금융시장 지침서

Abstract

Financial markets have been around ever since mankind settled down to growing crops and trading them with each other. They take many different forms and operate in many different ways. But all of them, whether highly organised, like the New York Stock Exchange, or highly informal, like money-changers in Africa, serve the same basic functions, which range from providing a new way of setting prices and valuing assets, through raising capital or investing it, to managing exposure to risk. That financial markets now have an enormous influence on modern life is not news, but although people speak globally of "Wall Street" or "the bond market" or "the currency markets," the meanings they attach to these phrases are often vague and usually out of date. This book explains why the different financial markets exist, how they work and who trades in them, and gives a run-down of the factors that affect prices and rates. Chapter 1 covers several key concepts about financial markets. And the following chapters examine the most widely used financial instruments and discuss the way the markets for each type of instrument are organised. Chapter 2 establishes the background by explaining the currency markets, where exchange rates are determined. The money markets, where euro-commercial paper and domestic commercial paper are among the instruments used for short-term financing, are discussed in Chapter 3. The bond markets, the most important source of financing for companies and governments, are the subject of Chapter 4. Asset-backed securities, complicated but increasingly important instruments that have some characteristics in common with bonds but also some important differences, receive special attention in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 deals with offshore markets, including the market for euro-notes. Chapter 7 discusses the area that may be most familiar to many readers, shares and equity markets. Chapter 8 covers exchange-traded futures, and Chapter 9 discusses other sorts of derivatives. The markets for syndicated loans and other kinds of bank credit are beyond the scope of this book, as are insurance products of all sorts.