Relative Values

The essays in Relative Values draw on new work in anthropology, science studies, gender theory, critical race studies, and postmodernism to offer a radical revisioning of kinship and kinship theory. Through a combination of vivid case studies and trenchant theoretical essays, the contributors—a group of internationally recognized scholars—examine both the history of kinship theory and its future, at once raising questions that have long occupied a central place within the discipline of anthropology and moving beyond them. Ideas about kinship are vital not only to understanding but also to forming many of the practices and innovations of contemporary society. How do the cultural logics of contemporary biopolitics, commodification, and globalization intersect with kinship practices and theories? In what ways do kinship analogies inform scientific and clinical practices; and what happens to kinship when it is created in such unfamiliar sites as biogenetic labs, new reproductive technology clinics, and the computers of artificial life scientists? How does kinship constitute—and get constituted by—the relations of power that draw lines of hierarchy and equality, exclusion and inclusion, ambivalence and violence? The contributors assess the implications for kinship of such phenomena as blood transfusions, adoption across national borders, genetic support groups, photography, and the new reproductive technologies while ranging from rural China to mid-century Africa to contemporary Norway and the United States. Addressing these and other timely issues, Relative Values injects new life into one of anthropology's most important disciplinary traditions. Posing these and other timely questions, Relative Values injects an important interdisciplinary curiosity into one of anthropology’s most important disciplinary traditions. Contributors. Mary Bouquet, Janet Carsten, Charis Thompson Cussins, Carol Delaney, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Sarah Franklin, Deborah Heath, Stefan Helmreich, Signe Howell, Jonathan Marks, Susan McKinnon, Michael G. Peletz, Rayna Rapp, Martine Segalen, Pauline Turner Strong, Melbourne Tapper, Karen-Sue Taussig, Kath Weston, Yunxiang Yan

An invaluable guide for fixed income practitioners, fully updated to incorporate the shift from LIBOR to SOFR Since its first edition in 2013, Fixed Income Relative Value Analysis: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Theory, Tools, and Trades has become the gold standard for guides linking financial theories with practical analysis tools. The newly revised second edition reflects both the progress in statistical tools over the last decade and the impact of the transition to SOFR on swap spreads. You’ll find a set of statistical and financial tools, a multitude of actual trades resulting from the application of these tools, as well as access to a companion website featuring spreadsheets illustrating some of the models contained in the book. This book covers: Statistical models for quantitative market analysis, in particular mean reversion models and principal component analysis, now including the multivariate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model. An in-depth approach to understanding swap spreads in theory and practice. A comprehensive discussion of the various basis swaps and their combinations. The incorporation of credit default swaps in yield curve analysis. A classification of option trades into three types and the appropriate analysis tools. Fitted curve techniques for identifying relative value among different bonds. A multi-factor delivery option model for bond future contracts. Fixed Income Relative Value Analysis has proven to be an indispensable desk reference for buy- and sell-side fixed income professionals, including traders, quantitative analysts, portfolio managers, financial engineers, fixed income salespeople with sophisticated clientele and risk managers.

As western governments issue increasing amounts of debt, the fixed income markets have never been more important. Yet the methods for analyzing these markets have failed to keep pace with recent developments, including the deterioration in the credit quality of many sovereign issuers. In Fixed Income Relative Value Analysis, Doug Huggins and Christian Schaller address this gap with a set of analytic tools for assessing value in the markets for government bonds, interest rate swaps, and related basis swaps, as well as associated futures and options. Taking a practitioner’s point of view, the book presents the theory behind market analysis in connection with tools for finding and expressing trade ideas. The extensive use of actual market examples illustrates the ways these analytic tools can be applied in practice. The book covers: Statistical models for quantitative market analysis, in particular mean reversion models and principal component analysis. An in-depth approach to understanding swap spreads in theory and in practice. A comprehensive discussion of the various basis swaps and their combinations. The incorporation of credit default swaps in yield curve analysis. A classification of option trades, with appropriate analysis tools for each category. Fitted curve techniques for identifying relative value among different bonds. A multi-factor delivery option model for bond future contracts. Fixed Income Relative Value Analysis provides an insightful presentation of the relevant statistical and financial theories, a detailed set of statistical and financial tools derived from these theories, and a multitude of actual trades resulting from the application of these tools to the fixed income markets. As such, it’s an indispensable guide for relative value analysts, relative value traders, and portfolio managers for whom security selection and hedging are part of the investment process.

Alternative Investments: CAIA Level I, 4th Edition is the curriculum book for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Level I professional examination. Covering the fundamentals of the alternative investment space, this book helps you build a foundation in alternative investment markets. You'll look closely at the different types of hedge fund strategies and the range of statistics used to define investment performance as you gain a deep familiarity with alternative investment terms and develop the computational ability to solve investment problems. From strategy characteristics to portfolio management strategies, this book contains the core material you will need to succeed on the CAIA Level I exam. This updated fourth edition tracks to the latest version of the exam and is accompanied by the following ancillaries: a workbook, study guide, learning objectives, and an ethics handbook.