Financial-markets

At the outset, it is important to mention that my special area of interest is cost of capital with finite cash flows (CF). And in my review, it is this point that I would like to address.
In chapter 10, compared to similar books, the author presents a good detailed exposition on the cost of capital. However, my big complaint is that the author assumes that the formulas on the cost of capital that are derived from CF in perpetuity simply carry over to finite CF.
In practice, we derive finite cash flows from financial statements and on grounds of simplicity, one may use the formulas from CF in perpetuity. However, it is not self-evident that the formulas from CF in perpetuity are relevant and appropriate to finite CFs. This may or may not be true, but the equivalence certainly needs to be demonstrated with some simple numerical examples.

The book deals with the emerging markets' specific problems of investment valuation and financial decisioning. Elementary financial methodologies are modified to capture the different variabeles in emerging markets. It is an easy to read book but I would have liked it to be more in-depth than it is now. It gives, however, a nice structured view on emerging markets valuation theory.

This slender, surprisingly thorough volume provides an insider's view of four region's storm-tossed financial crises (Latin America, '82, Mexico '94, Asia, '98 and Russia '98). Author Alexandre Lamfalussy, a key figure at the Bank for International Settlements during some of these crises, discusses the history of these events and the problems confronting crisis managers at the time. He lays out the critical background facts of each crisis and draws clear commonalties and contrasts among them. He also offers thoughtful, reasonable prescriptions for avoiding, minimizing and managing future crises. Then, he points out some little-discussed aspects of globalization in the developed world, which contributed to the crises. Though Lamfalussy's style is dense and somewhat academic, his content is worth the work. We at getAbstract recommend this book as valuable reading (and a financial lifejacket) for anyone doing business or investing in an emerging market, for corporate executives working abroad and for public policy makers worldwide.