Finance Definition and 151 Threads

I'm currently a database programmer, which is ok but repetative. What it lacks (in my experience at least) is the spirit that my degree had. I miss thinking analytically, doing integrals, using my brain to make things from scratch rather than memorising the motions of something already invented...

Hello guys, new poster here. Brief background: I am currently 25, with a B.S. in Business (Finance, Int'l Business, minor Econ), planning to re-enroll in a second bachelor’s degree in Physics & Math at my alma mater (big state school, top 40 physics) this fall. Originally went to school for...

Hi everyone, Could you please tell me how would you rank these PhD for someone looking for a future career in the financial quant industry? (assuming I have math background and decent programming skills). Thank you in advanced! Between parenthesis are the specific research groups found in each...

I'm considering getting a major in astrophysics and a minor in computer science. First of all, would an astrophysics major preclude me from studying, say, particle particle physics, in graduate school? I want to take a couple astro classes and my parents think astrophysics sounds "smarter" than...

At the moment, I am a physics major and also putting a lot of emphasis on math. I am in my second year of undergrad at the moment. While my "dream" goal does include going into a PhD for physics, I do realize it's a long and demanding journey, so I have also been looking at actuary related jobs...

"Many credit card companies target entering college freshmen with attractive interest rates. What they do not emphasize, however, is that the low rate will be in effect for only a short time, changing automatically to a much higher rate, often in just a few months. Freshman Michael Bronson...

My background: -BA Economics 2007 from a UC school -I took a year of Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and a few Stats courses as well to prepare for grad school in Econ. -I never took General Chem or Physics -Worked in finance. I realized early on that my job was more about...

Hello, I have some questions which I wanted to clarify because I was finding them a bit confusing. ___________________________________________________________ 1. Jacob invests \$1,500 at 4.3% compounded monthly, what is the value of the investment after 2 and a half years? 2. Alexander...

Hi all, I was doing HEP-EXP in a US institution, got MSc and started Phd. However in the middle of it I decided that job prospects weren't good as far as tenure track positions are concerned and I found a job as a quantitative analyst in a hedge fund. I work there for the past 18 months. But...

Talking about banks, credit cards, card swipes, ATM machines...stocks/wallstreet all that stuff, is it C/C++ that is generally used?

Some of the social sciences suffer from "physics envy". This malady causes educators to inject an unnecssary amount of mathematics into the curriculum as a way of gaining scientific letgitimacy. Sadly for most undergrads, the math actually gets in the way. I wrote a paper in which I describe the...

It seems to me that I've come up with a way to almost guarantee that one is a profitable trader. Obviously I'm assuming there is some flaw or it would be widely known as its not that complicated. Imagine thahe only knowledge you can ascertain about publicly-traded, liquid asset with constant...

I am considering doing a one year Masters Program at my school in quantitative finance because: It is a very good program that is offered at my school which I could get into without taking any GRE's qualifying exams, or even application essays It would allow me get a relatively high paying job...

As outlined in this article - http://nz.finance.yahoo.com/news/anniversary-great-recession-whats-changed-145605229.html - today marks the fifth year in which the financial crisis 'started'. I quote 'started' as the initial lead up occurred when those with very terrible credit ratings were...

Anyone who trades in the stock exchange, can I get some advice on books, websites, or any other resource to learn the basics of investing? Also is there any general tips you could give me? Thank you :confused:

This link really ticked me off http://beta.fool.com/equityfinancials/2013/04/07/undervalued-financial-stock-yielding/29465/?source=eogyholnk0000001 You think we would have learned the lesson the last crash around...

I'm trying to program a simple game with a handful of fictious companies on a virtual stock exchange that is semi realistic with price variations and trends over time. However I made a quick test using random functions and probabilities to produce the variations but I can't seem to strike a...

I am a senior undergrad who will be enrolling in a PhD program next semester. I haven't decided yet on the exact program, but the offers that I have received guarantee an average stipend of about $22,000 per year. I believe health insurance is also included in most packages (although I will...

- This may be a stupid question as I am totally new to the concept of interest. I don't even know if my question is valid. - Figure is given below for referenceSuppose I deposit some money in a bank that pays compound interest on yearly basis. If I decide to withdraw my amount at the end of 3.5...

Hi. My purpose is to take a phd in physics, and after few years as researcher to become a Quant. What phd is better for this purpose: computational, theoretical or mathematical physics? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_physics

Cash flow of 100 000. Interest rate = 8%, inflation = 3%. Cash flow will keep pace with any increase in prices. Find present value for first three years. Answer: Because it says "cash flow will keep pace with increase in prices", don't you not divide by the inflation rate, but instead...

I'm a junior majoring in physics and I'm pretty interested in finance. I'm still considering going to grad school in geology (though I'm leaning towards finance) and I'm planning to intern in finance this summer. I go to a target school for the bulge bracket banks and for quite a few prop shops...

I used to like physics, until I did a bachelors in it. In my final year now (at a Top 20 university in the world) and even though I am currently passing with a reasonably good grade, I still don't know what I am doing. I still sit clueless in lectures, even after 3 whole years. I never...

Unlike many of the CS majors, Physics undergraduates have a hard time getting internships at startups, and some of the bigger companies have us do works that's simply boring or unrelated (ie database management, front-end web programming, etc). I know there are a couple quants that hang out...

You have just turned 24, and you intend to start saving for your retirement. You plan to retire in 42 years when you turn 66. During your retirement you would like to have an annual income of $120,000 per year for the next 28 years (until age 94). -Calculate how much has to be in your account...

Hi. What job could a guy with a MSc. in technical physics (engineering-physics) do if he chose to pursue a career in finance/economics? Typical math stuff like modelling and analysing? What are the work hours and wages compared to a job in the tech industry? Finally, does taking a phD pay-off...

Homework Statement I am given this question: what is the monthly payment necessary to ammortize a loan of $100 000 at 2.3% compounded monthly for 20 years. I know the answer to the above: it is done by using the ammortization payment formula, in this case: R = 100 000...

I have received some admissions decisions from the graduate programs that I have applied to, and I am stuck with a tough decision to make. I am hoping to hear from those who may have found themselves in a similar situation or someone who may have relevant industry experience who can shed some...

Recently, I came across this review by Cosma Shalizi, a statistics professor at Carnegie Mellon (and who was trained as a physicist, with a PhD focusing on research in statistical mechanics and complex systems), of a book titled "A Call for Judgment" by Amar Bhide, a law professor at Tufts...

Homework Statement House one is going for 250.000 in the suburb and has a new power plant being built and also has a decrease in crime. House two is also 250.000 in city has an increase crime rate but has a new school being built. What house will be the best value in a 10 year span if you buy...

Homework Statement House one is going for say 350.000 and House two is going for 250.000, both have the same bed and bath. Yet i want to add variables for instance house one has a decline in crime rate variable also a newly build mall. House two has new schools and crime is on the rise. So my...

Can anyone recommend me some texts on introductory finance? I have no problem with the level of math it may require, although I am of the opinion that introductory finance texts probably won't require too much of advanced mathematics. Thanks much. BiP

Homework Statement James bought a house worth $308,000.00 and financed 85% of that amount. He has a 30-year loan at 4.82%. How much will he owe on the house after 12 years? Then find the equity that James has from Item #4 above. His equity is the difference between the new value of the...

Homework Statement Daniel deposits $400 at the end of each month for 7 years in an account paying 1.6% compounded monthly. He then puts the total amount on deposit in another account paying 2.2% interest compounded semiannually for another 8 years. Find the final amount on the deposit after...

Eve deposited $8.000 in a 3-year certificate of deposit, which pays 2.2% compounded monthly. Find the account value at the end of the 3rd year and the amount of interest earned during the whole 3-year period. I think i use the payment to a sinking fund formula but i am not sure. possible...

I'm finishing my astrophysics PhD and looking for other career options. I do observational astrophysics, almost entirely based on Python coding on very large data sets. Lots of Numpy+SciPy, monte-carlo, modelling data doing non-linear fitting using maximum likelihood on computer clusters, stuff...

What are the different kinds of quantitative/math heavy roles in finance? I'm doing an undergraduate maths degree in the UK and beginning to think about my eventual career options. I know that finance as a field is one where a lot of maths/science graduates end up working in, but I really don't...

Can anybody provide some resources (books, websites etc. - preferably websites or course notes) for a (somewhat rigorous) introduction to Mathematical Finance? Basically, I want to have the background to understand stuff like this http://www3.stat.sinica.edu.tw/library/c_tec_rep/c-2002-10.pdf...

Ok if possible I would like to direct this at twofishquant, however if you have any experience please do post. I have seen that he has quite a bit of experience in this area and would really like to hear his opinion. I am going onto second year undergrad from September in Physics, I plan on...

hi everyone. i am a physics graduate on the verge of entering a phd program. obviously my aim is to do physics research. one possible way is to get a phd, do a post doc and then do research. i know its THE ONLY WAY. but there r a few apprehensions i have- 1. to do research u need equipments...

Anyone attending or graduated from an Ivy League or similar caliber school has probably seen tons of undergrads going to work at firms like Morgan Stanley, Blackstone, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, etc. These places pay first year analysts about $100K after bonus, second years about $150K, and third...

Not sure if this is better suited to the careers forum but anyhow. I sort of know the difference between those 4 fields but I was just wondering if anyone could explain the differences in more detail, I've got another 3 days work experience that I haven't got anything for so I was thinking on...

Suppose the U.S government decides to drastically reduce the required liquidity ratio for banks, causing the money supply to skyrocket and interest rates to plunge. How will this affect the value of the dollar in terms of other currencies, assuming that all other things remain constant (in both...

I'm going to finish my PhD in maths in a few next months. I'm looking for a new job for the future. I really exciting in looking for a job in Finance. But, I don't know where is the starting point. I have learned a course on maths finance when I was in master program. So I understand a little...

Although it's my first choice, I don't see high hopes of having a career in academia. As such, I've decided not to put all of my eggs in the same basket, and instead first set myself up for a backup option in the industry. The issue is that my interest lies with providing smart grid...

Hi, all I have been reading about copula, but still very confused. What exactly is a copula? My understanding is: there are couple of components 1. uniform cdf marginal 2. a covariance matrix What exactly is this thing? Why am I calculating the marginals and what does it have to do...

Here's an interesting article. Reminds me of two-fish! This guy actually did go back to physics after finance! http://web.mit.edu/physics/news/physicsatmit/physicsatmit_11_givingtophysics.pdf I wonder if the author of this article is the same Mark Mueller? Lo & Mueller, WARNING: Physics Envy...

What are the job prospects for the M.S. Finance? Is it a good investment? The only remotely-related course I've taken is intermediate macroeconomic theory. It's not really related at all. Basically, I'm looking at non-technical-to-slightly-more technical graduate programs that might yield a nice...

What's the point? Recently the EU tried to regulate various kinds of speculations by taxing - but the most damaging speculations like CDS, currency futures etc can be done as easily in New York as in Paris. So why would the EU bother doing this without international support from major economies...

I'll be in my 4th year of a Pure Math degree next year, and I'm think of what courses to fill up my timetable with. I'll be taking an overload, so I'll be taking 6.0 credits worth of courses (3.0 per semester). I'm only required to take 3.0 more courses in Pure Math to get my degree, so I have...