Book Description

Combining mathematical finance with C++ and object-oriented programming (00P), M. Joshi demonstrates the relevance and use of OOP in financial mathematics by describing how to use price derivatives to obtain reusable and extensible code. A large part of the book is devoted to designing reusable components which are then combined to build a Monte Carlo pricer for exotic equity derivatives. Readers knowing the basics of C++ and mathematical finance, but are unclear how to use OOP to implement models, will welcome this analysis. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Pretty comprehensive investment book for beginners!
This book is a pretty comprehensive textbook for undergrad students in finance who want to know more about the subject than they could by reading say for instance the Bodie et al book. Important relevant Research in each of the topics discussed in this book have been breifly addressed. I would also recomend this book for begining MBA and PhD level students in Finance as it gives a pretty nice overview of the topics pertaining to investments. I was really amazed that such an easy to read and fun book could go in such depth! ... Read more

Book Description

Cases and notes included are designed to provide an understanding of the history of the private equity industry's development, and the workings of the industry today.
* Examines both the short-run and long-run effects for private equity investments.
* Author is a leader and one of the most respected authorities in this field. ... Read more

Book Description

The collateralized debt obligation market has seen explosive growth in the last few years. To help you keep up with the expanding CDO market and its various instruments, Laurie Goodman and Frank Fabozzi have collaborated to bring you Collateralized Debt Obligations: Structures and Analysis. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book is a valuable guide that provides you with critical insights into many areas of this important market sector.

This straightforward and well-rounded resource offers a wealth of practical information on the collateralized debt obligation market and its products.

Topics covered include:

• Cash flow versus market value structures
• Synthetic structures
• Structures backed by speculative and investment grade corporate bonds and loans, emerging market bonds, and structured finance products
• The appropriate default rate for high yield-backed structures
• Mezzanine and equity tranches
• PIK tranches
• Structural considerations and the CDO arbitrage

Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, Collateralized Debt Obligation is required reading for those who seek to understand this market. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Good Reference
This book covers a broad number of topics on CDOs. I would recommend it with the earlier one "Investing in Collateralized Debt Obligations". Combined they give you a good insight on the market.

Good introduction to the CDO market
This well written book provides an excellent introduction to the CDO market. It covers topics of interest to the potential investor in these securities, in an easy to use format.

Excellent Resource
Ms. Goodman's book is a much needed resource on CDOs. If you are just learning about the CDO market, Ms. Goodman clearly defines key terms and explains the structures from beginning to end. Those with extensive Wall Street experience will enjoy having one of the few well-written references available in the market. It is also a good marketing tool to give to potential investors. This is a good comprehensive reference guide.

Ridiculous and outrageous accusation by an idiot reviewer
The reviewer below suggests that Moorad Choudhry has posted a negative review of this book. To him/her I say this: Moorad Choudhry did not write it. I did. Mr Choudhry actually has a very high opinion of this book, and recommended to me I buy it when I attended a Bloomberg seminar he lectured at a few months ago. "Buy the new Goodman/Fabozzi book on CDOs, its excellent" he told me.
Well I did buy it, but I do not share his enthusiasm for it. It is totally US-centric and has no detail on European transactions.
However, the reviewer below, under internet anonymity, and with no proof whatsoever, decides that any negative reviewes must be written by Mr Choudhry. I am sure that were he to know his identity, Mr Choudhry would instruct his lawyers to sue this spineless, gutless idiot for libel and slander.
Get real, whoever you are. I bought the book and I do not like it. You throw around baseless accusations on Amazon, you have no proof, no clue and no idea. Just because you like the book is no reason for someone else to. And Mr Choudhry did not write that 1-star review, I did. So stop making up ridiculous accusations.

Great book on CDOs - personally recommended
I have no hesitation in recommonding this as a great book on CDOs. I have bought a copy myself and it is very impressive. Moorad Choudhry. ... Read more

Book Description

Stan Weinstein's Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets reveals his successful methods for timing investments to produce consistently profitable results.

Topics include:

• Stan Weinstein's personal philosophy on investing
• The ideal time to buy
• Refining the buying process
• Knowing when to sell
• Selling Short
• Using the best long-term indicators to spot Bull and Bear markets

Odds, ends, and profits

Reviews (53)

An outstanding text on investing
The author's investment philosophy is based on the view that nearly all stocks experience four price stages:accumulation(stage 1), uptrending (stage 2), top area (stage 3), and downtrending (stage 4). Therefore, an investor, he says, has a high probability of success if he or she enters the cycle just before the stock moves to stage 2. Then he explains how to select a stock by simply studying its price/volume chart and how to time your entry. He addresses the issue of fundamental vs technical analysis. He explains that technical analysis is much superior over fundamental analysis because technical analysis incorporates future information that is not available to the average investor on a timely basis.
I found the book very clear and very helpful in selecting winning stocks with less stress. I read several books but this one is the best of them all.

So simple, it's obvious
Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets is the best technical analysis book I have ever read. It leads the reader methodically through the buy/sell decisions from analyzing the stock to analyzing the group and analyzing the market. It teaches the best way to set buy-stops and sell-stops so that the stock is bought at the right price and then has room to move as long as it stays withing its allowable pattern; it establishes hard buy and sell rules that are not to be broken, and it reinforces all of the theory with appropriate real world examples. I found the book extremely easy to read, and even more importantly, easy to learn from. I highly recommend this book to all technical investors/traders.

Fail to see the 5 stars
I bought this book because of the high ratings in Amazon. I must say that I fail to see why it deserves such high ratings.

The book introduced one central theme - look for a big volume jump when the price crosses the 150-day moving average - and was repetitive after that. The book tried to discuss chart patterns (e.g. head-shoulders) but was pretty lame. The book did not mention anything about other market indicators such as MACD, RSI, etc. Were these indicators unimportant? Were these indicators not in fashion back in 1990? I was perplexed.

If you are looking for an introduction to technical analysis, there are better tutorials out on the web than this book (just google "technical analysis"). Save your money for your next investment.

Start Me Up
I read and re-read this book in the early nineties. It is an excellent book for those beginning to chart the market.

Great book for technical analysts
"The Tape Tells All" The Professional Tape Reader published by Stain Weinstein (the author of this book) As the title of Weinstein's suggests he analyzes stocks via technical analysis.

I believe this book and CAN SLIM can work together or you can use them separately. In fact I was surprised at the number of things that were similar in Secrets for Profiting... compared to How to make money in stocks. Things such as "Buy high, sell higher," ignoring P/E ratios, Relative strength, cutting losses etc... it was a very good book to confirm that the CAN SLIM methodology works.

There was one glaring difference between CAN SLIM and Weinstein's methods. Weinstein doesn't care if a stock is making money or not, in fact he just buys and sells based on the technical analysis of stock charts.

This book is full of quizzes charts, practical examples and easy to read definitions. And I believe this is a great addition to our bookshelves. I know it is a book I will refer back to.

Reed Floren ... Read more

Book Description

Drive . . . and grow rich!

The bestselling author of Investment Biker is back from the ultimate road trip: a three-year drive around the world that would ultimately set the Guinness record for the longest continuous car journey. In Adventure Capitalist, legendary investor Jim Rogers, dubbed “the Indiana Jones of finance” by Time magazine, proves that the best way to profit from the global situation is to see the world mile by mile. “While I have never patronized a prostitute,” he writes, “I know that one can learn more about a country from speaking to the madam of a brothel or a black marketeer than from meeting a foreign minister.”

Behind the wheel of a sunburst-yellow, custom-built convertible Mercedes, Rogers and his fiancée, Paige Parker, began their “Millennium Adventure” on January 1, 1999, from Iceland. They traveled through 116 countries, including many where most have rarely ventured, such as Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Angola, Sudan, Congo, Colombia, and East Timor. They drove through war zones, deserts, jungles, epidemics, and blizzards. They had many narrow escapes.

They camped with nomads and camels in the western Sahara. They ate silkworms, iguanas, snakes, termites, guinea pigs, porcupines, crocodiles, and grasshoppers.

Best of all, they saw the real world from the ground up—the only vantage point from which it can be truly understood—economically, politically, and socially.

Here are just a few of the author’s conclusions:

• The new commodity bull market has started.
• The twenty-first century will belong to China.
• There is a dramatic shortage of women developing in Asia.
• Pakistan is on the verge of disintegrating.
• India, like many other large nations, will break into several countries.
• The Euro is doomed to fail.
• There are fortunes to be made in Angola.
• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are a scam.
• Bolivia is a comer after decades of instability, thanks to gigantic amounts of natural gas.

Adventure Capitalist is the most opinionated, sprawling, adventurous journey you’re likely to take within the pages of a book—the perfect read for armchair adventurers, global investors, car enthusiasts, and anyone interested in seeing the world and understanding it as it really is. ... Read more

Reviews (56)

A libertarian touring the world
Following up the success with Investment Biker, Jim Rogers tours the world again. While touring, Rogers is on a constant search for good investment opportunities, based on the credo: buy when there is blood in the streets, sell when the shoeshine boy asks for investment tips. Besides looking for investment opportunities, Rogers is trying to judge how countries around the world are run economically.

The lion's share of the book is dedicated to developing countries, which is sensible given that these countries rarely get much attention in the press (as long as floods, earthquakes or wars stay away). One common observation across developing countries all over the world is the NGO-bureaucrats, living like kings in foreign countries. Backed by their own governments money, driving around in their 4WHs to tell the local people how stupid they are. This is a recurring point throughout the book, a point he makes really well. Rogers' anger towards the whole developing aid industry, which ruins the business for local entrepreneurs and destroys the knowledge of farming, is very visible.

So what about the investment opportunities? Rogers is clearly disappointed, closing as many accounts as he opens. He endorses the capitalist spirit of China (the president understands exchange derivatives!), and finds some good places in Africa. A running theme is to look at a countries demographics to forecast its future. Government bureaucrats are getting on his nerves everywhere, however, especially in the border controls.

But Adventure Capitalist is a good read, and excellent for airports and the like. Easy available to all readers, particularly to those with the slightest of interest in economics or finance.

Seeing the world at the right level....
Jim Rogers has taken the great American notion of a road trip, and made it into a sensational read. I was really taken by his first book, i.e. Investment Biker, and followed his next trip via his website. Each time I checked his site, my interst in the book to come increased, and I was not disappointed.

I think that Mr. Rogers might have about 5 more books from this one trip, and each one would be better and more insightful as he mulls over the things that he saw and experienced and has the time to take a longer view. I will look forward to buying those future books should they come to pass.

The book is well written, thoughtful and persuasive as to the the failings of our foreign policy. It's too bad that national leadership seems to be fashioning a neo-isolationist policy, when the real goal should be to understand how those in the rest of the world really see us.

I wanted the book to be longer, to provide more detail as to how he got things done, the stuff that worked, and more on what he saw and experienced. As I wrote this review, I found myself listening to the BBC World news trying to connect with the world that Rogers so eloquently describes.

This is a great book, and the kind that should be required reading for students of all ages!

Excellent adventure, read, political commentary, investment
Wow!

Maybe I'm not as smart as the reviewer who preceded me.

I picked up A.C. on the way to Australia. I read it at light speed. To say this book is an eye opener is an understatement. I travel a lot...but not this much! ...no one does!

I learned a great deal following the Jim, Paige, videographer and car around the world. I confess there is much of their journey I would never have had the guts to undertake and thus was impressed by some of their choices of travel.

Here's some of what you are going to pick up:
1) You're going to find out what countries to put a few shekels into and which one's not to. (There are a lot more to NOT.)
2) You're going to get an excellent idea of where you want to visit on your next non-5-star trip out of the country.
3) You're going to find out that Vancouver B.C. is overall one of the finest cities in the world. (I can't think of a better one myself.)
4) Some darn good arguments for unrestricted free trade and open borders.
5) Solid challenges to your way of looking at the political messes of virtually every nation on the planet and a few ideas on what could make things better.
6) Lots of ways to save your hard earned money.
7) The fact that there are precious few powerhouse opportunities right now.

Of some interest, Jim notes he was told you can't buy a house in Australia if you don't live there. That's what I was told by some cab drivers, realtors and university prof's. Others told me the exact opposite and a few noted that you can't buy but you can build. Go figure. This is truly a bizarre phenomenon. Whatever the deal is, don't cut the check until you know the answer.

This book was a lot of fun. Thoroughly enjoyable and a lesson in looking at the world and the USA that sometimes is a bit stern.

Loved it.

Kevin Hogan
Author of The Psychology of Persuasion
http://www.kevinhogan.com/

Excellent
Jim Roger's knows investing, and he makes it interesting. Don't read this book if you think you're going to get a hot investment tip. He moves too quickly to focus on any one country's investment potential. It's a combination of geography, history, and capitalism. You will learn more about the state of the world than investing. I now know many tidbits about countries that I never knew previously.

Do you know how Africa's geography will most likely change within the next two decades? Wonder how Apartheid is progressing in South Africa? The best African country to vacation in, and why? The freedom in China that we never hear about? The "feed the children" programs, and how they are corrupted once they ARRIVE in Africa?

I've focuses in on Africa here, but that's what I found most interesting. Again, you will not become an expert currency trader here, but you will attain valuable insight into world affairs.

Read this travelogue to sate your wanderlust
This book is an extensive travelogue written by a wealthy, cosmopolitan, middle-aged American who has spent many years working in global money management. As such, its easy for me to relate to him, and I found his thoughts and observations useful and entertaining.

Mr. Rogers' trip was a massive undertaking, with three years spent criss-crossing six of the seven continents. Its a spectacular achievement, and a rich and delightful repast for anyone with even a little of the armchair traveler within them. ... Read more

Book Description

"There is no book on the market to compare with Dr Jäckel's. All the techniques, the tricks, the pitfalls of this important methodology are covered in detail and with great insight. This is no book on abstract theory, Dr Jäckel is a practitioner who has implemented every single one of these ideas. He has done all the hard work, so you don't have to." Paul Wilmott

"Few expert practitioners also have the academic expertise to match Peter Jäckel's in this area, let alone take the trouble to write a most accessible, comprehensive and yet self contained text. This book is a delight to read and contains a wealth of information that is essential for anyone involved with implementing Monte Carlo methods in finance." Professor Carol Alexander, ISMA Centre, University of Reading, UK

" This book is a very welcome addition to the growing literature on applied quantitative methods in finance. Dr Jäckel has done the field a service in combining both a thorough review of 'standard' material with techniques that were learned on the job as a quant at top financial institutions. Michael Curran, Quantin' Leap

Based on the author's own experience, Monte Carlo Methods in Finance adopts a practical flavour throughout, the emphasis being on financial modelling and derivatives pricing. Numerous real world examples help the reader foster an intuitive grasp of the mathematical and numerical techniques needed to solve particular financial problems. At the same time, the book tries to give a detailed explanation of the theoretical foundations of the various methods and algorithms presented.

Monte Carlo methods have been used in the financial community for many years for addressing complex financial calculations. Recent advances by both practitioners and academic researchers in the area of fast convergence methods, together with the improvements achieved by the manufacturers of computer hardware, make Monte Carlo simulations more and more frequently the method of choice. In this long needed book on modern Monte Carlo methods in finance, Peter Jäckel provides an introduction to many of the leading edge techniques available. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

for Quants only
if you're a quant, you might really love this book

if you're a person who wants to have a "basic" understanding how to use MC for consulting or product pricing with examples, you got the wrong book (not mentioning that your maths must be pretty good).

if you're looking for an Excel example on how to price some basic options, i highly recommend Jackson & Staunton or Wilmott.

Good book
This book is pretty good as it covers lots of different areas of Monte Carlo simulation and some of the newer stuffs, such as copulae, etc. The math presentation is brief but to the point as application of the mathematics to Monte Carlo methods is the emphasis. Intuitive ideas behind the formula is explained pretty well as it tells you where certain formula can be used for. It would be helpful to have taken an advanced course in Monte Carlo methods in Finance to appreciate the book. I would personally suggest Glasserman's course at Columbia U. Prof Glasserman is also writing a book on the subject that he uses for lecture notes now. It would turn out to be an even better book to read.

Competent Treatment of an Advanced Approach
This is an excellent resource for anyone already familiar with Monte Carlo modelling. Scientists making the transition to Wall Street will find this a needed supplement to Hull and other good resources. Product descriptions are also needed, especially for areas in which growth is exploding and therefore jobs are available. "Credit Derivatives" (Second Edition) by Janet Tavakoli is a great resource for getting up to speed on these products and for highlighting some of the data and modelling issues one will encounter. Although it is a product book and an applications book that helps the modeller understand how to approach the problem.

An advanced approach to math methods behind finance
Very interesting and well written book reviewing more advanced mathematical concepts which might be relevant for finance engineering - not limited to Monte Carlo methods. The author seems to have a firm background in theoretical physics. Definitely not for simpletons.

CD does not work
It is a book for mathematics lovers not financial oriented profesionals. I would not recomend this book for those looking to gain more practical knowledge on this subject. ... Read more

Book Description

Liquid markets generate hundreds or thousands of ticks (the minimum change in price a security can have, either up or down) every business day. Data vendors such as Reuters transmit more than 275,000 prices per day for foreign exchange spot rates alone. Thus, high-frequency data can be a fundamental object of study, as traders make decisions by observing high-frequency or tick-by-tick data. Yet most studies published in financial literature deal with low frequency, regularly spaced data. For a variety of reasons, high-frequency data are becoming a way for understanding market microstructure. This book discusses the best mathematical models and tools for dealing with such vast amounts of data.
This book provides a framework for the analysis, modeling, and inference of high frequency financial time series. With particular emphasis on foreign exchange markets, as well as currency, interest rate, and bond futures markets, this unified view of high frequency time series methods investigates the price formation process and concludes by reviewing techniques for constructing systematic trading models for financial assets. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

From the experts in the field
Michel Dacorogna and the team at the former Olsen & Associates are well-known experts in the field of foreign exchange rate data analysis, and their book provides us with a vast, useful source of information. Unfortunately for students and other beginners, the book is written like a compilation of papers and review articles, the opposite of pedagogical, and with an awful choice of 'computerese' notation (MA(t,n)=sum(EMA(t',k)... etc) that makes Boudhaud-Potters look easy in comparison. More to the point, even their noncomputerese notation is difficult to follow. I hope for a very different second edition written pedagogically for students of this growing and important field. On the positive side, data analyses are performed using logarithmic returns, not price increments. Workers in the field who consult this text will find it helpful.

For the new millenium...that's what we need.
The book covers a wide range of topics related to high-frequency data in Finance. There is a very detailed approach to tackle a huge amount of data and to deal with its based stylized facts. The book triggers the reader's desire to update his knowledge in the field of finance.

More Than An Introduction
This one of the few books on high frequency finance is a most welcome to the literature. The book is useful not only for people who are new to the subject but also for researchers in the field since it is a most uniform treatment of many topics. From adaptive data cleaning (chapter 4) to intraday and weekly seasonality (chapter 6) and real time trading models (chapter 11), it covers a broad range of topics specific to high frequency financial time series analysis. Chapters on volatility modeling (Chapter 8), forecasting (chapter 9) and correlation and multivariate risk (chapter 10) are enlightening especially for risk exposure analysis and risk management purposes. Finally, the the extensive bibliography is a precious source for those who would like to explore certain topics in detail. I highly recommend it for practitioners as well as researchers in the field. ... Read more

Book Description

Do you want to learn how to trade successfully in every market environment? If so, you have picked up the right book. The Volatility Course is designed to help you integrate the use of volatility in your trading approach–which will help you to become a more successful trader.

But in order to understand volatility, it is essential to grasp the basics of investing, which is why The Volatility Course first provides a comprehensive review of stock market basics, including equities, indexes, exchange-traded funds, price quotes and charts, and, most importantly, options.

Through expert advice and in-depth examples, this book:

• Explains what market volatility is and how to quantify it
• Focuses specifically on stock and options volatility and their corresponding strategies
• Provides a road map detailing how to identify the ups and downs of market volatility
• Describes the strategies that work best in high and low volatility markets

Filled with tips and techniques from renowned traders George Fontanills and Tom Gentile, The Volatility Course will help you understand the different types of volatility, how to measure and anticipate changes in volatility, and how to adapt your trading strategies to excel in prevailing market conditions. With The Volatility Course as your guide, you no longer have to wait for the right market conditions to trade successfully, because you’ll know how to trade under any market condition. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Must Book for the Beginning Options Trader
As someone who has been trading options for a couple of years, mainly has a hedge against adverse price moves in stocks, I wanted to try my hand at a more aggressive strategy, using options to make money, and possibly become wealthy. I knew that a thorough understanding of volatility was necessary for options trading. I was drawn to this book because I had previously bought the Options Course from George Fontanills and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Volatility Course has two themes: Understanding volatility and integrating volatility into your options strategies. There isn't a lot of theory to bog the options trader down but good examples to bring home his points. While I may have wanted to see a little more theory for handling the futures market, the book is excellent and would recommend it for the beginning options trader.

Doesn't deliver the goods
Readers would buy this book assuming that they will be able to master the concept of volatility, and use it in their options trading, but this is far from being the case.
One would expect a book that deals with an advanced concept such as volatility, to take it as a given that the readers are already familiar with all the basics such as "an option gives the buyer the RIGHT not the OBLIGATION" etc.I estimate that about 2/3 of the book deals with such beginner stuff.
On top of that, the authors don't even try to conceal that their primary purpose in writing the book is to deliver traffic to their premium web service.
I did learn a few things about volatility, but I was left with the feeling that I was tricked

Useful information, but mostly regurgitation
The title might suggest that this is an advanced options book; no, it is not. Three quarters of the content is a mix of other G. Fontanills books, and one quarter some updated material on skews, calendar spreads, sentiment measures, etc. The book is a weird mix of information for total newbies to the stock market and intermediate level options traders. There are some errors and typos in the book as well, so be careful when you apply the strategies to your real life trading.

So much practical information in one place!
As an Options Trader I was always overwelmed by all the tools available to me, and by the barrage of financial news. I had information paralisys.

Where do I start? What kind of stock behavior should I be trading in this current market? And once I found a stocks I liked, What kind of strategy needs to be applied? Exactly how do I find the best options for this stock?

This book is the real thing. I am a "follow the checklist" kind of person, and I have always been looking for sensible process to look for trades. Something simple yet able to give me consistent results.

Knowing that Implied volatility is such a factor in option pricing, I now can navigate thru tha maze of option chains and pick exactly what is required for my trades, because now I know what trade needs to be done.

This book is fascinating and it has the "See thru the eyes of the trader" approach I was looking for.

This book has now taken the place of about five other books that I will be auctioning online.

A Masterpiece!!!

Outstanding!
This book is outstanding!
Fix a few editorial errors and I will give it 5 stars.
Great job! ... Read more

Book Description

Essentials of Managerial Finance is the classic that started the First in Finance franchise.Now in its Thirteenth Edition, this best-selling text is renowned for its excellent blend of theoretical and applied material, comprehensive support package, and applicable real-world examples. In addition to its continued coverage of such hot topics as multinational finance, ethical dilemma discussions are incorporated throughout the text. Formerly known as "Weston/Besley/Brigham", Scott Besley is now the primary author. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Maximizing shareholder value
I used this book for a 500-level MBA finance class, and I have to admit I liked it. The first 3/4's of the book drive home the financial manager's objective: Maximizing shareholder value. It does this consistently, and actually got me (A Sales Manager) to understand why profit needs to take a back seat to value.

Like all introductory texts, it skimps a little on complexity. However, I truly have an appreciation now for finance. Many decisions my company makes now make sense. Though I have little need to apply financial concepts in my current job, I can give better `business reason' explanations to my reports when they ask. Which is why I began pursuing an MBA in the first place.

Enough to avoid Financemistakes
This new edition of the classical title looks very informative and meaningful.Perhaps a little bit more strong in the mathematical treatment will provide the customers with a text more atractive. Anyhow, it is still a good text for beginners.

Dr. Guillermo E. Martinez.

Excellant materials for the study of finance.
The book is fairly easy to understand. Students with little or nobackground in accounting were able to grasp the subject and understand thematerial. Thoroughly enjoyed using the text. Would have liked to see a website available to use with the book. The test bank was effective and a timesaver. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone wishing to useup-to-date materials with which to teach the subject of finance. Can beused in both a regular semester and a condensed class. ... Read more

Book Description

Blood on the Street is a riveting account of the Wall Street scam in which ordinary investors lost literally billions of dollars -- in many cases their life savings -- in one of the greatest deceptions ever, by the crack reporter who broke the original story.

In one of the most outrageous examples of dirty dealing in the history of Wall Street, hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit profits were made during the booming 1990s as a result of research analysts issuing positive stock ratings on companies that kicked back investment banking business. Now, for the first time, award-winning journalist Charles Gasparino reveals the whole fascinating story of greed, arrogance, and corruption.

It was Gasparino's front-page reporting in The Wall Street Journal that brought the story to national attention and spurred New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer to launch an official probe. Now, Gasparino goes behind his own headlines to tell the inside story of this spectacular swindle -- with revelations from his unprecedented access to never-before-published depositions and documents, including e-mail exchanges leading all the way up to Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill.

Drawing on his research and interviews with industry insiders, Gasparino takes readers into the back rooms of Wall Street's top investment firms and captures the outsize personalities of three key players: Salomon Smith Barney's Jack Grubman, a braggart with one of the largest salaries on Wall Street; Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget, the Yale graduate who hyped his way to the top of the research pyramid; and Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker, the "Queen of the Internet," who foresaw the market catastrophe but gave in to the pressures Blood on the Street shows how regulators, like former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt, allowed the deceptive practices to fester and grow during the 1990s bubble, leaving the door open for a then- little-known attorney general from New York State to step in and make his mark by holding Wall Street accountable.

Gasparino provides the first major account of Spitzer's rise to prominence, detailing how the attorney general pursued key players to build his case against Wall Street, including his shifting allegiance to the powerful New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso.

A fast-paced narrative rich in sharp insights, Blood on the Street is the definitive book on the financial debacle that affected millions of Americans. ... Read more

Book Description

This book explores the intuitive appeal of neural networks and the genetic algorithm in finance. It demonstrates how neural networks used in combination with evolutionary computation outperform classical econometric methods for accuracy in forecasting, classification and dimensionality reduction.

McNelis utilizes a variety of examples, from forecasting automobile production and corporate bond spread, to inflation and deflation processes in Hong Kong and Japan, to credit card default in Germany to bank failures in Texas, to cap-floor volatilities in New York and Hong Kong.

* Offers a balanced, critical review of the neural network methods and genetic algorithms used in finance
* Includes numerous examples and applications
* Numerical illustrations use MATLAB code and the book is accompanied by a website ... Read more

Book Description

"The public thinks speculation is a game of knowing the future, of knowing that which cannot be known. They are wrong. It is a game of developing strategies with winning advantages, of getting the odds on your side, and then working those odds. Here's how I've done just that for the past 35 years.—Larry Williams.

Short-term trading is how most traders and would-be traders play the markets. While it offers the greatest financial payoffs, it also presents the greatest challenge, requiring constant attention and vigilance, as well as a very strict plan. Written by Larry Williams, the most recognized and popular technical analyst for the past three decades, this groundbreaking book—his first in almost a decade—provides the blueprint necessary for sound and profitable short-term trading, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of what can be a fruitful, yet potentially dangerous venture.

Sharing his years of experience as a seasoned and successful trader, Williams offers his market wisdom on a wide range of topics, from chaos and speculation to volatility breakouts and profit patterns. With his expert guidance, you'll learn about such fundamentals as how the market moves, what are the three most dominant cycles, when to exit a trade, and how to hold on to winners until the end of your chosen time frame.

Along with in-depth analysis of the most effective short-term trading strategies and details on the best theory and implementation of money management, Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading features Williams's winning technical indicators, as well as his thoughts on a broad range of topics. A sampling:

• "A short-term trader has one objective; to catch the current trend of the market. That's it. That's all you should try to do!"
• "The shorter your time frame of trading the less money you'll make." "You will never make big money until you learn to hold on to your winners, and the longer you hold the more potential you have for profiteering. . . . It takes time to make money regardless of the activity."
• "Wealth is not amassed with just good market calls. It also requires correct money management."
• "I think you need to fear the market and fear yourself. . . . Without fear there is no respect, if you do not respect the markets and fear yourself you will become one more dead body on the long trail of commodity market casualties scattered across the land." Filled with invaluable insight, precise rules and formulas, and helpful advice from one of today's most respected market players, this comprehensive and practical resource will serve as the basis for, if not indeed become, your short-term trading "gospel."

  "Having known Larry for 25 years, I can truly say that this is his 'magnum opus'; the culmination of a brilliant career; must reading for anyone who trades futures with success as their goal!—Jake Bernstein, President, MBH Commodity Advisors, Northbrook, Illinois. ... Read more

  Reviews (34)

  All Traders know One Thing!
  We know what risk is! We know that the markets are alive and constantly changing. We know the joys of a winning trade as well as the pain from losing trades. We know what it's like to have sleepless nights with a mind full of anticipation and constant thinking. Most of all, when it comes to fine tuning our trading skills, we absorb what is useful and discard what we don't need. 'Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading' It's here, use it. I am a trader, and if you have ever traded, then you know that trading involves moving in and out of the market at the right time in order to make a profit. This book may help some people do that and others not. But you will never know unless you give the book a try! True traders don't have time to put down other traders in defense of a favorite "guru" or bias opinion against another. We are too busy trading! (Let's face it, our money is on the line!) If you have traded then you know what I mean! 'Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading'- Use from it what you need, then keep on trading!- I did [ XenoWorld ]

  Bright market wisdom, but not secrets
  The content of the book deserves five stars. However, the author might have been so used to his newsletter style, that the book is a little bit disorganised and one star is deducted.

  Anyway, the book is well dosed with market anomalies, adages, technical methods and useful stuff. I dont mean that all the materials are useful. I do cast doubt on some of his program trading methods (which gave an ROE of over 10000%) which I think the calculation had been manipulated from hindsight. Nevertheless, what the author said is by and large applicable.

  Emphasis was placed on 1)trading system, 2) money management, 3) patience + knowledge + focus as the essentials for successful trading. Not secrets, right? Most of the trading books in the market talked about these. It's just that the author had more credibility and better story telling skills. I believe most traders would enjoy reading it, especially those chapters telling the author's failures or copying his past newsletters.

  p.s. I would like to quote two phrases here.

  "I have developed a powerful and profitable belief system: I believe the current trade I am in will be a loser... a big loser at that." (Stops are must)
  "If you cant follow it, what good is a system or strategy?"

  One of the few worth reading
  Although the author has "legendary" status in the trading world, every now and then one comes across biting criticisms of him and his work. One reason for this I'm sure, are the little inconsistencies which occur in his ouvre.
  For example, up until the publication of this book, he had written a few, which in hindsight, were all about longer term trading.
  It now seems he has been trading short term for years.
  Also, he says in Long Term Trading that he trades bonds and the S&P, and yet other quotes I've seen attributed to him say he trades the stock index only.
  For all that, this is a tremendous book. Very easy to read but the devil is in the detail.
  My only criticism is that at times the editing is very poor, and a simple literal when discussing trading systems can turn a winning system into a losing system.
  Also his results were attained using Omega/Trade Station and when the same systems are tested using a different software, the results can flucuate enormously, sometimes invalidating the original system tested. This point seemed to surprise Larry but is one he should have been aware of.
  However, it is undoubtedly the best book on trading I've read.

  Zero sum game.
  Trading can be a rewarding endeavor, this book is geared for the intermediate student of the markets who has at minimal a basic understanding of the markets. I reccommend this book over the numerous ones i have read and digested on trading, which includes making and losing money. This is one of the handful that stands out. Not in any particular method though it has a few that i have used profittably, but more in an understanding of the markets and some insight into making one's own trading system. The thought process into making one's own system(s) and following it is where i feel many people lack, and most traders are losers. This book shares some insight into various systems that if followed blindly you will never make it, but if seen as a thought process into developing a system one can stack the odds into one's favor in the hopes of turning out more winners than losers.

  Futures Broker gives it two thumbs up!
  I first discovered Mr. Williams when a client brought his book "Batting .800" to me. That was eight years ago. I was impressed then and I am still impressed now. Since he is the only one in a contest setting to take $10,000 to $1 million, when he writes I feel compelled to read it.

  This book wins on many points. Mr.Williams likes to use Tradestation to prove out his theory and that makes it accessible to many system developers. He also gives out specific times to trade contracts and he also compares his systems among multiple contracts. Delineating what markets work with what system strategies.

  Where the book fails, is that Mr.Williams quickly begins to talk "shop-talk" and will easily lose those investors that may have bought his tapes or seminars. He also fails in the disjointed way interjects his trading platitudes with his actual trading style.

  Novices beware. After being in the futures industry for the past 11 years as broker, investor, and the author of three books on the futures investing subject, this book I feel is a must have for the intermediate trader. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Valuation for M&A

"Clearly written, with extensive but easy-to-follow exhibits to illustrate points in the text. It covers everything from setting criteria and conducting the search for targets or acquirers, through several chapters on valuation, to a chapter on ‘The Art of the Deal’."–Shannon P. Pratt, CFA, FASA, MCBA, Managing Director, Willamette Management Associates

"[An] easy read. Covered like no book before it, simplified by experts!"–Lawrence W. Newman, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.®

"A solid contribution to the valuation profession . . . excellent job of addressing the many unique issues that arise in M&A... Two thumbs up!"–Jay B. Abrams, ASA, CPA, Abrams Valuation Group

"Provides an excellent roadmap for the M&A process and focuses on the elements critical to building value in private businesses ... Don’t enter into a negotiation without reading this!"–Z. Christopher Mercer, ASA, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, Mercer Capital Management, Inc.

"A must read for managers of private companies intent on creating value. Combining academic rigor with real-world experience ...A superb addition to the growing literature on value-based management."–Kenneth M. Lehn, Professor of Business Administration, Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Chair of the Samuel A. McCullough Finance Department, Former Chief Economist at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Practical, accurate, hands-on book
I'm working on acquisitions of small to medium sized private companies. I found this book to be very practical in going through not just the valuation math, but also the considerations. The book gives a great overview of the whole process, with ideas of how to get more precise with things like Monte Carlo and Real options. On the core pieces, there is a careful step through of multiperiod DCF including terminal value which is very helpful. Also there is a lot of talk about discount rates which I found very helpful.

The book concludes with a thorough valuation example that is adapted from a real transaction. It provides a great way to pull together all of the knowledge in the book.

I'd also recommend "Analysis for Financial Management" in addition to this book, for its in depth treatment of key financial fundamentals, including DCF valuation.

"How-To" Apply Solid Valuation Theory
This book meets important needs of buyers, sellers, valuation analysts, and owners of private companies who want to build value in them. Here are just a few of the important functions that the reader will learn:

1. How to apply solid valuation theory. Provides the best treatment of many valuation issues that I have seen. This set of benefits goes far beyond M&A valuation settings.
2. How to value "synergy," which is often discussed but rarely measured accurately.
3. How to avoid mistakes commonly made by buyers, sellers, and valuation analysts.
4. How to value start-up companies, including high-tech ones.
5. How to create and measure value in private companies.

And...the authors communicate their insights and methods very clearly. Most readers will find this book one of the best investments they have made.

Must read for business owners, valuators and M&A people
I am a professional business valuator and had a good understanding of the valuation process before I read this book. However, I did not know much about mergers & acquisitions (M&A). After reading "Valuation for M&A" I not only gained a clear understanding about M&A, but I got many additional insights into valuation work as well! Mr. Evans and Mr. Bishop break their book down into 16 well constructed chapters that take you through valuations for M&A step by step, with each step building on the previous one. They then tie it all together at the end of the book and provide an excellent case study as a bonus. The case study alone is worth the price of the book. This is a must read for business valuators, M&A professionals and business owners thinking about buying a new business or selling the one they own now.

Perfect for these times
This is the definitive text available today on the subject of vauation of businesses for purposes of merger or acquisitons. It is a valuable guide for business appraisers and business owners who are seeking to sell their business or groom it for acquistion by another comany. The section on how to build value in a company for later sale is alone in the literature. The book is written for all readers, and the authors are themselves business-owners and appraisers. I will use this text regularly in my own practice, especially in the analysis of synergy value. ... Read more

Book Description

"Essential reading for anyone in today’s turbulent markets." –Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean, Yale School of Management

Praise for MARTIN J. WHITMAN and VALUE INVESTING

"An excellent book on investments. But, more importantly, this volume is a primer explaining to Main Street, especially Main Street businesspeople, how Wall Street really operates." –Eugene M. Isenberg, Chairman of the Board, Nabors Industries, Inc.

"A must read for all thoughtful investors interested in a rational, disciplined, risk-averse template for successful long-term compounding." –O. Mason Hawkins, CFA, Chairman and CEO, Southeastern Asset Management, Inc. and The Longleaf Partners Funds

"This author knows whereof he speaks. His many years of extremely successful experience as a professional manager of investments, his academic training, and his period of teaching at a major university all make their mark on this illuminating volume. It reveals how a bright, analytically minded person with extensive practical experience studies and evaluates investments." –William J. Baumol, Professor and Director, C.V. Starr Center, NYU Professor Emeritus, Princeton University

"This book by an experienced and practicing master, Martin Whitman, is a treasure and a reference book on how to think and feel like an owner of a business without the headache of running it day to day." –Papkens Der Torossian, Chairman and CEO, Silicon Valley Group, Inc.

"Marty Whitman is renowned for his uncanny instincts and insights in picking bargains in stocks and bonds. His book is a real bargain. To benefit from decades of Marty’s experience is invaluable and to have such a commonsense and realistic approach is an extra dividend." –Milton Cooper, Chairman, Kimco Realty Corporation

Please visit our Web site at www.wileyfinance.com ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Good, if you can understand it
This is a fair book written by an outstanding investor. Marty Whitman has practiced value investing successfully for many years, and his writings draw on his vast experience. However, unlike Buffett, he isn't the most clear author in the world. His writing is a little obtuse, and devoid of examples that would illustrate his points. Nevertheless, if you can make your way through the writing, you will find a lot of extremely useful and interesting information. I would recommend this book, but to understand it the reader should have a good working knowledge of financial terminology and an understanding of other value investing techniques and perspectives. If you read (and understand) some other books on value investing, plus maybe a few of Mr. Whitman's Third Avenue Value Fund shareholder letters, I think you will find this book invaluable.

A unique perspective
As someone who has read the works of Ben Graham and the letters of Warren Buffett, I can honestly say this book offers some new ideas you are unlikely to find anywhere else. Unlike most investing books that only argue against the efficient market, this book also points out many of the flaws of Graham and Dodd and offers a different method of value investing. It is not intended to be an update of Security Analysis, despite what previous reviews on Amazon may say. The author has over 40 years of Wall Street experience and has also taught at Yale and Columbia. If you want to be exposed to new ideas buy the book. If you just want positive reinforcement of your belief in Ben Graham then this book might leave you shell shocked.

Odd book - who is it aimed at?
Couple of odd things about this book. First is Whitman's invention of acronyms to refer to simple concepts (such as minority investors) which makes the book more confusing to read than it needs to be. Bigger problem however is it is unclear to me who is supposed to read it. The first 200 pages are a rant against the efficient market hypothesis, investment banker fees and a couple of other topics interspersed with a basic overview of markets. Last 30 pages are an advanced discussion on distressed security investing (one of the author's many talents) and dividend policy.

I was bored for 200 pages & interested for 30. Others would be the other way round. Very odd.

Decent
This book has many good insights, but the writing isn't great, and it gets pretty technical at times. A better choice, especially for less sophisticated investors, is Kirk Kazanjian's "Value Investing with the Masters," which features Whitman among a panel of 20 value gurus.

Sage Advice for a Fraction of the Price
Mr. Whitman packs an entire course worth of information into just 265 pages. Marty Whitman is reknowned for his frank shareholder letters, in which he often explains very complex investments in an easily understandable terms. If you are a fan of his notorious shareholder letters (as I am), and are interested in taking your understanding of value investing to the next level, then this book is for you. Be forewarned that the book is more in-depth and academic than his letters. ... Read more

Book Description

Many financial advisers run their business as if acquiring more clients will solve most of their problems. It won't. For advisory practices without a strategic plan, having more clients leads to more demands and less time to meet them. Translating revenues into profits, cash flow, and transferable value can't happen without active financial management and a solid understanding of what truly makes a business thrive.

Practice Made Perfect can help you make it happen-by putting you in expert hands. With the knowledge and understanding gained from years of experience in helping businesses achieve success, industry consultants Mark Tibergien and Rebecca Pomering of Moss Adams LLP offer an eye-opening, no-nonsense handbook on the management skills critical to running an advisory business. Find out what these top industry consultants tell advisory firms about

• defining a business strategy
• mastering the essentials of
• financial management
• making the most of human capital
• sustaining effective operations

Reviews (3)

Insightful!
A well-engineered and reliable kitchen appliance, say a toaster oven or a blender, has a certain functional beauty, and so does this book. Authors Mark C. Tibergien and Rebecca Pomering specifically target and serve financial advisers who own consulting firms. Based on their decades of consulting experience, the authors offer sound advice designed to protect - or deliver - any small financial service firm from a fiscal crisis. In the course of doing so, they debunk several myths, such as the notion that you can simply sell your way out of poor financial performance, or that most small firms don't need to borrow to pay for their operations. With an appendix chock full of helpful tools, such as a cash-flow calculator, a sample financial statement and a practice-management assessment questionnaire, this is a useful book for any small consultancy. We strongly recommend this book to financial advisers who know the value of good advice.

Required Reading
When you ask the question "How do I get my business to the next level?" In reality you first need to understand the answer to the silent question "Where am I now and what is the next level?" This book provideds thousands of dollars worth of professional consulting insight and is required reading for any financial professional who wants to be considered a financial professional.

Great book for advisory firms in transition.
Tibergien and Pomering do a great job of jamming a fortune in good advice into a book any advisor can buy for what it costs to get a good haircut. If you're like me, you'll keep it on your desk and use it as your firm's operating manual. Great stuff! ... Read more

Book Description

This significant new guide to finance has a broader scope and greater emphasis on general principles than most other books of its kind, which typically focus exclusively on corporate finance. Acclaimed authors Bodie and Merton offer an approach balanced among the three "pillars" of finance—optimization over time, asset valuation, and risk management.Encompasses all subfields of finance within a single unifying conceptual framework. Offers the "big picture" of resource allocation over time under conditions of uncertainty. Focuses on personal finance topics, such as saving and investing, as well as asset valuation. Provides spreadsheet modeling exercises in the accompanying Prentice Hall Finance Center CD. MARKET: Ideal for executives or for anyone seeking a solid understanding and overview of the field of finance. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
This book is the worst finance book I've come across. I had to resort to a past finance book in order to get through the class that this book was assigned for. It has no mathematical basis for serious students of finance. There are numerous typographical errors.
An excerpt, "To give a simple example, consider the choice between alternative A - you get $100 today - and alternative B-you get $95 today. Suppose you had to guess how a stranger, about whose preferences and future expectations you nothing at all, would choose." This is UNIVERSITY LEVEL MATERIAL?!?
Do yourself a favor, look somewhere else and do not buy this [book]

Thumbs part way up
Like others, I too first saw this book in paper. I am now using it to teach a class of law students -- smart kids but mostly without great numeracy. I think it is working okay but (like so many coursebooks?) perhaps not as well as expected. One problem is indeed the typos -- I'm a sloppy writer myself and typos are my incubus, but with all the beta testing and with all the publisher support, you would think they could have done better (indeed, I sent my own list to the publisher back in the beta days -- I got a nice thank you but I don't see my name in the acknowledgments, so I suspect they hit the trash). Aside from that -- the presentation seems mostly clean and straightforward, but quite often too elliptical for my students -- I've felt I had to do a lot of backgrounding. Unlike other reviewers, I quite like the problems -- I think some of them press the envelope a bit, but that is just fine with me, exactly what they should do. I do feel that the authors bring together a remarkable lot of stuff in a compact and orderly manner. In this respect with this book as with so many other coursebooks, perhaps it is the case that the teacher is getting more out of it than the student.

This book should not be used for graduate level study
I was required to purchase this book for an MBA class in Business Finance. To put it simply, this book is terrible. There are errors in calculations from front cover to back. The describers used to name calculations are changed from page to page, without any consistency whatsoever, requiring a flow chart to understand what it is Bodie and Merton are discussing. Nobel prize or not, Mr. Bodie and Mr. Merton should be embarrassed to publish such trash.

Also, the way the questions are worded in the end of chapter reviews leave little relevance to what was taught in the preceding pages. Often questions that are asked are open-ended and very ambiguous.

I would not recommend this book to anyone and have asked my University to stop using this book because it is so flawed.

Riddled with errors
I am an MBA student-this was one of the worst textbooks I think I have ever had the misfortune to use. It was riddled with errors, which took me an hour to transcribe from the publisher's website. My entire class was confused by the end of chapter questions, which in some chapters seemed to have no connection to what was taught in the chapter. I and everyone else in my class wondered all along the way if we could trust what we were reading as being accurate. Stay away from this if you value your time and your sanity.

Readable intro. to standard finance theory
First: this book is certainly not worth [the price] ...I read the 1998 softcover 'preliminary edition' by Bodie and Merton, which I ordered and received from amazon.com in fall, 1999. Samuelson's name was not on the cover and at any rate should not cause the price of the book to increase... The current price makes the book unattractive. Now for my review of the softcover version:

This is a relatively well-written undergraduate-level text that can be read/understood without the need for classroom instruction. It is especially useful for self-study by ordinary people who know nothing at all about finance theory but are motivated to learn. The reader will find all of the main topics covered: cash flows, efficient market hypothesis, capital asset pricing model (CAPM), risk management, hedging, and options pricing at Black-Scholes (B-S) level of discussion. In the spirit of the simple level of the text, the B-S equation is applied but not derived (best derivation is still the second one, and the Black's original method starting from the CAPM, in the famous 1973 Black-Scholes paper). 'Fat tails' (known and largely ignored since Mandelbrot, 1962) and non-risk-neutral hedges, the frontiers of modern finance theory, are not discussed. Throwing the traditional 'financial-engineering' bone in the direction of fat tails, implied volatility is discussed because in practice fat tails can't any longer be ignored. All in all, the book is recommendable to physics grad. students who want to learn finance terminology along with the main (wrong) ideas believed by the finance theory community. As an example of the book's weaknesses, the authors assume that the vague, undefined notion of 'fundamental value' makes sense, and that liquid markets are in some vague, undefined sense 'efficient' although the notion of a relaxation time is never mentioned. Typical finance theorists' shortcomings aside, this book can profitably be read before (or at least parallel with) Hull and other harder texts on derivatives. Liars' Poker and Fiasco can also be read profitably in parallel with this book. No knowledge of neo-classical ('marginal utility') econ (as is excesively taught in Samuelson's standard text) is required, and is at any rate is useless for finance theory/practice. ... Read more