Written in an accessible, non–technical style, Futures, Options, and Swaps is the most comprehensive text on derivatives markets available. As the only book to utilize such a reader–friendly, instructive approach, students will find the material readily comprehensible without a professor’s guidance, thereby freeing instructors to cover only the vital topics, or to teach a more technical course.This fifth edition has been extensively revised to address the most recent developments in this rapidly evolving field. New and updated information reflects current conditions in a variety of areas, including electronic trading platforms, globalization of markets, hedge funds, financial scandals involving derivatives, and government regulation. Also new to this edition are text boxes containing anecdotes or vignettes related to topics discussed more formally in the text, and product profiles to describe some of the more successful contracts around the world and to highlight innovative or unusual features of traded contracts. The treatment in this text emphasizes financial derivatives, but it does not neglect traditional commodity futures.An accompanying website can be found online at www.blackwellpublishing.com/kolb, containing the OPTION! program that allows the user to compute virtually every option and swap value discussed in this book, as well as many of the relationships among different option prices. The website also includes more than 80 exercises designed to enhance the understanding of option pricing principles and applications.