Economics for Investment Decision Makers: Micro, Macro, and International Economics: 45

Determining the fitness of a particular company and its investment worthiness requires more than just a knowledge of its current financial health, its management policies, and its strategic direction. True due diligence requires consideration of an array of microeconomic and macroeconomic issues and events that directly impact both the current and future health of an enterprise.

The same principle applies to virtually every investment decision you make or financial strategy you develop. Whether you’re an institutional investor, or a financial analyst, wealth manager, financial advisor, or professional trader, without a solid understanding of economics essentials such as supply and demand curves, business cycles, systemic risk, debt, monetary policy, liquidity conditions, and consumer confidence you’re operating in a vacuum.

Economics is a very wide-ranging discipline, full of arcane jargon and complex concepts. If you’re like most finance professionals today, you have little time to invest in taking an academic economics course geared specifically to your needs.

Problem solved: Economics for Investment Decision Makers.

Like a wise and patient tutor, Economics for Investment Decision Makers guides you through all the economics terms, concepts, theories, practices, and principles that investment professionals need to understand in order to make sense of global economic events and to formulate investment decisions based on a deep understanding of the economic realities that drive the markets.

Unlike other economics books you’ll find, this plain-English guide combines coverage of both the microeconomics and macroeconomics that investors and analysts require to intelligently interpret economic news. It delivers clear, straightforward coverage of the full range of micro- and macro-fundamentals, as well as in-depth coverage of an array of specific topics of immediate relevance to your practice, including international trade, foreign exchange markets, currency exchange rate forecasting, to name just a few.

The quickest, easiest way to get to grips with all the economics you need to make the best possible investment decisions, Economics for Investment Decision Makers is one investment that is guaranteed to deliver sizable dividends for many years to come.

CHRISTOPHER D. PIROS, PHD, CFA, is the Managing Director of Investment Strategy and Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee at Hawthorn, a member of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., which is dedicated to serving the needs of individuals and families with investable assets in excess of $20 million. Prior to joining PNC, Mr. Piros served on the team responsible for the curriculum underlying the Chartered Financial Analyst^® designation. He also has served as Director of Investment Strategy & Portfolio Management at Prudential Investments LLC, the wealth management services arm of Prudential Financial. And he was a global fixed-income portfolio manager and head of fixed-income quantitative analysis at MFS Investment Management.

JERALD E. PINTO, PHD, CFA, is Director, Curriculum Projects, in the education division of the CFA Institute. Prior to joining CFA Institute, he consulted with corporations, foundations, and partnerships in investment planning, portfolio analysis, valuation, and quantitative analysis. Pinto also worked in the investment and banking industries in New York, and taught finance at NYU Stern School of Business. He holds an MBA from Baruch College, a PhD in finance from the Stern School, and is a member of CFA Virginia.

CFA INSTITUTE is a global, not-for-profit organization comprising the world’s largest association of investment professionals. With over 100,000 members, and regional societies around the world, CFA Institute is dedicated to developing and promoting the highest educational, ethical, and professional standards in the investment industry. CFA Institute offers a range of educational and career resources, including the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) designations, and is a leading voice on global issues of fairness, market efficiency, and investor protection.