Fundamentals of Financial Instruments : An Introduction to Stocks, Bonds, Foreign Exchange, and Derivatives

BThe essential guide to financial instruments, logically presented/b iFundamentals of Financial Instruments/i deals with the global financial markets and the instruments in which they trade. While most books on finance tend to be heavily mathematical, this book emphasizes the concepts in a logical, sequential fashion, introducing mathematical concepts only at the relevant times. As a result, the reader gains conceptual clarity reinforced by just the right level of technical detail to ensure a comprehensive exposure to the skills needed in the financial world.ulliEstablishes a strong foundation for understanding global marketsliActs as an invaluable resource for those considering a career in the financial marketsliOffers an accessible yet in-depth treatise on modern financial instrumentsliPresents a logical navigational path for a typical student of finance who is attempting to come to terms with the intricacies of the subject/ul Covering the fundamentals of various types of assets in a single volume, Fundamentals of iFinancial Instruments/i is a compact yet comprehensive one-stop reference for students and professionals in finance and economics.;""Contents""; ""Title""; ""Copyright""; ""Preface""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Chapter 1: An Introduction to Financial Institutions, Instruments, and Markets""; ""The Role of an Economic System""; ""A Command Economy""; ""A Market Economy""; ""Classification of Economic Units""; ""An Economyâ€TMs Relationship with the External World""; ""The Balance of Trade""; ""The Current Account Balance""; ""Financial Assets""; ""Primary Markets and Secondary Markets""; ""Exchanges and OTC Markets""; ""Brokers and Dealers""; ""The Need for Brokers and Dealers""; ""Trading Positions"" ""Contents"" ""Title"" ""Copyright"" ""Preface"" ""Acknowledgments"" ""Chapter 1: An Introduction to Financial Institutions, Instruments, and Markets"" ""The Role of an Economic System"" ""A Command Economy"" ""A Market Economy"" ""Classification of Economic Units"" ""An Economyâ€TMs Relationship with the External World"" ""The Balance of Trade"" ""The Current Account Balance"" ""Financial Assets"" ""Primary Markets and Secondary Markets"" ""Exchanges and OTC Markets"" ""Brokers and Dealers"" ""The Need for Brokers and Dealers"" ""Trading Positions"" ""The Buy Side and the Sell Side""""Investment Bankers"" ""Direct and Indirect Markets"" ""Mutual Funds"" ""Money and Capital Markets"" ""The Eurocurrency Market"" ""The International Bond Market"" ""Globalization of Equity Markets"" ""Dual Listing"" ""Fungibility"" ""Risk"" ""After the Trade: Clearing and Settlement"" ""Dematerialization and the Role of a Depository"" ""Custodial Services"" ""Globalization: The New Mantra"" ""Chapter 2: Mathematics of Finance"" ""Interest Rates"" ""The Real Rate of Interest"" ""The Fisher Equation"" ""Simple Interest"" ""Compound Interest""""Properties"" ""A Symbolic Derivation"" ""Principle of Equivalency"" ""Continuous Compounding"" ""Future Value"" ""Present Value"" ""Handling a Series of Cash Flows"" ""The Internal Rate of Return"" ""Evaluating an Investment"" ""Annuities: An Introduction"" ""Perpetuities"" ""The Amortization Method"" ""Amortization with a Balloon Payment"" ""The Equal Principal Repayment Approach"" ""Types of Interest Computation"" ""Loans with a Compensating Balance"" ""Chapter 3: Equity Shares, Preferred Shares, and Stock Market Indexes"" ""Introduction"" ""Par Value versus Book Value""""Voting Rights"" ""Statutory versus Cumulative Voting"" ""Proxies"" ""Dividends"" ""Dividend Yield"" ""Dividend Reinvestment Plans"" ""Stock Dividends"" ""Treasury Stock"" ""Splits and Reverse Splits"" ""Costs Associated with Splits and Stock Dividends"" ""Preemptive Rights"" ""Interpreting Stated Ratios"" ""Handling Fractions"" ""Physical Certificates versus Book Entry"" ""Tracking Stock"" ""Report Cards"" ""Types of Stocks"" ""Risk and Return and the Concept of Diversification"" ""Preferred Shares"" ""Callable Preferred Stock"" ""Convertible Preferred Shares""""Cumulative Preferred Shares"" ""Adjustable Rate Preferred Shares"" ""Participating Preferred Shares"" ""Dividend Discount Models"" ""A General Valuation Model"" ""The Constant Growth Model"" ""The Two-Stage Model"" ""The Three-Stage Model"" ""The H Model"" ""Stock Market Indexes"" ""Price-Weighted Indexes"" ""Changing the Divisor"" ""The Importance of Price"" ""Value-Weighted Indexes"" ""Changing the Base-Period Capitalization"" ""Equally Weighted Indexes"" ""Tracking Portfolios"" ""The Free-Floating Methodology""

The essential guide to financial instruments, logically presented

Fundamentals of Financial Instruments deals with the global financial markets and the instruments in which they trade. While most books on finance tend to be heavily mathematical, this book emphasizes the concepts in a logical, sequential fashion, introducing mathematical concepts only at the relevant times. As a result, the reader gains conceptual clarity reinforced by just the right level of technical detail to ensure a comprehensive exposure to the skills needed in the financial world.

• Establishes a strong foundation for understanding global markets
• Acts as an invaluable resource for those considering a career in the financial markets
• Offers an accessible yet in-depth treatise on modern financial instruments
• Presents a logical navigational path for a typical student of finance who is attempting to come to terms with the intricacies of the subject

Covering the fundamentals of various types of assets in a single volume, Fundamentals of Financial Instruments is a compact yet comprehensive one-stop reference for students and professionals in finance and economics.

The essential guide to financial instruments, logically presented Fundamentals of Financial Instruments deals with the global financial markets and the instruments in which they trade. While most books on finance tend to be heavily mathematical, this book emphasizes the concepts in a logical, sequential fashion, introducing mathematical concepts only at the relevant times. As a result, the reader gains conceptual clarity reinforced by just the right level of technical detail to ensure a comprehensive exposure to the skills needed in the financial world. Establishes a strong foundation for understanding global markets Acts as an invaluable resource for those considering a career in the financial markets Offers an accessible yet in-depth treatise on modern financial instruments Presents a logical navigational path for a typical student of finance who is attempting to come to terms with the intricacies of the subject Covering the fundamentals of various types of assets in a single volume, Fundamentals of Financial Instruments is a compact yet comprehensive one-stop reference for students and professionals in finance and economics. Fundamentals of Financial Instruments deals with the global financial markets and the instruments that are traded in them. Most books on Finance tend to be heavily mathematical, which is perhaps inevitable given the technical nature of the subject. A few which attempt to cover the basics often end up with a very superficial exposition due to the authors' desire to avoid technicalities. This book emphasizes the concepts in a sequential logical fashion. At the relevant stages adequate mathematical representations are introduced. The objective is to ensure that the reader gets conceptual clarity reinforced by just the right level of technicalities to ensure a comprehensive exposure Financial securities lend themselves naturally to a quantitative analysis. To ensure that readers, irrespective of their academic background, are able to navigate through the presentation, a detailed chapter is devoted to the topic of interest rates and the time value of money. Thereafter the focus shifts to the intricacies of various financial instruments, including Fundamentals of Financial Instruments is a comprehensive introduction to the full range of financial products commonly used in the financial markets. Author Sunil Parameswaran offers clear, worked examples of everything from basic equity and debt securities to complex instruments such as derivatives and mortgage-backed securities The book is intended to serve as a standalone reference for market professionals and MBA students. It can also be used as a detailed reference for augmenting standard textbooks used in courses such as Financial Derivatives, Fixed Income Securities, and International Finance. --Book Jacket In addition to explaining the instruments, Parameswaran also outlines the structure and dynamics of the free-market system and clearly highlights the environment in which such financial instruments are traded