Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) are among the most complex of all financial instruments. Analysis of MBS requires blending empirical analysis of borrower behavior with mathematical modeling of interest rates and home prices. Over the past 25 years, Davidson and Levin have been at the leading edge of MBS valuation and risk analysis. Mortgage Valuation Models: Embedded Options, Risk and Uncertainty is a detailed description of the sophisticated theories and advanced methods that the authors employ in real-world analysis of mortgage backed securities. Issues such as complexity, borrower options, uncertainty, and model risk play a central role in their approach to valuation of MBS. The book describes methods for modeling prepayments and defaults of borrowers. It explores closed form, backward induction and Monte Carlo valuation using the Option-Adjusted-Spread (OAS) approach, explains the origin of OAS and its relationship to model uncertainty. With reference to the classical CAPM and APT, the book advocates extending the concept of risk-neutrality to modeling home prices and borrower options, well beyond interest rates. The coverage spans the range of mortgage products from loans, TBA (to be announced) pass-through securities to subordinate tranches of subprime-mortgage securitizations and describes valuation methods for both agency and non-agency MBS including pricing new loans; Davidson and Levin put forth new approaches to prudent risk measurement, ranking, and decomposition that can help guide traders and risk managers. It reveals quantitative causes of the 2007-09 financial crisis and provides insights into the future of the US housing finance system and mortgage modeling. Despite the advances in mortgage modeling and valuation, this remains an ever-evolving field. Mortgage Valuation Models will serve as a foundation for the future development of models for mortgage-backed securities.

A beautiful 50th Anniversary edition of The Iron Man, the bestselling classic by Ted Hughes, with the stunning original wood engravings from Andrew Davidson and an introduction by Michael Morpurgo. The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff. Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows. Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron Man and set a trap for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then, when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world. 'Gripping . . a classic.' Phillip Pullman 'A visionary tale.' Michael Morpurgo 'One of the greatest of modern fairy tales.' Observer

A beautiful new edition of The Iron Man, the bestselling classic by Ted Hughes. The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff. Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows. Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron Man and set a trap for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then, when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world. 'Gripping . . a classic.' Phillip Pullman 'A visionary tale.' Michael Morpurgo 'One of the greatest of modern fairy tales.' Observer

A young man is fighting for his life. Into his room walks a bewitching woman who believes she can save him. Their journey will have you believing in the impossible. The nameless and beautiful narrator of The Gargoyle is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and wakes up in a burns ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned. His life is over - he is now a monster. But in fact it is only just beginning. One day, Marianne Engel, a wild and compelling sculptress of gargoyles, enters his life and tells him that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly burned mercenary and she was a nun and a scribe who nursed him back to health in the famed monastery of Engelthal. As she spins her tale, Scheherazade fashion, and relates equally mesmerising stories of deathless love in Japan, Greenland, Italy and England, he finds himself drawn back to life - and, finally, to love.

This title was first published in 2003.The public sector plays a dominant international role in the provision of agricultural extension and services. This role has been the subject of much debate. Some argue for extension's privatization, claiming that a market driven system provides the most rational and efficient means of information delivery. Based on extensive empirical research from the Punjab (Pakistan), this volume examines the comparative effectiveness of public and private extension services from the perspective of farmers. It also focuses on information from extension agents about their respective organizations and work environments. In so doing, the book expands and elaborates on the practical considerations of privatization and information delivery. It then broadens out into a discussion of alternative means of extension delivery, focusing on participatory approaches, education theory and pluralism.

The spread of modernity throughout the non-Western world has had transformative effects not only on governments and economies but on the lives of individuals as well. The constraints and opportunities of modernization inevitably lead to the breakdown and supplanting of older social relations and livelihoods. In this volume Andrew P. Davidson examines the Nuba Mountain region of western Sudan to show how individuals and families struggle to maintain or expand their well-being in the face of continuous uncertainty, when control of their destinies is increasingly slipping out of the comforting confines of the village.As in many third world regions, changes in agriculture and market activity have occurred in the Nuba mountains in a far more compressed tune frame than in Europe. Davidson charts the social effects of the rationalization process by concentrating on the household as a mediating structure between the individual and the larger society. In his analysis the livelihood strategies of households act as a microcosm for the unevenness of development that is characteristic of modernizing economies. Davidson offers a comparative and historical examination of economic life in three villages in order to better understand the capacities and limitations that ultimately condition what people can and cannot do. He shows how the older lineage system based on communalism, kinship, and age-based hierarchy is being displaced by new forces of social organization and individual orientation which have eroded village cohesion and left the Nuba vulnerable to the Islamic-dominated government in Khartoum and the ravages of the continuing Sudanese civil war.In its combination of empirical analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, and theoretical inquiry In the Shadow of History reconceptualizes development in such a way that the dynamics of historical transformation are made clear. This study hi the classic anthropological tradition will be a valuable resource for anthropologists, economists, historians, and Africa area specialists.

This title was first published in 2003. he public sector plays a dominant international role in the provision of agricultural extension and services. This role has been the subject of much debate. Some argue for extension's privatization, claiming that a market driven system provides the most rational and efficient means of information delivery. Based on extensive empirical research from the Punjab (Pakistan), this volume examines the comparative effectiveness of public and private extension services from the perspective of farmers. It also focuses on information from extension agents about their respective organizations and work environments. In so doing, the book expands and elaborates on the practical considerations of privatization and information delivery. It then broadens out into a discussion of alternative means of extension delivery, focusing on participatory approaches, education theory and pluralism.

Flavia and her friends are on a quest for the Emperor Titus - to steal a valuable gemstone known as 'Nero's Eye'. The Delphic Oracle prophesied that whoever owns the gem will rule Rome - so Titus is determined to claim it for himself. Their travels take them across the Roman province of Mauretania, from Sabratha (in modern Libya) to Volubilis (Morocco). As they travel on a caravan across the desert they encounter slave-traders, pantomime actors and a wild animal stampede. The detectives must consider another quest: what has happened to Uncle Gaius? Meanwhile, Flavia faces some tough decisions about her future.

This exciting adventure gives fascinating insight into the workings of the Roman legal system in a page-turning court room drama. As always, Caroline Lawrence springs new surprises for all the characters and provides motives, means and opportunity for one determined felon. And, as ever, it's up to the four young detectives to crack the case . . .

A story of strength and survival Buck is a dog born to luxury, but when he is sold to be a sledge dog in the harsh and frozen north he must quickly learn how to survive. He soon earns a reputation for his strength and courage and endures physical exhaustion, fierce battles with other dogs, and cruel treatment from a series of masters before he is saved by John Thornton and learns to love. But the call of the wild is strong, awakening primitive feelings of life in a wolf pack. When his beloved master is killed, Buck is finally free to follow that call. The Call of the Wild was first published in 1903 and quickly became a huge bestseller. A masterpiece of adventure and survival, it continues to enthrall readers almost a century on.

September AD 81. Returning from Ephesus to Rome, Flavia and her friends learn of the mysterious and sudden death of the Emperor Titus. Was his death natural? Or was it murder? As the four detectives investigate this mystery, they little dream how much their lives--as well as the future of Italia--will be changed as a result.

It is August, A.D. 81. Presumed dead by their families, Flavia and her friends feel very far from home. News of more kidnappings in Italia reaches them, and when they discover one of Miriam's twins is among the missing, the four detectives set out for Halicarnassus in the Roman province of Asia. There they find a countryside full of prophets who claim to heal the sick and cure the lame, but who may simply be tricksters and villains in disguise. Once again, the detectives' loyalties are tested as they are confronted with hopes for the future and grim legacies of the past.

It's October AD 79. The arrival of a ragged man at the Geminus household sets in motion a series of events which take Flavia and her three friends to an opulent villa by the sea at Laurentum, a few miles south of Ostia. Just off the coast is a sunken wreck full of treasure which could be the answer to all their problems. But someone else is after the treasure, too. As the four children try to recover it, they solve the terrible mystery of Lupus's past.

It's the summer of AD 79 and Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, set sail for the Bay of Naples where they are going to stay with Flavia's uncle near Pompeii. Once they arrive, they are soon absorbed in a quest to solve a riddle that may lead to treasure. But then tragedy strikes: Mount Vesuvius erupts and the friends must flee for their lives! Not just a mystery - this is an absolutely thrilling action adventure that brings history to life!

Mystery and adventure in Ancient Roman times for Flavia Gemina and her friends . . . Sacred chickens, a jellyfish and a Roman mystery set in Britannia - this collection of mini-mysteries is the perfect recipe for a gripping read! Includes an exclusive interview with Caroline Lawrence on the secrets of writing mystery stories!

A mysterious creature stalks the land, eating barbed wire and devouring tractors and plows. The farmers are mystified-and afraid. And then they glimpse him in the night: the Iron Giant, taller than a house, with glowing headlight eyes and an insatiable appetite for metal. Where has he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows. What they do know is the Iron Giant must be stopped.

Only a young boy named Hogarth is brave enough to lead the Iron Giant to a safe home. And only Hogarth knows where to turn when the earth needs a hero--a giant hero--like never before...

First published in 1968, Ted Hughes's classic tale is a powerful tribute to peace on earth -- and in all the universe.

September AD 80. Flavia and her friends go to Rome to celebrate the Festival of Jupiter at Senator Cornix's town house. When a famous racehorse goes missing, Nubia sets out to recover it. The four friends find themselves caught up in a plot against one of the rival factions, the Greens. Who is trying to sabotage the charioteers? Could it be an inside job, or someone with a grudge from long ago? And how many men and horses will die before the killer is caught?

Jonathan's father, Doctor Mordecai, is summoned to Rome to help the plague victims. The four young detectives are wanted too, as the Emperor Titus believes that they can find the mysterious enemy who seeks Rome's destruction. Can the friends prevent disaster? And what is Jonathan's secret mission?

Jonathan goes on a secret quest to Rome, and Flavia, Nubia and Lupus set out to find him. Their dangerous mission takes them to the Golden House of Nero where a deadly assassin is rumoured to be at work - and they learn what happened to Jonathan's family during the terrible destruction of Jerusalem nine years earlier.

It's a cool July day. A young girl is tired of window-shopping in Oxford Street, when a white rabbit runs past her looking at his watch. "Oh dear! Oh dear! It's 3 o'clock already. I shall be too late!" Without thinking, she chases after the rabbit and they disappear down the escalator into Oxford Street Underground station. As the girl steps onto an Underground train, something remarkable happens and an adventure begins that takes her back in time to meet the characters of Wonderland. In a tale that links the world of Lewis Carroll with today's London Underground, the reader is transported to be a special guest at a mad tea-party, to do battle with the Red Queen and her Guards, chase round the London Underground system and fight the terrifying Jabberwock. The first underground railway in the world opened in London in 1863 just a year after Lewis Carroll first told Alice Liddell the story that became Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Did Carroll travel on those underground steam trains? Did he tell stories as he went? Here, Carroll has begun a new tale about the Wonderland characters going on a day-trip to London. With the story unfinished, the Hatter, the March Hare, the Dormouse and all are left stranded in the Underground, waiting to be rescued by a modern-day Alice. But will Alice ever come? Peter Lawrence pays tribute to Carroll's imagination and verbal brilliance with this modern adaptation of the author's much-loved characters and themes. Illustrated by award-winning wood engraver Andrew Davidson, Alice's Adventures on the London Underground will appeal to the many readers of Carroll's classic stories.

A companion to the #1 bestselling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series! Before Miss Peregrine gave them a home, the story of peculiars was written in the Tales. Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. These are but a few of the truly brilliant stories in Tales of the Peculiar-the collection of fairy tales known to hide information about the peculiar world, including clues to the locations of time loops-first introduced by Ransom Riggs in his #1 bestselling Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. Riggs now invites you to share his secrets of peculiar history, with a collection of original stories in this deluxe volume of Tales of the Peculiar, as collected and annotated by Millard Nullings, ward of Miss Peregrine and scholar of all things peculiar. Featuring stunning illustrations from world-renowned woodcut artist Andrew Davidson this compelling and truly peculiar anthology is the perfect gift for all book lovers.

Mystery and adventure for four young detectives in Ancient Roman times... It's summer in the Bay of Naples - time for fun and relaxation. Everyone is thinking about love at the beautiful Villa Limona, but danger lurks beneath the luxury. A famous murder was committed nearby, and a poisoner is at large amongst the guests. Can Flavia and her friends set a trap to catch the culprit before it's too late?

A desperate quest begins in the Romano-Egyptian port of Alexandria, the magnificent city of the great lighthouse, the Library, and the tomb of Alexander the Great. Codes, riddles, anagrams, and hieroglyphics lead Flavia and her friends down the river Nile to pyramids and sphinxes, temples and tombs, crocodiles and hippos. But what lies at the end of their long journey? Treasure or death?

A companion to the New York Times bestselling Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, now a major motion picture directed by Tim Burton. Before Miss Peregrine gave them a home, the story of peculiars was written in the Tales. Wealthy cannibals who dine on the discarded limbs of peculiars. A fork-tongued princess. These are but a few of the truly brilliant stories in Tales of the Peculiar-the collection of fairy tales known to hide information about the peculiar world, including clues to the locations of time loops-first introduced by Ransom Riggs in his #1 bestselling Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. Riggs now invites you to share his secrets of peculiar history, with a collection of original stories in this deluxe volume of Tales of the Peculiar, as collected and annotated by Millard Nullings, ward of Miss Peregrine and scholar of all things peculiar. Featuring stunning illustrations from world-renowned woodcut artist Andrew Davidson this compelling and truly peculiar anthology is the perfect gift for not only fans, but for all booklovers. A perfect gift, reminiscent of classic bookmaking, this beautifully packaged volume features full-page woodcut illustrations, gold foil stamping, a ribbon, and removable back sticker. "[These tales] embody gentle, empowering messages: accept yourself and others; celebrate difference and oddity; never lose your sense of wonder." -Financial Times "With a Victorian style for writing and a capacity for subtle humor, the tales read as cautionary fables, rich with peril and phantasy, and will be enjoyed by teens and adults alike." -GeekDad.com

Mystery and adventure for four young detectives in Ancient Roman times.. It seems that Flavia's tutor, Aristo, has committed a terrible crime - attempting to murder Flavia's own father. When Aristo escapes, Flavia and her friends give chase, but they aren't the only ones on Aristo's trail. Who else is after the young tutor? And what made him want to kill?