Introduction to Finance

Inside financial markets, institutions, and management.
Realize it or not, finance is a big part of your life. It describes how your bank works, explains why you must pay interest on your mortgage, and helps business people make important decisions. So whether you're beginning your studies for a career on Wall Street or just want to know enough to handle your day-to-day affairs, understanding the principles of finance are essential.
The Thirteenth Edition of Ronald Melicher and Edgar Norton's Introduction to Finance is a great place to start. Improved and streamlined to meet the needs of today's students, this new edition gives you a balanced survey of the three main areas of finance: Institutions & Markets, Investments, and Financial Management. The text not only equips you with a solid foundation of basic knowledge, concepts, and terms; it also offers insights into the practice of finance in large corporations, small businesses, and personal financial planning.
Starting with the "six principles of finance," you'll learn about:

* The role and functions of the financial system in a nation's economy
* How banks, the Fed, and other financial intermediaries operate
* The savings-investment process and other financial assets
* The time-value of money and its advantages
* Securities investments and control of risk
Improvements to this new edition include:

* Discussion of small business practice to help you gain a better understanding of small business applications.
* Personal finance coverage integrated throughout the text.
* More in-depth discussion of business ethics.
* New global focus showing how monetary systems differ worldwide, how foreign exchange rates work, and what causes them to change.
* Enhanced pedagogical tools including additional end-of-chapter questions, career-profile features that connect the material to the real world, and Concept Checks to ensure mastery of each section.
* Expanded instruction on the use of spreadsheets to solve finance problems.