Preface: It is necessary to thank many people at the end of a big project like writing a book. First, my thanks go to my patient editor Sunil Nair and his editorial assistants Rachel Holt and Sarah Gelson. Two anonymous reviewers made very thorough and useful comments on an earlier manuscript....

Basic products and interest calculations -- Derivatives and trading in derivatives, basic concepts and strategies -- Basics of derivative valuation -- The Wiener Stock Price Model and the basic principles of Black-Scholes theory.

Given the explosion of interest in mathematical methods for solving problems in finance and trading, a great deal of research and development is taking place in universities, large brokerage firms, and in the supporting trading software industry. Mathematical advances have been made both...