Default

I really enjoyed reading this book and completely related to Rossanna's passions, situations and dilemmas. The down to earth and real-life tone of the book grabbed me from page one and continued to enthrall me throughout its entirety.

I actually read the book over the span of a vacation weekend, putting it down only to eat, sleep or socialize. I consider it a "keeper" because I loaned it to a friend and demanded it back as soon as she was through with it. My home library is quite small containing only books I cherish or plan on reading again; I consider this book to be both. Enjoy it!

If you've had too many relationships that haven't worked out, you will so relate to this!
Not only is it real life, she tells of real emotions, real love,
real intimacy!
Must read!!!!

I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I related, I wanted more... This book tells a true story of love over a decade as the protagonist encounters many men with definite explicit escapades ( she is lucky!), only to have them leave her for another. If only she could figure out why she is consistently the "temporary adornment and momentary passionate arousal" then maybe she could understand what draws them to her. The second book (book first) is a truly inspiring story of her soulmate who left her one day forever ... I cant reveal the ending... Finally one can understand what drives this women , why she is too nice, why she doesnt confront. She interjects thoughts to her married peers. Being single- I can definitely understand what she undertakes. A great book. It's worth buying. Have you ever been in love... GET IT!!!

This well edited collection of the most critical and state-of-the-art models in both asset-level and portfolio credit models is a must have for any serious practitioner in the credit markets.
The subjects range from simple loan scoring approaches to complex CDO portfolio rating approaches and span every asset and approach in-between.
An excellent reference for credit risk managers and portfolio managers alike.

This book provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of credit derivatives. Tavakoli provides an excellent resource for credit risk managers who specialize in one area of credit risk management, professionals who are new to the field, or for experienced professionals who need the definitive reference of credit derivatives products.
This book is not about is the mathematical and statistical details in credit risk/portfolio modeling, but Tavakoli does a good job of highlighting various aspects of modeling (such as data availability, limitations of different approaches, etc.). For example, Tavakoli's explanation of first-to-default baskets provides a quantitative explanation of boundary conditions and a qualitative explanation of the products.

The clear, qualitative, conceptual explanations are supported by explanations that show a deep understanding of the underlying mathematics. Numerically minded readers will grasp this, but even those who are a bit numbers shy will find the quantitative examples easy to follow. Tavakoli's book enabled me to discuss the assessment and deployment of quantitative models on an even footing with professional risk managers and the rocket scientists developing these models.

I also recommend Phillip Schonbucher's book on credit derivatives for people who need to model credit derivatives. Unfortunately, the resource doesn't exist that can solve the tough problem of estimating correlation between defaults.

The use and misuse of credit derivatives terminology is thoroughly explained in this book. After that, the products applications are introduced. The difference between insurance and credit derivatives is clearly explained. From the insurance perspective, examples of using credit derivatives to change capital structure are very helpful.

The basic structures of synthetic collateralized debt obligations are introduced in this book, but more details and the cash flows are explained in Tavakoli's newer book. This book focuses on the credit derivatives market and the peculiarities of this market.
Tavakoli's book is an excellent credit derivatives guide for both newcomers (who are finance professionals) and insurance/finance professionals who need a thorough overview of the various the products. All of the major structures of credit derivatives are explained. The new indexes aren't included in this edition, but index products of other sorts are included, so the structural form is introduced here.

The qualitative narratives are very helpful in explaining how the products are traded. These are supplemented with deal diagrams and tables of information. The author's firm command of the subject matter makes this book very readable and easy for finance professionals to understand. Professionals who are not looking for a heavy quant book but want a clear understanding of how these products are used and the guideposts for value will enjoy this book.

The documentation shown in this book is especially useful for lawyers and people customizing trades. This is particularly useful if you want to include features that offer greater value to you than "standard" documentation. Tavakoli includes basic documentation for each of the major products.

POSITIVE POINTS: Best indepth book on Credit Derivatives. Very readable. Explains very nicely why this derivatives are so important for banks. Non technical.

NEGATIVE POINTS: Focus on banks with only a little chapter on Credit Derivatives as investment products. No explanation how those derivatives are priced (but hey, there are loads of technical books)

In 1898 the United States went to war with Spain under the slogan "Remember the Maine". While most history textbooks tell us that it was over the Maine that we went to war, in "Empire by Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century", Ivan Musicant contends that war with Spain was in actuality a fait accompli.

This is the most significant aspect of Musicant's work. He positions the war as being fought, not because of geopolitical concerns or souring foreign relations, but because of domestic political considerations in both Spain and the United States. Neither side could back down from what was an avoidable war because, which ever government blinked first would have been brought down in its turn.

Beyond this though there isn't much to recommend "Empire by Default" relating to new scholarship on the war. Musicant spouts the consensus line that the war brought America out of its isolationist shell and into the world of international politics. This actually may be true for the post-Civil War period; but, excepting this period and that following World War I, the United States was not an isolationist country. We were as involved in international affairs then as we are now. The prime difference between then and now is that now we typically control the international stage whereas before we were just a member of the cast.

Musicant also is a bit misleading with his title. A book called "Empire by Default" leads me to believe that it will have quite a bit to do with the effects of the war, primarily our acquisition of Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Instead Musicant only briefly mentions the struggles we faced following the immediate acquisition of the Philippines and this only in relation to the scandals that the War Department faced in early 1899. On Puerto Rico Musicant is entirely silent.

The majority of the book deals with the operations on the battlefield and the preparations the United States government made for the war. This is interesting history but not very informative. History for history's sake is fine; but, I like to at least try to glean some important information from everything that I read. In this, "Empire by Default" comes up short.

A wonderful military book. This book details the Spanish America war and its environs. it details the important figures like Mahan, Dewey, Roosevelt. It details the rise of guerrilla warfare in Cuba and the Phillipines. Nevertheless I felt it did not eleborate on the importance of the conflict internationally. It iverestimated the Americans as showsing the war to be won before it was fought. The reality of the conflict, the first defeat of a European power by a non-european power(the Russo-Japanese war was in 1905). Although one passage relates the newspaper jingoism detailing the first shots of the rugged americans against the sparkling halmets of the Spanish soldiers, it underestimates the impact of this war in which the Americans whiped european colonism off the face of the American continent.

It takes some skill to hold a reader's attention for 658 pages. Musicant generally succeeds in his narrative of the Spanish-American war. A specialist in naval history, Musicant gives particularly close attention to the naval battles at Manila and Santiago de Cuba. His description of the gallant but hopeless attempt by the Spanish fleet to escape from Santiago is gripping. Other striking sections describe the chaos of the American embarkation at Tampa and the suffering of American troops investing Santiago. In other parts of the book, the detailed accounts of military politics and preparations may lead many readers to skip ahead. The most disappointing part of the book is the last chapter titled "Empire," a very abbreviated commentary on "the dawn of the American century." The book is reasonably well served by its few maps and its black and white photographs.

you don't rate your own book. Especially one as scatter-brained as this one.

I found this book to be extremely rewarding to read and would highly recommend it to those who want to learn more about themselves. The inner growth that this book generates is fantastic!

Why didn't I think of this? What Mr. Watters offers in this book are simple steps to getting your life on track. It seems like common sense; and, yet, I wasn't following these steps. Things were chaotic and cluttered and I wasn't sure why. After reading "3 Days," things became clearer. I began to focus more on what was important and learned to turn away or ignore what was taking away from the life I really wanted. I enjoyed Mr. Watters' writing style and continue to apply what I learned from this book.

Although Default! is somewhat dated (1987) this fiction novel successfully combines economics theory with an easy to read and enjoyable mystery thread. It is a quick read with only 139 pages, and the issues raised in international banking and economics are all still relevant today. Excellent educational tool for college economics professors.

Eddie is truly human in this story,and many children can relate to his predicaments.It's a lot of fun how he gets his pritning press,and as he does,realizes that girls aren't all that bad!

This is one of the longest reading books I have recently read! It's been three days and I'm not finished yet. Check it out from the library-DON'T BUY IT!

Charming and enjoyable book. Not a page turner, did't feel I had to read in one seating. But really enjoyed the book, the 2 main characters, and will read it again.

I dislike this book for a number of reasons. Firstly it is incomprehensible, especially the examples. Some of the concepts are also not well explained. Secondly, it is not user-friendly. The ideas demonstrated are not presented in a coherent manner. Lastly, being basically a compilation from different authors, the chapters are also not well connected to each other. Overall a very poor effort.

About half the chapters are written by various accountants employed by Price Waterhouse. Only 2 out of about 20 chapter authors are recognizable names in the field.

When it comes to Derivative products, pricing, valuation, the markets, and all the other issues, such as rating, documentation, accounting and taxation, you could not get a better mentor than Satyajit DAS, and this book is his best ever. It is a collection of topics and authors who are the leaders and the best in the field. THERE is simply NO other book that can be called a HANDBOOK on Derivatives, for everyone, students, financial professions, and professors, and for beginners, as well as advanced.