Vol. 1 : From Cristopher Columbus to the Robber Barons (1492-1900). - 416 p.

The first comprehensive financial history of the United States in more than thirty years. Accessible to undergraduate level readers, it focuses on the growth and expansion of banking, securities, and insurance from the colonial period right up to the incredible growth of the stock market during the 1990s and the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. The author traces the origins of American finance to the older societies of Europe and Northern Africa, and shows how English merchants transferred their financial systems to America. He explains how financial matters dominated the founding and development of the colonies, and how financial concerns incited the Revolution. And he shows how the Civil War began the transformation of America from a small economy largely dependent on foreign capital into a complex capitalist society. From the Civil War, the nation's financial history breaks down into periods of frenzied speculation, quiet growth, periodic panics, and furious periods of expansion, right up through the incredible growth of the stock market during the 1990s.

World Poverty is part of the Information Plus Reference Series. The purpose of each volume of the series is to present the latest facts on a topic of pressing concern in modern American life. These topics include today’s most controversial and most studied social issues: abortion, capital punishment, care for the elderly, crime, health care, the environment, immigration, minorities, social welfare, women, youth, and many more. Although written especially for the high school and undergraduate student, this series is an excellent resource for anyone in need of factual information on current affairs.

В этой книге увлекательный рассказ о недавней попытке группы ученых и нобелевских лауреатов создать идеальную математическую модель рынка ценных бумаг. Казалось, им это удалось. В течение трех с половиной лет модель постоянно обыгрывала рынок. Крупнейшие банки и инвестиционные компании строились к ним в очередь, чтобы отдать под инвестирование свои деньги. Но в момент, когда уже считалось, что найдена формула вечного успеха, все стало рушиться. И компания с активами на 100 млрд. долларов (сравнимо с ВВП России) за пару месяцев оказалась на грани банкротства.

Освещены основные этапы и методы подготовки бизнес-плана, а затем и инвестиционного проекта, принятые в мировой практике. Комплексно рассматриваются вопросы маркетинга, финансового менеджмента, оценки рисков и управления инвестиционными проектами. Книга представляет собой сжатый и удобный для изучения учебник по курсу `Инвестиции в реальные активы` (`Capital Budgeting`), входящему в обязательный набор курсов бизнес-обучения и прикладного экономического образования. Она также может служить пособием для специалистов фирм и предприятий, коммерческих банков и инвестиционно-финансовых организаций, занимающихся разработкой и оценкой инвестиционных проектов.

Spectres de Marx commence par la critique d'un nouveau dogmatisme, c'est-à-dire d'une intolérance : « Tout le monde le sait, sachez-le, le marxisme est mort, Marx aussi, n'en doutons plus. » Un « ordre du monde » tente de stabiliser une hégémonie fragile dans l'évidence d'un « acte de décès ». Le discours maniaque qui domine alors a la forme jubilatoire et obscène que Freud attribue à une-phase triomphante dans le travail du deuil. (Refrain de l'incantation « le cadavre se décompose en lieu sûr, qu'il ne revienne plus, vive le capital, vive le marché, survive le libéralisme économique ! »). Exorcisme et conjuration. Une dénégation tente de neutraliser la nécessité spectrale, mais aussi l'avenir d'« un » « esprit » du marxisme. « Un » « esprit»: l'hypothèse de cet essai, c'est qu'il y en a plus d'un. La responsabilité finie de l'héritier est vouée au crible. Elle réaffirme un possible et non l'autre. Comment ce discernement critique se rapporte-t-il à l'exigence hypercritique - ou plutôt déconstructrice - de la responsabilité?

By the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 Britain was the undisputed master of the seas owing to the power and strength of the Royal Navy. Its fleets, comprising ships of the line, frigates, and gunboats, had doubled in size since the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, totaling almost a thousand capital vessels. This book examines the commanders, men, and ships of the Royal Navy during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, and discusses the Navy's command structure (from the Admiralty down to ship level) and its organization at sea. The tactics employed in action by a fleet, a squadron, and individual ships are also discussed, as are the medical services available, providing a fascinating insight into the navy that ruled the waves.

Barfield and Calfee clearly explain arcane issues of patent law and the tremendous effect that they can have on our economy, our technological progress, and our health. As Congress considers sweeping changes to the patent law, this book is a timely evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and the risk of overly aggressive reform. Biotechnology and the Patent System analyzes the role of intellectual property protection in biomedical research, one of America’s leading growth industries. Barfield and Calfee explore ways in which patent law fosters future research and venture capital investment; they also evaluate whether the current system could potentially impede genomic research and the development of new treatment and diagnostic tools.

According to the introduction, every nation has a constitution or a set of documents that serves as one. In each of these, the fundamental "rules" of the country--the defining principals of its government--are laid out in one form or another. It would be difficult to make any other generalizations concerning these documents and the information they contain. Each is unique in itself, while performing a similar function. The very nature of the material makes it challenging for a casual or inexperienced researcher to make comparisons. This set, in a sense, deconstructs these constitutions in a straightforward style. Entries for 194 countries are arranged A-Z. The articles for each country are signed and in many cases are written by scholars who specialize in the country they are writing about. The structure of each article follows a pattern designed to make it easy to compare information from one country to another. Each begins with a small collection of information about the country: name, capital, languages spoken, ethnic composition, type of government, and date of constitution, among others. A brief overview of the country is followed by standard subsections: "Constitutional History," "Form and Impact of the Constitution," "Basic Organizational Structure," "Leading Constitutional Principles," "Constitutional Bodies," and so on. Articles range from 4 to 13 pages in length, and each concludes with links to the text of the constitution in its original language (and, if needed, an English translation) and secondary sources for further reading. At the end of volume 3 are several useful appendixes. One gives the same kind of constitutional information for the European Union, and the second provides a list and description of "Special Territories" such as Antarctica, the Cook Islands, Guam, and the Isle of Man. The third is a glossary of terms.

An examination of the legal framework of the EU internal market as established in the case law of the European Court of Justice, discussing in particular EC competition law, the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital and the evolution of the interpretation of the provisions. The 'State' has been retreating from direct intervention in economic life as more goods and services, the provision of which was once thought to be a 'public' responsibility, are delivered through market mechanisms. Given the need for consistent application of EC law in the internal market, a common core conception of public authority, shielded from the discipline of EC competition law, is needed. The resulting realignment of public and private functions and responsibilities is not a linear and coherent process, especially in light of the changing nature of the European legal integration project and the progressive incorporation of non-economic values in the Treaties.

This guide for aspiring entrepreneurs provides expert advice on every aspect of launching a new business. It is designed to be of particular value for academics wishing to exploit the commercial value of a new technology or business solution. Inspiring and readable, it shows how to evaluate the strength of a business idea, how to protect inventions, reviews legal steps and responsibilities, shows how to position products in the market, how to create a business plan and raise initial capital. Case studies, exercises and tips demystify the process of starting a business, build confidence and greatly increase the chances of success.

This book works with two contrasting imaginings of 1960s London: the one of the excess and comic vacuousness of Swinging London, the other of the radical and experimental cultural politics generating by the city's counter-culture. The connections between these two scenes is mapped looking firstly at the spectacular events that shaped post-war London, then moves through the modernist physical and social reconstruction of the city together with artistic experiments such as Pop Art. The book then looks at the replacement of this seemingly materialistic image with the counter-culture of Underground London from the mid-1960s. The book argues that these disparate threads cohere around a shared imagination associated with a new understanding of nature which differently positioned humanity and technology. Post-war London reasserted itself as a cultural capital, often by appropriating cultural innovations from the provinces and by exploiting its strategic international position. This book is an attempt to address the gap in our understanding of the dynamics of this transformation.

This book grew out of a conference organized by the German Historical Institute (GHI) on May 23-5, 1996, iii Berlin. For three days, thirty-five scholars from n\ne countries became acht-und-sechziger (sixty-eighters), not on the streets and barricades but in lively debate over the events and significance of the momentous year 1968. This book consists of revised versions of many of the original papers as well as entirely new essays that complement our overall theme. I thank all of the authors and also those who participated in the conference but whose work could not be included here. I am grateful to Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich (Free University Berlin), Luisa Passerini (European University Institute, Florence), Keith A. Reader (University of Newcastle), and Dieter Rucht (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin) for chairing the various sessions and for guiding us through spirited discussions. In Berlin, the Wissenschaftszentrum afforded a comfortable setting for three days of intensive debate. I thank Friedheim Neidhardt, the center'sdirector, and his dedicated staff - Birgit Hahn, Britta Heinrich, Ilse Kischlat, Dietmar Kremser, and Burckhard Wiebe - for hosting the conference and helping with its organization. Dieter Senoner of the mayor's office kindly welcomed us to Berlin at a reception at the Rotes Rathaus. Anneke de Rudder, who took us on a "1968 Walking Tour" through the German capital, gave us the opportunity to visit the key sites of that historic year.At the GHI, I thank Barbel Bernhardt, Christa Brown, Dieter Schneider, and Barbel Thomas - all of whom were involved in the organization before, during, and after the conference. Pamela Abraham tracked down the copyrights for the illustrations and assisted in assembling the manuscript. Daniel S. Mattern, the series editor at the Institute, deserves a special note of appreciation for guiding us through the difficult process of publishing this collection and for preparing a readable, clear, and concise manuscript. Frank Smith, the executive editor for social sciences at Cambridge University Press, took great interest in this project from the begin-IX X Preface ning and helped bring about its final shape. Further, I thank the two anonymous readers for their very useful critical evaluations of the manuscript. Finally, I thank my two coeditors. Carole Fink provided the original plan, which she presented to me at another GHI conference, in Berkeley, California, in May 1994. In subsequent discussions, we discovered that "1968" is a particularly well-suited topic for understanding the intellectual challenges that increasing global interdependence poses to historians of the twentieth century. We were later joined by Philipp Gassert, who worked with us to organize the conference and edit the book. I shall miss these last three and a half years of spirited collaboration among three very engaged historians. The topic of this book dovetails nicely with the efforts of the GHI in Washington to promote comparative research. In fact, most of the four to five international conferences the Institute rganizes annually are based on this perspective, comparing events, ideas, and structures in the United States and Europe. At times we have even taken a global perspective, with 1968: The World Traniformed being a case in point. In this age of globalization, historians should also become global players - at least mentally.