The definitive report on what caused America's economic meltdown- and who was responsible.

The financial and economic crisis has touched the lives of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and their homes, but many have little understanding of how it happened. Now, in this very accessible report, readers can get the facts. Formed in May 2009, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) is a panel of 10 commissioners with experience in business, regulations, economics, and housing, chosen by Congress to explain what happened and why it happened. This panel has had subpoena power that enabled them to interview people and examine documents that no reporter had access to.

The FCIC has reviewed millions of pages of documents, and interviewed more than 600 leaders, experts, and participants in the financial markets and government regulatory agencies, as well as individuals and businesses affected by the crisis.

In the tradition of The 9/11 Commission Report, The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report will be a comprehensive book for the lay reader, complete with a glossary, charts, and easy-to-read diagrams, and a timeline that includes important events. It will be read by policy makers, corporate executives, regulators, government agencies, and the American people

The world of M&A has always been complex and nuanced. Corporations encounter their toughest business problems during a divestiture or a merger. At the same time, optimal execution of divestitures can also create high value for the seller as well as the buyer. This book is a collection of leading practices on Divestitures and covers end to end transaction life cycle from readiness through execution including post deal transformation. It contains the synthesis of experiences across a wide array of clients across industries, ranging from $500 million to $100 billion in revenue. Each chapter in this book can stand on its own as an authority on leading practices related to the topic it presents, and together, these chapters provide a comprehensive set of perspectives needed to successfully complete a divestiture. The highlight of the book is valuable real-life examples and references that a business can benefit from, when it is considering, analyzing or implementing a divestiture.

"This book fills a very important gap in the mindset of the bond structurer and the investor. Often, the two disciplines approach their tasks ignorant of the perspectives of the other side. But successful structuring requires providing the best value to investors in order to compete, and investors who don’t fully understand structuring will not remain investors for long. Highly recommended!"
–Bennett W. Golub
Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc.

"An excellent primer on asset securitization, clearly written in plain English and with straightforward mathematical expressions. This book is suitable for both business school students and structured finance market practitioners."
–Joseph Hu, PhD
Managing Director, Structured Finance Ratings
Standard & Poor’s

"In their new work Securitization: Structuring and Investment Analysis, Andrew Davidson et al. reinforce their preeminence in the alchemy of mortgage securitization. Anyone involved in mortgages neglects Andy’s work at his peril."
–Richard T. Pratt
Chairman, Richard T. Pratt Associates
Former Chairman, Merrill Lynch Mortgage Corporation

"This book provides an insightful and accessible exploration of securitized real estate markets. As such, it provides a valuable service to those active and interested in these burgeoning markets. The authors have done a wonderful job of gracefully integrating a vast and important subject matter. Accordingly, this book also makes for an excellent textbook for those universities offering one or more courses in this rapidly growing field."
–Joseph L. Pagliari, Jr.
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University

Much of what we consider modern economics is the work of British journalist and economist Walter Bagehot, one of the first editors of the influential newspaper The Economist and an early proponent of business cycles. Here, he develops his theory of central banking, much of which continues to impact financial thinking today. First published in 1873, this replica of the updated 1910 edition explores the history of London's Lombard Street, from how it came to be the traditional home of banks and moneylenders to how the value of money was determined by the institutions there. Joint stocks, private banking, and the regulation of the banking reserve: Bagehot's discussion of these fundamental economic issues makes this a vital resource for anyone wishing to understand financial history. WALTER BAGEHOT (1826-1877) also wrote The English Constitution (1867), Physics and Politics (1872), and The Postulates of English Political Economy (1885), among other works.

Written for international business managers and executives, this book offers a comprehensive and authoritative discussion of foreign direct investment in the People's Republic of China. The authors note at the outset that although the events of Tiananmen Square brought both trade and investment to a virtual standstill, new investment is now again flowing into China (but at a guarded pace). For those wishing to pursue the numerous opportunities that still exist, this volume offers a full analysis of the risks involved, a thorough treatment of the different forms of investment activities in China, complete coverage of China's investment policies and incentives, and specific case studies of foreign direct investment in China.

The authors begin by providing an overview of the Open Door Policy and China's economic and managerial systems. Next, they discuss special economic zones and open cities; investment policies, such as flexible foreign ownership and choice of investment location; new incentives after 1986; and investment motivations. The modes of foreign investment covered include equity joint ventures, contractual joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises, joint oil exploration, compensation, and trade. Separate chapters analyze foreign investment inflows, identify the organizations involved in foreign investment, describe investment negotiation and approval procedures, and provide a detailed example of a joint venture feasibility study. Three case studies and an evaluation of the outlook for future foreign investment in China complete the volume. Numerous explanatory tables and figures amplify points made in the text. Two appendixes provide a sample contract and articles of association for joint ventures in China and the regulations for development and opening of the Shanghai Pudong New Area. A third appendix lists the rules for the implementation of Chinese law on wholly foreign-owned enterprises in China.

Security Analysis, Portfolio Management, and Financial Derivatives integrates the many topics of modern investment analysis. It provides a balanced presentation of theories, institutions, markets, academic research, and practical applications, and presents both basic concepts and advanced principles. Topic coverage is especially broad: in analyzing securities, the authors look at stocks and bonds, options, futures, foreign exchange, and international securities. The discussion of financial derivatives includes detailed analyses of options, futures, option pricing models, and hedging strategies. A unique chapter on market indices teaches students the basics of index information, calculation, and usage and illustrates the important roles that these indices play in model formation, performance evaluation, investment strategy, and hedging techniques. Complete sections on program trading, portfolio insurance, duration and bond immunization, performance measurements, and the timing of stock selection provide real-world applications of investment theory. In addition, special topics, including equity risk premia, simultaneous-equation approach for security valuation, and Ito's calculus, are also included for advanced students and researchers.

While new technology and complicated theories promise to take your trading to "the next level," the truth is that long-term success in this field is rooted in simplicity. That's why Al Brooks has created "Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar."

With this book, Brooks--a technical analyst for Futures magazine and an independent trader--demonstrates how applying price action analysis to chart patterns can help enhance returns and minimize downside risk. Along the way, you'll discover the importance of understanding every bar on a price chart, why particular patterns are reliable setups for trades, and how to locate entry and exit points as markets are trading in real time.

Throughout these pages, some of the most useful tools for deciphering price action are covered in detail, including:

Trendlines and trend channel lines

Prior highs and lows

Breakouts and failed breakouts

The size of bodies and tails on candles

The relationship between current bars to prior bars

And much more

Learning what the market is telling you can be difficult, but with the right approach, you can achieve this goal and capture consistent profits in the process. "Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar" has all the information you need to succeed at this endeavor and will put you in the best position possible to make the most of your time in today's turbulent markets.

Praise for "Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar"

"Al Brooks has written a book every day trader should read. On all levels, he has kept trading simple, straightforward, and approachable. By teaching traders that there are no rules, just guidelines, he has allowed basic common sense to once again rule how real traders should approach the market. This is a must-read for any trader that wants to learn his own path to success."
--Noble DraKoln, founder ofwww.SpeculatorAcademy.com and author of "Trade Like a Pro" and "Winning the Trading Game"

"Al Brooks is a trader's trader. He understands the focused energy it takes to be successful at trading and works long, hard hours in front of the computer screen to beat the markets. In his first trading book, he outlines, selflessly, his strategy step by step. A doctor and educator in his previous life, he uses his eye for detail and transfers lessons he learned in training himself on the art of trading to the written page. For those who are willing to delve into the details of day trading and dedicate the time and energy to do it seriously and most likely profitably, Al Brooks's book "Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar," is a must-read."
--Ginger Szala, Publisher and Editorial Director, "Futures" magazine

The long-closed stock market of South Korea opened its doors to foreign investors in January 1992. Due to the success of the Korean economy during the past two decades, the country provides many new and exciting opportunities for foreign investors. This is the first book published in the United States that provides a comprehensive coverage of the Korean securities market. In addition to the structure and trading system of the Korean securities market, the other topics covered range from the Korean economy to a performance analysis of the stock market during the past ten years.

The book starts with a discussion of the economic development of South Korea since 1962, which gives an overall picture of the history and current status of the Korean economy. A historical review of the Korean securities market is the next topic, followed by in-depth coverage of administration, laws and taxes, and the trading system of the Korean securities market. A financial analysis of the listed companies and descriptive comments on each industry are provided in chapters 9, 16, and 17. Some miscellaneous topics are covered in the later chapters. These topics include the over-the-counter market, securities financing, securities investment trust, and investment advisory business.

A former member of the American Stock Exchange introduces trading and financial markets to upper-division undergraduates and graduate students who are planning to work in the finance industry. Unlike standard investment texts that cover trading as one of many subjects, "Financial Trading and Investing"gives primary attention to trading, trading institutions, markets, and the institutions that facilitate and regulate trading activities what economists call "market microstructure." Thetext will be accompanied by a website that can be used in conjunction with "TraderEx," "Markit," "StocklinkU," "Virtual Trade," "Vecon Lab Experiment," "Tradingsim," "IB Student Trading Lab," "Brenexa," "Stock Trak "and "How the Market Works."
Introduces the financial markets and the quantitative tools used in them so students learn how the markets operate and gain experience with their principal toolsHelps students develop their skills with the most popular trading simulation programs so they can reuse the book to solve day-to-day problems Stretches from investor behavior to hedging strategies and noise trading, capturing recent advances in an up-to-date reference source"

The book provides an excellent guide to avoiding bear markets. It also provides new asset allocation techniques that demonstrate methods to outperform the general stock market averages over time, with less risk.

This book discusses capital markets and investment decision-making, focusing on the globalisation of the world economy. It presents empirically tested results from Indian and Southwest Asian stock markets and offers valuable insights into the working of Indian capital markets. The book is divided into four parts: the first part examines capital-market operations, particularly clearance and settlement processes, and stock market operations. The second part then addresses the functioning of global markets and investment decisions; more specifically it explores calendar anomalies, dependencies, overreaction effect, causality effect and stock returns volatility in South Asia, U.S. and global stock markets as a whole. Part three covers issues relating to capital structure, values of firm and investment strategies. Lastly, part four discusses emerging issues in finance like behavioral finance, Islamic finance, and international financial reporting standards. The book fills the gap in the existing finance literature and helps fund managers and individual investors make more accurate investment decisions.

Headed by Bernstein, the quantitative equity and equity derivatives strategies group at Merrill Lynch is noted for their proprietary research on market segmentation and style investing. In this book, he highlights the macroeconomic, microeconomic and expectational factors that can affect equity market segment performance. The first section focuses on the definition and identification of market segments and reviews the major equity market segments that concern today's institutional investors. Part two analyzes the historical result of each segment of style strategy within the context of the economic and expectational framework. Lastly, it describes current issues and problems in equity markets and their implications for pension plan sponsors.