With the burst in the dot com bubble, the market crash following the September 11th tragedy, and the recent melt down in global stock markets caused by accounting scandals, there is tremendous interest in the way stock markets behave. In this engaging and accessible book, leading markets commentator Stephen Vines examines the underlying nature of stock market panics and crashes, and what investors and companies can do when panic reigns.Stock markets are becoming more prone to panics and wild gyrations, as they become detached from the underlying economies they are supposed to reflect. At the same time, one of the best ways of understanding stock markets and investing in them comes at times when they are under the greatest pressures. Vines interviews traders and fund managers and describes what actually happens within investment banks, and how they deal with the high risks, when panic takes hold. For private investors as well, the opportunity to make a killing is just as applicable.