“Like a Gill inscription itself: controlled, full of sexual tension, human, sensitive and with all this, rather wild and a bit unsettling.” - Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley Maud is dedicated to the art of lettercutting. Whilst observing a century-old inscription carved by Eric Gill into the outside wall of a London church, she is mistaken by Edward for a prostitute. She accepts his offer. Why does a woman seeking the precision and discipline of perfect letterforms abandon herself so recklessly to the undisciplined and all too imperfect world of Edward? What does rich, hedonistic city banker Edward see in the purposeful and unmaterialistic woman who is at least ten years older than his normal bedmates... and one still pining for her husband from whom she is separated? Lettercutting becomes not just a background, but an analogy for the search for perfection in an imperfect world. Can such shallow beginnings lead to a relationship that carves itself into their souls? The answer comes as a surprising end to this powerful and witty debut novel.

You have a home-run startup idea and a whip-smart team to execute it. Everything should be in place to kick-start your company and secure funding. However, there is one more step that can make or break the entire deal: the pitch. Founders everywhere struggle to nail the perfect pitch to garner VC backing, and this book is here to help. Pitch Perfect by Haje Jan Kamps expertly teaches you how to tell your startup’s story. To raise venture capital, it is absolutely crucial that your foundation is a story that is accessible, compelling, and succinct. Kamps uses his invaluable experiential knowledge to guide you through your presentation, from slide deck specifics to storytelling details to determining a fundamental philosophy for your business. In the process of creating and formulating a pitch deck and the story to go with it, founders often discover deep flaws in their business idea. Perhaps the market is non-existent. It could be that the “problem” isn’t worth solving. Maybe the idea is so simple that it would be too easy to copy. Maybe it’s already been done, or the team simply is not up to the job. Pitch Perfect has all of those bases covered so that you can excel. How do you convince an institutional investor to part with their money and fund your company? The small block of time you are given for a pitch holds your startup’s future in its grasp. Learn how to craft your startup story in a way that will get people to lean into your message with Pitch Perfect. Your dream is only one pitch away.

..."a compelling piece of work, strongly evocative of an era that seems, more and more, to have been one of the most extraordinary periods in our history . The unions, the mobs, the plots, the characters."Don DeLillo

Is there an ideal portfolio of investment assets, one that perfectly balances risk and reward? In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio examines this question by profiling and interviewing ten of the most prominent figures in the finance world,Jack Bogle, Charley Ellis, Gene Fama, Marty Liebowitz, Harry Markowitz, Bob Merton, Myron Scholes, Bill Sharpe, Bob Shiller, and Jeremy Siegel. We learn about the personal and intellectual journeys of these luminaries, which include six Nobel Laureates and a trailblazer in mutual funds, and their most innovative contributions. In the process, we come to understand how the science of modern investing came to be. Each of these finance greats discusses their idea of a perfect portfolio, offering invaluable insights to today's investor

The second in a series of six volumes containing a selection of Joseph Stiglitz's most important and widely cited work. Volume I set out the basic concepts underlying the economics of information. Volume II extends these concepts and applies them to a number of different settings in labour, capital, and product markets

What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In this work the author analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality. He shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality--the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth--today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values if political action is not taken. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, the author says, and may do so again. This original work reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

The substantially revised fifth edition of a textbook covering the wide range of instruments available in financial markets, with a new emphasis on risk management. Over the last fifty years, an extensive array of instruments for financing, investing, and controlling risk has become available in financial markets, with demand for these innovations driven by the needs of investors and borrowers. The recent financial crisis offered painful lessons on the consequences of ignoring the risks associated with new financial products and strategies. This substantially revised fifth edition of a widely used text covers financial product innovation with a new emphasis on risk management and regulatory reform. Chapters from the previous edition have been updated, and new chapters cover material that reflects recent developments in financial markets. The book begins with an introduction to financial markets, offering a new chapter that provides an overview of risk—including the key elements of financial risk management and the identification and quantification of risk. The book then covers market participants, including a new chapter on collective investment products managed by asset management firms; the basics of cash and derivatives markets, with new coverage of financial derivatives and securitization; theories of risk and return, with a new chapter on return distributions and risk measures; the structure of interest rates and the pricing of debt obligations; equity markets; debt markets, including chapters on money market instruments, municipal securities, and credit sensitive securitized products; and advanced coverage of derivative markets. Each chapter ends with a review of key points and questions based on the material covered.