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Lisa, an intelligent and attractive high school senior, is on a quest to understand happiness. Guided by her middle-class values, Christian faith, and a keen interest in science and philosophy, she navigates life with her unpredictable, alcoholic mother and her own inner demons. Dreaming of a freedom as delicate as a butterfly's, Lisa finds solace in her final year when she meets Christos, an accomplished long-distance swimmer. Captivated by Christos's love for beauty and his laid-back nature, Lisa joins his family's Greek band as a singer and dancer after graduation. Fortuitously inheriting substantial assets, she establishes a thriving taverna, though at the expense of her health. However, Lisa's world shatters when she uncovers Christos's hidden traits of deception and dishonesty, defended by him through Machiavellian principles and a curious analogy to Santa Claus. This revelation challenges her deeply held Christian virtues and scientific rationale. Resolute to win her trust, Christos undergoes a transformation, adopting honesty and humility. Ultimately, the couple finds common ground and retreats to Christos's inherited farm on a picturesque Greek island. There, amidst ancient stone houses, pencil pines, and the crystalline Aegean Sea, they rediscover each other and perhaps the elusive happiness Lisa has been seeking.

The scope and environment of financial management -- An introduction to the foundations of financial management -- The financial markets and interest rates -- Understanding financial statements and cash flows -- Evaluating a firm's financial performance -- The valuation of financial assets -- The time value of money -- The meaning and measurement of risk and return -- The valuation and characteristics of bonds -- The valuation and characteristics of stock -- The cost of capital -- Investment in long-term assets -- Capital-budgeting techniques and practice -- Cash flows and other topics in capital budgeting -- Capital structure and dividend policy -- Determining the financing mix -- Dividend policy and internal financing -- Working-capital management and international business finance -- Short-term financial planning -- Working-capital management -- International business finance -- Glossary -- Indexes

This text provides students with an intuitive, conceptual understanding of the financial decision-making process, rather than simply introducing them to soon-forgotten formulae or calculations of finance.