Richard A. Brealey,
London Business School Stewart C. Myers,
MIT Sloan School of Management Franklin Allen,
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
ISBN: 0072957239 Copyright year: 2006
What's New
New co-author Franklin Allen. Franklin Allen (University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School) has been added to the author team. Dr. Allen is a long-time user of the Brealey/Myers textbook, and his contributions to the Eighth Edition are numerous. He provides a broad range of international examples, worked extensively on the valuation chapter (19), and wrote some of the new content on corporate governance.
New chapter on Credit Risk. This chapter (24) collects topics that were previously scattered across several chapters, but also contains new material. For example, the authors now discuss how banks and other financial institutions measure the value at risk from their loans.
Increased coverage of Corporate Governance. New chapter (34) Governance and Corporate Control was written in response to the numerous recent financial scandals around the world and highlights the importance of good systems of corporate governance. The authors compare global financial markets, institutions and corporate governance and explain why these different systems have developed, along with their relative strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, Chapter 2 contains an expanded section on Corporate Goals and Corporate Governance, and Chapter 12 includes a deeper discussion of executive compensation structures and the measurement of managers' performance.
Expanded coverage of Behavioral Finance. Behavioral issues are discussed with market efficiency in Chapter 13, and the authors circle back to the topic in later chapters. For example, they ask whether an understanding of behavioral psychology can help us understand new issue pricing, dividend policy, and mergers. Behavioral finance is an exciting new research area that is sure to be of interest to both students and instructors.
Rewritten Chapter 16 on Payout Policy. This chapter now speaks more broadly about payout policy, not just about cash dividends. This responds to the growth in stock repurchases as a way to return cash to stockholders.
Rewritten Chapter 19, Financing and Valuation. This chapter now shows how to use the weighted average cost of capital to value companies or divisions of companies. By covering valuation after capital structure, the authors are able to introduce and work through more complex and realistic value problems.
Streamlined Content. The authors have combined the two chapters on cash management and credit management. As a result, the main tasks of working capital management come through with less clutter. Also, there is no longer a separate chapter on convertible debt and warrants. Instead, they are described in Chapter 25, which reviews the many different kinds of debt that companies issue.
New Excel Treatment. Excel has a new look and feel for this edition! A number of tables/exhibits are now shown in the text as Excel spreadsheets. A "live" spreadsheet is contained on the book's Student CD-ROM and on the Online Learning Center (www.mhhe.com/bma8e), denoted by an icon. Readers can use these spreadsheets to understand better the calculations behind the table and to see the effect of changing the underlying data. A number of end-of-chapter questions ask students to use the spreadsheets to check that they understand the effect of changing inputs. The questions have been re-evaluated and most of them are new as are the templates. The spreadsheet templates are also available on the Student CD-ROM and on the Online Learning Center, denoted by an icon.
New Concept Review Questions. These questions review the concepts illustrated within a particular chapter. The first three questions are featured in the text, and additional questions are found on the Online Learning Center and Student CD-ROM, denoted by an icon.
More "Web-friendly." There are more Web references in the text, as well as an updated and expanded list of useful Web sites at the beginning of each part. New to this edition, we have added Web exercises in selected chapters that give the reader the opportunity to gain experience with useful financial Web sites.
Broader International Examples. Although international examples have always been a hallmark of this text, the Eighth Edition includes more Latin and Asian influence than in previous editions. For quick reference, international material has been listed in the Global Index at the end of the book.
Updated Mini-cases. Located at the end of selected chapters, these have been revised and include specific questions to guide the case analyses. Answers to the mini-cases are available to instructors on the book's Web site.
To obtain an instructor login for this Online Learning Center, ask your local sales representative.
If you're an instructor thinking about adopting this textbook, request a free copy for review.
2006 McGraw-Hill Higher Education