Reviews (2)

VERY INTERESTING FACTS!!!
As a business person, I found helpful and interesting facts on how to market financial products.The topics are discussed in an organized manner and the book is relatively easy to follow.There are separate chapters for each aspect of the marketing program.Customer retention issues and regulations are also discussed in quite a bit of detail.

Excellent book, thorough coverage, highly recommended
The book has an excellent coverage of the field.It not only teaches you most of what you need to know to market financial services, but is also an excellent reference.It is very current, easy to read, has many good cases and examples for the reader to follow, and is rich with useful information. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Finance    5. International - Marketing    6. Business & Economics / Marketing / International    7. Business & Economics-Finance   

Reviews (18)

Mandatory
It is precisely what it claims to be. If you're going to come over here, you should read it. So much information, all in one place. My life would've been much easier if I'd read this five years ago, but perhaps Who Moved My Rice? wouldn't be quite so much fun.
A consultant's review
Excellent guidelines, especially for larger corporations.Can be used by smaller companies that have some expertise in international business, or that are working with a consultant in the subject area.I plan to use it as reference in my classes for small business on the subject of initiating business in China.

Clear and wonderfully practical
As someone who was about to embark on business in mainland China, and who has never ventured further north than Hong Kong, this book has been a god-send.
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Subjects:  1. 1976-    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business And Society    6. Business Etiquette    7. Business/Economics    8. China    9. Corporations, Foreign    10. Exports & Imports    11. Organizational Behavior In Business    12. Social life and customs    13. Business & Economics / Business Etiquette    14. Business communication & presentation    15. Etiquette & entertaining    16. International business   

Reviews (3)

Excellent Condition & On time
It is on time and the book is in good condition.

The current standard
In my opinion this is the best book currently available for a graduate course in real-trade theory. I have already used it twice in class and my students have invariably preferred it to other recent works available, e.g., K.Y. Wong or Bhagwati et al. Compared to these, this book is better written and focuses judiciously on the models that yield the sharpest conclusions and most relevant insights. Discussions of the significance of gravity models, foreign investments, political economy, free trade areas, and institutional factors in trade (e.g., ethnic networks) are particularly clear and up to date compared with other texts. Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence
I really expected far more from this textbook. It adds very little to already existing graduate textbooks on trade. It is not useful for graduate students that want to understand the literature of the 2000s. It assumes you already know the material. It debotes a lot of space to the old literature at the expense of the new one. This is a field that has changed significantly. Frankly, I find hard to see its value added. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Commercial policy    5. Economics - General    6. International - Economics    7. International trade    8. Mathematical models    9. Business & Economics / Economics / International    10. Economics   

Reviews (27)

Notionistic
The book contains a lot of undigested info on trading in currency markets, failing to explain much of the things it illustrates.

Those who rate above 3 probably did not read through
The structure is good, topics are comprehensive, style is concise.
Tradeoff in practicality for information
This book turned out to be quite different from what I was expecting.By the cover, I thought it would be about finding a brokerage account, and then getting set up to trade away.To my surprise it was more of an educational textbook than a "do it yourself" guide for individual investors.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Exports & Imports    5. Foreign Exchange    6. Foreign exchange market    7. International - Economics    8. International - General    9. Investment analysis    10. Money & Monetary Policy    11. Business & Economics / International    12. Finance    13. Monetary economics   

Reviews (42)

Old predictions that have not come true
This book is old news and is filled with predictions for 2005 & 2006 - most of which are inacurate.His boom and subsequent bust theories are not materializing - and at this point even if they do will be of much smaller scale than his grand predictions (DOW over 40,000) presented in this book.

Excellent book - A Must Read!
This book is a must read for anyone interested in demographic stock market trends from the early 1900's to present.His analysis of the coming boom in the stock market, specifically the large capitalization equity markets, is both insightful and mesmerizing.The author does an excellent job in showing demographic/technology driven market cycles and how they CAN be forecasted accuratly. He manages to do it in a way that keeps the reader interested and makes some startling comparisons to the roaring 20's stock market boom and the last great boom cycle that we are currently experiencing.Harry S. Dent proves that the baby boom generation will change the world we live in and the economic market conditions for decades to come.When you read this book, these economic cycles become both exciting and frightful. This book is highly recommended and it is hard to put down.

An awkwardly written look at booms and bust ahead
This bestseller has some methodology problems and it is written awkwardly, but it might nonetheless be true. Author Harry S. Dent, Jr., claims to have predicted the great stock market boom of the 1990s. He contends that demographics, economics, modern markets and information technology make the future almost surely predictable, though most experts would disagree. In fact, common knowledge challenges some of his data, such as his contention that newspapers are a growth opportunity. However, his suggestion that a stock market bubble in the first decade of this new millennium will end in a crash of historic size is a possibility worth considering. Moreover, his comments about demographic trends, especially the slowing of population growth and the graying of developing-country populations, have ample support from other sources and should be part of the calculus of any international investor. We suggest reading this intriguing book with the caveat that soothsaying is a chancy undertaking. Read this book as you would read science fiction - with the thought that, in spite of everything, it just might come true. In other words, keep Dent's advice in mind, but don't get carried away. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. Bull markets    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Economic Conditions    7. Economic Forecasting    8. Forecasting    9. General    10. History - General History    11. Investment Finance    12. Investments    13. Investments & Securities - General    14. United States    15. Business & Economics / General    16. Finance   

Reviews (4)

WARNING-These are only cases, almost NO content
I bought this book to read outside of a class hoping to read through some really good case studies in finance, and hopefully apply several semesters worth of finance classes to some real world examples. However after receiving the book I realized that these were only cases, not case studies, meant to be discussed in a class. There is almost no content, and college professors would actually be better off building their own cases from current business publications.

Good Finance book
The cases in this book will make one think more than other books in this area.

Bravo to Bruner!
Case Studies in Finance and its instructors manual are absolutely the BEST of their kind in all the years I've been teaching finance and strategy. Bravo to Bruner! I've never seen an instructor's manual so complete. The At-a-Glance section has been very helpful when structuring a course design. Case Studies in Finance and its supplements are being used by the finance faculty at ESADE Business School, in Spain, as a guide to restructure their first year core finance course in the Full-Time MBA programme. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Case studies    5. Corporate Finance    6. Corporations    7. Decision-making    8. Finance    9. International - General    10. International business enterpr    11. International business enterprises    12. Management - General    13. Multinational Enterprise    14. Business & Economics / Corporate Finance   

Reviews (1)

Excellent view of Silicon Valley's now and future in the Flat world!
Excellent view of Silicon Valley's now and future in the Flat world! This author is excel in comparing Silicon Valley with new 'Want be Silicon Valley' regions. Especially her comments on the differentiators that are based on lot of interviews are extremely valuable for these challengers. In summery, openness, strong wishes to keep in the leading edge that the author viewed as Silicon Valley excel are the true differentiators of the region from many others. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. California    5. Cooperative industrial research    6. Developing countries    7. Entrepreneurship    8. High technology industries    9. Immigrants    10. International - Economics    11. New Business Enterprises    12. Santa Clara Valley (Santa Clara County)    13. Business & Economics / Economics / International    14. Economic theory & philosophy    15. International business   

Editorial Review

We live in an era where image is nearly everything, where the proliferation of brand-name culture has created, to take one hyperbolic example from Naomi Klein's Read more

Reviews (156)

A must read...
I live in the suburbs of a former steel mill town whose mills are now defunct.At one time we boasted the highest unemployment rate in the state, the highest murder rate per capita and were named number four in George magazine's most corrupt towns list.But we are creating jobs...Wal Mart, Sam's Club, Taco Bell, one chain store after another.My town is a prime example of the new economy - service, part-time and temp work with little room for advancement and little hope.
The overwhelming worldwide effect of branding
Ironically my sister who is a Marketing Director for a hugecorporation gave me this book.Marketing graduates and professionals may wish to know the axe they weild.
Modern Manifesto in Defense of Citizen Public Against Corporate Fascism

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Subjects:  1. Brand name products    2. Business Ethics    3. Current Affairs    4. General    5. Industries - General    6. International    7. International - General    8. International business enterprises    9. Political aspects    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Public opinion   

Reviews (4)

Excellent
This is an excellent book. From its marketing, I thought that "When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures" pertained specifically to dealing with people of different nationalities in the business place. And indeed, it is a most useful book for that purpose. However, I was struck by how much one could apply Lewis' analyses to other situations, for example, dealing with people of other nationalities on a social level. Indeed, I have many aquaintances, and some close friends, from diverse backgrounds, and this book sometimes occupies us for entire evenings, discussing our experiences with one another. The chapter on Hungarians I found particularly accurate, and entertaining. I believe that Lewis would have enjoyed hearing some of these discussions (and arguments). My point is: don't dismiss this book thinking it is a businessman's tool. It's a good read for anybody who encounters people of other nationalities and cultures, irrespective of the context.

Essential reading before working internationally
At times this book veers on being discriminatory, shallow, stereotypical and arbitrary. For instance, what has Mr Lewis got against the Finns to focus on them mercilessly? Is it really useful to paint these simple caricatures of whole nations, with all their diversity and increasing multi-ethnicity?
Highly Recommended!
Richard D. Lewis, an expert on cross-cultural and language training who has tutored clients from Swedish corporate executives to the Japanese Imperial Family, discusses the need to consider cross-cultural differences in managing any company in today's global world. He suggests a broad model you can use to characterize different national characteristics as linear-active, multi-active, and reactive. These traits shape attitudes toward time, leadership, team building, and affect a range of organizational behaviors. Lewis includes brief national profiles you can refer to when doing business away from home. This in-depth book covers common patterns in different cultures, and offers many examples of how different groups act under different situations. We at getAbstract recommend this book to top executives, managers and anyone who works in a multicultural business environment, as well as to general readers with a yen for informed people watching. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Intercultural communication    5. International - General    6. International business enterprises    7. Leadership    8. Management    9. Management - General    10. Social aspects    11. Workplace Culture    12. International business    13. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (8)

Highly Recommended!
Former Harvard University President Derek Bok warns that making commercial ventures part of the fabric of U.S. higher education endangers universities' basic values and goals. However, he also gives compelling descriptions of why trustees and administrators are tempted to sign deals with corporations. He is realistic about the slim prospects for keeping such ventures away, especially since some - like sports teams - are already entrenched. Because Bok's analysis is so deeply rooted in his years of experience leading Harvard, his proposed guidelines for how and when to allow big business on campus are particularly helpful. His views are occasionally unwarrantedly sunny, such as when he avers that faculty members rarely guide students into work that promotes the teacher's financial gain. He also asserts that faculty must be wary of collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to get access to facilities and materials, even though funding unfettered research has become increasingly difficult. Furthermore, after asserting that doctors are alert to drug companies' promotions in sponsored continuing education courses, he acknowledges research showing that doctors who attend such courses are more likely to prescribe the companies' drugs. Despite such detours, we find this book extremely valuable for anyone who believes that academic freedom and integrity truly matter. Academic leaders should read Bok's important, thoughtful and useful ideas on ways that colleges can minimize the risks of commercialization.

Thoughts on Bok's Universities in the Marketplace
Derek Bok does a respectful job in describing the issues.The book provides an excellent foundation for the general public to understand the influence of commercialization on higher education.Higher education is big business in the United States.The book's relevance to issues related to intercollegiate athletics, higher education research, online delivery of education and other influences on academics is necessary to understanding the impact of commercialization, both positive and adverse, on higher education today.
Great information
Athletic marketing, academic research, alumni donations, corporate research and marketing are all topics that uniquely affect the quality and diversity associated with academic freedom.The level of control that should be applied to higher education by outside forces is the main premise of this book.Mr. Bok takes each issue and delves deeper in the cause and effect of the commercial opportunities available to institutions of higher education.
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Subjects:  1. Education    2. Education / Teaching    3. Educational Policy & Reform    4. Finance    5. Higher    6. Philosophy & Social Aspects    7. Business & Economics / Economics / International    8. Economics    9. Funding of education    10. Higher & further education    11. USA   

Reviews (3)

I'm not employed by a tax lawyer
This would probably be a great book for a law student, but not for a lay person. I consider myself to be fairly intelligent, but I had a bit of difficulty wading through this to find the little bit of info that I needed.I'm sure it's also a great book for someone with a tax background.

unable to review
unfortunately, at the time of writing, 9 August 2005, I still have not received the item ordered on 7 July 2005. Therefore, I am not able to give any views on the book.

International Taxation
Doernberg provides a helpful overview of the important topics most relevant in International Taxation. This summary will be a useful guide for students, practitioners and anyone else interested in the U.S. tax issuesrelevant in international business. While short by design, this bookcontains a surprising amount of information. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Corporations, Foreign    2. Foreign income    3. Income tax    4. International    5. Investments, Foreign    6. Law    7. Law and legislation    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. Military    10. Taxation    11. United States   

Reviews (17)

Capitalism and the New World Economy
Stuart Hart is an author, instructor, researcher, and lecturer who has written many books and essays on strategic management and the problems/challenges of globalism in the world economy. His consulting services have been utilized by many large companies including DuPont, Hewlett- Packard, and Proctor and Gamble and he has helped these and other companies like them to develop a more Earth- friendly, poverty- reducing approach to solving the world's problems while still maintaining enough economic momentum to stabilize or even improve the bottom line.
A Classic
The book starts with a overview of the dominant position that is occupied by multinationals in today's global economy. Going by the definition of the term, 60000 multinationals produce a quarter of the global output of products and services. Yet they are owned by less that 1 percent of the worlds population and employ about 1 percent of the world's employable workforce. Meanwhile many of these companies in their race for short term earnings have sacrificed sustainable methods of production. In other words they have done irreparable damage to the earth's environment and created social tensions in many countries. In other words, the pursuit of economic gains is at loggerheads with local cultures and environmental interests.
What Capitalism Could Accomplish
This interesting and provocative book synthesizes several of the most influential ideas in modern business and distills a new idea: that disruptive innovation at the bottom of the pyramid will solve the crises of environmental pollution, business stagnation and international terrorism at the top. No one can accuse author Stuart L. Hart of thinking small or of lacking imagination. His big ideas are all in place. The only missing element, as he freely admits, is one small detail: how. Capitalism must take a new course, and it's pretty clear what the new course must be, but Hart presents only a vague notion of how businesspeople are to go about turning his vision into reality. We recommend that business leaders read this book anyway, because it will stimulate your thinking about what might be possible. Maybe you'll be the one to figure out how to make the difference. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Capitalism    5. Corporate Planning    6. Economics - General    7. Free Enterprise    8. Social responsibility of business    9. Strategic Planning    10. Business & Economics / Systems & Planning    11. International economics   

Reviews (5)

Excellent text for open economy macroeconomics
We used this book in a one semester graduate class for International Economics. We used the book mostly for open economy macro as opposed to trade theory i.e. Chapter 16 & on. Like our professor told us, the book builds on concepts in a gradual fashion starting from the Marshall-Lerner condition right up to the Dornbusch Overshooting Model covering along the way, the basic Keynesian framework, Mundell-Fleming framework and, the policy assignment problem. The concepts helped us trace the causes for UK's renouncement of the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 (and also how George Soros made his billions!). Using the book in this integrated fashion (Theory + Case Study) makes it a valuable addition to one's library.

The Big Picture Missed
Currently I am a student of Professor Jones, one of the text's authors.The text is as drawling and insufficient as Jones' lectures.My first complaint is that there is a crisis of definition.Having only taken one economics course prior, I find that the text tends to move too quickly through topics of international economics, failing to provide illustrative examples so one can better understand how theory is put into practice.Second, the conceptual framework, as in all classical economic theory, is rooted in a place far from reality, a point Jones fails to make clear. The world is not perfectly competitive and does not contain countries equipped with fully developed capitalist institutions (like banking and credit), necessary to make internal economic adjustments in the face of free trade prices.I find the utility of the course to be very low, especially when free-trade is non-existent in the world.Discussions on the state of the contemporary world are sorely needed, if at least to serve as as comparison to the theoretical one constructed by this text. My last complaint is Jones' characterization of "anti-globalizers," those who he claimed "rioted" and were "violent" on the streets of Seatle in 1999 during the meeting of the WTO.The irony is that many of those protesters were advocating for FREER trade, pointing out that US farm subsidies cripple the economies of some underdeveloped nations who primarily produce agricultural commodities. The text's mypopic view of economics will not help those interested in learning how the world economy actually operates.

The Big Picture Missed
Currently I am a student of Professor Jones, one of the text's authors.The text is as drawling and insufficient as Jones' lectures.My first complaint is that there is a crisis of definition.Having only taken one economics course prior, I find that the text tends to move too quickly through topics of international economics, failing to provide illustrative examples so one can better understand how theory is put into practice.Second, the conceptual framework, as in all classical economic theory, is rooted in a place far from reality, a point Jones fails to make clear. The world is not perfectly competitive and does not contain countries equipped with fully developed capitalist institutions (like banking and credit), necessary to make internal economic adjustments in the face of free trade prices.I find the utility of the course to be very low, especially when free-trade is non-existent in the world.Discussions on the state of the contemporary world are sorely needed, if at least to serve as as comparison to the theoretical one constructed by this text. My last complaint is Jones' characterization of "anti-globalizers," those who he claimed "rioted" and were "violent" on the streets of Seatle in 1999 during the meeting of the WTO.The irony is that many of those protesters were advocating for FREER trade, pointing out that US farm subsidies cripple the economies of some underdeveloped nations who primarily produce agricultural commodities. The text's mypopic view of economics will not help those interested in learning how the world economy actually operates. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Balance of payments    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Commercial policy    4. Globalization    5. International - Economics    6. International - General    7. International Relations - Trade & Tariffs    8. International trade    9. Political Science    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Political Science / Globalization   

Reviews (2)

The one FX book to grab when you need to know it all!
After reading almost 50 books on the Forex Market and trading the markets live for a few years, I decided that Ms. Taylor's Mastering Foreign Exchange and Currency Options: A Practical Guide to the New Marketplace is the one Forex Book I would take with me if forced to select one. Why? Because it is the only book to somehow comprehensively cover topics as diverse as Currenex, the application of Technical Analysis to FX, Buy Side vs. Sell Side FX Dealer dynamics, Corporate Treasury Hedging,and of course a fairly essential history of both the economics of foreign exchange and the fundamentals relevant to trading it. The book is only 380 pages and most certainly does meet the needs of entry level traders. Intermediate traders or professionals will certainly find topics coveredwhich prompt an occasional:" I didn't know that !". Again, Ms. Taylor has given us the essentials of both the theoretical dimensions of Foreign Exchange pricing both Spot, Futures, and Options AND the nitty, gritty incidentals of how the technology works to make the market happen. What most books on Forex fail to do - this bookdoes achieve. Few Forex primers squarely place Spot Forex into the Inter-Bank context where it belongs. Few books adequately integrate information about Corporate Treasury concerns with the nature of Central Bank Intervention. Trading Forex on the Retail level without understanding CLS or the Flow Information available through Currenex is like Racing Nascar without knowing how to change a tire. Ms. Taylor's book achieves this through the gift of being able to simplify, coordinate, and render the essential of a topic without loss of rigor or information. Usually books achieving this are a dense read, but this book is not - and that is the work of a great teacher.

An ok book but not for the beginner

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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Currency convertibility    5. Foreign Exchange    6. Investments & Securities - General    7. Options (Finance)    8. Business & Economics / Investments & Securities    9. Corporate finance   

Reviews (2)

Great book - buy it now!
OMG, I'm sitting in front of the guy and he's so cool.Buy the book now!

A Much Needed Book
This book offers a much needed intelligent look at the impact that China's successful globalization may have on the United States.The book is data driven but is also entertaining and very well-written.It is an important read for anybody concerned about the U.S.'s potential rivalry with China and what U.S policy makers and leaders are doing about it (or not doing about it).If you wonder how China's rapidly increasing economic power might impact you or your children, you should start with this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. China    3. Civilization    4. Economic Conditions    5. Entrepreneurship    6. Foreign economic relations    7. General    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. International - Economics    12. International Relations - General    13. United States    14. History / General    15. International business    16. International economics    17. USA   

Reviews (4)

The Great Risk Shift
In his ethnography (PDF) of Grover Norquist's weekly breakfast meetings, Thomas Medved tells us how Newt Gingrich sold reluctant conservatives attending the meeting on Medicare reform.