Quantitative Investment Analysis Workbook (CFA Institute Investment Series)

In Quantitative Investment Analysis Workbook, Second Edition, financial experts Richard DeFusco, Dennis McLeavey, Jerald Pinto, and David Runkle offer you a wealth of practical information and exercises that will further enhance your understanding of this discipline. This essential study guide—which parallels the main book chapter by chapter—contains challenging problems and a complete set of solutions as well as concise learning outcome statements and summary overviews.
In Quantitative Investment Analysis Workbook, Second Edition, financial experts Richard DeFusco, Dennis McLeavey, Jerald Pinto, and David Runkle offer you a wealth of practical information and exercises that will further enhance your understanding of this discipline. This essential study guide—which parallels the main book chapter by chapter—contains challenging problems and a complete set of solutions as well as concise learning outcome statements and summary overviews.

The Crew Return Vehicle (CRV), sometimes referred to as the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV), is the proposed lifeboat or escape module for the International Space Station (ISS). A number of different vehicles and designs have been considered over the past two decades – with several flying as developmental test prototypes – but no one single design has been built as the dedicated CRV. In April 2010, President Obama directed NASA to develop a CRV based on the Orion technology.In the original space station design, emergencies were intended to be dealt with by having a 'safe area' on the station that the crew could evacuate to, pending a rescue from a U.S. Space Shuttle. However, the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the subsequent grounding of the shuttle fleet caused station planners to rethink this concept. Planners foresaw the need for a CRV to address three specific scenarios:Crew return if a space shuttle or Soyuz capsule was unavailable;An escape vehicle from a major time-critical space station emergency;Full or partial crew return in case of a medical emergency.Medical considerationsThe ISS is equipped with a Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) to handle a certain level of medical situations, which are broken into three main classifications:Class I: non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries (headache, lacerations).Class II: moderate to severe, possibly life-threatening (appendicitis, kidney stones).Class III: severe, incapacitating, life-threatening (major trauma, toxic exposure).However, the HMF is not designed to have general surgical capability, so a means of evacuating a crew member in case of a medical situation that is beyond the HMF's capabilities is essential.A number of studies have attempted to assess the medical risks for long-term space station habitation, but the results are inconclusive, as epidemiological data is lacking. It is, however, understood that longer periods in space increase the risk of serious problems. The closest estimates show an illness/injury rate of 1:3 per year, with 1% estimated to require emergency evacuation by means of a CRV. For an eight-person ISS crew, this results in an expected need for a CRV flight once every four to 12 years. These estimates have been partially corroborated by experiences on board the Soviet Union's Mir space station. In the 1980s, the Soviets had at least three incidents where cosmonauts had to be returned under urgent medical conditions.Because of its potential use as a medical evacuation method, the CRV design was required to address a number of issues that are not factors for a standard manned space vehicle. Foremost of these are the g-loadings as influenced by reentry profiles and deceleration/landing methods upon patients with hemorrhagic shock issues. Patient security issues are more critical for injured astronauts than for uninjured personnel. Additionally, depending on the nature of the injury, it may be unlikely that the patient could be placed in an environmentally contained space suit or minicapsule, therefore the CRV needs to have the capability to provide a 'shirt sleeve' environment. The ability to address air purity issues is included in this requirement, as air purity is especially critical in medical as well as toxic exposure situations.Dr. Wernher von Braun, first brought up the concept of space lifeboats in a 1966 article, and then later NASA planners developed a number of early concepts for a space station lifeboat:Capsule systemsThe Station Crew Return Alternative Module (SCRAM) was a capsule which could hold up to six astronauts. Reentry heat protection was provided by the use of a heat shield designed for the NASA Viking Mars probe. Costing US$600 million, the primary drawback to this design was high g-loadings on landing, which were not ideal in case of a medically necessitated evacuation.As a follow-on to the Viking-based concept, NASA considered a 1986 proposal by General Electric and NIS Space Ltd. for a commercially developed derivative of the U.S. Air Force Discoverer recovery capsule called MOSES. These capsules were being planned for unmanned microgravity experiments, and initially were planned for up to four occupants, but the idea of scaling the capsule up to accommodate eight crew members was considered for a time before also being dropped. However, g-loads of up to 8-g's make this vehicle unsuitable for critical medical situations.In 1989, NASA engineers patented a capsule-type ACRV concept.HL-20 PLS. The HL-20 Crew Rescue Vehicle was based on the Personnel Launch System (PLS) concept being developed by NASA as an outgrowth of earlier lifting body research. In October 1989, Rockwell International (Space Systems Division) began a year-long contracted effort managed by Langley Research Center to perform an in-depth study of PLS design and operations with the HL-20 concept as a baseline for the study. In October 1991, the Lockheed Advanced Development Company (

Analysis of dead Grebe at Imares, Texel (NL)

Written by leading market risk academic, Professor Carol Alexander, Quantitative Methods in Finance forms part one of the Market Risk Analysis four volume set. Starting from the basics, this book helps readers to take the first step towards becoming a properly qualified financial risk manager and asset manager, roles that are currently in huge demand. Accessible to intelligent readers with a moderate understanding of mathematics at high school level or to anyone with a university degree in mathematics, physics or engineering, no prior knowledge of finance is necessary. Instead the emphasis is on understanding ideas rather than on mathematical rigour, meaning that this book offers a fast-track introduction to financial analysis for readers with some quantitative background, highlighting those areas of mathematics that are particularly relevant to solving problems in financial risk management and asset management. Unique to this book is a focus on both continuous and discrete time finance so that Quantitative Methods in Finance is not only about the application of mathematics to finance; it also explains, in very pedagogical terms, how the continuous time and discrete time finance disciplines meet, providing a comprehensive, highly accessible guide which will provide readers with the tools to start applying their knowledge immediately.
All together, the Market Risk Analysis four volume set illustrates virtually every concept or formula with a practical, numerical example or a longer, empirical case study. Across all four volumes there are approximately 300 numerical and empirical examples, 400 graphs and figures and 30 case studies many of which are contained in interactive Excel spreadsheets available from the accompanying CD-ROM . Empirical examples and case studies specific to this volume include:
Principal component analysis of European equity indices;
Calibration of Student t distribution by maximum likelihood;
Orthogonal regression and estimation of equity factor models;
Simulations of geometric Brownian motion, and of correlated Student t variables;
Pricing European and American options with binomial trees, and European options with the Black-Scholes-Merton formula;
Cubic spline fitting of yields curves and implied volatilities;
Solution of Markowitz problem with no short sales and other constraints;
Calculation of risk adjusted performance metrics including generalised Sharpe ratio, omega and kappa indices.