Book excerpt: FINANCE Financial managers and investment professionals need a solid foundation in finance principles and applications in order to make the best decisions in today's ever-changing financial world. Written by the experienced author team of Frank Fabozzi and Pamela Peterson Drake, Finance examines the essential elements of this discipline and makes them understandable to a wide array of individuals, from seasoned professionals looking to fine-tune their financial skills to newcomers seeking genuine guidance through the dynamic world of finance. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this reliable resource opens with an informative introduction to the basic tools of investing and financing decision-making financial mathematics and financial analysis (Part I). From here, you'll become familiar with the fundamentals of capital market theory, including financial markets, financial intermediaries, and regulators of financial activities (Part II). You'll also gain a better understanding of interest rates, bond and stock valuation, asset pricing theory, and derivative instruments in this section. Part III moves on to detail decision-making within a business enterprise. Topics touched upon here include capital budgeting that is, whether or not to invest in specific long-lived projects and capital structure. Management of current assets and risk management are also addressed. By covering the basics of investment decision-making, Part IV skillfully wraps up this accessible overview of finance. Beginning with the determination of an investment objective, this part proceeds to demonstrate portfolio theory and performance evaluation, and also takes the time to outline techniques for managing equity and bond portfolios as well as discuss the best ways to use derivatives in the portfolio management process. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Finance puts this field in perspective. And while a lot of ground is covered in this book, this information will help you appreciate and understand the complex financial issues that today's companies and investors constantly face.