A New York Times bestseller

In a remarkable career, Edward O. Thorp rose up from nothing to become a professor at MIT, invented card counting and the world's first wearable computer, beat the casinos of Las Vegas at blackjack and roulette, then became a bestselling author and a hedge fund heavyweight, ushering in a revolution on Wall Street. Now he shares his incredible life story for the first time, revealing how he made his fortune and giving advice to the next generation of investors. An intellectual thrill ride, replete with practical wisdom, A Man for All Markets is a scarcely imaginable tale of ludicrous success.

In this book, the author draws from finance, psychology, economics, and other disciplines in business and the social sciences, recognising that personal finance and investments are subjects of study in their own right rather than merely branches of another discipline. Considerable attention is given to topics which are either ignored or given very little attention in other texts. These include: the psychology of investment decision-making stock market bubbles and crashes property investment the use of derivatives in investment management regulation of investments business. More traditional subject areas are also thoroughly covered, including: investment analysis portfolio management capital market theory market efficiency international investing bond markets institutional investments option pricing macroeconomics the interpretation of company accounts. Packed with over one hundred exercises, examples and exhibits and a helpful glossary of key terms, this book helps readers grasp the relevant principles of money management. It avoids non-essential mathematics and provides a novel new approach to the study of personal finance and investments. This book will be essential for students and researchers engaged with personal finance, investments, behavioural finance, financial derivatives and financial economics. This book also comes with a supporting website that includes two updated chapters, a new article featuring a behavioural model of the dot com, further exercises, a full glossary and a regularly updated blog from the author.

This timely volume brings together professors of finance and accounting from Japanese universities to examine the Japanese stock market in terms of its pricing and accounting systems. The papers report the results of empirical research into the Japanese stock market within the framework of new theories of finance. Academics, professionals, and anyone seeking to understand or enter the Japanese market will applaud the publication of this practical, informative volume.

Having gathered data from the late 1970's through 1984, the authors analyze the market's behavior and the applicability of two major theoretical pricing models -- the Capital Asset Pricing Models and the Efficient Market Hypothesis -- to that market. Chapter 1 provides background statistical evidence on the behavior of monthly returns on Tokyo Stock Exchange common stocks. Chapter 2 discusses an empirical test of the capital asset pricing model. Chapter 3 examines evidence on the price performance of unseasoned new issues. The authors also examine the Japanese accounting disclosure system: Chapter 4 deals empirically with the information content of the annual accounting announcements and related market efficiency. The next chapter presents empirical evidence on the relationship between unsystematic returns and earnings forecast errors. Next, empirical research into the usefulness to investors of the disclosure system is examined. Finally, Chapter 7 presents several interesting questions and topics for future research on the Japanese stock market.

Many have written requesting me to write a new book. With the desire to help others I have written "45 Years in Wall Street" giving the benefit of my experience and my new discoveries to aid others in these difficult times. I am now in my 72nd year; fame would do me no good. I have more income than I can spend for my needs; therefore, my only object in writing this new book is to give to others the most valuable gift possible--KNOWLEDGE! If a few find the way to make safer investments my object will have been accomplished and satisfied readers will be my reward.

In this book I have revealed some of my most valuable rules and secret discoveries never published before, in hopes that others will work and study hard to learn and apply these rules. If they do, speculation and investing will no longer be gambling but will become a PROFITABLE PROFESSION.

W. D. Gann

No one ever said pension scheme trusteeship was easy. Indeed, this is particularly true with regard to the investment aspects of trusteeship, with its many nuances and often mystifying jargon and terminology. Trustees must strive to improve upon their skill, expertise and organisational effectiveness in determining and monitoring a scheme's investment strategy, because simplicity in many aspects of trusteeship and investment are continually giving way to increased complexity. Written by two renowned and highly experienced industry practitioners, with a mission to advance trustees' investment knowledge and to provide them with the necessary confidence and competence to adopt an advanced level of investment governance for their scheme, The Trustee Guide to Investment is a uniquely and refreshingly objective and practical guide to the ever expanding range of markets, investments, tools and techniques to which pension scheme trustees are increasingly exposed by their fund managers and advisers.

China's opening up has unleashed lucrative opportunities to foreign investors. However, doing business in China is far more difficult than many people have anticipated. Using a new theoretical framework and comprehensive evidence, this book systematically examines China's hard and soft investment environment for FDI. Main problems encountered by investors are also investigated. The book is an essential guide to investors in avoiding common and expensive pitfalls of doing business in China and an invaluable reference for consultants, researchers and students in understanding the Chinese market.

The authors present a number of financial market studies that have as their general theme, the econometric testing of the underlying econometric assumptions of a number of financial models. More than 30 years of financial market research has convinced the authors that not enough attention has been paid to whether the estimated model is appropriate or, most importantly, whether the estimation technique is suitable for the problem under study. For many years linear models have been assumed with little or no testing of alternative specification. The result has been models that force linearity assumptions on what clearly are nonlinear processes. Another major assumption of much financial research constrains the coefficients to be stable over time. This critical assumption has been attacked by Lucas (1976) on the grounds that when economic policy changes, the coefficients of macroeconomics models change. If this occurs, any policy forecasts of these models will be flawed. In financial modeling, omitted (possibly non-quantifiable) variables will bias coefficients. While it may be possible to model some financial variables for extended periods, in other periods the underlying models may either exhibit nonlinearity or show changes in linear models. The authors research indicates that tests for changes in linear models, such as recursive residual analysis, or tests for episodic nonlinearity can be used to signal changes in the underlying structure of the market.

The book begins with a brief review of basic linear time series techniques that include autoregressive integrated moving average models (ARIMA), vector autoregressive models (VAR), and models form the ARCH/GARCH class. While the ARIMA and VAR approach models the first moment of a series, models of the ARCH/GARCH class model both the first moment and second moment which is interpreted as conditional or explained volatility of a series. Recent work on nonlinearity detection has questioned the appropriateness of these essentially linear approaches. A number of such tests are shown and applied for the complete series and a subsets of the series. A major finding is that the structure of the series may change over time. Within the time frame of a study, there may be periods of episodic nonlinearity, episodic ARCH and episodic nonstationarity. Measures are developed to measure and relate these events both geographically and with mathematical models. This book will be of interest to applied finance researchers and to market participants.

This major book extends Michal Kalecki's investment cycle analysis into an integrated dynamic model of how levels of confidence experienced by entrepreneurs affect their decisions to invest. The long-term, expensive and uncertain nature of investment projects inhibits decision makers' confidence, making it susceptible to a wide range of factors. Incorporating behavioural and evolutionary analysis into a Kaleckian investment model, Jerry Courvisanos develops the concept of susceptibility which provides the foundation for an improved understanding of the empirically observed cyclical instability of capital accumulation. Historically based empirical patterns of cyclical manufacturing investment in capitalist economies are identified and related to how the nature of susceptibility alters over time. These alterations are shown to create different investment cycle patterns over evolving periods of economic development. Drawing on this susceptibility cycle model, Jerry Courvisanos shows how corporate and governmental strategic planners can better design policies to mitigate the instability that investment exhibits. The result could be to diminish the aggravating effect that investment instability has on business cycles and employment in capitalist economies.

Is your investment in that new Internet stock a sign of stock market savvy or an act of peculiarly American speculative folly? How has the psychology of investing changed--and not changed--over the last five hundred years? Edward Chancellor examines the nature of speculation--from medieval Europe to the Tulip mania of the 1630s to today's Internet stock craze. A contributing writer to The Financial Times and The Economist, looks at both the psychological and economic forces that drive people to "bet" their money in markets; how markets are made, unmade, and manipulated; and who wins when speculation runs rampant. Drawing colorfully on the words of such speculators as Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel Defoe, Ivan Boesky, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Devil Take the Hindmost is part history, part social science, and purely illuminating: an erudite and hugely entertaining book that is more timely today than ever before.

In the past decades asset intensive companies have witnessed a number of regulatory changes and especially industry is facing ever increasing competitiveness. To overcome these challenges different asset management methods have been developed aimed to improve the asset life cycle. Especially the design phase and operation and maintenance phase have seen a rise in tools and methods. Smarter design can lead to improved operation. Likewise, improved operation and maintenance leads to lower replacement costs and may provide the basis for better design. This book brings together and coherently presents the current state of the art in asset management research and practice in Europe from a life cycle perspective. Each chapter focuses on specific parts of this life cycle and explains how the methods and techniques described are connected and how they improve the asset life cycle, thus treating this important subject from a unique perspective.

Over the last 20 years hedge funds and derivatives have fluctuated in reputational terms; they have been blamed for the global financial crisis and been praised for the provision of liquidity in troubled times. Both topics are rather under-researched due to a combination of data and secrecy issues. This book is a collection of papers celebrating 20 years of the Journal of Derivatives and Hedge Funds (JDHF). The 18 papers included in this volume represent a small sample of influential papers included during the life of the Journal, representing industry-orientated research in these areas. With a Preface from co-editor of the journal Stephen Satchell, the first part of the collection focuses on hedge funds and the second on markets, prices and products.

Practical information for investing newcomers! Have you wanted to seriously begin investing but are wary because of confusing and complicated terminology and concepts? Then the Concise Encyclopedia of Investing is for you. This A-to-Z reference provides clear, concise explanations of basic as well as more advanced investment terms to help even the most unsophisticated newcomer. This unique user-friendly handbook presents not only simple, brief explanations of various investing terms and concepts, but also a short discussion on each as to how it applies in everyday life. The Concise Encyclopedia of Investing clears the mysteries behind the foundations of investing, giving newbies solid information they can use to explore investment possibilities. Retirement terminology, market terminology, portfolio techniques, tax information, and investment options are explained using plain language to quickly answer often-asked questions. The book discusses basic terms such as common and preferred stocks, bonds, and capital gains, as well as more complex terms and concepts such as P/E ratio and pass-through security. Helpful lists of reference books and various online investment resources provide opportunities for investors to easily find more detailed information about specific topics. The Concise Encyclopedia of Investing includes explanations with everyday examples of basic and more complex concepts and terms such as: 401K 403B annuities asset allocation capital gains commodities convertibles estate planning face value future value investments guaranteed investment contract (GIC) hedge funds index funds market timing money market fund (MMF) non qualified retirement plans open end funds option contract pass-through security precious metals Present Value Investments P/E Ratio PPI REIT Real Rate of Return ROE statements of retained earnings STRIPS systematic risk UIT variable annuities yield-to-maturity zero-coupon securities and many more! The invaluable Concise Encyclopedia of Investing is perfect for anyone grappling with investment terminology. This reference is sure to become an indispensable desktop resource for any new investor.

Recent economic growth in China and other Asian countries has led to increased commodity demand which has caused price rises and accompanying price fluctuations not only for crude oil but also for the many other raw materials. Such trends mean that world commodity markets are once again under intense scrutiny. This book provides new insights into the modeling and forecasting of primary commodity prices by featuring comprehensive applications of the most recent methods of statistical time series analysis. The latter utilize econometric methods concerned with structural breaks, unobserved components, chaotic discovery, long memory, heteroskedasticity, wavelet estimation and fractional integration. Relevant tests employed include neural networks, correlation dimensions, Lyapunov exponents, fractional integration and rescaled range. The price forecasting involves structural time series trend plus cycle and cyclical trend models. Practical applications focus on the price behaviour of more than twenty international commodity markets.

An invaluable resource for wealth managers advising individuals, couples, and families, this book explains why human emotions drive all investor behavior and makes a powerful case for why advisors need to be aware of such emotions in advising clients-especially in high-stakes situations. Despite the fact that wealth advisors may employ algorithms, fancy financial models, economic theory, and predictive reasoning to forecast future investment returns, according to seasoned wealth management advisor Chris White, people-in other words, clients-basically decide how much risk to take with their money based on emotional factors such as the love they received as children, early life experiences of loss and "imperfect love," psychic wounds, and family traumas. A must-read for anyone in the wealth management profession, including wealth advisors, financial consultants, certified financial analysts, and retirement advisors, this groundbreaking book offers a radically new and well-articulated framework for managing relationships with clients as well as the essential tools to advise, mentor, and guide clients in making financial management decisions. Readers will understand how to recognize the emotional and psychological factors behind investor behavior and apply this insight to be a better wealth advisor. The author explains why early childhood experiences of love, joy, and loss and sometimes very subtle family dynamics play a key role in adult investor behavior; why being sensitive to an individual's unique psychological "systems" is key to being able to accurately assess his or her tolerance and acceptance of risk-taking as part of the wealth management process; what can cause a client's personality to change, especially in high-stress or high-stakes situations; and how to employ sophisticated client relationship management practices such as curiosity, appreciative inquiry, and powerful questioning to understand clients' needs at a deep psychological level. Outlines a powerful and insightful client management approach that wealth advisors and financial consultants can use to build stronger, more enduring relationships with all types of clients Highlights effective strategies that advisors can use to advise their clients, especially in high-stakes situations of market volatility or economic uncertainty Enables financial advisors to understand the subtle emotional factors and hidden human psychology that drive all investing and wealth management discussions and decision making Provides insights distilled from more than 20 years of experience in wealth management

Based on years of consumer credit research and his own experiences as a credit consultant and consumer credit activist, Brett Mitchell teaches you how to eliminate negative items from your credit report and establish good credit. By using the credit letters in this book you can legally remove your bad credit and re-establish good credit within weeks. Learn how to re-establish your credit and remove bankruptcies, charges, collections, foreclosures, tax liens, late payments.

Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, tremendous changes have taken place in the Russian Federation's trade relationship with other countries--especially with former allies. Expansion or Exodus examines how and why Russian corporations invest outside the country and why most of that money remains abroad as the growth and performance of these companies increases at an accelerated rate. As the Federation moves closer to joining the World Trade Organization, this timely book provides a global view of Russia's outward expansion, exploring the operations of Russian firms in old, new, and forthcoming European Union member states.