Portfolio Diversification provides an update on the practice of combining several risky investments in a portfolio with the goal of reducing the portfolio's overall risk. In this book, readers will find a comprehensive introduction and analysis of various dimensions of portfolio diversification (assets, maturities, industries, countries, etc.), along with time diversification strategies (long term vs. short term diversification) and diversification using other risk measures than variance. Several tools to quantify and implement optimal diversification are discussed and illustrated.

The terms venture capital and private equity may differ across countries. This book discusses venture capital not only as risk capital toward unlisted companies with the aim to enhance the investee firm, but also analyses broader forms of entrepreneurial investment: from early stage financing to buyout and turnaround transaction. This book is divided into four sections. The first section aims to shed light on the terminology and offers a comparison between private equity/venture capital, and the traditional banking sector as financing sources. The second section details the differences between private equity and venture capital transactions on the basis of firm life cycle, and summarizes the main characteristics of both private equity and venture capital investors and investee firms. The third section illustrates the evolution of the private equity and venture capital industry before and after the financial crisis by looking at three fundamental aspects: fundraising, investment and divestment, all in terms of volume and trends. The last section discusses the basic elements of corporate valuation applied to private equity and venture capital industry, with some practical examples.

The Handbook of Investors' Behavior during Financial Crises provides fundamental information about investor behavior during turbulent periods, such the 2000 dot com crash and the 2008 global financial crisis. Contributors share the same behavioral finance tools and techniques while analyzing behaviors across a variety of market structures and asset classes. The volume provides novel insights about the influence and effects of regional differences in market design. Its distinctive approach to studies of financial crises is of key importance in our contemporary financial landscape, even more so since the accelerated process of globalization has rendered the outbreak of financial crises internationally more commonplace compared to previous decades.

Stochastic portfolio theory is a mathematical methodology for constructing stock portfolios, analyzing the behavior of portfolios, and understanding the structure of equity markets. Stochastic portfolio theory has both theoretical and practical applications: as a theoretical tool it can be used to construct examples of theoretical portfolios with specified characteristics, and to determine the distributional component of portfolio return. On a practical level, stochastic portfolio theory has been the basis for strategies used for over a decade by the institutional equity manager INTECH, where the author has served as chief investment officer. This book is an introduction to stochastic portfolio theory for investment professionals and for students of mathematical finance. Each chapter includes a number of problems of varying levels of difficulty and a brief summary of the principal results of the chapter, without proofs.

Analysing foreign investment promotion at a regional level in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, the book applies regional science, international business, and place marketing concepts to explore how Central Eastern European Countries compete for multinational firms. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the author places special emphasis on promotion and its role within a wider context of regional strategies aimed at inward investment attraction. With useful insights for policy-makers, the book combines theory with empirical evidence and provides valuable reading for those researching international business location, place marketing and regional development.

The author/editor has produced two stand-alone or companion volumes. Only one third of the original material remains.
New Markets and Products begins with two chapters on emerging markets. The book then goes on to cover markets and products of increasing complexity: standard equity and interest rate derivatives, exotic options, swap (and swaptions), volatility trading and finally credit derivatives.
The contributors are all acknowledged experts in their fields: Michael Howell, Mark Fox, Ian King, Chris Rogers, Andrew Street, Riccardo Rebonato, Edmond Levy, Bryan Thomas, Vincent Lacoste, Desmond Fitzgerald and Blythe Masters.
New Markets and Products will be an essential reference tool for risk managers, institutional investors, fund managers, bankers, corporate treasurers and financial consultants.
"In this volume Carol Alexander has gathered together ten articles that are concerned with important recent developments in financial markets. Two of the articles are concerned with emerging markets. They explore the reasons for their growth and the nature of the investment opportunities available. The remaining eight articles are concerned with derivatives. There are chapters on equity derivatives, interest rate derivatives, exotic options, volatility trading, and credit derivatives. The final chapter on credit derivatives is particularly timely. This market is in the process of transforming the way banks manage credit risk. I have seen no other discussion of the market as comprehensive and useful as that provided by Blythe Masters.
Market participants and students alike will find much useful and thought-provoking information in this volume."
- John Hull, August 1998

The digital transformation of finance and banking enables traditional services to be delivered in a more effective and efficient way but, at the same time, presents crucial issues such as fast growing new asset classes, new currencies, datafication and data privacy, algorithmization of law and regulation and, last but not least, new models of financial crime. This book approaches the evolution of digital finance from a business perspective and in a holistic way, providing cutting-edge knowledge of how the digital financial system works in its three main domains: banking, insurance and capital markets. It offers a bird's eye view of the major issues and developments in these individual sectors. The book begins by examining the wider framework of the subsequent analysis and over the next three parts, discusses the opportunities, risks and challenges facing the digitalization of these individual financial subsectors, highlighting the similarities and differences in their digitalization agenda, as well as the existing linkages and dependencies among them. The book clarifies the strategic issues facing the development of digital finance in these major subsectors over the coming years. The book has three key messages: that digital transformation changes fundamentally the way financial businesses operate; that individual trades have their own digitalization agenda; and that the State with its regulatory power and central banking and money has a particularly important role to play. It will be of interest to scholars, students and researchers of finance and banking, as well as policymakers wishing to understand the values and limitations of new forms of digital money.

Finally, there's a money guide to help single women survive and thrive. Single Women and Money is a highly readable guide that helps single women live a financially secure and successful life. It's a book for the millions of unmarried women in America who must make ends meet on a single salary-which is typically less than what men earn. Using stories of actual women, as well as data and experts' insights, the book chronicles the financial issues of single women. It provides the tools needed to tackle their daily and longer-term needs and probes the issues specific to divorcees, widows, women who never married, and single mothers. Single women reveal their moving stories detailing how many have overcome obstacles. From there, the book provides a wide range of specific guidance on money issues targeted to singles. These include saving, spending wisely, managing with children, shedding debt, investing in line with your values, planning for retirement and long-term care, navigating Social Security, paying taxes, landing a job after age 55, protecting financial assets and leaving a legacy. Offering resources women can turn to in hard times, the authors also suggest ways society can, and should, assist single women.

A guide to the latest, most promising technical indicators and their applications

Momentum, direction, and divergence are the three basic components of nearly all technical indicators used in the analysis of stock and commodities trading. And for those who understand them and their applications, they are also the pillars of a high-performance trading strategy. In this groundbreaking book, technical wizard William Blau schools financial professionals in all three. Combining the latest financial information with dozens of eye-opening graphics, Blau clearly, concisely, and with a minimum of complex mathematics:

• Introduces the principle of double smoothing and develops potent new indicators based on double smoothing techniques
• Describes the uses and limitations of a variety of notable technical indicators
• Explains momentum, direction, and divergence and new ways to apply them
• Presents the True Strength Index and shows how it can dramatically improve most directional indicators
• Provides new ways of identifying divergence that make implementation far simpler than ever before

MOMENTUM, DIRECTION, AND DIVERGENCE

The Wiley Trader's Advantage is a series of concise, highly focused books designed to keep savvy traders in tune with the latest successful strategies and techniques used by the keenest minds in the business.

In this latest volume, technical expert Bill Blau shows you how momentum, direction, and divergence form the basis of most technical indicators and how they can work for you to provide a considerable competitive advantage. Clearly, concisely, and with a minimum of complex mathematics, Blau shows you how to understand and apply them. Integrating the latest financial insights with more than 75 easy-to-follow graphics, Blau describes the uses and limitations of many of today's most notable technical indicators. He then demonstrates a variety of ways in which the principles of momentum, direction, and divergence can be used to create a versatile new set of technical indicators or to improve the effectiveness of the most widely used traditional indicators.

Focusing on the groundbreaking double smoothing concept, which he introduces for the first time in this book, William Blau:

• Develops reliable new momentum indicators based on double smoothing techniques
• Shows how these indicators improve the effectiveness of most popular oscillators, including the RSI, MACD, and stochastic indicators, by solving a host of timing problems
• Combines the standard Welles Wilder techniques with his original True Strength Index to improve the effectiveness of most directional movement indicators
• Introduces new ways of identifying divergence that make implementation simpler than ever
• And much more

A complete guide to the most potent new indicators and their applications, Momentum, Direction, and Divergence is an indispensable resource for traders, portfolio managers, and all financial professionals.

A unique perspective on applied investment theory and risk management from the Senior Risk Officer of a major pension fund

"Investment Theory and Risk Management" is a practical guide to today's investment environment. The book's sophisticated quantitative methods are examined by an author who uses these methods at the Virginia Retirement System "and" teaches them at the Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to showing how investment performance can be evaluated, using Jensen's Alpha, Sharpe's Ratio, and DDM, he delves into four types of optimal portfolios (one that is fully invested, one with targeted returns, another with no short sales, and one with capped investment allocations).

In addition, the book provides valuable insights on risk, and topics such as anomalies, factor models, and active portfolio management. Other chapters focus on private equity, structured credit, optimal rebalancing, data problems, and Monte Carlo simulation.Contains investment theory and risk management spreadsheet models based on the author's own real-world experience with stock, bonds, and alternative assetsOffers a down-to-earth guide that can be used on a daily basis for making common financial decisions with a new level of quantitative sophistication and rigorWritten by the Director of Research and Senior Risk Officer for the Virginia Retirement System and an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Business

"Investment Theory and Risk Management" empowers both the technical and non-technical reader with the essential knowledge necessary to understand and manage risks in any corporate or economic environment.

Over the past decade, socially responsible investment (SRI) has changed from being a niche market to become a core consideration for mainstream investors. As such, pension fund advisers, trustees of charitable foundations and other investment professionals want to understand this new phenomenon. Up to now they have lacked any reference book to teach them what they need to know about SRI. This gap is now filled by the publication of Socially Responsible Investment: A Global Revolution, the first book on SRI specifically written for investment professionals and their clients. The book will also help business executives and business schools looking at better corporate governance and business ethics.

Socially Responsible Investment describes how SRI has moved from fringe to mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic, and its current explosive growth rate in Asia and Europe. The book consists of three parts:

• Part One traces the historical development of the subject and analyses the different types of activity that comprise it. It also provides detailed analysis of the typical investor in SRI funds.
• Part Two describes the emerging consensus that SRI for institutional investors concentrates on four main issues: the environment, human rights, corporate governance, and financial return. Each of these subjects is covered in depth.
• Part Three concentrates on the rapid growth of socially responsible investment around the world, as it truly becomes a global revolution.

"To newcomers and veterans of the SRI movement, Russell Sparkes’ "Socially Responsible Investment, a Global Revolution" is a "must read". You will come away with a fresh appreciation of the history, evolution, and potential of socially responsible investing. The book is well researched. To Russell Sparkes--thank you!" Patricia Wolf, RSM, Executive Director, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

"The next few years will be crucial for the long term future of Socially Responsible Investment. Russell Sparkes’ timely book sets the scene very clearly for those who are shaping the agenda, but it will also be of value to people who are responding to the challenge of investing responsibly"  Helen Wildsmith, Executive Director, UK Social Investment Forum

"The Ethical Investor (1995) changed my views on what could done to harness investment to social responsibility in the UK context. This book now moves the agenda to the world stage and is essential reading for all those who can see the need to harness capitalism to SRI objectives in the post Sept. 11th world, and that after the Enron and Worldcom scandals, SRI can deliver the better world we need" Tony Colman MP, House of Commons International Development Select Committee

"The growth of SRI has been one of the most important - but often misunderstood - investment trends of the past decade. Russell Sparkes provides an invaluable analysis of the main SRI developments and issues for both professional and private investor alike, writing with true authority and insight" Stuart Bell, Research Director, PIRC Ltd

"At just the moment when the relationship between corporations and society is coming dominate political agendas, Russell Sparkes has produced an invaluable sequel to The Ethical Investor. Global in scope, Socially Responsible Investment is a practical, authoritative, readable guide that will well-serve both institutional and individual investors. Sparkes’ twenty plus years in the field and his understanding of cross-cultural issues give his work a unique depth and application wherever investors want to effect positive social change" Peter D. Kinder, Chief Executive Officer of KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts

"Russell Sparks has filled a huge need. In this magisterial volume, he has brought together the history, language and lore of shareholder activism and responsibility into coherence. For everyone searching for ways for owners to make corporations part of the solution for global problems, this book is a must read" Robert A.G. Monks, Chairman, Lens Investment Management and Publisher of www.ragm.com concerned with corporate governance and shareholder responsibility

"…a useful tool for investors and managers. Not the untested ideals of someone wishing to jump on the ethical band wagon but the considered and tested observations of a successful institutional investor of conviction"

"…having compared Socially Responsible Investment to an iceberg, Russell Sparkes explains many of those aspects of the subject not obvious on the surface." J E Rogers, Chief Executive, UKSIP The Society of Investment Professionals

A comprehensive text on financial market operations management Financial Market Operations Management offers anyone involved with administering, maintaining, and improving the IT systems within financial institutions a comprehensive text that covers all the essential information for managing operations. Written by Keith Dickinson an expert on the topic the book is comprehensive, practical, and covers the five essential areas of operations and management including participation and infrastructure, trade life cycle, asset servicing, technology, and the regulatory environment. This comprehensive guide also covers the limitations and boundaries of operational systems and focuses on their interaction with external parties including clients, counterparties, exchanges, and more. This essential resource reviews the key aspects of operations management in detail, including an examination of the entire trade life cycle, new issue distribution of bonds and equities, securities financing, as well as corporate actions, accounting, and reconciliations. The author highlights specific operational processes and challenges and includes vital formulae, spreadsheet applications, and exhibits. * Offers a comprehensive resource for operational staff in financial services * Covers the key aspects of operations management * Highlights operational processes and challenges * Includes an instructors manual, a test bank, and a solution manual This vital resource contains the information, processes, and illustrative examples needed for a clear understanding of financial market operations.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate that becoming a successful do-it-yourself (DIY) investor is within the reach of almost every person in society. Saving or investing in the stock markets is for everyone - from parents with the children's allowance, to someone who has a lump sum to invest, to the person who has just started working but can save even aC--100 a month, to someone who is free to manage their own pension. Building an asset base from which you can earn income gives you choices later in life. The aim is that, when you close this book, you should be able to implement an easy-to-follow approach to investing in the stock markets, whilst minimising risk. No matter what level of experience you are starting from, this book is aimed at assisting you to obtain the returns on offer from the markets over time. Arming yourself with a proper strategy or plan, which dictates what you buy and when you sell, is the key to stock market investing, and developing one is a good deal easier than you may think. That plan might be simply to invest across the different asset classes where there appears to be clear value on offer; to concentrate on high yielding funds listed on stock markets as a method of generating income, while controlling risk; or to master some successful approach to stock selection. 3 Steps to Investment Success offers an easy-to-follow mechanical approach to selecting a diversified portfolio of stocks from the UK FTSE 100 Index, an index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange by market capitalisation. You will learn also how to invest in the stock market indirectly through listed funds, such as exchange-traded funds and investment companies, which offer instant diversification, allowing you to more easily control risk. And 3 Steps to Investment Success includes a short story, A Villa in the Sun by Virginia Gilbert, a BAFTA-nominated, award-winning writer and director, to drive home the often real consequences of speculating in markets rather than investing.

Mainstream financial economics has largely ignored the complex cognitive and motivational factors that guide investor trading decisions and that influence the structure and dynamics of world equity markets. Research shows, however, that investor psychology is reliably linked to predictable momentum and reversals in stock prices and, more generally, to stock market bubbles. The first volume reviews the scientific debate between leading behavioral scientists and proponents of rational markets and rational economic man. It also summarizes key elements of a new psychological theory of stock prices with special emphasis on the formation of investor beliefs and the quality of judgment. The articles in the second Volume support the behavioral approach with international evidence collected from many sources. Major anomalies in financial decision-making and in the behavior of equity markets are interpreted in the context of new experimental, empirical, and theoretical research.

3i (Investors in Industry, and formerly the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation, etc.) is Britain's leading venture capital company. Founded in 1945 as a result of a combination of pressures and counter-pressures from political parties, Whitehall, the Bank of England, and the clearing banks, the organization has played a significant role in post-war investment banking and industrial development.
The first part of the book traces its history from the early years of post-war reconstruction and the role played by Piercy and Kinross, through the years of consolidation, to the higher-profile years of the change of name and style and the 1994 flotation. The second part offers an inside view of the workings of this unique institution - the controllers, 3i's role in developing MBOs, methods of assessing risk and return, its relationship with capital markets, etc.
During its first 50 years 3i has invested in numerous well known and successful companies - many of these are detailed in the text (British Caledonian, Oxford Instruments, Laura Ashley, etc.). The book is also elegantly and innovatively designed, making good use of the well known 3i cartoons.

This volume, inspired by and dedicated to the work of pioneering investment analyst, Jack Treynor, addresses the issues of portfolio risk and return and how investment portfolios are measured. In a career spanning over fifty years, the primary questions addressed by Jack Treynor were: Is there an observable risk-return trade-off? How can stock selection models be integrated with risk models to enhance client returns? Do managed portfolios earn positive, and statistically significant, excess returns and can mutual fund managers time the market? Since the publication of a pair of seminal Harvard Business Review articles in the mid-1960's, Jack Treynor has developed thinking that has greatly influenced security selection, portfolio construction and measurement, and market efficiency. Key publications addressed such topics as the Capital Asset Pricing Model and stock selection modeling and integration with risk models. Treynor also served as editor of the Financial Analysts Journal, through which he wrote many columns across a wide spectrum of topics. This volume showcases original essays by leading researchers and practitioners exploring the topics that have interested Treynor while applying the most current methodologies. Such topics include the origins of portfolio theory, market timing, and portfolio construction in equity markets. The result not only reinforces Treynor's lasting contributions to the field but suggests new areas for research and analysis.

Make the best choices for your money and earn big with this guide to high-risk, high-reward investment strategies including options trading, investing in meme stocks, and the business of cryptocurrency. Your favorite sites are filled with the latest investment trends and stories of other people making bank by making smart moves in the market. But how can you get your own share of the wealth? A Beginner's Guide to High-Risk, High-Reward Investing can help you make sense of trends, from short selling to cryptocurrency and "meme stock," breaking down the buzzwords to give you hard facts about the opportunities and risks of fringe investment strategies. With advice from expert Robert Ross, this easy-to-follow investing guide gives you everything you need to determine which high-risk, high-reward investment strategies are the best fit for your portfolio.

"A brilliantly conceived and lucidly written exposition of the most important topic on the frontier of modern finance. This book takes the mystery out of derivatives. Bravo "--John H. Langbein, Professor, Yale Law School

"Derivatives for Decision Makers is a first in explaining derivatives to those who need to understand them. It explains what derivatives are, how they can be used as risk management tools, and what managers and decision makers need to know about the subject. Not only is the technical substance superb, but the form is accessible to all decision makers."--Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss, Director, The World Bank Group

"Derivatives for Decision Makers is an excellent resource for both users and providers of derivative products, regardless of the reader's level of sophistication. The recent highly publicized derivatives problems are objectively reviewed by the authors who contribute important and sensible recommendations to avoid similar situations in the future."--Dipak K. Rastogi, Executive Vice President and former Head of Global Derivatives, Citibank, N. A.

"Derivatives can play a critical role in achieving corporate financing and investment strategies. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned practitioner, Crawford and Sen present a superb roadmap with well-chosen, real-world illustrations. Their vivid insights make this book a 'must-read' for corporate and pension fund managers."--Sandra S. Wijnberg, Vice President & Assistant Treasurer, PepsiCo, Inc.

"Crawford and Sen have done a fine job of making derivatives comprehensible for managers who need to understand the basic features and uses of these instruments. This coverage, together with the book's unique emphasis on senior management's fiduciary obligations to the firm's shareholders, sets this book apart from other attempts to make derivatives accessible to senior management. This book is an important read."--John F. Marshall, Executive Director, International Association of Financial Engineers and Professor of Financial Engineering, Polytechnic University

Derivatives are the power tools that enable users to analyze components of risk and return inherent in an investment or a business. The popularity of derivative use in the marketplace has surged in recent years, spurring financial innovation and better risk management. Yet this popular instrument is double-edged: derivatives are as risky as they are beneficial. In light of recent, highly publicized disasters--the Orange County bankruptcy and the Barings fiasco--it is imperative that business and finance professionals have a current and basic knowledge of this complicated and venturesome field.

If you are a shareholder, director, or other decision maker in a company utilizing derivatives, it is important that you know how to maximize the benefits of derivatives and minimize the damage that they can cause. Now, two leading financial experts provide the solid principles you need to understand and properly use derivative products and structured financing. Starting upwards from the ground floor, this straightforward, no-nonsense resource is replete with tables, graphs, and common examples and common sense, offering invaluable information on: The three major types of derivatives-options, futures, and swaps Leverage--what it is, why it is so important, how it is used to increase returns, and how it multiplies risk Hedging a stock portfolio and hedging industry risk with synthetic futures Business risks--core and secondary risks; which business risks to hedge with derivatives Investment strategies using derivatives Derivative risks--market, credit, legal, and systemic Fiduciary duties--the duties of loyalty and care, exceptions, the prudent investor rule, business judgment, rule and disclosure requirements Delegating management functions--selecting, instructing, and monitoring experts

Whether you're a manager, director, attorney, accountant, corporate executive, or corporate shareholder, this comprehensive book will prove to be an invaluable guide on utilizing and handling derivatives wisely, resourcefully, and successfully.

A straightforward, practical guide to the newest frontier in investment strategy—crypto—from #1 New York Times bestselling author and personal finance expert Ric Edelman. Blockchain and bitcoin are here to stay—and as the Bank of England stated, this new technology could “transform the global financial system.� No wonder PWC says blockchain technology will add $2 trillion to the world’s $80 trillion economy by 2030. Indeed, blockchain technology and the digital assets it makes possible are revolutionary, the most profound innovation for commerce since the invention of the internet. And yet, the average investor—and the investment advisors who manage two-thirds of all their money—aren’t aware of all this, or of the incredible investment opportunities now available. Fortunately, Ric Edelman, one of the most influential experts in the financial field, shows investors how they can engage and thrive in today’s new investment marketplace. Featuring the prophetic insights you’d expect from one of most acclaimed financial advisors, The Truth About Crypto is fun to read and easy to understand—and most importantly gives readers the sound, practical advice we all need to succeed with this new asset class. Best of all, Edelman shows how blockchain works, the difference between digital currency and digital assets, and a comprehensive look at every aspect of the field. This book is a must-read guide if you want to achieve investment success today.

Welcome to the secretive club of modern hedge funds, where important players in the world of investing and capital markets have invested close to $4 trillion globally.If you're intrigued by the inner workings of hedge funds, investment techniques and technologies they use to source investment alpha, this book is for you. Focusing on the author's three decades of trading experience at leading banks and hedge funds, it covers both discretionary and computer-driven strategies and perspectives on AI-based and quantamental investing using new alternative data, which includes numerous examples and insights of real trades and investment strategies. No mathematical knowledge is required, with the relevant algorithms detailed in the appendices.Discretionary investing details equity and credit investing across the corporate capital structure. Through trading equities, bonds and loans, event-driven trades can target profitable special situations and relative value opportunities. Systematic trading involves computer-driven strategies derived from a scientific and statistical analysis of liquid markets. The investment strategies of both commodity trading advisors (CTAs) and long/short equity funds are detailed, from trend-following to factor-based approaches. AI investing is fashionable but does the reality for hedge funds correspond to the AI hype present in other non-financial domains? AI using neural nets and other machine learning techniques are outlined along with their practical application in regards to investing.Quantitative Hedge Funds also discusses environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, which has rapidly evolved as the public and institutions demand solutions to global problems such as climate change, pollution and unethical labour practices. ESG investment strategies are migrating out of the long-only space and into hedge funds.Finally, the advent of big data has led to multiple alternative datasets available for hedge fund managers. The integration of alternative data into the investment process is discussed, together with the rise of so-called quantamental investing, a hybrid of the best of human skill and computer-based technologies.

With the internationalization of Renminbi (RMB), the gradual liberalization of China's capital account and the recent reform of the RMB pricing mechanism, the RMB exchange rate has been volatile. This book examines how we can forecast exchange rate reliably. It explains how we can do so through a new methodology for exchange rate forecasting. The book also analyzes the dynamic relationship between exchange rate and the exchange rate data decomposition and integration, the domestic economic situation, the international economic situation and the public's expectations and how these interactions would affect the exchange rate. The book also explains why this comprehensive integrated approach is the best model for optimizing accuracy in exchange rate forecasting.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers, the oldest and fourth-largest US investment bank, in September 2008 precipitated the global financial crisis. This deepened the contraction in economic activity that had already started in December 2007 and has become known as the Great Recession. Following a sluggish and uneven period of recovery, levels of private debt have recently been on the rise again making another financial crisis almost inevitable. This book answers the key question: can anything be done to prevent a new financial crisis or minimize its impact? The book opens with an analysis of the main elements responsible for the 2007/2009 financial crisis and assesses the extent to which they are still present in todays financial system. The responses to the financial crises - particularly the Dodd-Frank Act, the establishment of the Financial Stability Board, and attempts to regulate shadow banking - are evaluated for their effectiveness. It is found that there is a high risk of a new bubble developing, there remains a lack of transparency in the financial industry, and risk-taking continues to be incentivised among bankers and investors. Proposals are put forward to ameliorate the risks, arguing for the need for an international lender of last resort, recalling Keynes' idea for an International Clearing Union. This book will be of significant interest to scholars and students of financial crises, financial stability, and alternative approaches to finance and economics.