Intended primarily for M.Sc. students in Finance, advanced MBA's and third or fourth year economics undergraduates taking a course in Finance. This text is for those who find Ph.D. financial theory texts excessively abstract and introductory texts insufficiently general.Most topics in a first year Ph.D. course in financial economics are considered via examples and intuitive arguments rather than using the full generality of propositions and proofs. This text uses general equilibrium theory as a basis for understanding and unifying more difficult literature.