Economics for Financial Markets


Book Description

Successful trading, speculating or simply making informed decisions about financial markets means it is essential to have a firm grasp of economics. Financial market behaviour revolves around economic concepts, however the majority of economic textbooks do not tell the full story.To fully understand the behaviour of financial markets it is essential to have a model that enables new information to be absorbed and analysed with some predictive implications. That model is provided by the business cycle. 'Economics for Financial Markets' takes the reader from the basics of financial market valuation to a more sophisticated understanding of the actions that traders take which ultimately drives the volatility in the financial markets. The author shows traders, investment managers, risk managers and finance professionals how to distil the flow of information and show what needs to be concentrated on, covering topics such as:* Why are financial markets subject to economic fashions?* How has the New Economy changed financial market behaviour? * Does the creation of the euro fundamentally change the behaviour of the currency markets?Shows how to distil the vast amount of information in financial markets and identify what is importantDemonstrates how the "New Economy" had changed financial market behaviourExplains how to follow the behaviour of central banks




Guide to Financial Markets


Book Description

The revised and updated 7th edition of this highly regarded book brings the reader right up to speed with the latest financial market developments, and provides a clear and incisive guide to a complex world that even those who work in it often find hard to understand. In chapters on the markets that deal with money, foreign exchange, equities, bonds, commodities, financial futures, options and other derivatives, the book examines why these markets exist, how they work, and who trades in them, and gives a run-down of the factors that affect prices and rates. Business history is littered with disasters that occurred because people involved their firms with financial instruments they didn't properly understand. If they had had this book they might have avoided their mistakes. For anyone wishing to understand financial markets, there is no better guide.




Introduction to the Economics of Financial Markets


Book Description

There are many textbooks for business students that provide a systematic, introductory development of the economics of financial markets. However, there are as yet no introductory textbooks aimed at more easily daunted undergraduate liberal arts students. Introduction to the Economics of Financial Markets fills this gap by providing an extremely accessible introductory exposition of how economists analyze both how, and how well, financial markets organize the intertemporal allocation of scarce resources. The central theme is that the function of a system of financial markets is to enable consumers, investors, and managers of firms to effect mutually beneficial intertemporal exchanges. James Bradfield uses the standard concept of economic efficiency (Pareto Optimality) to assess the efficacy of the financial markets. He presents an intuitive, and introductory, understanding of the primary theoretical and empirical models that economists use to analyze financial markets, and then uses these models to discuss implications for public policy. Students who use this text will acquire an understanding of the economics of financial markets that will enable them to read, with some sophistication, articles in the public press about financial markets and about public policy toward those markets. The book is addressed to undergraduate students in the liberal arts, but will also be useful for undergraduate and beginning graduate students in programs of business administration who want an understanding of how economists assess financial markets against the criteria of allocative and informational efficiency.




The Economics of Financial Markets


Book Description

Providing a comprehensive introduction to the subject of financial markets, this study includes unique analyses of the pricing of options and futures, particularly futures in Eurodollars. The authors assume a basic understanding of economics.




The Econometrics of Financial Markets


Book Description

The past twenty years have seen an extraordinary growth in the use of quantitative methods in financial markets. Finance professionals now routinely use sophisticated statistical techniques in portfolio management, proprietary trading, risk management, financial consulting, and securities regulation. This graduate-level textbook is intended for PhD students, advanced MBA students, and industry professionals interested in the econometrics of financial modeling. The book covers the entire spectrum of empirical finance, including: the predictability of asset returns, tests of the Random Walk Hypothesis, the microstructure of securities markets, event analysis, the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Arbitrage Pricing Theory, the term structure of interest rates, dynamic models of economic equilibrium, and nonlinear financial models such as ARCH, neural networks, statistical fractals, and chaos theory. Each chapter develops statistical techniques within the context of a particular financial application. This exciting new text contains a unique and accessible combination of theory and practice, bringing state-of-the-art statistical techniques to the forefront of financial applications. Each chapter also includes a discussion of recent empirical evidence, for example, the rejection of the Random Walk Hypothesis, as well as problems designed to help readers incorporate what they have read into their own applications.




Introduction to the Economics and Mathematics of Financial Markets


Book Description

An innovative textbook for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses; accessible to students in financial mathematics, financial engineering and economics. Introduction to the Economics and Mathematics of Financial Markets fills the longstanding need for an accessible yet serious textbook treatment of financial economics. The book provides a rigorous overview of the subject, while its flexible presentation makes it suitable for use with different levels of undergraduate and graduate students. Each chapter presents mathematical models of financial problems at three different degrees of sophistication: single-period, multi-period, and continuous-time. The single-period and multi-period models require only basic calculus and an introductory probability/statistics course, while an advanced undergraduate course in probability is helpful in understanding the continuous-time models. In this way, the material is given complete coverage at different levels; the less advanced student can stop before the more sophisticated mathematics and still be able to grasp the general principles of financial economics. The book is divided into three parts. The first part provides an introduction to basic securities and financial market organization, the concept of interest rates, the main mathematical models, and quantitative ways to measure risks and rewards. The second part treats option pricing and hedging; here and throughout the book, the authors emphasize the Martingale or probabilistic approach. Finally, the third part examines equilibrium models—a subject often neglected by other texts in financial mathematics, but included here because of the qualitative insight it offers into the behavior of market participants and pricing.




Monetary Economics in Globalised Financial Markets


Book Description

This book integrates the fundamentals of monetary theory, monetary policy theory and financial market theory, providing an accessible introduction to the workings and interactions of globalised financial markets. Includes examples and extensive data analyses.




Governance of Global Financial Markets


Book Description

Analyses governance structures for international finance, evaluates current regulatory reforms and proposes a new governance system for global financial markets.




Principles of Commodity Economics and Finance


Book Description

A rigorous but practical introduction to the economic, financial, and political principles underlying commodity markets. Commodities have become one of the fastest growing asset classes of the last decade and the object of increasing attention from investors, scholars, and policy makers. Yet existing treatments of the topic are either too theoretical, ignoring practical realities, or largely narrative and nonrigorous. This book bridges the gap, striking a balance between theory and practice. It offers a solid foundation in the economic, financial, and political principles underlying commodities markets. The book, which grows out of courses taught by the author at Columbia and Johns Hopkins, can be used by graduate students in economics, finance, and public policy, or as a conceptual reference for practitioners. After an introduction to basic concepts and a review of the various types of commodities—energy, metals, agricultural products—the book delves into the economic and financial dynamics of commodity markets, with a particular focus on energy. The text covers fundamental demand and supply for resources, the mechanics behind commodity financial markets, and how they motivate investment decisions around both physical and financial portfolio exposure to commodities, and the evolving political and regulatory landscape for commodity markets. Additional special topics include geopolitics, financial regulation, and electricity markets. The book is divided into thematic modules that progress in complexity. Text boxes offer additional, related material, and numerous charts and graphs provide further insight into important concepts.




Financial Markets and Economic Performance


Book Description

Effective decision making requires understanding of the underlying principles of financial markets and economics. Intellectually, economics and financial markets are genetically intertwined although when it comes to popular commentary they are treated separately. In fact, academic economic thinking appears separate from financial market equity strategy in most financial market commentary. Historically, macroeconomics tended to assume away financial frictions and financial intermediation whereas financial economists did not necessarily consider the negative macroeconomic spill overs from financial market outcomes. In more recent years, the economic discipline has gone through a serious self-reflection after the global crisis. This book explores the interplay between financial markets and macroeconomic outcomes with a conceptual framework that combines the actions of investors and individuals. Of interest to graduate students and those professionals working in the financial markets, it provides insight into why market prices move and credit markets interact and what factors participants and policy makers can monitor to anticipate market change and future price paths. ​