Inventing Money : The Story Of Long-Term Capital Management And The Legends Behind It: Long-term Capital Management and the Search for Risk-free Profit - Hardcover

..".a primer for those interested in the world of financial theory." --Financial Times "Inventing Money is not the last word on the subject, but it is a good start." --The Economist "Dunbar tells the full story of this most public of financial disasters, unveiling previously undisclosed information, in captivating and accessible terms." --EuroBusiness "Mr Dunbar has gained the rare distinction of writing an interesting and informative book on a very complex financial subject and for that he deserves much credit." --Offshore Financial Review "Dunbar offers us a well-written and informative account of how the company's culture developed, and why LTCM plummeted so dramatically." --Balance Sheet "It is a fast moving and readable account that explains the development of finance over the centuries before recounting the brief but eventful life of LTCM." --Risk "A fascinating tale, not to be missed." --Chartered Secretary ..".his brave effort to explore the LTCM fiasco, its origins, and its ramifications. Dunbar is a former academician and journalist, making him an ideal writer to explore the theoretical origins of LTCM. The author excels with his affectionate portrait of financial-theory giants such as the late Fischer Black. This book is a good source of information on the theoretical underpinnings of modern arbitrage." --Business Week "Nicholas Dunbar has written a fascinating account of this spectacular episode, and in doing so has provided an instructive insight into the functioning of global capitalism." --CIB News "Nicholas Dunbar's fascinating book is well-written. The book should appeal to a wide audience. Economists should certainly read it. Dunbar writes in a clear and accessible manner."

LTCM (Long-Term Capital Management) - a portmfolio of bonds worth $100 billion - owned 5% of the global interest rate swap market plus other derivatives, it had a notional value of $1 trillion. The people involved in the LTCM were the "dream team": Robert Merton and Myron Scholes (both Nobel Prize winners for their work on option pricing), John Meriwether (the former vice-chairman of Salomon Brothers and one-time Wall Street star of bond trading), and David Mullins (ex-Harvard Business School Professor and previously vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve). Even with all this financial expertise, in September 1998, LTCM collapsed, making financial headline news across the world and requiring 14 investment banks to provide $3.6 billion in cash to stop the fund going under and dragging each of them down as well.