This book examines four aspects of Malaysian consumers' financial vulnerabilities. First, it discusses the issue of over-indebtedness due to excessive reliance on consumer financing. Second, the book investigates why Malaysians are ill-prepared for their golden years in terms of retirement planning and savings. Third, it delves into the problem of financial fraud victimisation among Malaysian consumers. Fourth, the book analyses the reasons why Malaysians are underinsured despite the distinct benefits of life insurance. Drawing on secondary data from government agencies such as Bank Negara Malaysia, Employees' Provident Fund, Royal Malaysian Police and the Department of Statistics Malaysia, each chapter presents statistical trends reflecting the four financial vulnerabilities. In-depth analyses of the literature reveal three broad psychological domains (cognition, motivation, and disposition) and specific psychological factors (e.g. over-confidence, self-control, social norms, and financial literacy) that significantly influence consumers' financial decisions. The four financial vulnerabilities investigated in this book directly address the strategic outcomes of the Malaysian National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2019-2023 (MNSFL), a five-year plan to elevate the financial literacy of Malaysians. Finally, the book presents strategic recommendations that are believed to be useful guidelines for relevant policymakers to promote positive financial behaviours and rational attitudes among consumers. It will be a useful resource for policymakers and researchers interested in economic psychology and behavioural finance.

This book is about accounting in an alternative libertarian socialist economic system. It explores what information and transactions we need to enable democratic and effective financial decisions by those affected by the decisions. Based on the economic model, participatory economics, the author proposes a set of accounting principles for an economy comprised of common ownership of productive resources, worker and consumer councils, and democratic planning, promoting the model’s core values. The author tackles questions such as how accounting could be organised in an economy with no private equity owners or private lenders and creditors that is not based on greed and competition but instead on cooperation and solidarity. A large part of the book is focused on issues regarding investments; thus, he asks how and on what basis decisions are made about the allocation of an economy’s production between consumption today and investments that enable more consumption in the future, and how investments are accounted for. He also considers how investments in capital assets and production facilities would be decided, financed, and valued if they are not owned by private capital owners and if allocation does not take place through markets but through a form of democratic planning. In answering these questions and more, the author demonstrates that alternative economic systems are indeed possible, and not merely lofty utopias that cannot be put into practice, and inspires further discussion about economic vision. By applying accounting to a new economic setting and offering both technical information and the author’s bold vision, this book is a comprehensive and valuable supplementary text for courses touching on critical accounting theory. It will also appeal to readers interested in alternative kinds of economies.

The steadily rising number of investor-State arbitration proceedings within the EU has triggered an extensive backlash and an increased questioning of the international investment law regime by different Member States as well as the EU Commission. This has resulted in the EU's assertion of control over the intra-EU investment regime by promoting the termination of bilateral intra-EU investment treaties (intra-EU BITs) and by opposing the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals in intra-EU investor-State arbitration proceedings. Against the backdrop of the landmark Achmea decision of the European Court of Justice, the book offers an in-depth analysis of the interplay of international investment law and the law of the European Union with regard to intra-EU investments, i.e. investments undertaken by an investor from one EU Member State within the territory of another EU Member State. It specifically analyses the conflict between the two investment protection regimes applicable within the EU with a particular emphasis on the compatibility of the international legal instruments with the law of the European Union. The book thereby addresses the more general question of the relationship between EU law and international law and offers a conceptual framework of intra-European investment protection based on the analysis of all intra-EU BITs, the Energy Charter Treaty and EU law, as well as the arbitral practice in over 180 intra-EU investor-State arbitration proceedings. Finally, the book develops possible solutions to reconcile the international legal standards of protection with the regionalized transnational law of the European Union.

Leverage Python for expert-level volatility and variance derivative trading Listed Volatility and Variance Derivatives is a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of these increasingly popular derivatives products, and has the distinction of being both the first to cover European volatility and variance products provided by Eurex and the first to offer Python code for implementing comprehensive quantitative analyses of these financial products. For those who want to get started right away, the book is accompanied by a dedicated Web page and a Github repository that includes all the code from the book for easy replication and use, as well as a hosted version of all the code for immediate execution. Python is fast making inroads into financial modelling and derivatives analytics, and recent developments allow Python to be as fast as pure C++ or C while consisting generally of only 10% of the code lines associated with the compiled languages. This complete guide offers rare insight into the use of Python to undertake complex quantitative analyses of listed volatility and variance derivatives. * Learn how to use Python for data and financial analysis, and reproduce stylised facts on volatility and variance markets * Gain an understanding of the fundamental techniques of modelling volatility and variance and the model-free replication of variance * Familiarise yourself with micro structure elements of the markets for listed volatility and variance derivatives * Reproduce all results and graphics with IPython/Jupyter Notebooks and Python codes that accompany the book Listed Volatility and Variance Derivatives is the complete guide to Python-based quantitative analysis of these Eurex derivatives products.

The current consensus economic model, the neoclassical synthesis, depends on aprioristic assumptions that are shown to be invalid when tested against the data and fails to include finance. Economic policy based on this consensus has led to the financial crisis of 2008, the 'Great Recession' that followed, and the slow subsequent rate of growth. In The Economics of the Stock Market, Andrew Smithers proposes a model that is robust when tested, and by including the impact of the stock market on the economy, overcomes both these defects. The faults of the current consensus model are shown to result typically from an unscientific methodology in which assumptions are held to be valid despite their incompatibility with data evidence. Smithers demonstrates examples of these faults: the Miller/Modigliani Theorem (the assumption that leverage does not affect the value of produced capital assets); the assumption that short-term and long-term interest rates, and the cost of equity capital, are co-determined; and the assumption that the decisions of corporate managements aim to maximise the present value of corporate assets ('profit maximisation') rather than the value determined by the stock market. The Economics of the Stock Market proposes a model that includes and explains the stationarity of real returns on equity, based on the interaction of the differing utility preferences of the managers of companies and the owners of financial capital. These claims are highly controversial, and Smithers proposes that the relative merits of the neoclassical synthesis and this proposed alternative can only be properly considered through public debate.

Predicting foreign exchange rates has presented a long-standing challenge for economists. However, the recent advances in computational techniques, statistical methods, newer datasets on emerging market currencies, etc., offer some hope. While we are still unable to beat a driftless random walk model, there has been serious progress in the field. This book provides an in-depth assessment of the use of novel statistical approaches and machine learning tools in predicting foreign exchange rate movement. First, it offers a historical account of how exchange rate regimes have evolved over time, which is critical to understanding turning points in a historical time series. It then presents an overview of the previous attempts at modeling exchange rates, and how different methods fared during this process. At the core sections of the book, the author examines the time series characteristics of exchange rates and how contemporary statistics and machine learning can be useful in improving predictive power, compared to previous methods used. Exchange rate determination is an active research area, and this book will appeal to graduate-level students of international economics, international finance, open economy macroeconomics, and management. The book is written in a clear, engaging, and straightforward way, and will greatly improve access to this much-needed knowledge in the field.

This comprehensive book provides a complete overview of the international legal system of foreign investment protection. Proposing a simple, practical approach, it examines the problems one might face when studying or practising international investment law, including those arising from contemporary changes and controversies. In this incisive book, Arnaud de Nanteuil synthesises material from treaties, general international law, contracts and case law to demonstrate a coherent system of investment protection, rather than simply describing the law as it currently stands. Through this systematic approach, the book considers all aspects of the discipline, examining its history, the content of the law, investment arbitration, and its relationship with other areas of international law such as human rights, the environment and EU law. It also discusses answers to questions that remain open in current case law. Providing a thorough and accessible analysis, this book will be invaluable to both students and academics working in the field of international investment law, as well as practitioners who will appreciate its pragmatic style. Government officials and those working for international organisations in this area will also find its discussion of the possible future evolution of the law insightful.

Michael Edleson first introduced his concept of value averaging to the world in an article written in 1988. He then wrote a book entitled "Value Averaging" in 1993, which has been nearly impossible to find--until now. With the reintroduction of "Value Averaging," you now have access to a strategy that can help you accumulate wealth, increase your investment returns, and achieve your financial goals.

In Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind, Hagstrom breaks new ground with a deep analysis of Buffett's essential wisdom, an intricate mosaic of wide-ranging ideas and insights that Buffett calls a Money Mind. What exactly is a Money Mind? At one level, it's a way of thinking about major financial issues such as capital allocation. At another level, it summarizes an overall mindset for successfully investing in today's fast-paced stock market, a mindset that depends on a commitment to learning, adapting, and facing down irrelevant noise. This is not a method book. It is a thinking book. Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind explains the philosophies of self-reliance, stoicism, rationalism, and pragmatism and their contributions to making intelligent investment decisions. It also outlines the evolution of value investing, discusses how to develop a business-driven investing mindset, and describes the defining traits of successful active management. Lastly, it examines the surprising aspects of a Money Mind - sportsman, teacher, and artist. In short, Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind helps readers understand the building blocks that go into making a Money Mind so they can begin to incorporate its principles in the service to a life of value. Testimonials "An erudite masterpiece..." -Lawrence A. Cunningham, author; professor and director, Quality Shareholders Initiative, George Washington University "It's another must-read..." -Bethany McLean, journalist and Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair, author, Saudi America and co-author The Smartest Guys in the Room "Pure Genius! This is a game changer in investment books..." -Robert P. Miles, author; Executive in Residence, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Executive MBA Program, 'The Genius of Warren Buffett' "Effervescence and thoughtful analysis of Buffett's life and work..." -Tom Gayner, Co-chief Executive Officer, Markel Corporation "Hagstrom's books always enable readers to think about the world in new ways..." -Tren Griffin, author, Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor

This book explores the microstructure of carbon markets and the pricing of carbon financial instruments generally. It provides a critical microstructure analysis of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), and also examines the theoretical and related market design issues affecting emissions trading schemes. Individual chapters analyse how intraday pricing evolves in carbon markets, the price impact of block trades in carbon financial instruments and their determinants, short and long-term liquidity effects in carbon markets, and the links between carbon market liquidity and efficiency. The aforementioned issues are explored using case studies of two major trading platforms operating within the EU-ETS. The book concludes by focusing on future policy and regulatory challenges in carbon markets, especially with respect to addressing pricing volatility challenges.

Originally published in 1994, Stock Exchange Automation addresses the pivotal role played by capital markets in the market economics. Capital markets are an essential component of the free market system. The book argues that the capital markets function as an allocator of investable funds among competing uses. The movement toward automated markets requires that we understand how automation changes market behaviour. The book also examines the concept of market microstructure theory, and the implication that some forms of automation should affect prices. Theories of price formation in the specialist based trading system hypothesise that the trading mechanism induces short term price volatility.

Though statistics indicate that trillions of dollars will be transferred to the younger generation in the next 50 years, the recipients of that inherited wealth are unlikely to preserve and pass on their inheritance intact. Faced with this prospect, many families today wonder how to successfully transmit to their progeny their own capacity, connections, compassion, and competency that built the original wealth, so that future generations can enjoy these same advantages, and more.

"The Legacy Family," written by two experts in the field, will provide readers with a roadmap for detailing how to leave family wealth and more importantly, legacy, intact. Readers will learn a variety of skills, from how to articulate a collective vision for the future that can be embraced by all family members to the importance of creating a process so that future generations can help each member shape their own future, while nourishing their close family bonds.

This is must reading for any family that wishes to ensure that their future generations have a solid foundation on which to build successful lives.

Standard corporate evaluation approaches are improved by trendy innovation, especially as it concerns technological scale up and environmental issues such as digital networking or ESG compliance. Whereas traditional firm appraisal follows institutional guidelines and best practices, frontier research still must define the boundaries of these trendy issues, linking a strong theoretical background to practical advances that still need fine-tuning. This book, written by an academic who is also a senior consultant, combines theoretical rigor with practical insights, providing an innovative framework for researchers, evaluators, managers, and practitioners.

The Online Trading Cookbook is a unique resource for busy online traders of all levels, addressing the need amongst the growing number of those trading and investing from home for solid, low risk trading strategies which they can incorporate into a busy lifestyle. Suitable for all levels of retail trader and is supplemented by useful advice on the best trading tools, websites and brokers, the different markets available to trade, tips on risk and money management. The book is divided into sections based on levels of complexity and contains specific strategies used by profitable hedge funds as well as strategies used by other professionals, all of which can be implemented by private investors. The opening chapter discusses the professional tools traders will need, from multi-screen hardware, best websites, trading software, data services, brokers, trading products and the types of traders suited to each type of trading. The following chapters give concise novice, intermediate and advanced strategies for short and long term traders. The cookbook format is one of the most popular for teaching complicated subjects. Trading skills are presented and learnt as simply as recipes. This book provides exactly that from trading strategies to risk and money management. Each page presents as ingredients what the trader needs to do, the tools and the preparation with successful examples illustrated on the facing page. Both the proven format and its simplicity are compelling and unique in their application to trading. Written by two celebrated experts in the field, The Online Trading Cookbook is the perfect starting point for anyone wishing to learn to trade or for advanced traders wishing to further their knowledge.

This volume: * Uses the Coronavirus pandemic to explore the link between news sentiment and global financial markets * Shows how the COVID-19 crisis differs from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 * Focuses on the Noise vs Signal in news sentiment * will be invaluable for business professionals, bankers, media professionals, and investment consultants.

This is an introduction to an investment course that focuses on basic models used in the financial industry for investment and decision making. The course begins with an overview of the investment environment in developed markets, followed by a more in-depth analysis of key investment topics. These topics include modern portfolio theory, asset pricing models, term structure of interest rates, stock and bond portfolio management and evaluation of portfolio performance. Modern finance extensively uses the concept of arbitrage, or rather the lack of it in financial markets, and the course highlights such uses in different circumstances.The course takes a hands-on approach with the aid of a software package, Maple (TM), the details of which will be explained during the first lecture. Consequently, most lectures will be divided between a theoretical lecture and a lab - a practical implementation of the theoretical material of the lecture. The use of the Maple (TM) software in this course simulates, to a certain extent, a professional environment. It allows visualizations of different concepts, minimizes tedious algebraic calculations and the use of calculus while equipping students with intuitive understanding. This is facilitated by the symbolic power of Maple (TM) and its excellent graphic and animation capabilities.Institutional material is surveyed very concisely, so the reader gets an appreciation of the investment 'lay of the land'. It is enhanced by an eLearning unit, self-administrated quizzes as well as a stock market game, utilizing StockTrack (TM). StockTrack (TM) introduces students to trading in the real world by practicing different types of orders as well as introducing conventions common in the investment community.

This book introduces a state-of-art approach in evaluating portfolio management and risk based on artificial intelligence and alternative data. The book covers a textual analysis of news and social media, information extraction from GPS and IoTs data, and risk predictions based on small transaction data, etc. The book summarizes and introduces the advancement in each area and highlights the machine learning and deep learning techniques utilized to achieve the goals. As a complement, it also illustrates examples on how to leverage the python package to visualize and analyze the alternative datasets, and will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of risk evaluation, risk management, data, AI, and financial innovation.

This is an introduction to an investment course that focuses on basic models used in the financial industry for investment and decision making. The course begins with an overview of the investment environment in developed markets, followed by a more in-depth analysis of key investment topics. These topics include modern portfolio theory, asset pricing models, term structure of interest rates, stock and bond portfolio management and evaluation of portfolio performance. Modern finance extensively uses the concept of arbitrage, or rather the lack of it in financial markets, and the course highlights such uses in different circumstances.The course takes a hands-on approach with the aid of a software package, Maple (TM), the details of which will be explained during the first lecture. Consequently, most lectures will be divided between a theoretical lecture and a lab - a practical implementation of the theoretical material of the lecture. The use of the Maple (TM) software in this course simulates, to a certain extent, a professional environment. It allows visualizations of different concepts, minimizes tedious algebraic calculations and the use of calculus while equipping students with intuitive understanding. This is facilitated by the symbolic power of Maple (TM) and its excellent graphic and animation capabilities.Institutional material is surveyed very concisely, so the reader gets an appreciation of the investment 'lay of the land'. It is enhanced by an eLearning unit, self-administrated quizzes as well as a stock market game, utilizing StockTrack (TM). StockTrack (TM) introduces students to trading in the real world by practicing different types of orders as well as introducing conventions common in the investment community.

Trend trading lets the market do the work for you Is your portfolio doing all it should? Are you looking for a market-focused way to increase returns? Try your hand at trend trading. Instead of analyzing the performance of a company, analyze the performance of the market as a whole. When you spot a trend, jump on it and let it ride until it's time to move. Whether your strategy is short-term, intermediate-term, or long-term, trend trading can help you capitalize on the action of market and get the most out of every move you make. Trend Trading For Dummies will get you up to speed on the ins and outs of this unique technique. You'll learn how to spot the trends and just how heavily market analysis figures into your success. You can get as complex as you like with the data for long-term predictions or just go for quick rides that pump up your gains. Before you jump in, you need to know the basics that can help ensure your success. * Learn the rules of trend trading and why you need a solid system * Understand technical analysis to make accurate predictions * Analyze the market and learn what to look for before you trade * Use leverage to your advantage to make better moves Trend Trading For Dummies includes trading strategies that you can use as-is, or customize to suit your needs. Thorough preparation is the key to any good trading plan, and it's no different with trend trading. Trend Trading For Dummies allows you to trade using every angle, and will get you out of or into the market in a flash.

How to overcome barriers to the long-term investments that are essential for solving the world's biggest problems There has never been a greater need for long-term investments to tackle the world's most difficult problems, such as climate change and decaying infrastructure. And it is increasingly unlikely that the public sector will be willing or able to fill this gap. If these critical needs are to be met, the major pools of long-term, patient capital-including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and wealthy individuals and families-will have to play a large role. In this accessible and authoritative account of long-term capital investment, two leading experts on the subject, Harvard Business School professors Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner, highlight the significant hurdles facing long-term investors and propose concrete ways to overcome these difficulties. Presenting the best evidence in an engaging way by using memorable stories and examples, Patient Capital describes how large investors increasingly want and need long-run investments that have the potential to deliver greater returns than those in the public markets. Yet success in such investments has been the exception. Performance has suffered from both the limitations of investors and the internal structure of their fund managers, often resulting in the wrong incentives and a lack of long-term planning. Yet the challenges facing long-term investors can be surmounted and the rewards are potentially large, both for investors and society as a whole. Patient Capital shows how to make long-term investment work better for everyone.

This book introduces the readers to the rapidly growing literature and latest results on financial, fundamental and seasonal anomalies, stock selection modeling and portfolio management. Fifty years ago, finance professors taught the Efficient Markets Hypothesis which states that the average investor could not outperform the stock market based on technical, seasonal and fundamental data. Many, if not most faculty and investors, no longer share that opinion. In this book, the authors report original empirical evidence that applied investment research can produce statistically significant stock selection and excess portfolio returns in the US, and larger excess returns in international and emerging markets.

In 2020, the global lockdowns caused by the COVID-19, or coronavirus, pandemic had resulted in a sharp drop in demand for crude oil. This impact was so severe that on April 8, 2020, a proposal to update the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME) trading rule to permit negative prices was applied to CME's WTI Oil futures contracts; this led to a novel phenomenon in which the closing clearing price of WTI Oil May future was $-37.63/barrel based on fewer than 400 contracts' trading volume in the last three minutes, reflecting less than 0.2% of the total trading contracts volume on April 20, 2020. This occurrence of negative closing clearing price for CME's WTI Oil futures trading, cannot be explained simply by just the principle of supply and demand; instead, it highlights vulnerabilities caused by CME's allowance of negative price trading (based on its trading platform), a decision which brings potential and fundamental challenges to the global financial system.This event challenges not just our basic concepts of 'value' and trading 'price' of commodities and goods that underline our understanding of the framework for the invisible hand and general equilibrium theory in economics established by a few generations of scholars since Adam Smith in 1776 for market economies, but also have wider implications on the fundamentals that underpin our ideas of value and labor in the organization, activity, and behavior of civilizations and individual liberties.The scope of this book is limited to covering the impact of the negative oil futures derivatives' trading between April 20 and 21, 2020. This book focuses on exploring the issues, challenges, and possible impacts on global financial markets due to the negative clearing prices of WTI Oil futures contracts and related problems from different perspectives. Topics covered include the responsibilities and liabilities of the CME; critique to the fundamental theory of economics and the modern understanding of value and labor; and challenges to the global financial systems and businesses and introduction to new methods of application.

-Up-to-date with cutting edge topics -Suitable for professional quants and as library reference for students of finance and financial mathematics

With changes to the international investment law landscape and Asian countries now actively developing their network of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs), this volume studies issues relating to Asian perspectives on international investment law and forecasts the future of Asian contribution to its science and practice. The book discusses the major factors that have been driving Asian countries to new directions in international investment rule-making and dispute settlement. It also looks at whether Asian countries are crafting a new model of international investment law to reflect their specific socio-cultural values. Finally, the book examines whether there are any 'Asian' styles of international investment rule-making and dispute settlement, or if individual Asian countries are seeking specific national 'models' based on economic structure and geopolitical interests. This unique collection is exceptionally useful to students, scholars and practitioners of international investment law, international trade law and public international law.

A clear and accessible guide to finance, which provides the ideal introduction for the non-specialist. Packed with examples and case studies, the book features numerous real-world demonstrations of key concepts and ideas. This new edition includes coverage of ESG investing, a brand new chapter on digital currencies and electronic payments, and new case studies on sustainability versus profit maximization, environmental financing, socially responsible investing, the rise of fintech, the perils of cryptocurrency, global debt pressures and 'the rise of the South' in finance. The fourth edition will be supplemented by useful digital resources in the form of instructor PowerPoint slides and a testbank of questions for students.