Investment Banking For Dummies

Introduction

Investment banking is the fuel of capitalism.

Human progress takes money and ideas. But more times than not, the people with the money aren't the same ones with the ideas. Having a mound of cash and no creative ideas only creates a mound of money. Meanwhile, an entrepreneur with all kinds of dreams can't even break ground if there's no cash to break ground with.

Enter investment banking. Investment banking has been mankind's solution to pairing up the people with money and the people with ideas. The combination of money, or capital, and entrepreneurship is a dynamic marriage that's behind some of mankind's greatest accomplishments. Investment banking has financed ’round-the-world trade expeditions and built railroads and bridges.

Given the great role investment banking plays in the financial system, it has taken on a larger-than-life mystique with the masses. Many people suspect that investment banks are pulling the strings of the economy, but they may not know enough to realize exactly what investment banks do.

Get ready to take a peek into the private and important world of investment banking. This book could just have easily been called Wall Street For Dummies, because it's your guide into the complex but pivotal world that Wall Street plays in making the financial system work.

We wrote this book not only to help you understand what's done on Wall Street, but also to show you how to use some of the financial tools that help measure financial performance. After ...