A comprehensive overview of vine, quality, classifying, aromas and the various Riesling-types is offered by the just-released title from HALLWAG: Riesling - The full diversity of the world¿s noblest vine by Christina Fischer and Ingo Swoboda. Access to Riesling is presented to the reader through its characteristics and not, as is usually the case, indexing via the place of origin. The interesting typology of this authorship-duo spans from "Solid basis" via "Delicate finesse", "Fruity diversity", "Complex elegance" through to "Baroque monuments" and "Noble sweetness". The authors deliver an outstanding leitmotif to the prospecting afficionado. This core section of the book also offers many portraits of important top-class winemakers who are classified according to their relative Riesling types: The reader receives here exciting insights into the highly individual philosophy of each of the winemakers. In addition, they serve as orientation aids for purchasing and enjoying Riesling.
Featuring sixty-seven exceptional color maps as well as eighty-seven vivid images by photographer Hendrik Holler and others, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date atlas of German wine—a detailed reference to vineyards and appellations. The authors explain the geography of all the German wine-growing regions and provide independent analysis and ranking of the most significant vineyards in each region. In addressing the growing American appreciation of German wines, the atlas pays in-depth attention to Rieslings from the Mosel and other premier regions while also acquainting readers with wines from less familiar areas such as the Ahr, Baden, the Taubertal, and Franconia. Beautifully produced, with helpful sidebars and succinct essays, this book will become the standard reference on the subject.
Featuring sixty-seven exceptional color maps as well as eighty-seven vivid images by photographer Hendrik Holler and others, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date atlas of German wine—a detailed reference to vineyards and appellations. The authors explain the geography of all the German wine-growing regions and provide independent analysis and ranking of the most significant vineyards in each region. In addressing the growing American appreciation of German wines, the atlas pays in-depth attention to Rieslings from the Mosel and other premier regions while also acquainting readers with wines from less familiar areas such as the Ahr, Baden, the Taubertal, and Franconia. Beautifully produced, with helpful sidebars and succinct essays, this book will become the standard reference on the subject.
In 1933 and 1956, the United States sharply limited the kinds of securities activities, commercial activities, and insurance activities banks could engage in. The regulations imposed on banks back then remain in place despite profound changes in the economic environment, in the structure of the national and international financial markets, and in technology. In this span of time many industries, especially those confronting global competition, have transformed themselves dramatically in their efforts to survive and prosper. Not so in the American financial services sector, banks have largely remained stuck in an antiquated regulatory structure which has placed the burden of responding to the needs of market-driven structural change on the shoulders of the regulators and the courts in a constant search for loopholes in the law. The purpose of this book is to evaluate the case for and against eliminating the barriers that have so long existed between banking and other types of financial services in the United States. Universal Banking in the United States studies the consequences of bank regulation in the U.S. as it relates to competition in international financial markets. Anthony Saunders and Ingo Walter examine universal banking systems in other countries, especially Germany, Switzerland, and the U.K., and how they work. They then apply the lessons to U.S. banking, paying particular attention to the benchmarks of stability, equity, efficiency, and competitiveness against which the performance of national financial systems should be measured. In the end, the authors propose the outlines of a level playing field on which any number of forms of organization can grow in the financial services sector, in which universal banking is one of the permitted structures, and where regulation is linked to function.
Nearly seventy years after the last great stock market bubble and crash, another bubble emerged and burst, despite a thick layer of regulation designed since the 1930s to prevent such things. This time the bubble was enormous, reflecting nearly twenty years of double-digit stock market growth, and its bursting had painful consequence. The search for culprits soon began, and many were discovered, including not only a number of overreaching corporations, but also their auditors, investment bankers, lawyers and indeed, their investors. In Governing the Modern Corporation, Smith and Walter analyze the structure of market capitalism to see what went wrong.They begin by examining the developments that have made modern financial markets--now capitalized globally at about $70 trillion--so enormous, so volatile and such a source of wealth (and temptation) for all players. Then they report on the evolving role and function of the business corporation, the duties of its officers and directors and the power of its Chief Executive Officer who seeks to manage the company to achieve as favorable a stock price as possible.They next turn to the investing market itself, which comprises mainly financial institutions that own about two-thirds of all American stocks and trade about 90% of these stocks. These investors are well informed, highly trained professionals capable of making intelligent investment decisions on behalf of their clients, yet the best and brightest ultimately succumbed to the bubble and failed to carry out an appropriate governance role.In what follows, the roles and business practices of the principal financial intermediaries--notably auditors and bankers--are examined in detail. All, corporations, investors and intermediaries, are found to have been infected by deep-seated conflicts of interest, which add significant agency costs to the free-market system. The imperfect, politicized role of the regulators is also explored, with disappointing results. The entire system is seen to have been compromised by a variety of bacteria that crept in, little by little, over the years and were virtually invisible during the bubble years.These issues are now being addressed, in part by new regulation, in part by prosecutions and class action lawsuits, and in part by market forces responding to revelations of misconduct. But the authors note that all of the market's professional players--executives, investors, experts and intermediaries themselves--carry fiduciary obligations to the shareholders, clients, and investors whom they represent. More has to be done to find ways for these fiduciaries to be held accountable for the correct discharge of their duties.
This book is intended to lay out, in a clear and intuitive as well as comprehensive way, what we know - or think we know - about mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector. It evaluates their underlying drivers, factual evidence as to whether or not the basic economic concepts and strategic precepts are correct. It looks closely at the managerial dimensions in terms of the efficacy of merger implementation, notably the merger integration process. The focus is on enhancing shareholder value creation and the execution of strategies for the successful management of mergers. It also has a strong public-policy component in this "special" industry where successes can pay dividends and failures can cause serious problems that reach well beyond the financial services industry itself. The financial services sector is about halfway through one of the most dramatic periods of restructuring ever undergone by a major global industry. The impact of the restructuring has carried well beyond shareholders of the firms and involved into the domain of regulation and public policy as well as global competitive performance and economic growth. Financial services are a center of gravity of economic restructuring activity. MandA transactions in the financial sector comprise a surprisingly large share of the value of merger activity worldwide -- including only deals valued in excess of $100 million, during the period 1985-2000 there were approximately 233,700 MandA transactions worldwide in all industries, for a total volume of $15.8 trillion. Of this total, there were 166,200 mergers in the financial services industry (49.7%), valued at $8.5 trillion (54%). In all of restructuring frenzy, the financial sector has probably had far more than its share of strategic transactions that have failed or performed far below potential because of mistakes in basic strategy or mistakes in post-merger integration. It has also had its share of rousing successes. This book considers the key managerial issues, focusing on MandA transactions as a key tool of business strategy - "doing the right thing" to augment shareholder value. But in addition, the degree of integration required and the historic development of integration capabilities on the part of the acquiring firm, disruptions in human resources and firm leadership, cultural issues, timeliness of decision-making and interface management have co-equal importance - "doing it right.
This volume traces the political, financial and economic steps towards financial union in Europe, focusing on the political economy of the process - notably the dynamics of a Europe of sovereign states.
This is a revision of the business of global banking. With the increased globalization of the world economy few sectors are the equal of banking and financial services in dynamism or structural change. Roy C. Smith and Ingo Walter assess this transformation-its causes, its course and its consequences. They begon by examining international commercial banking, including the issue of cross-border risk evaluation and exposure management, and the creation of a viable regulatory framework in a global competitive context. hey then undertake a parallel assessment of international investment banking, linking the two by means of a bridge chapter. Finally, they focus on the factors that determine winners and losers in these markets and explore the problems of strategic position and execution.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.