MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Open Road Press has published an ebook titled “Hedging Commodity Price Risk: A Small Business Perspective” by Houlton native Tim Bishop.
photo courtesy Dick Roderick
PENS BUSINESS BOOK — Tim Bishop, and his wife Debbie pose for a self portarit. Tim Bishop recently published an ebook titled “Hedging Commodity Price Risk: A Small Business Perspective”
The book is aimed primarily at small businesses that would like to more effectively manage the risk of fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates, weather, or foreign currency exchange rates. Other business partners, such as owners, lenders, directors, lawyers, and accountants, who are exposed to hedging through their association with these small businesses, will glean useful insight into hedging.
“Hedging confuses most people,” said Bishop. “And, before now, those who went online to find a simple, straightforward book were out of luck. There are certainly many books out there on hedging, but most of them are extremely complex and aimed at either financial professionals or academia. Furthermore, some of these books cost well over $100. I wanted my book to fill a gap in the market. It is for the small businessperson who doesn’t have the time or patience to pore over masses of complex explanations and mathematical formulas, who needs practical information to help run his or her business more effectively and more profitably. I’ve produced a useful book that explains the basics, while presenting some practical examples that novices can understand.”
Bishop’s ebook discusses the different types of commodity price risks that can be hedged and introduces hedging tools designed to address those risks. The book also presents an overview of how the financial markets that trade these hedging tools work. Additional content describes the types of risks that arise when one does hedge. There is also a commentary on the accounting for hedges.
With over 30 years of business experience, Bishop has seen hedging from all angles. He has served as treasurer of a large heating oil distributor and as a board member for an oceanfront oil terminal. He has devised and executed hedging strategies. As company treasurer, he was also responsible for compliance with financial reporting standards, tax law, and debt covenants.
Bishop is now a business consultant and an author. He grew up in Houlton, graduated from the University of Maine, and worked for 29 years in Bangor before relocating to Massachusetts.
Hedging Commodity Price Risk: A Small Business Perspective, published by Open Road Press, retails for $9.99 US. The ebook has a publication date of Sept. 15, 2014 and is available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo Books. With 44,000 words, it is equivalent in length to a 200-page paperback. It comes professionally edited with 17 illustrations and a fully linked index, glossary, and helpful webpages.
Joe Smith, a long-time hedging expert and vice president of an energy marketing and distribution company, wrote the book’s foreword. Smith hails from Calais and is a graduate of the University of Maine. You can learn more about the book at hedging.openroadpress.com.
