How the City Really Works: The Definitive Guide to Money and Investing in London's Square Mile (The Times) - Softcover

Davidson, Alexander

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0749442433 ISBN 13: 9780749442439

Publisher: Kogan Page, 2006

Synopsis

The City of London has more of an impact on our jobs, our money and our lives than most people realise. How the City Really Works aims to explain the City in language everyone can understand. It is an accessible guide for those who require a fuller picture of the City's individual mechanisms as well as its relationships with other financial centres around the globe.

This book covers the key roles within the City, from stockbrokers to foreign exchange dealers, accountants and Lloyd's underwriters, and explains how they relate to each other. Covering the main products - from derivatives to new share offerings - How the City Really Works gives you a crash course in:

City markets;

hedge funds and traders;

financial economics;

City regulation;

the City's complex relationships with the United States and Europe.

Entertaining and informative, this is a unique guide to how London's financial markets operate and offers essential advice on how investors can put that information to practical and lucrative use.

About this title

About the Author

Alexander Davidson is a leading financial journalist who has written widely for the national press. He is the author of several books, including the best-selling How to Win in a Volatile Stock Market and How to Understand the Financial Pages, both published by Kogan Page. Alexander may be contacted via his website at www.flexinvest.co.uk.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1 The City of London

Introduction

A world apart

Financial markets

No gain without pain

The city is a world leader

Markets are people

The next step

2 The Bank of England

Introduction

Origin

Role today

Monetary policy

Lender of last resort

International liaison

3 Commercial banking

Introduction

History

Commercial banks today

Raising finance

Credit collection

Bad loans and capital adequacy

4 Introduction to equities

Introduction

The London Stock Exchange

Shares

Market indices

Stock valuation

Market influence

Stockbrokers

Nominee accounts

5 Investment banking

Introduction

Capital raising

6 Introduction to derivatives

Introduction

Cash and derivatives

Four types of derivative transaction

On-exchange versus OTC derivatives

Settlement and clearing

Hedging and speculation

7 Derivatives for retail investors

Introduction

Options

Futures

Warrants

Contracts for difference

Spread betting

8 Wholesale market participants

Overview

Banks

Investors

Interdealer brokers

9 Interest rate products

Introduction

Money markets

Debt securities

Repos

Interest rate derivatives

Government bonds

10 Credit products

Introduction

Bonds

Credit derivatives

11 Commodities

Introduction

Overview

Energy

Metals

Soft commodities

12 Foreign exchange

Introduction

Global overview

In the city

The participants

Currency combinations

Transaction types

13 London Stock Exchange trading systems

Introduction

Trading systems

Retail service providers

Order book developments

The trend

Market maker developments

The future

14 Post-trade services

Introduction

Clearing

Settlement

Safekeeping and custody

Cross-border activity

15 Investors

Introduction

Retail investors

Institutional investors

16 Pooled investments

Introduction

Investment funds

Investment trusts

Exchange-traded funds

Hedge funds

17 Information merry-go-round

Introduction

The analyst

Others

PR

Journalists and tipsters

Corporate information flow

18 Financial services regulation

Introduction

History of regulation

The current regime

Fraud

Money laundering

19 Corporate governance

Introduction

The concept

The Cadbury Code

The Greenbury Committee

The Combined Code

The Turnbull Report

Accounting scandals

OECD Principles of Corporate Governance

Directors' Remuneration Report Regulations

Higgs and Smith

Revised Combined Code

The Myners Report

The US and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

European auditing rules

Operating and financial review

International Financial Reporting Standards

Listing Rules

The future

20 Insurance -- the London companies market

Introduction

The concept

London

Types of business

The underwriting process

Reinsurance

Dispute resolution

Regulatory developments

The future

21 Insurance -- Lloyd's of London

Introduction

Lloyd's explained

History

Capital support

Chain of security

Past problems

Recent developments

22 Personal finance

Introduction

Financial advice

Property

Life policies and pensions

Savings

Complaints and compensation

The future

Edition details

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0749442433
• ISBN 13: 9780749442439
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288