This book analyzes in depth all major derivatives debacles of the last half century including the multi-billion losses and/or bankruptcy of Metallgesellschaft (1994), Barings Bank (1995), Long Term Capital Management (1998), Amaranth (2006), Société Générale (2008) , AIG (2008) and JP Morgan-Chase (2012). It unlocks the secrets of derivatives by telling the stories of institutions which played in the derivative market and lost big. For some of these unfortunate organizations it was daring but flawed financial engineering which brought them havoc. For others it was unbridled speculation perpetrated by rogue traders whose unchecked fraud brought their house down.Should derivatives be feared 'as financial weapons of mass destruction' or hailed as financial innovations which through efficient risk transfer are truly adding to the Wealth of Nations? By presenting a factual analysis of how the malpractice of derivatives played havoc with derivative end-user and dealer institutions, a case is made for vigilance not only to market and counter-party risk but also operational risk in their use for risk management and proprietary trading. Clear and recurring lessons across the different stories in this volume call not only for a tighter but also 'smarter' control system of derivatives trading and should be of immediate interest to financial managers, bankers, traders, auditors and regulators who are directly or indirectly exposed to financial derivatives.The book groups cases by derivative category, starting with the simplest and building up to the most complex — namely, Forwards, Futures, Options and Swaps in that order, with applications in commodities, foreign exchange, stock indices and interest rates. Each chapter deals with one derivative debacle, providing a rigorous and comprehensive but non-technical elucidation of what happened.What is new in the second edition? A new chapter on JP Morgan-Chase's London Whale, an in-depth discussion of credit-default swaps, and an update of the revamped regulatory framework with Basel 2.5 and Basel III against the backdrop of the Euro crisis, along with a revised and expanded discussion of the AIG debacle.

A thorough introduction to corporate finance from a renowned professor of finance and banking As globalization redefines the field of corporate finance, international and domestic finance have become almost inseparably intertwined. It's increasingly difficult to understand what is happening in capital markets without a firm grasp of currency markets, the investment strategies of sovereign wealth funds, carry trade, and foreign exchange derivatives products. International Corporate Finance offers thorough coverage of the international monetary climate, including Islamic finance, Asian banking, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, the book offers keen insight on global capital markets, equity markets, and bond markets, as well as foreign exchange risk management and how to forecast exchange rates. Offers a comprehensive discussion of the current state of international corporate finance Provides simple rules and pragmatic answers to key managerial questions and issues Includes case studies and real-world decision-making situations For anyone who wants to understand how finance works in today's hyper-connected global economy, International Corporate Finance is an insightful, practical guide to this complex subject.

FINANCIAL ENGINEERING Financial engineering is poised for a great shift in the years ahead. Everyone from investors and borrowers to regulators and legislators will need to determine what works, what doesn't, and where to go from here. Financial Engineering part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance has been designed to help you do just this. Comprised of contributed chapters by distinguished experts from industry and academia, this reliable resource will help you focus on established activities in the field, developing trends and changes, as well as areas of opportunity. Divided into five comprehensive parts, Financial Engineering begins with an informative overview of the discipline, chronicling its complete history and profiling potential career paths. From here, Part II quickly moves on to discuss the evolution of financial engineering in major markets fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, commodities and credit and offers important commentary on what has worked and what will change. Part III then examines a number of recent innovative applications of financial engineering that have made news over the past decade such as the advent of securitized and structured products and highly quantitative trading strategies for both equities and fixed income. Thoughts on how risk management might be retooled to reflect what has been learned as a result of the recent financial crisis are also included. Part IV of the book is devoted entirely to case studies that present valuable lessons for active practitioners and academics. Several of the cases explore the risk that has instigated losses across multiple markets, including the global credit crisis. You'll gain in-depth insights from cases such as Countrywide, Société Générale, Barings, Long-Term Capital Management, the Florida Local Government Investment Pool, AIG, Merrill Lynch, and many more. The demand for specific and enterprise risk managers who can think outside the box will be substantial during this decade. Much of Part V presents new ways to be successful in an era that demands innovation on both sides of the balance sheet. Chapters that touch upon this essential topic include Musings About Hedging; Operational Risk; and The No-Arbitrage Condition in Financial Engineering: Its Use and Mis-Use. This book is complemented by a companion website that includes details from the editors' survey of financial engineering programs around the globe, along with a glossary of key terms from the book. This practical guide puts financial engineering in perspective, and will give you a better idea of how it can be effectively utilized in real- world situations.

"Deals with pricing and hedging financial derivatives.... Computational methods are introduced and the text contains the Excel VBA routines corresponding to the formulas and procedures described in the book. This is valuable since computer simulation can help readers understand the theory....The book...succeeds in presenting intuitively advanced derivative modelling... it provides a useful bridge between introductory books and the more advanced literature." --MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS

Although the practice of disguising the illicit origins of money dates back thousands of years, the concept of money laundering as a multidisciplinary topic with social, economic, political and regulatory implications has only gained prominence since the 1980s. This groundbreaking volume offers original, state-of-the-art research on the current money laundering debate and provides insightful predictions and recommendations for future developments in the field. The contributors to this volume academics, practitioners and government representatives from around the world offer a number of unique perspectives on different aspects of money laundering. Topics discussed include the history of money laundering, the scale of the problem, the different types of money laundering, the cost to the private sector, and the effectiveness of anti-money laundering policies and legislation. The book concludes with a detailed and insightful synthesis of the problem and recommendations for additional steps to be taken in the future. Students, professors and practitioners working in economics, banking, finance and law will find this volume a comprehensive and invaluable resource.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the ways that politics and financial markets impact one another. In this relationship, politics is the ultimate controlling force. The kinds and prices of financial instruments that get traded and the individuals and institutions that get to trade them, not to mention the rules under which everyone trades, are all matters decisively influenced by an array of political variables - sometimes for the better, but all too often for the worse. The fault for this political skewing of the markets chiefly lies with democracy. Through its commitment to equality and its inclination towards fiscal profligacy, democracy hinders the markets from acting as a greater force for social good. To fix this skewing of finance, democracy’s troubling tendencies must be squarely faced and curbed by a return to its monetary roots. Democracy must reinstall gold at the monetary foundations of our financial markets.

Since I first published Management of Foreign Exchange Risk (Lexington Books, 1978), financial innovation-spurred, in part, by exploding volatility in currency prices-has revolutionized the theory and praxis of foreign exchange risk management. Old-fashioned forward contracts have surrendered market share to currency swaps and options as well as to their perpetually multiplying derivatives. Interestingly, forex derivatives now provide a low cost and highly efficient method of transferring risk from the firms that are exposed to risk but which would rather not be (i. e. , risk-hedgers) to those which are not exposed but which-in exchange for a fee-would assume some exposure to risk (i. e. , risk bearers). Perhaps more importantly, foreign exchange risk management, which was once a fairly mechanical task confmed to the international treasury function, is now permeating global strategic management. Indeed, since the demise of the Bretton Woods system of pegged exchange rates, the cost of forex hedging instruments has fallen so dramatically that firms can readily avail themselves of hedging products which can reduce unwanted risk, thereby potentially gaining a competitive advantage over rivals that do not. Management and Control of Foreign Exchange Risk has grown out of a fundamental revision of my earlier work published almost 20 years ago. In the process, my thinking about risk and its mathematics has greatly benefitted from my association with John Cozzolino and Charles Tapiero.

Coupled with the growth of the World Wide Web, the topic of health information retrieval has had a tremendous impact on consumer health information. With the aid of newly added questions and discussions at the end of each chapter, this Second Edition covers theory practical applications, evaluation, and research directions of all aspects of medical information retireval systems.

This book addresses the causes and consequences of the international financial crisis of 2008. A range of esteemed contributors explore developments in the United States, where the crisis of 2008 originated, as well as the smallest country affected, Iceland, by evaluating developments since 2008. Currently, many countries are facing similar problems as Iceland did in 2008: this book is of interest to economists and policy makers in these countries to study what happened in Iceland, and why the recovery of that economy was strong and swift. The chapters in this book originate from panel discussions and conferences and explore areas including regulation, state projects and inflation.

Outsider musicians can be the product of damaged DNA, alien abduction, drug fry, demonic possession, or simply sheer obliviousness. This book profiles dozens of outsider musicians, both prominent and obscure—figures such as The Shaggs, Syd Barrett, Tiny Tim, Jandek, Captain Beefheart, Daniel Johnston, Harry Partch, and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy—and presents their strange life stories along with photographs, interviews, cartoons, and discographies. About the only things these self-taught artists have in common are an utter lack of conventional tunefulness and an overabundance of earnestness and passion. But, believe it or not, they're worth listening to, often outmatching all contenders for inventiveness and originality. A CD featuring songs by artists profiled in the book is also available.