Book Description

This greatly expanded new edition of Joël Bessis' seminal work Risk Management in Banking has been comprehensively revised and updated to take into account the changing face of risk management. Extensive new material has been included to reflect new developments in the field and to broaden the scope of the work.

Risk Management in Banking Second Edition examines all aspects of financial risk management in banking, from global considerations right down to the fundamental aspects of the management of a particular profit centre. The author emphasizes the need to understand conceptual and implementation issues of risk management and examines the latest techniques and practical issues, including:

• Value at Risk (VaR)

• Asset Liability Management (ALM)

• Credit Risk

• Interest Rate Risk (IRR)

• Funds Transfer Pricing

• Credit Derivatives

• Market Portfolio Risk

• Capital Management

• Loan Portfolio Models

Reviews (5)

technical but with errors
It's easy to find what you need. If you are accessing the topic from scratch, it has some noisances you wouldn't like too much. There are many errors and also some sentences are not clear at all. One example? "Either the sovereign rating is one notch lower than the sovereign ratings, or it is the internal bank rating." Are you OK?

Great intro, but a bit repeatitive
Bessis' volume is an elementary introduction to the basic "concepts" of risk management in banking. This is by no mean a technical book and should be accessible to most people with high school maths background. Judging on the capacity to explain basic ideas in layman's term, this is an excellent book!

However, the author seems to be a bit repeatitive and some basic concepts are to be repeated a few times throughout the book. I find it annoying but others might well find it a desirable feature for a "textbook". On the other hand, although the book is full of diagrams and illustrations, a small number of them are quite puzzling, e.g. contain symbols which are nowhere defined and is probably up to the reader to guess!

Anyway, if it is the first book you'll ever read on this subject, I believe it is an excellent choice!

good overal beginner reference to risk management in banking
The book is very well structured and I think and excellent introduction to the risk management in banking. I bought this book as hope to give me some more detailed presepective of risk management, but after reading it I think it should be used as a side reading reference to finance courses that some of the universities offer today in risk management or financial engineering. The author covers almost everything that we should know in risk management if we are new to it. However, if you are more experienced with finance or risk management I think this could be potential waste of money. I also think that the book has a bit high price for what it offers.One of the main reasons is the fact that the book is written in an elementary/intermediate form. Even as an elementary/intermediate level book I think that there should have been more examples or applicable activities that one can acctually see how some aspects of risk management are applied in the real world. Yes, there are some examples but not to an extent as there should be especially in the field as risk management and finance, where more and more people read these kinds of books in order to see or find how they can apply the information in the book to some real time activities in the financial market or corporate institution.

If you are looking for some more concrete text with some serious derivation of mathematical formulas for finance and risk management, or some more detailed presentations (more complex to read) I think you should then consider buying some other book.

Structured well
The concepts are structured quite well and could serve as foundation for further studies in this area.

Excellent, but Overpriced, Reference on Bank Risk Management
This is an excellent book which I have found to be very useful. The book gets 5 stars for its content. The negative is that the book is overpriced, particularly when the publisher released a paperback version priced at less than half the price of the hardback version shortly after the hardback was published - hence the lower rating. ... Read more

Book Description

"Trading is notoriously tough.But Altucher's new book adds a noteworthy addition to the library on Warren Buffett.He shows a lot of Buffett that isn't readily available in the existing common literature.Definitely required reading for any serious Buffett buff."
—Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes' "Portfolio Strategy" Columnist Founder and CEO, Fisher Investments

"Finally, someone blows apart the myth that Warren Buffett is a buy-and-hold investor. Altucher has given us an insightful and well-written commentary on how Buffett has amassed his track record, and what we can do to emulate him. He details the trade-by-trade examples. This is a must read for anyone wanting to learn about how the Master Investor works."
—John Mauldin, author, Bull's Eye Investing editor of Thoughts from the Frontline (www.2000wave.com)

While Warren Buffett is considered the "world's greatest value investor," there's another side to Buffett that is rarely talked about. Although Buffett has gained recognition for his value investing approach to the markets, the fact is that nobody—over the past fifty years—has traded and invested with a more diverse group of strategies than Buffett.

Trade Like Warren Buffett challenges the current coverage of this great investor by including details of all of Buffett's investing and trading methods, including mean reversion, commodities, bonds, arbitrage, market timing, funds, as well as Graham-Dodd. To augment the discussion of each strategy, Trade Like Warren Buffett also includes interviews with leading financial professionals, who reveal in detail how they've successfully used the same techniques.

There is no one way to sum up Warren Buffett's investment style. But if you're interested in boosting the performance of your portfolio, Trade Like Warren Buffett can show you how. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Excellent Read
I very much enjoyed reading this book.I have read many of the books about Buffett and this is definitley one I would recommend to anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Buffett's investment philosophy.Too many people believe Buffett just "buys and holds" companies like Coke and Gillette, but that is a long way from the whole story.This book details many of the strategies Buffett employed through out the years.The author does an excellent job discussing why Buffett used the startegies and about where Buffet was in his career that made him able to do those sorts of trades.I also think it was good how the author was able to point out certain principals Buffett maintains regardless of what kind of trade he is making.

"Trade Like Warren Buffett," is an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

Buy Buffettology Instead
This book was rather weak.It touched on alot of interesting topics but often didn't dive into them in detail.It also had interviews with at least 3 people who run mutual and hedge funds that didn't have much to do with Buffett's record itself.

I've read just about all of the books on Buffett out there and this one was not one of the best by far.Buy Buffettology or the New Buffettology.They are far better.

A Must Read For All Investors
I have read several books about Warren Buffet and this was the best. The way the author drilled downed on many actual investments and investing techniques that Warren uses was very helpful to this investor. I read this book in one weekend, couldn't put it down. I have been managing money for more than a decade and found this book very educational and a breeze to read. I highly recomend it any investor or anyone who wants a better understanding of one of the greatest investors of all time.

What is a trade?
If one holds a stock for years and even decades and then sells, is that a trade or an investment? What is the period of holding where a trade can be called an investment?

True, some of Buffett's holdngs are shorter than others, but in a CNBC interview with Ron Insana, he said sure he sells.

Glad I Bought It
I was first exposed to James Altucher's work on theStreet.com and have always found his articles to be worthwhile."Trade Like Warren Buffett" is no different.Mr. Altucher's concise observations and comfortable writing style make this book a fun, fast read.

People who have had little exposure to Buffett literature beyond the endless magazine cover stories will see that he is at heart an extremely ambitious and competitive investor who is not above making a quick trade, timing the market or relying at least in part on anecdotal evidence when buying a stock. But even though Mr. Altucher makes short work of the "buy and hold forever" myth that surrounds Buffett, he clearly respects Buffett's prowess and accomplishments. I particularly liked the examination of Buffett's current stock holdings and the stories from his early investing career.And there are a couple of interviews with money managers that provide good perspective.

It was a little frustrating to read about all the investing opportunities that Buffett has taken advantage of over the years but that no longer exist.However, it was also nice to learn that Buffett has made mistakes too. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the first comprehensive textbook for students studying fixed-income securities, and is ideally suited to MBA, MSc and final year undergraduate students in Finance and related topics. 

The text offers an accessible and detailed account of interest rates and risk management in bond markets. It develops insights into different bond portfolio strategies, and illustrates how various types of derivative securities can be used to shift the risks associated with investing in fixed-income securities. It also provides extensive coverage on all sectors of the bond market, and the techniques for valuing bonds. In addition, explanation is given of state-of-the-art techniques for bond portfolio management, including:

• A description of numerous fixed-income assets and related securities, namely zero coupon government bonds, coupon bearing government bonds, corporate bonds, exchange-traded bond options, bonds with embedded options, floating rate notes, caps, floors and collars, swaptions, credit derivatives, mortgage-backed securities, etc.
• The development of tools to analyse interest rate sensitivity and to value fixed- income securities, with an emphasis on active and passi ve bond management, and an overview of techniques used by mutual fund and also hedge fund managers.

With numerous worked examples covering the valuation, risk management and portfolio strategies of fixed income securities, and imaginative discussion of important topics such as deriving the zero yield curve, deriving credit spreads, and hedging interest rate risk, the text provides an accessible route into the complex worlds of fixed income securities. 

Supplementary materials for lecturers and students (including a syllabus, a course web page, PowerPoint slides, solutions to problems, and Excel illustrations) can be found at the following website: www.wiley.co.uk/martellini

"The authors have produced a work of the very highest quality.  As focused as it is comprehensive, this is a superb contribution to the literature..."
Moorad Choudhry, VP, Structured Finance Services, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Senior Fellow, Centre for Mathematical Trading and Finance, CASS Business School, London.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Thank you Martellini et al.
This is an outstanding textbook that is worth every penny I spent on it. It has everything you need for an MBA in finance course on fixed-income securities.
This book is the only one on the subject that has several worked out examples and end of chapter problems and solutions. That is very useful if you want to master the subject. You will encounter plenty of practice opportunities.
All the other books-Tuckman, Fabozzi, Sundaresan, and the rest-while they make good reference books to have on your shelf, they are very poor textbooks to learn from.
If you want to master fixed-income securities, you need to have this textbook.

Thank you, ... Read more

Book Description

The Price Advantage, written by three preeminent experts at McKinsey & Company, is the most pragmatic and insightful book on pricing available. Based on in-depth, firsthand experience with hundreds of companies, as well as significant investments in basic pricing research, this book is designed to be a comprehensive guide for managers through the maze of pricing issues. The authors examine state-of-the-art approaches for analyzing and improving pricing performance, demonstrate those approaches with real case studies, and draw a pricing excellence blueprint for companies to follow. In good economic times or bad, achieving the price advantage is critical to corporate performance and profitability. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Let¿s make money
The book, The Price Advantage, highlights a topic often neglected by senior management. But a careful execution of some of the ideas of Roegner et al. can have enormous consequences for the bottom line!

I found the book extremely useful in helping our organization structure its thinking around the possibilities in the pricing arena. The material in the first chapter on the effect of a price increase versus cost reduction is not new but certainly worth a reminder.

The categorization of the three levels of price management is particularly useful and practical. In a product segmentation exercise we ran internally in our organization, we were quickly able to identify the appropriate approach to the various segments. In fact, shortly after reading the book, we were able to craft a broad based pricing strategy that thoroughly impressed our senior management and will now be worked out in more details with a view to implementing it in a few months.

Having been through the re-engineering rage of the 90's with some questionable results, it is reassuring to realize that there are methodologies that could still dramatically improve the bottom line. This is particularly relevant for those having to cope with the consequences of ever changing exchange rates.
I have encouraged quite a few managers to read this book and see where the ideas can be put into practice.

Pragmatic Approaches a Businessperson Can Use
The Price Advantage makes the case that pricing is the most under-appreciated lever for improving performance in most companies today. The authors put forth an argument that is compelling for business leaders in every company to elevate their view of pricing opportunities in general, and pricing as a key lever for performance management in particular. Most importantly, however, the book provides practical, pragmatic insights into what approaches a businessperson can take to identify and capture pricing opportunities. It brings both the opportunities and potential pitfalls to life through the frequent use of case examples where companies succeeded in "ringing the cash register" through effective pricing or left a great deal of money on the table through poor pricing actions.

Of particular usefulness are chapters on specific topics that a business leader tackling pricing is going to face sooner or later. The chapter on "industry strategy" where the authors lay out some of the tactics for being a price leader or good price follower seems to be fresh writing on these topics ( I have not seen anything written about this before, and I thought it was quite actionable). Also, the chapter on pricing architecture set forth nicely the different ways of structuring price to drive the right customer and reseller behavior, again providing a way to look at the issue that should drive toward results effectively.
The chapter on issues/opportunities that arise from mergers/acquisitions provides distinctive perspectives on how to take advantage of opportunities and/or avoid huge downside risks associated with these events. The price wars chapter provides a guide for many managers to utilize in avoiding counterproductive (often inadvertent) actions across the markets in which they compete. Sidestepping just one of the potholes that the authors describe is likely to save a business great pain. Executing a strategy that weaves its way through the price war minefield discussed is likely to make the business a top performer, and the managers leading such an effort heroes.

The discussion of pricing technology appeared only to scratch the surface, perhaps a necessity due to the rapid innovation underway. While I was left wanting more in this area, the book did provide a way to segment solutions and approaches in this area that should be useful for those exploring the range of options available in today's - or tomorrow's - marketplace.

Finally, as you would expect from the authors' backgrounds, the insights on how to architect an organizational change program provide a framework that should be useful regardless of whether the challenge is a large enterprise or if you're tackling a focused initiative to capture value in a single product line.

Practical Approaches a Businessperson Can Use
The Price Advantage makes the case that pricing is the most under-appreciated lever for improving performance in most companies today. The authors put forth an argument that is compelling for business leaders in every company to elevate their view of pricing opportunities in general, and pricing as a key lever for performance management in particular. Most importantly, however, the book provides practical, pragmatic insights into what approaches a businessperson can take to identify and capture pricing opportunities. It brings both the opportunities and potential pitfalls to life through the frequent use of case examples where companies succeeded in "ringing the cash register" through effective pricing or left a great deal of money on the table through poor pricing actions.

Of particular usefulness are chapters on specific topics that a business leader tackling pricing is going to face sooner or later. The chapter on "industry strategy" where the authors lay out some of the tactics for being a price leader or good price follower seems to be fresh writing on these topics ( I have not seen anything written about this before, and I thought it was quite actionable). Also, the chapter on pricing architecture set forth nicely the different ways of structuring price to drive the right customer and reseller behavior, again providing a way to look at the issue that should drive toward results effectively.
The chapter on issues/opportunities that arise from mergers/acquisitions provides distinctive perspectives on how to take advantage of opportunities and/or avoid huge downside risks associated with these events. The price wars chapter provides a guide for many managers to utilize in avoiding counterproductive (often inadvertent) actions across the markets in which they compete. Sidestepping just one of the potholes that the authors describe is likely to save a business great pain. Executing a strategy that weaves its way through the price war minefield discussed is likely to make the business a top performer, and the managers leading such an effort heroes.

The discussion of pricing technology appeared only to scratch the surface, perhaps a necessity due to the rapid innovation underway. While I was left wanting more in this area, the book did provide a way to segment solutions and approaches in this area that should be useful for those exploring the range of options available in today's - or tomorrow's - marketplace.

Finally, as you would expect from the authors' backgrounds, the insights on how to architect an organizational change program provide a framework that should be useful regardless of whether the challenge is a large enterprise or if you're tackling a focused initiative to capture value in a single product line.

Much of this is old hat, unfortunately
A friend of mine who knows I have an interest in pricing sent me a free copy of this book. Michael Marn has led the pricing practice at McKinsey & Company for a long time now, and I'd been wondering why he hadn't published a pricing book before now.

Unfortunately it turns out to be something of a one-trick pony, and a pony pretty long in the tooth at that. About half of it talks about the well-known price-benefit map. No question it's a fundamental idea, but hardly leading edge. Plus you need a McKinsey team to execute it. Given the pedigree of the authors I was hoping for more. A lot of the book just repeats McKinsey's early work on price wars, postmerger pricing, and overall strategy--good stuff but again nothing new.

If you're interested in pricing, in my opinion there are better options than this. ... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very Good.
This is an excellent text for an engineering economics class. It concisely explains and demonstrates basic ideas and financial concepts in a logical manner. The only draw back I could detect was the author's nomemclature, which he introduces at the first of the text. If you don't memorize it early on, it becomes difficult to understand quickly. The professor who taught the Engineering Economics class I took was none other than Chan Park himself (guess what the required text was!). ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Financial Statement Analysis
A Practitioner’s Guide
Third Edition

"This is an illuminating and insightful tour of financial statements, how they can be used to inform, how they can be used to mislead, and how they can be used to analyze the financial health of a company."
–Professor Jay O. Light
Harvard Business School

"Financial Statement Analysis should be required reading for anyone who puts a dime to work in the securities markets or recommends that others do the same."
–Jack L. Rivkin
Executive Vice President (retired)
Citigroup Investments

"Fridson and Alvarez provide a valuable practical guide for understanding, interpreting, and critically assessing financial reports put out by firms.Their discussion of profits–‘quality of earnings’–is particularly insightful given the recent spate of reporting problems encountered by firms.I highly recommend their book to anyone interested in getting behind the numbers as a means of predicting future profits and stock prices."
–Paul Brown
Chair–Department of Accounting
Leonard N. Stern School of Business, NYU

"Let this book assist in financial awareness and transparency and higher standards of reporting, and accountability to all stakeholders."
–Patricia A. Small
Treasurer Emeritus, University of California
Partner, KCM Investment Advisors

"This book is a polished gem covering the analysis of financial statements. It is thorough, skeptical and extremely practical in its review."
–Daniel J. Fuss
Vice Chairman
Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP ... Read more

Reviews (9)

excellent analyst-level text
in all likelihood, average investors will not get much out of this book, as average investors don't pore over 10-ks, annual reports and conduct industry analysis prior to investing (which they should!). but for those above average investors who do (read: intelligent investors, per ben graham), this book is an excellent read.

2/3 of the book deals w/ alterting the investor to some of the areas where company mgmt can play games w/ the #s in order to goose the stock price. the examples were helpful, but the insights were not exactly earth shattering for experienced investors.

however, the last 1/3 of the book, on forecasts & security analysis, is worth the price of the book. in 100pgs, you get an MBA-level text on security / credit / financial statement analysis, complete w/ ratio definitions, caveats(!), and applicability. excellent stuff for the beginning or experienced analyst, and i will doubtless refer to the last 1/3 time and again.

Reads well
This book is for someone that wants an overview style book. It reads as a novel, or loose conversation would be read. Not a textbook style (dry) book.

Make sure you get the real book 1st
I ordered this book without getting the first book that goes along with it. Make certain you do, this is just a workbook.

Focus is on developing insight
According to the author's introduction, the goal of "Financial Statement Analysis" is to "acquaint readers who have already acquired basic accounting skills with the complications that arise in applying textbook-derived knowledge to the real world of extending credit and investing in securities." It succeeds admirably in this purpose. By using case studies drawn from real world situations that illustrate how even a basic analysis can reveal problems before it's too late, the book is a cogent, topical, and valuable reference for any user of financial statements.

Part 1 sets the stage by positing the adversarial nature of financial accounting. Unlike the textbook approach, in which rational companies disclose audited statements in order to convey impartial data about their financial condition, "Financial Statement Analysis" begins with the proposition that the producers of financial statements have motives other than those suggested by traditional texts. Although you would find few people who would argue against this proposition today, it is still valuable to be reminded of the potential agency issues facing corporate officers and auditors.

Part 2 provides an intoduction to the financial statements, devoting a chapter to each. The main emphasis here is on helping the analyst develop judgement. For example, the balance sheet chapter provides insights into problems that arise from the difficulty of assigning a value to an asset, while the income statement chapter details the many pitfalls of pro-forma earnings. Throughout, the authors note critical issues to consider that go beyond the numbers.

Part 3 discusses the thorny problem of profits. Beginning with the simple formulation that "profit = revenue - costs," the authors discuss the myriad of complexities that arise in distinguishing real, economic profits from accounting profits. The first chapter discusses various tools used to manipulate the revenue recognition process; diverse examples include a software company, a lay-away program at a major retailer, and memberships at a health club. The next chapter discusses expense recognition using a similar framework. Perhaps the most interesting chapter in this section discusses the role of auditors. In light of the Enron fiasco, which post-dates this book's publication, the discussion is prescient and will no doubt need to be expanded in future editions!

Part 4 ties the previous sections together to illustrate how to use your new found scepticism to make forecasts. The first chapter provides a step-by-step illustration of how combine an existing set of statements with your assumptions about the future to produce your own forecasts. Each projected statement (income, cash flow, and balance sheet) is accompanied by a line-by-line description of relevant issues (economic, historic, etc...) to consider. The chapter also discusses how to construct a sensitivity analysis under varying assumptions. Unlike the previous chapters, this one provides a detailed explanation of how to actually go through the process, and was particularly appreciated by this reader. The other chapters in the section focus on the computation of the various ratios used in credit and equity analysis. Importantly, however, they move beyond the mechanics by providing the reader with insight into how to use, interpret, and recast the ratios under varying assumptions. As stated at the outset, the focus remains on helping the reader develop insight.

Finally, the book contains a useful glossary that provides definitions and examples for many economic, financial, and accounting terms and concepts.

One caveat, however. If your accounting skills are weak or rusty (like mine), you might might find the lack of more step-by-step examples and problem sets frustrating. In this case, you might consider supplementing the book with a more traditional textbook. (In the author's defense, they state in the introduction that accounting is assumed, so it's not really fair to fault them for this). Overall, however, the book is a very useful tool.

Recommend Purchase!
This book by Martin Fridson, stands out for the real-world flavor it brings to the subject of Financial Statement Analysis. The book talks about the motivations of financial statement issuers (not necessarily clarity and accurate representation of financial condition), and urges readers to not blindly trust financial statements but look between the lines. Agreed, such an outlook can be built up only through constant practice and experience, but this book helps the reader get a head-start. ... Read more

Book Description

Build a great financial services practice, AND a great life filled with passion, purpose and enthusiasm.

With more than one million financial services practitioners in the United States and Canada, competition for clients can be intense.While some professionals believe that working furiously around the clock at the expense of a personal life is the route to success, top-producing industry veterans Ron Carson and Steve Sanduski disagree.They believe that financial services is a commodity business, and as such, that performing better, delivering better financial plans, or having access to certain products doesn’t differentiate advisors effectively.Rather, differentiating through service, brand and relationship is the only sustainable way advisors can compete.

In Tested in the Trenches: A 9-Step Plan for Building and Sustaining a Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice the authors explain how securities representatives, insurance professionals, investment advisors and CPAs can do just that . . . and create great lives along the way. Based on concepts taught in professional coaching workshops worldwide, Tested in the Trenches outlines:

• The four “foundation” steps to success.
• Four ways to generate revenue.
• 15 habits of top achievers.
• Forms and checklists to organize your financial services practice.
• Online sources for additional business-building ideas and tools.

If you have the sincere desire to make significant improvements in your financial services business – and your life – clear your schedule, read Tested in the Trenches, then go back and implement each idea in the order it is presented.By doing so you’ll be prepared to join the rarefied group of personally fulfilled and professionally successful top achievers. ... Read more

Book Description

Sell It By Owner and Save is an absolute gold mine filled with practical tips, tools, and techniques that will help the owner prepare for and sell their property, without a real estate agent, saving thousands of dollars in commission fees (this book has proven itself). This book clearly explains how to price and market a home anywhere, deal with aggressive agents, work with prospects, handle the paperwork and good faith deposit plus much more. You’ll find true-to-life examples that make the entire selling process easy to understand. SELL IT BY OWNER and SAVE will give homeowners the confidence they deserve, the know-how to succeed and the courage to see the sale through to completion. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Outstanding resource for anyone considering selling by owner
This book was an extremely valuable resource and answered all of our FSBO questions. This was our first home sale, so we were a bit apprehensive about how the entire process would work. As it turned out, it was much easier than we could have imagined.

We live in a relatively active area, so we decided not to spend any money on advertising and instead feed off of the other listed properties within our neighborhood. We did put a nicer-than-usual FSBO sign in the yard with an attractive flyer box crafted from a small apartment-style mailbox. We received two strong offers the second week and had a signed contract for 98% of our sale price 19 days after we put the sign out. Since we negotiated a 2.5% commission with the buyer's agent, we saved almost exactly $10,000 over the 7% requested by each full-service agent we interviewed.

Speaking of agents, one of the best parts of this book is the section detailing the tactics that agents will use to try to encourage you to list your home with them. The first four calls/visits we received after putting our home on the market were from agents, and Michael's book did a great job of preparing me in advance to handle those conversations.

Michael's point that 'presentation is everything' will be key to your success. We had our house recarpeted and repainted prior to showing the home. We even rented a storage unit to move some of the 'clutter' out of the house prior to showing. It paid off for us, and if you follow the author's guidance, it will pay off for you too!

PS - Two other homes in our neighborhood are the exact same floor plan as ours, and both were listed by agents with 7 days of our own home going on the market. Our home has been under contract for 30 days, both of those homes are still on the market. Don't let agents discourage you - FSBO really works!

A bargain at any price!
As I began reading SELL IT BY OWNER and SAVE, I realized this was no ordinary How-To text. It is obvious that the author "knows his stuff," and that he is able to explain real estate buying/selling in a conversational style that is both understandable and entertaining. Clearly, his goal was to provide an abundance of useful information to help homeowners achieve success. I highly recommend this book.

Excellent reference book!
I was clueless about how to proceed in selling my home myself, but this book has provided me with all of the information I need. It is an honest assessment of how to sell your own home and is easy to read in and organized format, which will make it easy for future reference.

For anyone who is considering selling their home
Sell It By Owner & Save is a practical, straightforward guide to selling a home without a broker. Accessibly written by a professional broker in down-to-earth, layman's language, Sell It By Owner & Save covers each step of the sale in clear detail. Sell It By Owner & Save is a superbly presented "how to" primer for anyone who is considering selling their home, whether they want to enlist the aid of a broker or not!

Top Marks for an Excellent, well Researched book.
Seldom does one find in self-help books the kind of frank, insightful advice that one does in Michael Kloian's book.

Not only did I find the information accurate and reliable but also totally consistent with my experiences in real estate for over 20 years. But it is also an entertaining book, one written with a sense of humor and compassion by someone who has a genuine concern for the average homeowner with little experience.

It is written without pretense and in a style that is eminently readable. I found particularly insightful and revealing many of the inside tips that only someone with the author's long experience in working with both buyers and sellers could possibly know, and yet be willing to share.

A cursory glance at the table of contents alone will illustrate to anyone the depth and breath of the author's sweep of all the salient issues attendant to the task of selling or in fact even buying a home.

I found nothing overlooked and must even say that the frank discussion of unforeseen problems was both important and necessary for the unwary homeowner to read.

His advice on when and how to engage professionals in the process will save homeowners a great deal of money while at the same time provide them with the requisite tools to act responsibly and professionally in all their transactions.

It is a pungent and strikingly honest book and one that deserves high praise.

I heartily recommend the book to anyone interested in either buying or selling their own home. It was a pleasure to read and confirmed all that I myself have learned in my many years in the business.

- A reader in San Francisco. ... Read more

Book Description

"Managing a Consumer Lending Business" summarizes the lore and the knowledge of the business as the new century begins. It covers many subjects a good manager should know: the importance of how to attract enough good accounts to offset the inevitable bad accounts that every lender will get, controlling line sizes, encouraging use by good customers/discouraging or controlling the bad customers, managing profitability with predictability, if he or she is to effectively run a high-volume consumer business. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best in its Class
Managing a Consumer Lending Business is an excellent primer covering both fundamental practices and principles for safe and sound lending. This book covers the basics well and should be required reading for management trainees and those new to consumer lending. This 2002-published book is superior to older, now-obsolete books on consumer lending, and is spiced with anecdotes, quotes and references to mistakes that made headlines. The chapter on recessions is germaine and usually neglected by other books. The only criticisms are minor: a few too many references to the authors' consulting practice, and it would be improved by a chapter or two on securitization and the gain-on-sale practices.

A Comprehensive Guide
This book is very well written. It is about managing a healthy consumer lending business by using systematic ways to plan, acquire, and maintain a portfolio and by emphasizing quantitative tools to measure its performance and manage risks. I like this book also because it provides careful accounts about the history of this industry.
This book is an excellent reference for serious practitioners. Portfolio managers and financial analysts can acquire important concepts for managing their businesses. You might even be able to start your own consumer lending business by following the steps introduced in the book. Meanwhile, this is an attractive book for consumers to equip with extensive knowledge to deal with credit card issuers, collection companies and to take care of their mortgages and automobile loans, etc. ... Read more

Book Description

Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. Scene: the World Bank, a mighty development kingdom of many fiefs, its ten thousand employees operating in some one hundred countries responsible for tens of billions of dollars in aid to the world's poorest nations. Enter: James Wolfensohn, the smooth global deal maker and power broker of gargantuan appetites who has furiously worked his many connections to become the World Bank's president. Over the course of his dazzling career, Wolfensohn seduced everything in his way-surely the development gurus of the bank would be no different? Even if this wasn't much the crowd for private jets and homes in Jackson Hole, for friendship with European royalty and Harrison Ford, for fencing at the Olympics and playing the cello in Carnegie Hall with Yo-Yo Ma, surely they would see what a noble sacrifice James Wolfensohn had made in walking away from his multimillion-dollar income?

Not exactly. In 1995, Wolfensohn struck the World Bank like a whirlwind, determined to reinvent the institution founded by Franklin Roosevelt and his World War II allies. Never has the World Bank's work been more important, more in the public eye, or more controversial than in the past nine years when challenges from global financial crises to AIDS to the emergence of terrorist sanctuaries in failed states have threatened our prosperity. In Sebastian Mallaby's masterful hands, the story of Wolfenson and his World Bank is a marvelous tour through the messy reality of global development. What John Gutfreund and Salomon Brothers were to the 1980s and John Meriwether and Long Term-Capital Management were to the 1990s, James Wolfensohn and the World Bank are to our time: the emblematic story through which a gifted author has channeled the spirit of the age. ... Read more

Book Description

Covered Calls and Naked Puts Create Your Own Stock Options Money TreeReaders Are Amazed! They can earn good income on their stock portfolio. Even in a stagnant market. Put Financial Nightmares to Rest! Quit Leaving Piles of Money on the Table!Most common response: "Why the heck didn’t I know

about this sooner!"• Provides a clear, easy to understand process for the average investor to make money in the stock market. • Illustrates points that are not currently known or understood by the general investing public. Once grasped the financial value is obvious and the reader is most appreciative. • Provides the tools for independent investing beginning with wise stock selection, building a prospect list, sorting stocks based on clear criteria. • Covered call strategy is appropriate (and allowed) for IRA accounts. • Gain peace of mind from your own financial competence.Brief Summary

Jake Kimball sold his CPA Firm and retired to south Florida in his mid fifties. Funds are running low when he encounters his former Finance professor at a local Rotary Club meeting. The professor is doing unusually well financially. Step by step, with examples, the prof explains to Jake his stock market strategy of careful stock selection and earning a high rate of return by selling options. "You make money by selling, not by buying!" ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Covered Calls and Naked Puts is a Masterpiece
Covered Calls And Naked Puts is truly a masterpiece. Ron Groenke has managed to present the fascinating subject of covered calls and naked puts in the most understandable and refreshing manner imaginable. Buy it now!!

Covered Calls And Naked Puts Is A Masterpiece
Covered Calls And Naked Puts is truly a masterpiece. Ron Groenke has managed to present the fascinating subject of covered calls and naked puts in the most understandable and refreshing manner imaginable. Buy it now!!

A Great Book for the Beginning Options Investor
If you are looking to increase the earnings on your portfolio with a minimum of risk this book is for you. You will learn in a very interesting writing style how to use Covered Calls and Naked Puts to generate a cash flow that could average 25% a year regardless if the market is going up or down. The author even takes into account taxes and losses to arrive at this figure. He introduces a number of basic conservative concepts using covered calls and naked puts but really places the emphasis on how to pick the right stocks in the first place. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in increasing their portfolio income by learning how to use convered calls and naked puts to achieve their investment goals. Once you have read the book you will be very comfortable using these investment tools.

the options primer every trader should read
Ron's new book does not offer the reader the Holy Grail for options trading, but rather provides a very logical and disciplined approach to this type of investing. His writing style is easy to read and understand. He greatly simplifies a complex subject. A good portion of the book is devoted to proper stock selection, with very definable criteria to greatly improve the odds of placing a winning trade. He continually reminds the reader of the importance of managing risk. For any aspiring options trader, this book is A MUST!

Do Yourself a Favor...
Do yourself a favor and buy this book. I've been doing cc writing and option investments for some time. This primer picks up where most other books on covered calls leave off. In addition to covering naked puts, the author holds your hand through critical factors such as when to buy, what to buy, how to buy... simply "put", this is a great book at a very reasonable price. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive reevaluation of the nature of economic systems across the globe, A New View of Comparative Economic Systems is today's choice for today's world.This exciting text is not merely a re-treading of an obsolete Soviet-oriented text, but a fresh, new, and comprehensive reappraisal of the nature and study of economic systems.A New View of Comparative Economic Systems defines a new approach and will set the standard for years to come in Comparative Economic courses. ... Read more

Book Description

PRAISE FOR Modern Investment Management

"This powerful book brilliantly discovers the routes to superior investment results in the roots of economic theory. In the process, it combines elegance of presentation with the highest levels of lucidity. The authors offer lessons that neither the scholar nor the investor-in-action can afford to ignore."
––Peter Bernstein, bestselling author of Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street and Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk

"In Modern Investment Management: An Equilibrium Approach, Bob Litterman and his colleagues at Goldman Sachs Asset Management provide the reader with a gentle introduction to modern financial theory and a survey of their own monumental contributions to theory and practice. The role of the late Fischer Black is amply noted."
––Harry M. Markowitz, 1990 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics

"This comprehensive guide to equilibrium investing is perhaps the finest demonstration of the relevance of financial theory to investment practice. Both the academy and industry owe a huge debt to this exceptionally talented team for reuniting their paths. Study this book carefully and keep it close at hand if you are serious about investing or teaching about it."
––Mark Kritzman, Managing Partner, Windham Capital Management Boston and Research Director, The Research Foundation of the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR)

"This book develops a powerful framework for making better investment decisions. The equilibrium approach frees you up to focus on what you know, without being blinded by what you don’t know."
––Andre Perold, Professor, Senior Associate Dean, Faculty Director
Harvard Business School

"An invaluable investment manual ably supported by the highest-quality financial theory, but well peppered with common sense. The fund manager and the institutional investor ignore this book at their peril. It will be a key reference book for our pension plan."
––David Morgan, Chief Executive, Coal Pension Trustees Services Ltd.

"This novel and ambitious book breaks new ground in demonstrating how modern investment theory can be refined and adapted to practice. The authors’ experience as investment professionals in a sophisticated institutional setting lends much credibility to their skillful blending of rigorous analysis, intuition, and real-world application."
––Robert F. Stambaugh, Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Finance
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Oldschool
Nicely written from a journalistic perspective but rather old fashioned. Many mistakes and deliberate false claims in order to suit product interests of Goldman Sachs. Examples:

In the chapter on asset liability management there is always an analytical case for equities. However the only reason is that GS does not allow duration as a choice variable. Otherwise beta (in their formula) would become one and the optimal equity allocation is zero. Accidental? I doubt it.

They also claim to have found (earlier) a better method than Stambaugh on dealing with missing data. However either you publish or you shut up.

Waste of time for serious quants

The definitive equilibrium investing title
My highest commendations to the asset management team at Goldman Sachs. They have come together and created a highly comprehensive tome that covers all the bases within the realm of modern investment theory. Their solid equilibrium approach is applied to all areas, from traditional investments to alternative asset classes, from institutional funds to private wealth, using analysis and real world applications. Incredibly thorough, extremely recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

The first plain-English introduction to foreign currency exchange trading--one of today's hottest profit opportunities

The foreign currency market is the largest financial market in the world, and foreign exchange trading is quickly becoming one of today's most high-profile, potentially lucrative markets. One problem is that books on the topic are complex, technically dense, and difficult for Forex novices to grasp.

FOREX Made Easy is the first book to approach the topic in a detailed yet accessible style, gradually and deliberately moving from simple to complex in easy and natural language. Author James Dicks--founder of the popular trading software 4X Made Easy--draws upon his trading knowledge to give readers only the information they need, from setting up a workstation to trading electronically.

This Forex guidebook provides traders with:

• An easy-to-follow, six-step process for FOREX trading
• Methods for gaining an advantage using technical analysis
• Dozens of examples to illustrate key points

Reviews (19)

Basic level oriented towards 4X Made Easy(tm) users
As beginning 4X Made Easy (tm) software user I found the book very useful. It goes into more technical analysis than the GlobalTec trainers are willing to offer. For example there is a good chapter titled "advanced trading charts and indicators" with basic explanations of Bollinger bands, DMI, Stochastics, moving averages, RSI, and ROC. Another chapter covers Fibonacci and Elliot waves. The introduction to technical analysis chapter includes candlesticks, support and resistance, and other trends. All of this is at the basic level, but unlike every other technical analysis book I have found, it is oriented towards the spot Forex (there is one chapter on Forex options). Because the Forex is open around the clock, it does require some modification of typical technical analysis methods.

There is another useful chapter on tax strategies and claiming trader status as a Forex trader. Again it is very basic, but because so few accountants are familiar with the spot Forex and because so many people will simply tell you "consult your accountant" it is useful introductory information.

The book uses examples from 4X Made Easy (tm) version 5.0. This is scheduled to be replaced very soon with version 5.9, now in beta. The changes I have seen in 5.9 beta will not affect the information in the book.

If you are already familiar with the Forex, and don't have any interest in Forex Made Easy software(tm), you may find this book too basic or be annoyed by the author's promotion of his own interests. He does not mention any alternative software to 4XME or even FX Trading Station. Some illustrations are based on 4XME screen shots. There is a full chapter on FX Trading Station software (almost like an operating manual) which is the trade platform used by FXCM brokerage. There are plenty of traders out there that use other companies' trading platforms and don't have any interest in 4XME and these readers should be forewarned. I do think in some way James Dicks is preaching to the choir with this book. He doesn't mention other broker platforms and the possible advantages or disadvantages of using different brokers, for example broker platforms that offer trailing stops, hedging within the same currency pair, tighter spreads, and problems like slippage or limitations on entry orders. This book is not an objective discussion of the spot Forex brokerage business, so don't expect that. Even so, at least 80% of the book is not focused on the author's company's products and is good basic information about the Forex market and trading.

I think all potential Forex traders, and especially 4XME users who want to learn more about technical analysis will find this book useful as an introduction and starting point. In fact this book is an excellent way to learn what Forex trading is all about before you open a live trading account

Im a new FOREX user and this book is GREAT
I just started trading the FOREX and this book gave me a great deal of information about the Market. This book is very informative and I highly recommend it to all FOREX users. I also own and am very happy with the 4X Made Easy software and subscribe to the James Dicks PremiereFX Alerts.

Not beneficial at all
I saw James Dicks' late night ads for 4xme -- Foreign Exchange Trading Made Easy. I explored his background and his firm's background over the net this early morning and read his book on another site where it's posted, in full.

The book does not really explain foreign exchange trading, but is mostly an ad for his firm's software and online services. Also, it's poorly written. So many people have been upset with it that used copies are available on E-bay for 99 cents.

(...)

I spent a dozen years as a retail broker at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and am a Wharton CPA. Also, I supported myself solely through trading from 1984 through 1988. IMHO stay away from James Dicks, his books, and his firms. No good can come from interaction with any of them.

Disappointing FX book
There's a real dearth of good investment books focussing on the FX market, and unfortunately this book does very little to fill that void. Instead of "Forex made Easy," I would love to read a book called "Forex made Profitable," which is definitely not this book. His technical analysis section is pretty much a wash-out. Do not buy this book.

Great book for a new trader to the Forex Market
I found the book to be fast paced and very informative. After reading some of the negative reviews it seems like they are all posted by the same person. Someone that hadn't even read the whole book. My views: The book will show you how to trade the Foreign Exchange and goes into advanced techniques. This is important if you want to protect your money while trading the Forex. I will note that different types of software are mentioned, but in reality there are probably 100 other companies flogging their wares. I did a free trial of the software James discussed and it worked quite well.

I would also recommend trading for a living and reminses of a stock operator for more on trading psycology. ... Read more

Book Description

Even the best Wall Street investors make mistakes. No matter how savvy or experienced, all financial practitioners eventually let bias, overconfidence, and emotion cloud their judgement and misguide their actions. Yet most financial decision-making models fail to factor in these fundamentals of human nature. In Beyond Greed and Fear, the most authoritative guide to what really influences the decision-making process, Hersh Shefrin uses the latest psychological research to help us understand the human behavior that guides stock selection, financial services, and corporate financial strategy. Shefrin argues that financial practitioners must acknowledge and understand behavioral finance--the application of psychology to financial behavior--in order to avoid many of the investment pitfalls caused by human error. Through colorful, often humorous real-world examples, Shefrin points out the common but costly mistakes that money managers, security analysts, financial planners, investment bankers, and corporate leaders make, so that readers gain valuable insights into their own financial decisions and those of their employees, asset managers, and advisors. According to Shefrin, the financial community ignores the psychology of investing at its own peril. Beyond Greed and Fear illuminates behavioral finance for today's investor. It will help practitioners to recognize--and avoid--bias and errors in their decisions, and to modify and improve their overall investment strategies. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A great book about Behavioral Finance
This book builds on the current literature in Behavioral Finance and reviews the most relevant academic articles. It is interesting for the researcher in empirical finance and the best book to understand the behavior of individual investors.

Another fascinating and recent publication in this field is by Andrei Shleifer: "Inefficient Market"

A very good book, but quite academic
I had mixed feeling about this book. Content wise, it's incredible. It's full of real life stories, data, analyses, propositions of many so called market anomalies. However, I really find some of the chapters too long, especially those after chapter 5. The author had copied his style of thesis writing and actually many of his own theses (he's a renowed professor after all) into a book which has a big audience group of investors or traders who want quick fix or certain level of entertainment and personal improvement. In these respects, the "Psychology of Finance by Lars Tvede" and the "Devil take the hindmost by Edward Chancellor" are "easier" but not definitely better alternatives.

Anway, this is one of the very few "serious" books about behavioural finance that is relatively practical. If you are abound of time, go for it. Otherwise, you may try the two books I mentioned above.

p.s. I like the following the most: In April 1997 Financial Timesran a contest suggested by economist Richard Thaler. Readers were told to choose a whole number between 0 and 100. The winning entry would be the one closest to two thirds of the average entry. The winning choice is 13. The real point of this game is that playing sensibly requires you to have a sense of the magnitude of the other players' errors. Hope you got it right.

You won't be overconfident when you've read this!
Behavioural finance is an important topic and this book provides a very enjoyable and insightful read for the layman. It will stimulate interest in the topic by being accessible, which is what it set out to do, so four stars from me. It gives you some good 'dinner party anecdotes' (!) when colleagues or friends tell you about 'how markets work'. It is not a textbook on the subject by any means, rather a book for the airport that you will read again and recommend to others. Don't expect to see any matrix algebra or stochastic differential equations in this one!

A good Overview of the Subject
Mr. Sherfin has written an entertaining, yet scholarly overview of the subject. It is pitched at the practitioner rather than the layman, so anyone wanting detailed financial planning advice or quick fire trading ideas is going to be disappointed. What you do get however is a fascinating insight into the reasons that long-term stock market anomalies continue to exist, and the forms that they take. This should finally bury the idea that markets are efficient.

A couple of beefs though; firstly, as Sherfin points out several times "investors learn slowly" in yet most of the time series he quotes seem to be 3 to 10 years - statistically pretty insignificant in making generalizations about market behavior. Secondly, while he is rightly cynical about he money management industry (and does a good job at exposing some of its less creditable tricks), he at once dismisses active money management - "a combination of private interests and behavioral phenomena provide the basis for the existence of this active segment" - and then goes on to document the success of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management in producing considerable excess return. So which is it Mr.Sherfin?

Pushing Too Far?
In Beyond Fear and Greed, Mr. Shefrin has written a fairly interesting account of the advances in behavioral finance. He draws heavily on previously published research (although often published in fairly esoteric sources), so people searching for lots of new insights will probably be disappointed. That said, Mr. Shefrin covers most of the common biases that we are prone to including mental accounting, loss aversion, trend following and the like. If a reader doesn't see him or herself in at least some of his illustrations, I suspect he is not being honest with himself.

My major problem is that in some instances I think Mr. Shefrin engages in his own form of hindsight bias. For example, in his account of wall street strategists' market predictions I think he finds his bias after he knows the results. If the market had a strong year previously and the strategist predicted another strong year and was proved wrong, then he was guilty of trend following. If however, the same strategist predicted a weak market and proved to be wrong, then he was guilty of gambler's fallacy (mean reversion). So basically either choice represents bias IF YOU ARE WRONG. And yet, just because you are right does not change the mental processes that went into your decision.

However, despite the weaknesses of this book, overall it provides much food for thought for any serious investor and is probably worth at least a quick read. ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing from their experience with comprehensive textbooks Ehrhardt & Brigham focus on the critical financial concepts, skills, and technological applications required by every MBA in the 21st century workplace.The result is a lean textbook that (1) provides an in-depth treatment of all essential topics in corporate finance yet (2) can be covered in its entirely in a single semester. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Thanks!
Great seller, product as described. Fast shipping. Thank you!

Excellent executive-level corporate finance book
The book gives a good insight of all major corporate finance, firm valuation and stock valuation and capital management methodologies and tools. The text is easy to read, provides the right level of quantitative analysis for the audience in order to be interesting and useful. The Excel templates from the book are available for free (even if you don't have the book) at [website] In my opinion the book is a must-have for every executive-level manager, particularly in a public company. ... Read more

Book Description

Harvard Business Essentials

Your Guide and Mentor to Doing Business Effectively

In the faced-paced world of business today, everyone needs a personal resource-a place to go for advice, coaching, background information, or answers. Bosses and colleagues aren't always available when you need them-and they might not always have the most reliable solutions to your business problems right at hand.

The Harvard Business Essentials series fills the gap. Concise and straightforward, these books provide highly practical advice for readers at all levels of experience. Whether you are a new manager interested in expanding your skills or an experienced executive looking to stay on top, these solution-oriented books give you the reliable tips and tools you need to improve your performance and get the job done. Harvard Business Essentials titles will quickly become your constant companions and the trusted guides you'll turn to throughout your business career.

Finance for Managers Calculating and assessing the overall financial health of the business is an important part of any managerial position.From reading and deciphering financial statements, to understanding net present value, to calculating return on investment, this book provides the fundamentals of financial literacy.Easy to use and non-technical, this helpful guide gives managers the smart advice they need to increase their impact on financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Essential, Yes, and for Many, Invaluable
This one of the volumes in the new Harvard Business School Essentials Series. Each offers authoritative answers to the most important questions concerning its specific subject. The material in this book is drawn from a variety of sources which include William J. Bruns, Michael J. Roberts, and Robert S. Kaplan as well as Harvard Business School Publishing and Harvard ManageMentor®, an online service. Eac