Back From the Brink: Lessons From the Canadian Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Crisis
Paul Halpern, Caroline Cakebread, Christopher C. Nicholls, and Poonam Puri
Rotman-UTP Publishing, May 2016, $34.95

As global markets toppled during the 2008 financial crisis, the Canadian market for non-bank asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) seemed on the verge of collapsing. Fuelled by a top rating from DBRS, ABCP had found its way into the portfolios of some of Canada’s most sophisticated investors as well as vulnerable retail investors who didn’t know what they were holding.

The failure of the $32-billion market could have tipped Canadian and foreign credit default swap markets into chaos if it hadn’t been for the swift actions of a few powerful asset holders. Collectively, through the Montreal Accord and led by veteran Canadian lawyer Purdy Crawford, they managed to hold the Canadian ABCP market back from the brink of collapse by crafting a complex and innovative solution.

Back From the Brink goes behind the scenes of the ABCP crisis to examine how a solution was reached and provides the lessons learned that could prevent or mitigate future crises. It holds important lessons for anyone interested in Canadian law, the future of complex investments, and Canada’s capital markets.

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, foreword by James K. Harter
Gallup Press, May 3, 2016, $39.99

This long-time management best-seller presents the remarkable findings of its massive in-depth study of great managers. Some were in leadership positions; others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small entrepreneurial firms. Whatever their circumstances, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup’s research were those who excelled at turning each individual employee’s talent into high performance.

Included with this re-release of First, Break All the Rules is updated meta-analytic research and access to the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, which reveals people’s top “talent themes,” and to Gallup’s Q12 Employee Engagement Survey, the most effective measure of employee engagement and its impact on business outcomes.

The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling
Adam Kucharski
Basic Books, 2016, $34.99

There is one thing about gambling that everyone knows: the house always wins. Lotteries are set up to guarantee profits—to the state. A craps game is a sure thing, but only if you own the table. Sometimes, however, everyone is wrong. After all, the reason casinos ban card counters is that counting cards works. Indeed, for the past 500 years, gamblers—led by mathematicians and scientists—have been trying to figure out how to turn the tables on the house and pull the rug out from under Lady Luck.

With mathematical rigour and narrative flair, Adam Kucharski reveals the tangled history of betting and science. The house can seem unbeatable, but Kucharski shows us just why it isn’t. Even better, he shows us how the search for the perfect bet has been crucial for the scientific pursuit of a better world.

Economics in the Twenty-First Century: A Critical Perspective
Robert Chernomas and Ian Hudson
UTP Insights (Series), University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, May 31, 2016, $24.95

Robert Chernomas and Ian Hudson demonstrate how today’s top young economists continue to lead the field in the wrong direction. The recent winners of the John Bates Clark medal, economics’ “baby Nobel,” have won that award for studying important issues such as economic development, income inequality, crime, and health. Examining their research, Chernomas and Hudson show that this work focuses on individual choice, ignores the systematic role of power in the economic system, and leads to solutions that are of limited effectiveness at best and harmful at worst.

An accessible summary of the latest debates in economics, Economics in the Twenty-First Century takes on what is missing from mainstream economics, why it matters, and how the discipline can better address the key concerns of our era.

Bet On Me: Leading and Succeeding in Business and Life
Annette Verschuren
HarperCollins, April 19, 2016, $32.99

Entrepreneur Annette Verschuren lays out her surprising and inspiring philosophy for what it takes to lead and succeed in today’s economy: tenacity; the willingness to embrace risk; and an unwavering commitment to remain true to yourself, no matter how unorthodox you may seem. Drawing on her experiences as a Cape Breton farm girl who went on to lead Home Depot Canada’s expansion to 179 stores from 19, among other business ventures, Verschuren’s bold vision will change the way you approach your work and your business. The book’s key message: Modern leadership is not about learning skills and techniques in order to become someone else; rather, transformational, authentic leaders achieve breakthrough results when they learn to trust in, listen to, and fully be themselves.

Juggling With Knives: Smart Investing in the Coming Age of Volatility
Jim Jubak
PublicAffairs, February 5, 2016, $37.50

Stunning volatility is the new fact of life that defines our age. Financial markets fall off cliffs one day but then stage a recovery the next, only to do it all over again. The switch back and forth is emotionally draining, making us susceptible to irrational responses that can turn manageable problems into huge personal crises. But, while there is danger in volatility, there is also the opportunity to profitably juggle the knives that volatility throws your way with less risk than you might think.

The first step toward profiting from volatility is to understand why these radical ups and downs are taking place now. Jim Jubak analyzes these and other trends, providing practical insights and specific investing strategies that show investors how to respect but not be scared of market volatility and how to make smarter investment decisions to profit from and hedge against it.

The New Case for Gold
James Rickards
Portfolio, April 2016, $35.00

In this bold manifesto, best-selling author and economic commentator James Rickards steps forward to defend gold, both as an irreplaceable store of wealth and as a standard for currency.

Global political instability and market volatility are on the rise. Gold, always a prudent asset to own, has become the single most important wealth preservation tool for banks and individuals alike. Rickards draws on historical case studies, monetary theory, and personal experience as an investor to argue the following:

• The next financial collapse will be exponentially bigger than the panic of 2008.
• The time will come, sooner rather than later, when there will be panic buying, and only central banks, hedge funds, and other big players will be able to buy any gold at all.
• It’s not too late to prepare ourselves as a nation; there’s always enough gold for a gold standard if we specify a stable, non-deflationary price.