A valuable addition to the financial mathematician’s library.
Mathematician and consultant Shestopaloff thoroughly explores the world of financial mathematics in a volume that will be valuable to anyone in the field.
Beginning with interest and considering annuities, mortgages, and investment and risk measurement methods, Shestopaloff uncovers the complexities of investment mathematics with clear, understandable text accompanied by numerous derivations, examples, graphs and tables. Topics studied include the internal rate of return–which the author considers in a lengthy discussion that includes its relationship with similar calculations–and nominal and effective interest rates. He also considers compounding using various computational methods and linking–a more accurate alternative to geometric linking, which is applied to financial trading. Shestopaloff discusses measurement of risk with details of the various risks and quantifying methods that are involved in investing, such as risks in interest rate, volatility, operational risk, downside risk and more. He briefly explains the probabilistic calculations involved. The introductory text includes definitions of all terms and rapidly advances through equations to allow mathematicians of different skill levels to follow the explanations. An associated software package is available, and the author briefly reviews computation methods, as well as the accuracy obtained by different methods. Shestopaloff ends with a caution that–although software may make many of these calculations invisibly and easily–it is still imperative to understand the mathematics behind the software. His explanations are thorough without excessive wordiness and the text smoothly accompanies equations and derivations. The author helpfully analyzes business consequences alongside the mathematics. The detailed index and table of contents, with paged references to subtopics, make this a very convenient reference book. Although additional editing could have corrected minor linguistic issues, readers will find the text easy to comprehend. Shestopaloff has presented many of these topics in previous peer-reviewed journal papers, but academics, students and professionals–from programmers to financial mathematicians–will find this a convenient one-volume guide, well-written and seamless.
A valuable addition to the financial mathematician’s library.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2009
ISBN: 978-0980966701
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Brockway (The End of Economic Man, 1991, etc.) provides here a selection from ten years of musings on ``The Dismal Science'' from his monthly column for The New Leader. Proving himself as crotchety, humanist, and left-leaning as ever, Brockway tackles such capitalist-economic sacred cows as the theory of the natural rate of unemployment (``counterproductive as well as immoral''), the GNP (the figure generally used is ``a moldy fudge''), and even the seemingly irreproachable law of supply and demand. He points out in the title essay that economics is not a natural science at all; it is ``a branch of ethics.'' Human beings can control supply and demand (by charging less than they could for a life-saving drug, for example) and they could reduce unemployment if they wanted to. And once again Brockway poses that challenging and provocative question: Why don't they?
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-393-03884-X
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
This autobiography of the inventor and pitchman of Mr. Microphone and the Ronco Electric Food Dehydrator has virtually nothing to say, and its amusing moments are primarily of the laughing-at rather than laughing-with variety. A familiar face to most American TV viewers, Popeil has experienced a fascinating series of triumphs and setbacks on his way to becoming the king of the hucksters. Employing a mix of chutzpah and charisma, he has peddled an unbelievable assortment of cockamamie contraptions to the tune of $1 billion in sales. This should have been a good book. The products themselvesfrom the smokeless ashtray to GLH Formula #9 (spray-on hair)have all the comic impact of an old Honeymooners episode. And Popeil's rise from poverty-stricken peddler on Chicago's Maxwell Street to prolific inventor and dashing infomercial host packs a powerful Runyonesque punch. But this telling of the saga (despite the help of USA Today TV columnist Graham) is so disorganized and badly written that any sparks are quickly extinguished. The choppy, declarative style allows only for a catalog of ``this happened, then that happened,'' with absolutely no introspection. To be sure, there are funny moments (Popeil's brother hawks wise in Woolworth's: ``You want one and the lady wants one in the rear. . . ``), and Popeil is endearingly impervious to the fact that many consider his wares the epitome of junk. But wait, there's more! By the time the book descends into its second part, in which Popeil shares with budding entrepreneurs such intimate ``Key Points'' as ``Shop around and get several bids,'' clever readers will have put it down in favor of the Home Shopping Network. Don't add this to the list of useless whatchamacallits that Popeil has already bamboozled you into obtaining. (b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Oct. 13, 1995
ISBN: 0-385-31378-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
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