Book recommendation: Financial Modelling

[frankm1342]

Has anyone read this book: Financial Modeling - 3nd Edition (Hardcover)
by Simon Benninga - if so, what did you think? Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a basic book to learn Visual Basic? I have a colleague in our program who uses VBA in his risk management work. I'm going to ask him when I see him but I thought I'd pose this to my class as well.

Also, have you guys bookmarked the site Financial Engineering News, free bimonthly print publication

 

[Bridgett]

Thanks for sharing the info, Frank.

To answer your question regarding the VB books, here is my humble personal opinion:

It can get very tricky to buy books relying on recommendations, because people have different backgrounds, learning curves, and different strengths (and therefore, weaknesses), especially when it comes to buying technical books. I bought some technical books that were suggested by others, but they turned out not the best options that fit me (some are too easy and some are too hard).

So, I would suggest that you walk in a book store and browse through some samples, and then you will discover what you are really looking for in a book. I'm quite sure that this will give you a good sense for choosing a book, although initially it might take some effort and time (it's good for the long term anyway).

Good luck on book hunting.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I have FENews on my list of essential websites to read. The info there is closely related to our career, study, etc.
Here is another great book listing. http://quantlib.org/books.shtml
As for Excel/VBA skills, I think that lot of people overlooked it. It is not hardcore skill like C++, but rather softskill. However, from what I heard from John, Jimmy and others in the field, it's one of the most important skills to have. The fact that there is no class dedicated to teaching VBA in the program underscores the need for us to go out and study that in our own.
That said, I have no Excel/VBA skill whatsoever and I'm looking forward to changing that as we go into the program. If you spend as much time in front of the computer as I am, you will find that reading ebook or online reference is much easy than a paperbook. I'll be sharing any Excel/BVA online resources coming my way.
I just got The smartest guys in the room : the amazing rise and scandalous fall of Enron from the library. I've watched the movie and enjoyed it very much.

 

[alain]

Has anyone read this book: Financial Modeling - 2nd Edition (Hardcover)
by Simon Benninga - if so, what did you think? Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a basic book to learn Visual Basic? I have a colleague in our program who uses VBA in his risk management work. I'm going to ask him when I see him but I thought I'd pose this to my class as well.

Also, have you guys bookmarked the site www.fenews.com?

Frank,

I have the book from Benninga but I haven't had time to read it. I picked it up used from some bookseller. I can't give any evaluation of it.

Regarding VBA, I know basic and from there I can somehow get stuff done in VBA inside of Access or Excel. I used mostly on Access though. I really don't have a good book for you. I usually look at the O'reilly books. They are usually very good.