Unlocking Financial Data


Book Description

Investors recognize that technology is a powerful tool for obtaining and interpreting financial data that could give them the one thing everyone on Wall Street wants: an edge. Yet, many don’t realize that you don’t need to be a programmer to access behind-the-scenes financial information from Bloomberg, IHS Markit, or other systems found at most banks and investment firms. This practical guide teaches analysts a useful subset of Excel skills that will enable them to access and interpret financial information—without any prior programming experience. This book will show analysts, step-by-step, how to quickly produce professional reports that combine their views with Bloomberg or Markit data including historical financials, comparative analysis, and relative value. For portfolio managers, this book demonstrates how to create professional summary reports that contain a high-level view of a portfolio’s performance, growth, risk-adjusted return, and composition. If you are a programmer, this book also contains a parallel path that covers the same topics using C#. Topics include: Access additional data that isn’t visible on Bloomberg screens Create tables containing corporate data that makes it possible to compare multiple companies, bonds, or loans side-by- side Build one-page analytic (“Tear Sheet”) reports for individual companies that incorporates important financials, custom notes, relative value comparison of the company to its peers, and price trends with research analyst targets Build two-page portfolio summary report that contains a high-level view of the portfolio’s performance, growth, risk-adjusted return, and composition Explore daily prices and facility information for most of the tradable corporate bond and loan market Determine the relationship between two securities (or index) using correlation and regression Compare each security’s performance to a cohort made of up of securities with similar risk and return characteristics Measure portfolio risk-adjusted return by calculating variance, standard deviation, and Sharpe ratio Use Markit data to identify meaningful trends in prices, new issue spreads, and refinancings




Unlocking Financial Data


Book Description

Investors recognize that technology is a powerful tool for obtaining and interpreting financial data that could give them the one thing everyone on Wall Street wants: an edge. Yet, many don’t realize that you don’t need to be a programmer to access behind-the-scenes financial information from Bloomberg, IHS Markit, or other systems found at most banks and investment firms. This practical guide teaches analysts a useful subset of Excel skills that will enable them to access and interpret financial information—without any prior programming experience. This book will show analysts, step-by-step, how to quickly produce professional reports that combine their views with Bloomberg or Markit data including historical financials, comparative analysis, and relative value. For portfolio managers, this book demonstrates how to create professional summary reports that contain a high-level view of a portfolio’s performance, growth, risk-adjusted return, and composition. If you are a programmer, this book also contains a parallel path that covers the same topics using C#. Topics include: Access additional data that isn’t visible on Bloomberg screens Create tables containing corporate data that makes it possible to compare multiple companies, bonds, or loans side-by- side Build one-page analytic (“Tear Sheet”) reports for individual companies that incorporates important financials, custom notes, relative value comparison of the company to its peers, and price trends with research analyst targets Build two-page portfolio summary report that contains a high-level view of the portfolio’s performance, growth, risk-adjusted return, and composition Explore daily prices and facility information for most of the tradable corporate bond and loan market Determine the relationship between two securities (or index) using correlation and regression Compare each security’s performance to a cohort made of up of securities with similar risk and return characteristics Measure portfolio risk-adjusted return by calculating variance, standard deviation, and Sharpe ratio Use Markit data to identify meaningful trends in prices, new issue spreads, and refinancings




Unlocking Financial Accounting


Book Description

Unlocking Business is a new kind of textbook for business students in their first and second year of a degree. Unlocking Financial Accounting provides the following benefits: - Strict coverage of key knowledge, concepts and ideas, keeping the title lean and focused and allowing students to find what they want without having to plough through thousands of pages. - Carefully written for the learner - case studies, exercises and seminar ideas are woven into the text to help students learn as quickly as possible and to retain that knowledge in the most time-efficient way. - Encourages good practice such as complete referencing and suggested wider reading, to help those who wish to obtain the best possible degree classification. - Useful web resources include further questions, revision summaries and interactive multiple-choice quizzes at http://www.hodderplus.co.uk/unlockingbusiness - A cost-effective way to prepare students for their studies.




Digital Finance


Book Description

Explores how the financial industry will be affected by developments in blockchain and cryptocurrencies at the dawn of a new digital age in finance Our financial system is in the midst of a digital revolution. Blockchain, viewed by many experts as “the most important invention since the Internet,” has changed the way we exchange value and information. Although most people are aware of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, few understand how security tokens—digitized forms of traditional ownership certificates—can drive blockchain to reach its fullest potential by offering investors features and innovations that are simply not possible with paper certificates. Digital Finance: Security Tokens and Unlocking the Real Potential of Blockchain explains how the integration of blockchain and security token technology will transform the current financial infrastructure and radically improve efficiency, transparency, and security. Using clear language and an easy-to-follow framework, author Baxter Hines draws upon his decades’ experience in the financial industry to address how the digitization of assets will drive cost reductions, enhance flexibility, and pave the way for new business models and revenue streams for years to come. Filled with real-world case studies and expert insights on the latest opportunities and trends, such as the COVID-19 pandemic’s role in accelerating the adoption of blockchain, this must-have resource: Shows how blockchain and distributed ledger technology are disrupting the financial industry Explains what security tokens are and why they are the next major breakthrough for investing Highlights how blockchain technology has created new and more efficient ways of fund raising and investing Identifies the ways companies like IBM, Fidelity Investments, and AXA are deploying blockchain and tokenized solutions Describes how assets only available to institutional investors could become marketed to the mainstream Discusses the impact that security tokens will have on real assets such as stocks, real estate, bonds, and derivatives Provides insight into how central banks around the world are embracing blockchain and beginning to issue digital currencies Digital Finance: Security Tokens and Unlocking the Real Potential of Blockchain is essential reading for financial professionals, general investors, finance and technology students, regulators, legal professionals, and users of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.




Python for Finance Cookbook


Book Description

Solve common and not-so-common financial problems using Python libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, and pandas Key FeaturesUse powerful Python libraries such as pandas, NumPy, and SciPy to analyze your financial dataExplore unique recipes for financial data analysis and processing with PythonEstimate popular financial models such as CAPM and GARCH using a problem-solution approachBook Description Python is one of the most popular programming languages used in the financial industry, with a huge set of accompanying libraries. In this book, you'll cover different ways of downloading financial data and preparing it for modeling. You'll calculate popular indicators used in technical analysis, such as Bollinger Bands, MACD, RSI, and backtest automatic trading strategies. Next, you'll cover time series analysis and models, such as exponential smoothing, ARIMA, and GARCH (including multivariate specifications), before exploring the popular CAPM and the Fama-French three-factor model. You'll then discover how to optimize asset allocation and use Monte Carlo simulations for tasks such as calculating the price of American options and estimating the Value at Risk (VaR). In later chapters, you'll work through an entire data science project in the financial domain. You'll also learn how to solve the credit card fraud and default problems using advanced classifiers such as random forest, XGBoost, LightGBM, and stacked models. You'll then be able to tune the hyperparameters of the models and handle class imbalance. Finally, you'll focus on learning how to use deep learning (PyTorch) for approaching financial tasks. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to effectively analyze financial data using a recipe-based approach. What you will learnDownload and preprocess financial data from different sourcesBacktest the performance of automatic trading strategies in a real-world settingEstimate financial econometrics models in Python and interpret their resultsUse Monte Carlo simulations for a variety of tasks such as derivatives valuation and risk assessmentImprove the performance of financial models with the latest Python librariesApply machine learning and deep learning techniques to solve different financial problemsUnderstand the different approaches used to model financial time series dataWho this book is for This book is for financial analysts, data analysts, and Python developers who want to learn how to implement a broad range of tasks in the finance domain. Data scientists looking to devise intelligent financial strategies to perform efficient financial analysis will also find this book useful. Working knowledge of the Python programming language is mandatory to grasp the concepts covered in the book effectively.




Tap


Book Description

How the smartphone can become a personal concierge (not a stalker) in the mobile marketing revolution of smarter companies, value-seeking consumers, and curated offers. Consumers create a data trail by tapping their phones; businesses can tap into this trail to harness the power of the more than three trillion dollar mobile economy. According to Anindya Ghose, a global authority on the mobile economy, this two-way exchange can benefit both customers and businesses. In Tap, Ghose welcomes us to the mobile economy of smartphones, smarter companies, and value-seeking consumers. Drawing on his extensive research in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and on a variety of real-world examples from companies including Alibaba, China Mobile, Coke, Facebook, SK Telecom, Telefónica, and Travelocity, Ghose describes some intriguingly contradictory consumer behavior: people seek spontaneity, but they are predictable; they find advertising annoying, but they fear missing out; they value their privacy, but they increasingly use personal data as currency. When mobile advertising is done well, Ghose argues, the smartphone plays the role of a personal concierge—a butler, not a stalker. Ghose identifies nine forces that shape consumer behavior, including time, crowdedness, trajectory, and weather, and he examines these how these forces operate, separately and in combination. With Tap, he highlights the true influence mobile wields over shoppers, the behavioral and economic motivations behind that influence, and the lucrative opportunities it represents. In a world of artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, wearable technologies, smart homes, and the Internet of Things, the future of the mobile economy seems limitless.




The Public Wealth of Nations


Book Description

We have spent the last three decades engaged in a pointless and irrelevant debate about the relative merits of privatization or nationalization. We have been arguing about the wrong thing while sitting on a goldmine of assets. Don’t worry about who owns those assets, worry about whether they are managed effectively. Why does this matter? Because despite the Thatcher/ Reagan economic revolution, the largest pool of wealth in the world – a global total that is much larger than the world’s total pensions savings, and ten times the total of all the sovereign wealth funds on the planet – is still comprised of commercial assets that are held in public ownership. If professionally managed, they could generate an annual yield of 2.7 trillion dollars, more than current global spending on infrastructure: transport, power, water, and communications. Based on both economic research and hands-on experience from many countries, the authors argue that publicly owned commercial assets need to be taken out of the direct and distorting control of politicians and placed under professional management in a ‘National Wealth Fund’ or its local government equivalent. Such a move would trigger much-needed structural reforms in national economies, thus resurrect strained government finances, bolster ailing economic growth, and improve the fabric of democratic institutions. This radical, reforming book was named one of the "Books of the Year".by both the FT and The Economist.




Safeguarding Financial Data in the Digital Age


Book Description

Despite advancements in cybersecurity measures, the financial sector continues to grapple with data breaches, fraud, and privacy concerns. Traditional security measures are often insufficient to combat sophisticated cyber threats, leading to financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory non-compliance. Moreover, the rapid pace of technological change makes it challenging for organizations to keep up with emerging threats and implement effective data protection strategies. This calls for a proactive and multidisciplinary approach to address financial data security's complex and evolving landscape. Safeguarding Financial Data in the Digital Age offers a timely and comprehensive solution to the challenges faced by the financial sector in securing sensitive information. By bringing together insights from finance, cybersecurity, and technology, this book provides a holistic understanding of the threats and opportunities in financial data security. It equips academics, industry professionals, policymakers, and students with the knowledge and tools needed to enhance financial data protection measures through detailed analyses, case studies, and practical recommendations. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, this book serves as a valuable resource for shaping the future of financial data security in the digital age.




Financial Statements Explained: A Guide for Non-Financial Managers


Book Description

Welcome to the forefront of knowledge with Cybellium, your trusted partner in mastering the cuttign-edge fields of IT, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Business, Economics and Science. Designed for professionals, students, and enthusiasts alike, our comprehensive books empower you to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving digital world. * Expert Insights: Our books provide deep, actionable insights that bridge the gap between theory and practical application. * Up-to-Date Content: Stay current with the latest advancements, trends, and best practices in IT, Al, Cybersecurity, Business, Economics and Science. Each guide is regularly updated to reflect the newest developments and challenges. * Comprehensive Coverage: Whether you're a beginner or an advanced learner, Cybellium books cover a wide range of topics, from foundational principles to specialized knowledge, tailored to your level of expertise. Become part of a global network of learners and professionals who trust Cybellium to guide their educational journey. www.cybellium.com




Financial Analytics with R


Book Description

Financial Analytics with R sharpens readers' skills in time-series, forecasting, portfolio selection, covariance clustering, prediction, and derivative securities.