Mark Davis

Oxford University Press is proud to return to the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival with another series of soap box talks from the very short introductions series.  These free, 15-minute talks feature expert authors from the series and take place twice a day in the Blackwell’s Marquee, next to the Sheldonian Theatre.

Between 1965 and 1995, insightful ideas in economics about asset valuation were turned into a mathematical ‘theory of arbitrage’, and in recent years the finance industry has mushroomed to become an important part of modern economies. Professor Mark Davis of Imperial College Department of Mathematics introduces arbitrage theory and explains why it works the way it does. He illuminates pricing theory, explains its applications to interest rates, credit trading, fund management and risk management, and examines some of the pressing issues in mathematical finance today, such as dealing with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, and the challenges and opportunities posed by new technology.