This book is an introductory guide to using Lévy processes for credit risk modelling. It covers all types of credit derivatives: from the single name vanillas such as Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) right through to structured credit risk products such as Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurances (CPPIs) and Constant Proportion Debt Obligations (CPDOs) as well as new advanced rating models for Asset Backed Securities (ABSs). Jumps and extreme events are crucial stylized features, essential in the modelling of the very volatile credit markets – the recent turmoil in the credit markets has once again illustrated the need for more refined models. Readers will learn how the classical models (driven by Brownian motions and Black-Scholes settings) can be significantly improved by using the more flexible class of Lévy processes. By doing this, extreme event and jumps can be introduced into the models to give more reliable pricing and a better assessment of the risks. The book brings in high-tech financial engineering models for the detailed modelling of credit risk instruments, setting up the theoretical framework behind the application of Lévy Processes to Credit Risk Modelling before moving on to the practical implementation. Complex credit derivatives structures such as CDOs, ABSs, CPPIs, CPDOs are analysed and illustrated with market data.
In 2007 over 400 million equity option contracts were traded but it is a volatile market, prices are ever changing with supply and demand – the only certainty is that they will change. With little knowledge or experience, an uninformed decision can quickly drain capital. This book explains equity options from absolute basics, assuming no prior knowledge of the subject. It shows traders starting out and already using the exchanges how to enhance their equity portfolio by using the whole range of investment opportunities and tools available. This will help investors to reduce their costs, enhance returns and manage price risk with certainty and precision. Equity Options Explained is a practical guide to trading equity options, supported by Liffe (part of the NYSE Euronext exchange group). Written by Bill Beagles, a well known, highly experienced trader and trainer, creating a unique combination in this area. Bill is still highly active in the markets, which brings a practical perspective to his training and the books.
Fully revised and updated from the hugely popular first edition, this book is an accessible and convenient one-volume introduction to international capital markets, ideal for those entering or planning to enter investment banking or asset management. As well as serving as an invaluable reference tool for professionals already working in the industry looking to extend their knowledge base it will also benefit all those working in trading, sales and support roles. Describing how the key products and markets work, who the principle participants are and their overall goals and objectives, Andrew Chisholm provides a thorough overview of the global capital markets. The book covers a wide range of equity, debt, foreign exchange and credit instruments as well as the principal derivative products. In a step-by-step fashion, making extensive use of real world cases and examples, it explains money markets, foreign exchange, bond markets, cash equity markets, equity valuation techniques, swaps, forwards, futures, credit derivatives, options, option risk management and convertible bonds. An extensive glossary also explains concisely many of the ‘jargon’ expressions used in the financial markets. Boasting an international focus, examples are drawn from major international markets around the world. It makes extensive use of numerical examples and case studies to help explain a wide range of cash and derivative products used in the capital markets business. It covers both debt and equity products and includes new material on credit products such as collateralized debt obligations and credit derivative structures; equity fundamental analysis, portfolio theory and convertible bonds. Market data has been fully updated from the first edition and recent events such as the ‘credit crisis’ are discussed.
The financial markets are made up of people from very diverse backgrounds but whether by long or short term investment these market participants all have a desire to win by varying degrees. Many market participants, especially short term traders are often too interested in the release of some fundamental statement or some rumor or the latest bank recommendations than in the trading price of the asset which leads them to trade and fail because of emotions based trading. The daily price movements, the patterns, the volatility that appear on charts, are for whatever reason, the results of the actions of the crowd. To avoid making decisions based on heightened emotions, it is necessary to create your own plan based on your own analysis. This book has been developed to demonstrate how a few relatively straight forward techniques can create a plan that does not rely on outside investment recommendations and therefore takes the emotions out of trading. The book demonstrates how to interpret the market price action in the shape of forms or patterns and Japanese candlesticks to help you: Find markets that are changing from bullish to bearish and from bearish to bullish Locate entry and exit points Monitor the position for signs of change. The book provides a series of charting techniques involving the use of candlesticks as graphical representations of market price actions in the Foreign Exchange markets. It presents methods of chart technical analysis for medium to long-term investing, in a market where despite strong returns when compared with other asset types, it is difficult to realize a profitable return. The title does not dwell on already-known 'signals' represented by candlestick formations, but concentrates instead on how to confirm these signals by applying a variety of confirmation techniques which form a step-by-step process through the chapters of the book to finish by 'Putting It All Together'.
Giving IT professionals in financial services firms a rounded and comprehensive grounding in their knowledge of their industry, this book offers a primer on the major financial instruments, transactions, and processes, as well as a sound knowledge of the principles of good IT management in the industry. The book gives readers a clear understanding of equities, bonds, currencies, listed derivatives and OTC derivatives. It explains transactions in those instruments and the requirements of business systems that process these transactions. Transactions covered include (inter-alia) agency and principal purchases and sales, loans and deposits, repos and reverse repos, stock loans; and also the Sharia-compliant 'Islamic' transactions that may be used as alternatives to interest bearing transactions. Andrew Bradford gives an introduction to how investment firms are regulated; offers an understanding of the STP (Straight-through-Processing) concept following the trade cycle for the transactions from order through to execution through pre-settlement to final settlement; covers basic accounting procedures for the transactions; and conveys the basic principles of good IT management in the investment industry.
At a time when the world is grappling with rising food and energy prices and climate change, Living in a Material World provides an insight into some of the contributing factors behind these challenges. The emergence of new consumers in China, India, Russia and the Middle East has added formidable competition to the natural resources that have been taken for granted in the developed world. Everything we consume involves the use of metals, fossil fuels or agriculture. Our high tech 'lifestyles' depend on the secure supply of these raw materials which we take from planet earth and use to make our lives more comfortable, more productive or more manageable. The effect of this increasing global demand for commodities has pushed up prices of materials from oil and copper to corn and wheat; forcing consumers to pay more for the many 'necessities' of life, from a loaf of bread to electricity bills. Since the commodity boom has unfolded, commodities have gone from the back page of the newspaper to the front; with more and more headlines about record food and oil prices, dire climate change warnings, energy security and China's demand for more raw materials. This era of high oil and food prices is no passing phase: The supply of many key natural resources is stretched to the limit. But what is the real cost? Living in a Material World makes the link between raw materials and the consumer, and shows how they are relevant to everybody, everyday – now more so than at any time since the last oil shock nearly three decades ago. A unique insight into this 'once in a generation' boom, the book shows how the increasing value of commodities is impacting on consumers and investors, in ways we are only just beginning to understand. «It was a great pleasure to read this book which provides an essential background to understanding commodities for anybody interested in understanding them more closely. It is so rare to see all the essential elements brought together in one book.» –Chris Brodie, Krom River Partners LLP «Kevin Morrison set out to write a book about the daily relevance that raw materials have for the ordinary consumer. He has achieved his objective par excellence. The subject matter has been comprehensively researched and well documented – yet the writer has avoided using complicated technical language. The style of the book is more in tune with a novel and the main topics are treated with a special sense of humour. I would readily recommend this work to anyone interested in how global energy issues have a direct affect on us all.» –Mehdi Varzi, President, Varzi Energy, London
Implementing Models of Financial Derivatives is a comprehensive treatment of advanced implementation techniques in VBA for models of financial derivatives. Aimed at readers who are already familiar with the basics of VBA it emphasizes a fully object oriented approach to valuation applications, chiefly in the context of Monte Carlo simulation but also more broadly for lattice and PDE methods. Its unique approach to valuation, emphasizing effective implementation from both the numerical and the computational perspectives makes it an invaluable resource. The book comes with a library of almost a hundred Excel spreadsheets containing implementations of all the methods and models it investigates, including a large number of useful utility procedures. Exercises structured around four application streams supplement the exposition in each chapter, taking the reader from basic procedural level programming up to high level object oriented implementations. Written in eight parts, parts 1-4 emphasize application design in VBA, focused around the development of a plain Monte Carlo application. Part 5 assesses the performance of VBA for this application, and the final 3 emphasize the implementation of a fast and accurate Monte Carlo method for option valuation. Key topics include: ?Fully polymorphic factories in VBA; ?Polymorphic input and output using the TextStream and FileSystemObject objects; ?Valuing a book of options; ?Detailed assessment of the performance of VBA data structures; ?Theory, implementation, and comparison of the main Monte Carlo variance reduction methods; ?Assessment of discretization methods and their application to option valuation in models like CIR and Heston; ?Fast valuation of Bermudan options by Monte Carlo. Fundamental theory and implementations of lattice and PDE methods are presented in appendices and developed through the book in the exercise streams. Spanning the two worlds of academic theory and industrial practice, this book is not only suitable as a classroom text in VBA, in simulation methods, and as an introduction to object oriented design, it is also a reference for model implementers and quants working alongside derivatives groups. Its implementations are a valuable resource for students, teachers and developers alike. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
Our financial crisis: what happened, how we got here, and what needs to be done Henry Kaufman-an esteemed economist and statesman-is one of the most preeminent financial figures of the day, with a history of success from the 1980s, when his firm, Salomon Brothers, ruled the bond markets. In The Road to Financial Reformation, Dr. Kaufman, who has spent a lifetime entrenched in the world of finance, provides an insightful account of the history and impact of post-World War II financial markets on the economy-what happened, how we got to where we are today, and what needs to be done. Drawing on his vast breadth of knowledge and experience, Kaufman reveals the mistakes that got us into this debacle, the consequences-as they have not been fully realized-and how to put our derailed economy back on track. This book details Dr. Kaufman's warnings and concerns expressed repeatedly throughout the last quarter century, and shows that what he predicted came to pass. Provides an insightful account of the history and impact of post-World War II financial markets on the economy Explores the erosion of credit ratings on corporate debt in the late 1980s and the rapid increase in financial concentration of institutions Discusses the blinding faith in models that rely on historical data but fail to take into account economic and financial market structural changes With his breadth of knowledge and experience, Kaufman details that this crisis was foreseeable (he saw it coming), and how we created this history-making financial crisis. He also explains the consequences still to come, and presents solutions on how we can recover and reform the markets.
Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance, Second Edition is an accessible introduction to the classical side of quantitative finance specifically for university students. Adapted from the comprehensive, even epic, works Derivatives and Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance, Second Edition, it includes carefully selected chapters to give the student a thorough understanding of futures, options and numerical methods. Software is included to help visualize the most important ideas and to show how techniques are implemented in practice. There are comprehensive end-of-chapter exercises to test students on their understanding.
In today's competitive banking industry, institutional banking is attracting greater interest. Under the globalization umbrella, inter-bank business is undergoing dynamic change and is transcending the boundaries of traditional correspondent banking. In today's climate, no bank, regardless of size, can grow without the cooperation of other banks and no bank can hope to survive and prosper without utilizing emerging markets. Institutional banking in emerging countries has some unique functions: for example, problem solving is heavier and more crucial in emerging markets than in developed countries, given the irregularity of the market and non-transparency of the financial/legal systems. Moreover, it is particularly necessary to forge good relationships, day-to-day contact and personal communication, to provide better chances for product marketing and risk management. Products are therefore tailor-made and adapted as the situation dictates, a successful lesson for one case in one country cannot necessarily be repeated in another. Huang provides a systematic framework for the subject combining both principles and practice. The direct experience of the author, allows him to write authoritatively about the subject with academic vigour as well as a large amount of practical knowledge which only a practitioner can provide. The book contains numerous real life examples and case studies to allow the reader an insight into how Institutional Banking actually works in the real world. The book also contains a supplementary CD which includes chapter summary's and further information. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.