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Classifying funds: the length of the contract
14 Aug 2016

Classifying funds: the length of the contract

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Financial products, Key finance concepts | 0

One of the three purposes of a financial system is to join savers to investors, to allow funds to flow from people who have a surplus to those who have a deficit (the others are to manage risk and to facilitate … Continued

Classifying funds: the type of contract – is it equity or debt?
14 Aug 2016

Classifying funds: the type of contract – is it equity or debt?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Financial products, Key finance concepts | 2

Another way to classify funds that are provided by a saver to an investor is whether they are in the form of debt or equity. These are the two main forms of contract through which one person or company can provide funding to … Continued

debt, equity
Key financial concepts: securities
9 Aug 2016

Key financial concepts: securities

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Financial products, Key finance concepts | 0

Securities are a very important and useful piece of financial technology, including bank notes, shares and bonds. They make possible a wide range of financial transactions and provide competition to the other main source of funding, banks. * A security … Continued

securities
Key finance concepts: exchange rates
12 Jul 2016

Key finance concepts: exchange rates

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Economics, Key finance concepts | 0

Exchange rates are among the most important macrofinancial prices, influencing many aspects of an economy. This post introduces exchange rates and their importance for macroeconomic adjustment * What is an exchange rate? An exchange rate is a ratio, the price … Continued

exchange rates
How can retail finance customers avoid being ripped off?
8 May 2016

How can retail finance customers avoid being ripped off?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Economics, Finance sector | 0

A condition for any market to work well is that consumers have enough information to make good decisions. This is rarely the case with services such as finance. * Theory, backed up by a lot of practical evidence, suggests that … Continued

asymmetric information, regulation
Key concepts in finance: liquidity
25 Apr 2016

Key concepts in finance: liquidity

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Finance sector, Key finance concepts | 1

What exactly is liquidity? The word liquidity is used in many different ways, often confusingly. It’s important to keep clear the centrally important concept of what liquidity is: the ability to turn assets into money quickly and at low cost. … Continued

banks, liquidity
What exactly is “the” exchange rate?
3 Feb 2016

What exactly is “the” exchange rate?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Economics | 1

Exchange rates are ratios of the price of one currency to another. We should be careful about saying “the” exchange rate without being clear as to which particular ratio we mean and why. * Exchange rates often dominate the financial news. … Continued

exchange rates
David Bowie innovated in finance too
18 Jan 2016

David Bowie innovated in finance too

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Financial products | 0

David Bowie, among his many other creative achievements, was an innovator in finance, with the first ever intellectual property rights securitisation. * Nearly everyone seems to have been affected by the death of David Bowie, a uniquely creative and influential … Continued

bonds, securitisation
The IMF includes the RMB in the SDR basket
2 Dec 2015

The IMF includes the RMB in the SDR basket

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Economics, International affairs | 0

On 30 November 2015 the IMF voted to include the RMB (the Chinese “people’s currency” denominated in yuan) in the basket of currencies it uses to calculate the value of the Special Drawing Rights, from October 2016. This is largely … Continued

exchange rates, foreign reserves, IMF, liquidity, RMB, SDR
The true story of the Euro crisis
30 Nov 2015

The true story of the Euro crisis

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Economics, International affairs | 3

Most economist agree on the causes of the repeated crises of the Eurozone but that explanation is not the one that many governments, and the European Commission, want you to believe. * The problems of the Eurozone – bank failures, … Continued

Euro, macro
Changes in the Federal Reserve’s measurement of short term interest rates
20 Nov 2015

Changes in the Federal Reserve’s measurement of short term interest rates

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Finance sector | 0

The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, is making some changes to the measurement and monitoring of the short term interest rate between banks, which is its key target for monetary policy, * Most central banks have goals such as low inflation … Continued

Fed, interest rates, monetary policy
Cash remains king
16 Nov 2015

Cash remains king

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Financial products | 0

Despite the increasing ease of electronic payments, cash remains popular in the UK, according to the Bank of England. * Money is anything that fulfils the three functions of money: i) a means of payment; ii) a unit of account; … Continued

money
Global foreign reserves are now falling
3 Nov 2015

Global foreign reserves are now falling

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Finance sector, International affairs | 1

The foreign exchange reserves held by governments, having risen for over a decade, have recently fallen. This is mainly because they are being used, as intended, to protect against turbulence in financial markets that would otherwise hurt the developing economies. … Continued

foreign reserves
Is a market determined exchange rate always a good thing?
21 Sep 2015

Is a market determined exchange rate always a good thing?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Economics, Finance sector | 0

For years there has been pressure on China to allow its exchange rate to be determined by market forces rather than by the central bank. Now that seems closer to happening but it might mean a fall in the RMB, … Continued

exchange rates, RMB
Thinking about the risks to global economic growth
9 Sep 2015

Thinking about the risks to global economic growth

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Course material, Economics | 2

The fundamentals of global economic growth seem broadly positive but there are some reasons for caution, which can be understood through the savings-investment framework described in the previous blog. If savings are “too high” or investment “too low” then the … Continued

growth, macro

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About

Simon is a member of the finance faculty group at Cambridge Judge Business School. From 2008-18 he was the first Director of the University of Cambridge Master of Finance (MFin) degree, and he is now Director of the University's Global Executive MBA. An economist and former equities analyst at JPMorgan and Citigroup, he teaches on financial markets and institutions, infrastructure finance and the world financial system. He is a Fellow in Economics at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. His book on nuclear power in the UK was published in March 2016.

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