the public. All who work as employees or volunteers in the not-for-profit sector should understand the rationale for the sector and have a basic knowledge of its history as well as current laws and regulations that effect the sector. There should be commonly known and accepted standards of ethical professional practice. And there should be a common understanding of the meaning of the terms that define our practice." —from the Foreword by Patricia F. Lewis President and CEO National Society of Fund Raising Executives

As the nexus between the nonprofit community and the donors who support it, the fund-raising profession has a tremendous impact on how the nonprofit sector is perceived by the public and how it fares in an atmosphere of decreasing government support and increasing competition for donor dollars. But fund-raising professionals must cope with a growing list of important issues, including resource management, increased regulation at all levels of government, ethical scrutiny, donor diversity, and the establishment of professional standards. In the face of all these pressures, it is not surprising that little attention has been given to the premises that underlie many of the decisions fund raisers make in their daily professional lives.

In Critical Issues in Fund Raising, highly respected practitioners and researchers address these issues and premises head-on. These contributors bring their vision, insight, study findings, and hard-won wisdom to bear in answering pivotal questions about the profession's future and revisiting some of its ongoing dilemmas. They examine hard data and reach well-founded, often surprising conclusions on controversial topics such as formula versus nonformula fund raising, fund-raising cost ratios as a measure of efficacy, and the perceived scarcity of minority donors. They explore myriad topics of both immediate and long-term concern to the profession, including:

• Fundamentals—donor motivation, demographics, innovative fund-raising strategies, and marketing versus public relations
• Advanced practices—cost effectiveness, regulation, law, and financial management
• Challenges in fundraising—ethics, diversity, and accountability
• International perspectives—fund raising in western Europe.

Based on a Think Tank sponsored by the NSFRE in collaboration with the Counsel for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, Critical Issues in Fund Raising offers up-to-date research on important issues, numerous ideas for improving and expanding fund-raising operations, and a generous portion of food for thought. It is must reading for fund-raising professionals, nonprofit executives, nonprofit board members and trustees, and fund-raising consultants.

In some circles, transparency has become a buzzword as organizations face increasing pressure from institutional shareholders and regulators, banks and other stakeholders needing to monitor financial conditions and managerial decisions more closely to protect their interests. The call for corporate transparency has also intensified for banks since the recent global financial crises and as a result of a series of egregious financial scandals. For this volume we have collected 12 original research papers dealing with various issues relating to transparency. This topic spans many disciplines beyond accounting and finance, intersecting economics, law and management, embracing sociology and political science, and offering opportunities for creative interdisciplinary research. We hope this volume is a useful one-stop reference for students and scholars as well as practitioners and policymakers interested in such work.

This book covers the recent literature concerning Islamic banking and finance (IBF), focuses on the history of IBF since its inception and introduces the latest innovative concepts and practices in the field. The authors cover important topics such as the role of ownership, Shari`ah compliance and governance structures in raising debt capital using IBF practices, including Fatwa issues and the use of benchmarking practices. The book also addresses topics like archival data, the influence of leverage on ownership structure, and sukuk structures, as well as misconceptions, threats, challenges and opportunities in IBF. Finally, the book deals with prominent issues such as business score-carding, Takaful (Islamic Insurance), IBF implications for block-chain-based fintech and finance hub concepts in Islamic microfinance models. This edited volume is an important contribution to the IBF literature as it provides a much-needed in-depth look into industry practices through the perspective of corporate finance and governance. With its interdisciplinary approach covering legal and financial issues along with a wide variety of notable contributors, this book will be a valuable reference guide to both teachers and students of Islamic banking and economics.

This book provides an introduction to R programming and a summary of financial mathematics. It is not always easy for graduate students to grasp an overview of the theory of finance in an abstract form. For newcomers to the finance industry, it is not always obvious how to apply the abstract theory to the real financial data they encounter. Introducing finance theory alongside numerical applications makes it easier to grasp the subject. Popular programming languages like C++, which are used in many financial applications are meant for general-purpose requirements. They are good for implementing large-scale distributed systems for simultaneously valuing many financial contracts, but they are not as suitable for small-scale ad-hoc analysis or exploration of financial data. The R programming language overcomes this problem. R can be used for numerical applications including statistical analysis, time series analysis, numerical methods for pricing financial contracts, etc. This book provides an overview of financial mathematics with numerous examples numerically illustrated using the R programming language.

Today, the role of emerging countries in the world economy is significant. However, the financial sector has experienced a decade of turbulence and as a result emerging markets are facing unique challenges. Moreover, the integration of emerging markets into the global financial markets has significant consequences for the growth and stability of the economy and sets new challenges for economic policy-makers. The biggest challenge is in finding ways to sustain their current trajectory and in taking a more decisive role in shaping the global financial architecture to ensure sustainable growth. They need to ensure a collective prudential system can be built in the near future to withstand the difficult challenges ahead.
"Emerging Markets and Financial Resilience" brings together the latest research on the most pressing issues affecting finance in emerging markets. Written in five parts, the book includes newly emerging research topics in finance such as the role of social capital and natural resource in financial market development; and socially responsible investing funds in East Asian emerging markets. It also presents new empirical evidence on established research topics such as portfolio management, international parities, foreign direct investment, momentum anomalies and corporate finance. "Emerging Markets and Financial Resilience" is an ideal resource for researchers, postgraduate students, practitioners and regulators interested in Asia as an emerging market.

In a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty, this book provides empirical guidance to the economy and what to expect in the near and distant future. Beginning with a historic look at major contributions to economic indicators and business cycles starting with Wesley Clair Mitchell (1913) to Burns and Mitchell (1946), to Moore (1961) and Zarnowitz (1992), this book explores time series forecasting and economic cycles, which are currently maintained and enhanced by The Conference Board. Given their highly statistically significant relationship with GDP and the unemployment rate, these relationships are particularly useful for practitioners to help predict business cycles.

Financial authorities face a number of key challenges, including maintaining financial stability; ensuring long-term finance for stable economic growth; promoting greater access to financial services for both households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and fostering a competitive financial industry. Access to finance for SMEs is particularly important, given their large shares in economic activity and employment in Asian economies. Striking the appropriate balance in achieving these objectives through financial supervision and regulation is an important policy issue for financial regulators. This book is the record of a joint conference in 2014 organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute; Financial Services Agency, Japan; and International Monetary Fund Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific on the topic of financial system stability, regulation, and financial inclusion. Participants included noted scholars, policymakers, and financial industrial participants from Asia. ADB Institute The ADB Institute, located in Tokyo, is the think tank of the Asian Development Bank. Its mission is to identify effective development strategies and improve development management in ADB's developing member countries. Financial Services Agency, Japan The Financial Services Agency, Japan is responsible for ensuring the stability of Japan's financial system, the protection of depositors, insurance policyholders and securities investors, and smooth finance through such measures as planning and policymaking. International Monetary Fund Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific The International Monetary Fund Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific contributes to economic surveillance and research, leads the IMF's involvement in regional cooperation, manages regional capacity building programs, and promotes the understanding and two-way dialogue of the IMF in the region.

Recent years have witnessed a growing importance of quantitative methods in both financial research and industry. This development requires the use of advanced techniques on a theoretical and applied level, especially when it comes to the quantification of risk and the valuation of modern financial products. Applied Quantitative Finance (2nd edition) provides a comprehensive and state-of-the-art treatment of cutting-edge topics and methods. It provides solutions to and presents theoretical developments in many practical problems such as risk management, pricing of credit derivatives, quantification of volatility and copula modelling. The synthesis of theory and practice supported by computational tools is reflected in the selection of topics as well as in a finely tuned balance of scientific contributions on practical implementation and theoretical concepts. This linkage between theory and practice offers theoreticians insights into considerations of applicability and, vice versa, provides practitioners comfortable access to new techniques in quantitative finance. Themes that are dominant in current research and which are presented in this book include among others the valuation of Collaterized Debt Obligations (CDOs), the high-frequency analysis of market liquidity, the pricing of Bermuda options and realized volatility. All Quantlets for the calculation of the given examples are downloadable from the Springer web pages.

The industrialised world has witnessed a dramatic increase in the volume of international capital movements in the forms of borrowing and lending, bond transactions and foreign direct investment. At the same time, many non-OECD countries have embarked on extensive programmes of capital market liberalisation. This volume examines the implications of this increased international capital mobility for both industrialised and developing countries. The contributors look at the effect of developments on economic fluctuations, and on fiscal and monetary policies under alternative exchange rate regimes. They also address the erosion of capital taxation as a source of government revenue, the contribution of mobile capital to development with 'endogenous growth', the role of mobile capital in reducing unemployment where there are large-scale population flows, and the convergence of national growth rates.

A number of methodologies have been employed to provide decision making solutions to a whole assortment of financial problems in today's globalized markets. Hidden Markov Models in Finance by Mamon and Elliott will be the first systematic application of these methods to some special kinds of financial problems; namely, pricing options and variance swaps, valuation of life insurance policies, interest rate theory, credit risk modeling, risk management, analysis of future demand and inventory level, testing foreign exchange rate hypothesis, and early warning systems for currency crises. This book provides researchers and practitioners with analyses that allow them to sort through the random noise of financial markets (i.e., turbulence, volatility, emotion, chaotic events, etc.) and analyze the fundamental components of economic markets. Hence, Hidden Markov Models in Finance provides decision makers with a clear, accurate picture of core financial components by filtering out the random noise in financial markets.

Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the FinTech Revolution

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 1.5, University of the West of England, Bristol, language: English, abstract: In the following research essay, the take-over of ARAL by the German BP will be analysed. Furthermore, the case will explore the assumption of ?transformational change? as the best way to achieve successful change. Firstly, the background of the change will be explained. Afterwards a short comparison of both cultures will illustrate the differences of the companies. Overall, the change process will be explained and evaluated under the aspect of organisational change management. In order to expose the case, theoretical concepts and frameworks will be used. Finally, the way in which BP implemented successful the change will be linked to the set question of ?transformational change?.

The theme of Research in Finance vol. 29 is "Dealing with Crisis and Regulation." The first chapter looks for solutions to the European financial crisis, and the second provides a study of audit qualifications for accounting firms in Spain using advanced empirical methods. The next chapters are more international in focus, with topics including: business strategies for competition in Mexico; anomalies in the real return on corporate equity compared to real assets; the stabilizing influence of commodity futures trading in oil and gold. The following chapters explore the unintended consequences and burdens of regulations, for example the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and other more deeply underlying factors in the financial markets. The regulatory examination then shifts to the electric power grid, and some unintended consequences of the new regulations requiring retail utilities to buy all the power produced by wind and solar generators linked to their grid.

This book analyses and discusses current issues and trends in finance with a special focus on technological developments and innovations. The book presents an overview of the classical and traditional approaches of financial management in companies and discusses its key strategic role in corporate performance. Furthermore, the volume illustrates how the emerging technological innovations will shape the theory and practice of financial management, focusing especially on the decentralized financial ecosystems that blockchain and its related technologies allow.

Build a better, faster forecast. In this Authority Guide, forecasting guru Simon Thompson shows you how to build financial forecasts quickly, effectively and cheaply through his unique, proven and easy-to-follow 10-step process. By learning how to create effective forecasts you will master the ability to understand the potential financial outcomes for your business and be able to communicate financial information in order to successfully raise investment or loans.

The 2008 financial crisis was a watershed moment which clearly influenced the public's perception of the role of 'finance' in society. Since 2008, a plethora of books and newspaper articles have been produced accusing the academic community of being unable to produce valid models which can accommodate those extreme events. This unique Handbook brings together leading practitioners and academics in the areas of banking, mathematics, and law to present original research on the key issues affecting financial modelling since the 2008 financial crisis. As well as exploring themes of distributional assumptions and efficiency the Handbook also explores how financial modelling can possibly be re-interpreted in light of the 2008 crisis.

This book presents empirical research that addresses the latest issues and innovative products in Islamic banking and finance around the world. Chapters from expert contributors cover a wide range of topics, including the various issues in stock markets, an overview of takaful, a roadmap for introducing Islamic finance to uncharted territories and an in-depth analysis of the current challenges. Case studies and statistics provide up to date information that can be used for future research. This book will be of interest to academics and researchers who wish to learn more about the challenges of Islamic finance and economics.