Yield-curve

Some time ago, I was browsing through the bookstores in Singapore searching for some good books on the Bond Markets ( I already own Fabozzi). I chanced upon this particular book and decided to take the risk. But after 662 pages of intense analysis of the Yield curve by the author, I have come to the conclusion that the return is commensurate. But beware that the author at places is too academic and goes off on a tangent.

There have been so many good books written about the yield curve that it is hard to imagine why this one was written. It is actually very similar, if not remarkably the same, to a couple of other books previously published. If you have the better written books on this subject, there is no need to buy this. If you don't have them, buy them instead.

There have been so many books about the yield curve, and all of them so mediocre. It is good to finally have one that describes and analyses the curve for everyone - money managers, bankers, investment analysts. Written in the author's trademark accessible style, this book is like nothing out there, highly recommended.

Yield Curve modeling is on of the major subjects of fixed income, a subject of great power and benefits. As the author explains eloquently (page 56) that the yield curve is very easy to grasp the basics, but difficult to become expert at. It is linked by countless equation with vast underlying framework.

Despite its forbidding nature yield curve modeling is vital component of the fixed income market. It has wide range of applications and practical importance. However, the lack understanding so often encountered leaves students and market investors with a gap between able to use the theory and being able to do so. One way of promoting understanding and bridging this gap is the method this book follows. The way of this book is to make the reader understand the subject by providing detailed explanation with carefully selected examples, show how principles and concepts may be applied to particular problem. And then offering the reader examples that differ slightly but which can be tackled by an extension of the approach that have been used previously. All this is evident in chapter one. In chapter two the author selects well motivated examples to demonstrate specific principle and concepts.

The book starts with an overview of the concept of bond yields and bond yield measurement. It then discusses the basic terminology of the yield curve. The core topics of classical yield curve are then examined in chapter two. It includes brief introduction to each topic where important results are stated and sometimes derived or reference given, followed by a number of practical example worked out in detail. Part two of the book deals with the very practical topic of yield curve modeling.

One of the powerful features of this book is that it provides relationship between theory and market practice. To sum up, the author explains all the components of the yield curve modeling at the atomic level.

Mo