financial Books

It must be a really good book because you can't get it without waiting for a month or two.

The theory of optimal stopping has been a very successful field of study and has numerous applications in quantitative finance. Optimal stopping theory has been used extensively to study American-style options and other contingent claims endowed with early-exercise features.

For a book running a mere 114 pages (include references and bibliography), this reviewer was pleasantly surprised to find such an accessible and careful treatment of the general theory of optimal stopping.

The author keeps the prerequisites to a minimum, but in order to fully appreciate Wong's text, some background material is needed. I recommend Chung's A Course in Probability Theory for the basics in probability & measure theory. For stochastic processes and stochastic calculus, I recommend Rogers & Williams two volume set Diffusions, Markov Processes, and Martingales: Volume 1, Foundations and Diffusions, Markov Processes and Martingales: Volume 2, Itô Calculus. To see how optimal stopping theory is applied in quantitative finance, I recommend Musiela & Rutkowski's Martingale Methods in Financial Modelling.

Wong begins his treatment in Chapter 1 with an overview of the fundamentals of stochastic processes. It is a good idea to read through this chapter as the author sets up the notation used throughout.

Chapter 2 introduces the workhorse of the theory, the Snell Envelope. In order to establish the basic properties of this process, basic concepts such as the essential supremum process & essential supremum measure are studied. The key result established in this chapter is, under suitable conditions, given a process X, the Snell envelope of X is the minimal right-continuous supermartingale dominating X. Regularity conditions (think monotone convergence) are investigated. The chapter wraps up with an investigation of the Davis-Karatzas technique of Lagrange multipliers.

In Chapter 3, the author sets the stage to study financial markets from the point of view of stochastic analysis. This material will be quite familiar to readers of Musiela & Rutkowski.

Chapter 4 provides a review of the contingent claims and introduces European-style and American style options, while
In Chapter 5 the rational prices of American-style options is derived via an application of the properties of the Snell Envelope. The book wraps up in Chapter 6 with a study of options on constrained portfolios, following the work of Cvitanic and Karatzas.

The book contains a good list of references to the published literature. The author didn't include an index; however the table of contents helps the reader find things quickly when using the book as a reference.

International merchant and financier, the first modern philanthropist, and the first American to be named an honorary citizen of the City of London, George Peabody had a reputation for impeccable integrity and honesty. In addition to an account of Peabody's accomplishments, this biography offers a picture of Peabody the man--his broken engagement, his famous Fourth of July banquets in London, his distress about the Civil War--as well as the aura of the Victorian society in which he lived. A new chapter on Peabody's legacy, an updated bibliography, and an expanded index culminate this revised edition.

"George Wollsten" is a semi-autobiography written in the 1940s, which covers the first years of the author's life, up to about 1910, after he moved to the US from Germany. Bayer was a mathematically-oriented student of the financial markets who developed some unique perspectives on forecasting, analysis, and trading which are presented in this book.

His first method is astrophysical and involves timing the wheat market through aspects between faster and slower moving planets. At the back of the book is a chart showing wheat prices along with the corresponding planetary positions. Although there seems to be a weak-form correlation, visually, it does not appear likely that this method would be profitable.

The second method presented uses two different-sized ellipse overlays to indicate the beginning, mid-point, and endings of trends. While this method seems to have merit, it will run into scaling problems if the relation of the length of the ellipse to the size of the graph does not maintain the appropriate Mercury-cycle dimensions. Two less-troublesome, modern-day equivalents are Bollinger bands and Wilder's parabolic system. Bollinger bands are useful in determining potential high and low points in trading markets, while the parabolic system functions as both an entry method and a trailing stop in trending markets.

The third method presented is the "Polish ellipse" and is another overlay placed upon counter-trend reactions. With the instructions given, the "Polish ellipse" is in effect, a wave-counter which is useful for timing the five waves in an Elliott-wave expansion sequence. It also seems to handle wave extensions quite well. This method has some utility if scaling problems do not get in the way.

The fourth method is an oscillator which aids in picking tops and bottoms. The construction presented by Bayer has a troublesome, built-in lag. However, if all of the factors are step-weighted and ranged in a 5-5-3-3 sequence, the oscillator becomes a coincident indicator and its utility is markedly enhanced.

The fifth method is "squaring the circle" and is useful for projecting potential support and resistance areas from any given high or low pivot prices. However, where Bayer indicates "points," it is better to use percentages.

While some of Bayer's methods are clearly better than others, all are interesting and can be used as starting points for further research. The historical value of this book is three-fold, it: 1) is the first book (of which I am aware) to offer a complete methodology for trading; 2) shows the trail of reasoning of a market practitioner as trades actually matured; and 3) indicates that money and markets are no more than a very insignificant supplement to what is required for living a valued and productive life.

When I was in high school I got the first edition of the excellent book. Now as a college student I picked up the second edition and it is as good, if not better than, the first edition. Like the old edition it is still divided into two parts. The first part is a strategy guide with lots of useful tips for finding scholarships, writing your application, negotiating for financial aid, and even specific tips for specific scholarships. The rest of the book is a scholarship directory. It looks like it contains more than the first edition - although I didn't actually count. The presentation of the scholarships are better than before and I found it easier to find awards for my major and career goals. Overall, I am very happy with this book. Although there are sections for high school students I feel that I have benefited as a college student. This is a valuable resource that I highly recommend.

The seller send out the book very fast, and the book in very good shape.

This workbook is so practical and easy to use! I am in signicant debt but didn't want to pursue debt settlement or bankruptcy. This helps you get organized and pay down your debt by yourself. I've used the tips and suggestions to get my budget under control, I've started to pay down some debt and my Fico score has already improved! Deborah McNaughton shares personal and professional experiences that validates her suggestions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get their debt situation under control!

The book was very well written and easy to read. It's a must read for anyone who's seriously trying to save and invest. She really makes the reader understand the power of compound interest over time -- understanding that concept alone changed my whole attitude towards saving!

This is the book that gets you under the hood and doing it the right way. Pure nuts and bolts, no nonsense, rubber-meets-the road strategies to do all that needs to be done. A must-read, a must-own book for parents with kids going off to college.

This book is an excellent introduction to the Commercial mortgage industry. It is up to date and the author makes an effort to state the distinction between the residential and commercial mortgage business. He also touches on important and relevant topics such as the sub prime crises and how it effected the mortgage industry and why people should not be afraid to get involved now, as there is ample opportunity. This is for the layperson, and he describes the nuts and bolts of the industry very well. Gineris also makes it easy for the reader to understand the vocabulary and concepts so inherent to the industry. He gets into lending, borrowing, commercial mortgage-backed securities, etc. Albeit, a strong income potential can be realized in a relatively short period of time (comparatively speaking), this is not a get rich quick scheme. But for those who work hard, smart and take this business seriously, one can make physician level income and have a lot of fun doing it.