This book provides a broad and balanced introduction to the principle Western financial makets and institutions. Unlike other books which tend to focus on an individual market, An Introduction to Western Financial Markets is international in scope. Valdez acknowledges the current movement towards a single global market and recognizes that a parochial knowledge of just one local market is no longer sufficient.

Various financial sectors are described in clear and easy to understand terms. Topics covered include banking (commercial and investment), money and bond markets, foreign exchange, stock markets, finance for trade, insurance options, futures, and other derivative products. A final chapter surveys the key trends and issues in the markets today. A useful glossary of terms is included.

Pages of mathematical formulae, common in introductory books on finance, are avoided. Valdez clearly shows the importance of these formulae, but is constantly aware of his non-numeric readers. This book will appeal to students of banking, finance, economics, business studies and the securities markets.

This volume provides a topical and up-to-date introduction to the principal Western financial markets and institutions, particularly those in the USA, Europe and Japan. The scope is comprehensive and topics covered include: commercial and investment banking, money and insurance, options, futures and other derivative products. A glossary of financial terms is also provided, and a final chapter surveys the key trends and issues in the market today.;A second edition is available: "An Introduction to Global Financial Markets" (hardback: 0-333-69584-4; paperback: 0-333-69394-9).

This textbook provides an accessible introduction to finance and financial markets around the world. Requiring no previous knowledge of the subject, the authors comprehensively cover a broad range of different types of banking, markets, foreign exchange and derivative products. Incorporating recent events and current developments in finance, contemporary, international examples are used throughout to illustrate this fast-moving subject area. With Stephen Valdez's decades of experience as a financial trainer and Philip Molyneux's academic experience, they are the perfect team for this accessible and applied textbook. This textbook is core reading for second and third year undergraduate students studying modules in financial markets and institutions as part of business and management degree courses. In addition it is suitable for use on MBA finance courses. New to this Edition: - Provides updated and expanded coverage of the global financial crisis of 2007-08 and its aftermath - Explains and contextualises the major structural and regulatory reforms of global banking and financial markets - A new design to make it more student-friendly, such as illustrative boxes that explain key financial issues Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/an-introduction-to-global-financial-markets. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.