Financial Futures Primer

The Financial Futures Primer provides the reader with an introduction to the futures markets in general and financial futures in particular. 1. Futures Markets.

2. Futures Prices.

3. Using Futures Markets.

4. Interest Rate Futures: Introduction.

5. Interest Rate Futures: Refinements.

6. Stock Index Futures: Introduction.

7. Stock Index Futures: Refinements.

8. Foreign Currency Futures.

ROBERT W. KOLB was John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Finance at the University of Miami until 1995. He is author or coauthor of finance texts on a range of topics including futures, options, financial derivatives, investments, corporate finance, and financial institutions. He was founder and president of Kolb Publishing Company, sold to Blackwell Publishers in 1995. His research has been published in Financial Management, the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Risk and Insurance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Futures Markets. The Financial Futures Primer provides the reader with an introduction to the futures markets in general and financial futures in particular. All of the futures contracts explored in the text are approached by a common pricing framework-the proposition that rational prices preclude arbitrage profits.

To ensure that the mathematical demands placed upon the reader are minimal, there is an uncomplicated, applied explanation provided for each topic. As each concept or valuation technique is introduced, it is explained in detail, the relevant formula is presented, and a calculation example is presented.

The text also emphasises the use of financial futures in risk management. While the Financial Futures Primer features ample examples of speculative strategies that can be implemented with these instruments, the focus of the application examples is the management of pre-existing risk.

This brief, yet comprehensive, overview of the complex topics surrounding futures makes the Financial Futures Primer a valuable resource for professionals as well as an ideal supplement for advanced undergraduate courses in finance and economics and MBA level investments courses.