Book Description

Dividends are king in today's uncertain stock market, with more investors every day looking to add the stability and long-term performance of dividend-paying stocks to their portfolios. All About Dividend Investing takes a clear-eyed look at this new environment, then provides a comprehensive, step-by-step dividend-investing approach designed to reduce short-term risk while maximizing long-term growth. This timely book introduces popular methods for screening dividend-paying companies, explains how the new tax laws will affect corporate policy and investor behavior, and more.

Book Description

This practical, hands-on blueprint to stocks and mutual funds provides a thorough overview of today’s stock market. From understanding how trends and policies affect markets and the basics of placing a trade to advanced issues including technical analysis, short selling, Modern Portfolio Theory, and more, this unique and useful workbook explains the stock market in clear, concise language. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent
Great introductioin to a field that can seem quite arcane to the average joe. Affordable,pithy, and intelligible! ... Read more

Book Description

A book for all traders. Although the vast majority of futures traders lose money, a few select groups consistently win: floor traders, commercial traders and insiders. In this fascinating and provocative book, veteran book, veteran futures trader Grant Noble takes the reader inside the futures market and explains the strategies used by each group of winners. He demonstrates why winners must have an ``edge'' if they are to outperform other traders consistently. Noble shows how an individual trader can adopt the same methods used by the winners to beat the market. In addition, Noble unveils a system to interpret and profit from news media coverage of the markets. A savvy and streetwise book on trading, The Trader's Edge will provide the ``inside edge'' needed to become a successful trader. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Belongs on every trader's bookshelf
I normally do not like most books written on the subject of futures trading. All the way from their bombastic titles to the poorly thought out ideas which lose money consistently.This book is different. It contains a lot of new ideas and some pretty interesting information. The chapter on "split openings" is well worth the price of the book alone. It is a very good manual for short term traders, particularly day traders.

excellent book for stock and commodity traders or wannabes
I couldn't put this book down for the first 1/3rd...and liked the 2nd third...but the last 1/3rd dragged. Lots of good rules and explanations and ideas from a practical point of view. Well worth the price, and I learned a lot.

i made money the first day i read the book.grant is great
the ideas generated from this book, helped me make money right away.Grant drilled into me the importance of what the winners do and what they do is they concentrate most of their time and energy on the opening, which most of us amateurs, the majority, tend to ignore.If you want to succeed in the world of trading, Grant points out, you must start doing what the winners do.I strongly recommend this book for the day trader and position trader.Put away all your books on indicators and buy this book. ... Read more

Book Description

From the basics of open outcry trading to advanced technical indicators, Fundamentals of the Futures Market gives beginning futures traders everything they need to get started. This hands-on workbook walks readers through the entire process to read and understand major reports, track prices, follow the major indicators, and more. In today’s fast-paced futures trading arena, it provides the tools readers need to trade in any commodity market—grains, metals, or financials—and minimize risk as they sharpen their trading skills. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Sloppy editing
Most "investment advice" books suffer from poor editing, both of the 'grammar & syntax' variety, and, more distressingly for this genre, flat-out incorrect information. Klines's book is no exception- the grammar & syntax are fine, but her book is replete with factual errors and misstatements. For example, on page 207, she defines a synthetic long futures as "sell a call option, buy a put option." Wrong. That is a synthetic short position. Similar errors pervade the book.
One useful feature is chapter 3, which presents futures contract specifications. However, even here, some of the information is occasionally confusing or misleading.
This book is published by McGraw-Hill, a highly reputable house. My surmise is that McGraw-Hill has no financial experts on its editorial staff; otherwise, it wouldn't tolerate the publication of such a sloppily-edited piece. Disappointing!

GREAT BOOK
If you are new to trading, or are interested in learning about the futures markets, then you will not be disappointed with this book. I was definitely impressed with the amount of market information that it covered. The History of the Futures markets, fundamental & technical analysis, mechanics of the trading floor, margins, interpretation of news, are all explained. In addition, it contains a great section on trading techniques for each specific commodity market. This would make a great reference textbook for seasoned traders and brokers as well. I would definitely recommend this book.

Exceptional Futures Market Primer
Utilizing her years of experience as a floor broker and expert futures market commentator (Bloomberg TV), Donna Kline successfully addresses a broad array of futures related topics in a pragmatic and succinct manner that is easy to absorb. Whether you are an experienced trader, or more importantly, a neophyte to the futures market, Donna Kline's "Fundamentals of the Futures Market" is an ideal primer.

"Fundamentals of the Futures Market" is an excellent addition to any intelligent investor's library collection and further validates Donna Kline's status as a maven within a market known for nebulous and sometimes treacherous trading conditions.

The Fundamental "Fudamentals"
Anyone who watches Donna Kline on Bloomberg Television knows she's the authority on futures and credit markets, a knowledge she shares in Fundamentals of the Futures Market. Written for those with some experience in financial markets, Fundamentals of the Futures Market takes the reader step-by-step through the process of evaluating, buying, and selling futures. The book traces the history of financial markets and the development of futures trading, defines the key terms, and outlines the external factors -- from the economy to the weather -- that affect futures prices. Drawing on her years of experience in and around the trading pits, Kline also offers tips for traders and dealers. It's full of practical advice, leavened with humor and clear cautions about the dangers inherent in trading. Buyers, brokers, and those who follow the futures markets should keep this handy reference nearby.

Stunned
what can i say except that i am blown away. never in my life have i encountered anything of such depth, width and girth. am truly humbled. this is one book that must rest on the bed side table for eternity and a day. ... Read more

Book Description

The Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of the New York Times Bestseller That Focuses on Personal Finance for Every Budget -- and Every Stage of Life

Taking control of your personal finances is the first -- and most important
-- step toward successful investing and a secure future. The Motley Fool You Have More Than You Think, now fully updated and expanded, provides guidance for anyone trying to balance lifestyle aspirations and financial realities. The latest edition of this Motley Fool bestseller covers topics such as:

• Getting out of debt...and into the stock market
• Turning your bank account into a moneymaker
• Using Fool.com and the Internet to learn about all things financial -- from buying a home to getting the best deal on a car
• Saving enough to send your children to the colleges of their dreams

Reviews (14)

They got me excited about investing
The Motley Fool- You Have More Than You Think- is full of sound advice that really got me interested in finaces and investing. The book basically presents two key things- fundamental concepts of investing and saving your money, and information on the best ways to go about doing that, when you don't have the slightest idea on how to do it. The key information in this book could probably be very much compressed down, but it's really not too difficult to make it through the 300 pages. In fact, pretty much each chapter presents one main idea and expands upon it, it's a very easy read. David and Tom Gardner, when not relentlessly plugging their website, fool.com, set out to make the book actually funny and interesting to read, and I think they managed to do it. I never want to have a credit card after reading this book. The biggest strength of the book are definately the step-by-step instructions on how to save money whilst making big-ticket item purchases like cars, homes, and college tuitions. It's a great resource for students and parents.

Great personal finance book
On the cover of this national bestseller it claims to be "The Foolish Guide to Personal Finance," I would have to agree the Gardner brothers have made the subject of personal finances an enjoyable and witty read.

I recommend reading the following chapters of this book:

"And a Bunch of People Want What You Have"

This chapter discusses why casinos, sports betting, lotteries, and credit card debt are hazordous to your wealth. I think this should be required reading for every young adult in america. This chapter needs to discuss smoking, drinking, and drugs as well, but the investment guide for teens already covered that.

"You Can Get and Keep More Than You Think"

This chapter discusses some banking basics, how to get a good deal on a car (well worth the price of this book), how to save money when purchasing a house, insurance information, and funding for college.

"When not to invest" is also a good chapter since it tells us in common sense when we should and shouldn't be in the market.

"The Ten Most Common Investing Mistakes" are highlighted mistakes with good examples which a lot of people do.

"The Fourteen Things You've Learned Here" is an excellent summary of the book, if are considering this book I suggest reading this chapter and the others mentioned above.

In short I think this is a great book especially if you listen to and follow what these brothers recommend.

Reed Floren

A Common Sense Approach
It's amazing that I have owned this book for such a long time and NOT reviewed it. What an oversight as it certainly is one of my most highly acclaimed books regardless of category.

Much of the information still sticks with me today. Whereas the book is about investing your money wisely, it just does not talk about the stock market. Most important of all, David and Tom Gardner (The Two Motley Fools) discuss how to keep more of the money you earn. This can be done by avoiding excessive gambling and overindulgence in your State Lotteries. Also this can be done by failing to pay yourself first as illustrated in the chapter entitled The Ten Most Common Financial Mistakes. Gosh the example of the multiple uses of one's shirt is hilarious.

Although the Gardner's have their biases when discussing investment vehicles, the humor shines through as well as some common sense. Truthfully, Mutual Funds do have their purposes for some people in some scenarios. However, the reasons against Mutual Funds are certainly noteworthy. The approach to constantly research and adjust one's portfolio is strongly encouraged here which a big plus is.

Most important of all, the tone of the book is not filled with heavy jargon. The handy glossary in the back of the book smoothes out any questions that a reader might have. And the light hearted humorous approach makes this book FUN! Therefore, run down to your book store and pick up this gem immediately.

Makes personal finance easy to grasp.
This book is very easy to read and is entertaining to boot. It's full of practical advise on how to invest, handle debt and even buy a car. I used their method of buying a car with great sucess.

You Have More Than You
I found it very helpful and humorous at times. They certainly try to keep learning about your own personal finances informative and proactive. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Most of us have been conditioned to approach the stock market as a long-term proposition. Many of the bestselling investment books coach readers to seek value in the best companies for long periods of time. Day trading, a recent phenomenon brought on by the reform of the financial markets and by the growth of online trading, goes in just the opposite direction. Instead of buying and holding stocks for years, successful day traders make money by dipping in and out of the market in a matter of minutes, finding profit in the tiny fractions between the bid and asking price of a stock or by catching the ups and downs of stock prices, which are driven by everything including the latest news from CNBC or speculation on what Alan Greenspan ate for breakfast.

In The Electronic Day Trader, authors Marc Friedfertig and George West explain the rationale behind day trading and offer strategies that can help you become successful at this fast game of speculation and timing. The authors write, "Day trading appears so deceptively easy, yet in reality it is a never-ending challenge. It is a game, an opportunity to match wits against the majority and thereby prosper. Day trading the stock market is the ultimate opportunity to speculate and the ultimate game."

The book goes into great detail about how the various stock exchanges work and shows how to get direct access to the NASDAQ through various electronic trading systems. If you're looking for an investment book that will help you build a retirement portfolio, look elsewhere. But if the daily fluctuations in the price of a stock make your heart beat faster and if you're seriously interested in honing your skill as day trader or want to become one, The Electronic Day Trader is definitely worth a look. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (136)

A great overview of trading through NASDAQ and NYSE
When I see the one and two star comments I just shake my head and laugh. This is an excellent book if you are a real day trader. I can see where it would be over the head of those just starting out. But anyone who uses Level II quotes will find a lot of useful info. to pick from. I day trade for a living, it's how I pay my bills! What I can tell you is that there is no magic formula for buying a stock, never has been and never will be! Daytrading is a game of momentum and volume. Understanding why stocks make runs and then pullbacks throughout the day is half the game. Watching how market makers act during the runs up and the pullbacks will stop you from getting shook from your positions, and give you a good point for opening new positions. To those that rip this book, I thank you for your daily contributions to my trading accounts. To those with access to Level II quotes I think the authors give you a pretty good overview of how the game is played. There's no magic formula to becoming a great trader. Any book that promises one is a sham. Trading skills come through experience and application, the game is keeping your capital preserved to survive the learning curve. This book is a good foundation to build upon.

Informative but too self promotional.
This book is like "The Microtrading Revolution" by Lawrence Black and Todd Hawley but with more "filler." "The Microtrading Revolution" apparently was published several months prior to "The Electronic Day Trader." For the most part they cover the same material except the former does it in 1/2 the pages. Friedfertig and West seem to be most interested in promoting the services of their firm. I know of several people who have been involved in this type of trading and have lost significant amounts of money. Friedfertig and West seem to gloss over this whereas Black and Hawley repeatedly emphasize the risks. According to "The Microtrading Revolution," there is a handful of experienced and seasoned electronic day traders or "microtraders" who succeed in taking the money from the less experienced and over confident. They emphasize that the only way to succeed is to be among and train with such traders. From t! he traders I have met, this is the impression I have received. I'm not so sure electronic day trading is for the masses. In this respect "The Microtrading Revolution" is a more objective read in addition to having a lighter texture (it is shorter and is often times pretty funny.)

What became of Broadway Trading, LLC??
They went bankrupt, which is where you would be if you followed West and Friedfertig's methods. The book was a copy of Jack Schwager's Market Wizards series, due to the interviews conducted with "traders". You would be amazed if you saw some of these people and didnt read their words in print. Somehow they would not come off so sharp. Trust me!

Also do you think our authors would be able to spot "managerial talent" over a few aspiring proprietory traders? No they hire guys who have previously filed bankruptcy in their past and pipe up their accomplishments, which are a joke when you realized they bailed on creditors!!

Save yourself a dime and avoid it-if someone gives it to you, and you can't return it, use to start the BBQ grill. I could go on and on about SEC/NASD violation, getting short on a downtick, etc but I wont!

Obsolete
This book completely fails to realistically convey the relative risks and profit potential for the average wannabe day trader. Im talking about someone with less than a few thousand to play the market. Unless you have big bucks and Level II quotes forget day trading unless you are very lucky. In the trading parlance, I wish I had a short position on this book at its current price, and could cover my short at the current used price! Save your money.

good
good book , nice condition ... Read more

Amazon.com

If the tech-stock swoon merely whets your appetite for this roller coaster of a market sector, and your eyes don't glaze over at the very sight of formulas like "Return on Capital = EBIT (1 - t) / Capital Invested," then The Dark Side of Valuation is the investment guide you've been waiting for. Whether considering New Economy firms at their peak or their valley, writes Aswath Damodaran, the problem has always been determining their true value with equitable dispassion. A leading expert on the topic, Damodaran begins by noting that standard corporate valuations are determined by four factors: cash flow from existing investments, growth expected from this cash flow, length of time this growth is sustained, and cost of capital to sustain it. In what he admits is not always an easy read, Damodaran then details various ways to adapt conventional valuation methods for companies that lack key traditional variables (such as profits, track records, and even competitors with which they can be compared) in order to arrive at realistic valuations. Those not scared off by charts comparing the historical risk for T-bills and T-bonds since 1928 will find this book worth a look. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (5)

'Investment Valuation' with new title and cover
The Pros:

Damodaran is a gifted teacher and in his books is able as well to explain the concepts and techniques of valuation in an understandable manner. The book serves mainly for readers who want to get a comprehensible (and to a certain degree comprehensive) overview of the topics with selected in-depth discussions and it is quite 'readable'.

The Cons:

The book is not new at all, as about 90% is a copy of his earlier book 'Investment Valuation'. The only real difference is the selection of the examples used and the financial and market data are more current compared to his other book from 1994. It seems that the marketing department of the publisher saw an opportunity to sell a 'new' book to the new class of technology investors. However, the occasional comments of which valuation topics are specific to technology companies could be summarized on a couple of pages.
The book is good for giving a comprehensible overview but does not go very much into depth.
Effectively, it's the earlier book 'Investment Valuation' recycled with a new title and new cover, still a good book but not new at all.

The best valuation book I have read!!!
Do you need to understand the basic fundamentals of valuation? Then this is the book you need. This book will take you through step by step on how to value a company and the assumptions you need to make. By far, this book is much easier to read and understand than the book "Valuation," written by couple of Mckinsey consultants.

The best book so far on valuation from the investor's view
Although much of the organization and explanation of valuation techniques presented here repeats the presentation in Damodaran's previous books, he does two things which make this the better book than the previous books: 1) he discusses the role of "tech" companies in our economy and he selects 5 specific companies which serve as his examples in every chapter and 2) he makes reference to excel spreadsheets (available for free download on his web page) which he has prepared to allow readers to apply what they are learning immediately and with a minimum of set-up time. As tech companies play a larger and larger part in our economy, the specific quirks and issues related to the operation of tech businesses and the impact of those industry-specific issues on the valuation process become more important for us. One might argue that all companies, whether they are wine makers or processor makers, face industry-specific valuation issues which do not affect companies in other industries, and in light of that, many issues discussed here might not be relevant to the wine makers. But tech is so important to us now that we can no longer afford to use generic, non-tech specific techniques in the face of an increasingly tech-heavy stock market.

As for the reviewer who compained that Damodaran doesn't do enough work in real option theory: Damodaran says in this book exactly what needs to be said about real option theory: that it has very limited applications (which is not to say that it is not revolutionary within those limited applications) and that the push to broaden the use of real option valuation beyond its traditional applications can more often than not constitute misuse and abuse of the models. Not every investment contains options, and not all of those options have value, to paraphrase Damodaran himself. Damodaran doesn't ignore real options, of course: he calls them contingency claims (as they technically should be called) and dedicates a chapter to explaining there use and abuse. Using real options, when it comes down to it, involves building and solving partial differential equations based on stochastic processes. As any actuary or financial analyst could confirm, teaching stochastic processes presupposes a very strong math base and still would require an entire book. Damodaran did the right thing by limiting himself to a single, illustrative chapter.

The best part of this book is that thanks to Damodaran's congenial and accessible ability to write, this book can be read and prove valuable to people with a variety of needs. As an MBA student this book has been invaluable. But I even gave this book as a gift to my brother, a decidedly non-financial person, to replace his countless "How to Invest" books sitting on his bookshelf.

Strong on the valuation of old tech companies
Excellent introduction to discounted cash flow approach to valuation. Excellent examples. But very weak on real options valuation. After recognizing that real options are mostly american, the author values them like european anyway resulting in systematic undervaluation of real options. This is a shame since much of the value of new companies come from real options. If you are already familiar with DCF valuation, then you might prefer Copeland's 'Real Options' to bring yourself up to date with the latest developments in the practice of valuation.

One of the best how-to guide on valuation
This is one of the most complete books on valuation in the market. The others are Valuation from Copeland and Damodaran on Valuation.

It contains concepts and technicalities, such as CFROI, PEG or how to include management options in valuation, not found in other books -though I rather that he expanded more on this-.

The only drawbacks I find in Damodaran books are the limited attention to real-world balance sheet problems one may face (ie: effects of Minority Interests in valuation) and the no-mention policy for valuing banks. In this category, Copeland's Valuation book is better. Of course, this particular book is only meant to value tech firms !!!

If you want a really in-depth valuation book, just buy it. ... Read more

Book Description

In Using Technical Analysis author Clifford Pistolese shows average investors how they too can reap the benefits of technical analysis. Well-organized and easy-to-understand, this book explains a variety of approaches to analyzing and interpreting stock market charts. This edition includes chapters on moving averages and accumulation/distribution analysis.

Topics include:

• Basic and complex chart patterns
• Analyzing trading volume
• Identifying long-term trends
• Market timing tactics
• Self-teaching exercises

Glossary of terms

Reviews (4)

You don't see the real stock market here!
When I started reading the book I really liked it because there are many chart patterns and not many boring texts. Especially like the chapter that gives you various charts asking you whether you should buy or sell or hold, you can then check answers at the end of the book. As I read it through, though, I became very disappointed that there is NOT A SINGLE REAL LIFE STOCK CHART! All the charts are made up by the author on graphing paper with extremely typical patterns for the purpose of teaching. How can the reader learn to recognize the patterns in the real stock market, where the price changes are seldom so regular or typical??!! If someone has never seen a real life stock chart he will be lost in the real world of stock investing. Even one real chart will tell a lot more to the reader than an fabricated chart. Is that because the author didn't want to take the time and work to find the real charts to illustrate the patterns? It's easy to draw the graphs and make them look like a head and shoulder, triangle, etc.

Simple, Concise, Powerful Read
If you have never read a technical analysis book then I highly recommend this above everything else. For startes it's barely over 200 pages short, with more than half those pages dedicated to charts. Simply put you only read about 100 pages.

The beauty is those 100 pages are powerful and geared perfectly for the beginner. After reading this book I was bitting at the bit to apply my new knowledge, and no longer regard picking stocks as a crap-shoot.

You CAN educate yourself to financial freedom, and this book will help you do that.

A Practical Book Written By An Investor
This is a practical book about Technical Analysis written by an investor with over 30 years of experience who has "been there and done it". The book has a section with exercises. If I had a complaint, it would be that the patterns shown in the example charts are too clear; things are not that crystal clear in real life. Anyone who reads this book should also read "Trading The Plan" by Robert Deel. Both are very practical.

Basics for the Beginning Technician-It's All Here
I really like this book as it covers the basics and has examples where you have to use what you've learned to do the exercises. The reading is pretty dry but I still refer back to the book often when I'm trying to remember what a "double bottom" means or what an "ascending triangle" helps you predict. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Solid Foundation - Not Too Dry
If you've read any number of books on investing, you know they can be tedious.But this book is relatively crisp and to the point.When the details of a subject are beyond the scope of a 200 page read, the book says so.If you are doing anything related to bond investing (even programming!) you should get started with this book.

Very Helpful
As a person studying for the Series 7 examination, this document was extremely helpful in understanding the test preparation material.Other people may say there are errors in the document, well, if that is true, then the test-prep books, and the test itself is wrong.

This is a good book people.It can tell you lots of things.Its only downside is that it needs more numerical examples and more mathematical examples to show the concepts behind yield to mature data.

Good starting point for research on this topic
I found this book to be very helpful in understaning this topic. I would recommend it to people new to the industry as a good starting point to learn about the bond market.

Disappointing and of Questionable Reliability
I found the book disappointing and I question its reliability.

The following quote is taken directly from page 58 of "Howthe Bond Market Works", by Robert Zipf:

"However, the Tennessee Valley Authorityfrequently borrows money from the public.Its securities are notguaranteed by the United States Government, and are not generally exemptfrom state income taxes.

The following quote is taken directly fromthe "Tax Matters" section of bond offering circulars issued by theTennessee Valley Authority.

"A U.S. beneficial owner is subject tofederal income taxation on income on a Bond. The Act, however, providesthat bonds issued by TVA are exempt both as to principal and interest fromall taxation now or hereafter imposed by any state or local taxingauthority except estate, inheritance and gift taxes."

(If you care tocheck it out for yourself, Tennessee Valley Authority offering circularsdating back to 1989 are available online, in PDF format,at the TVA website.) ... Read more

Book Description

The #1 New York Times bestselling authors of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series deliver a financial plan to help Baby Boomers survive an impending economic crash. Anyone with a 401K knows that investing in mutual funds is not safe, or so claim Kiyosaki and Lechter. Even worse, they warn that a devastating economic crash is imminent because Baby Boomers will soon be required by law to drain trillions of dollars stashed in 401Ks, IRAs, SEPs, and other mutual-fund savings accounts as they start to retire. In short, the country's financial system won't withstand the drain, and relying on a 401K and Social Security will mean financial disaster. Here, Kiyosaki and Lechter provide a financial roadmap for readers to prosper during these troubled times. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

Prophecy: Timely and Scary for Majority of Baby Boomers
I did not expect to get much out of this book. I expected the usual litany of admonitions and suggestions available in hundreds of articles and basic books on finance for the masses. Despite that low expectation, the first chapter had me hooked.

With an aging population, turmoil in the stock markets, and lack of knowledge about how much money is needed for retirement, author Robert Kiyosaki gives specifics to support his theory about predictable problems facing those who hope to retire.

The book won't appeal to people who are satisfied with their current job and have no plans to change in the future. But for those who care about government policy and how these policies and demographics are impacting our society, the book is eye-opening as well as easy-to read.

The "rich dad, poor dad" vehicle gets old but is stiff an effective and sometimes entertaining vehicle for conveying information.

Definitely a must read.
Rich Dad's Prophecy is most certaintly a must read book for anyone who has money invested, especially in 401 (k) plans.

While some of the information in RDP is similiar to Kiyosaki's earlier books, the pension, retirement and 401 (k) is fresh, startling and hopefully alarming to anyone who plans on investing their money between now and 2016.

2016 is the year when the bulk of the baby boomers will be forced to liquidate their retirement funds. When this happens, a major stock market crash is expected (no kidding!) that surpass the bear market from 2000 to 2002.

Another problem is what kind of money will current savers have in their 401 (k)s? For example, before going into self employment, I worked in a local office for one of the top 6 banks in the USA and had been putting all I could into my 401 (k) savings plan. Despite this being one of the "Big 6" Banks, matching by the bank was about average (and any matching reflected in reduced wages), options to invest in were patheticly weak and the bank would match us only with shares of Bank One stock.

After reading RDP and going into self employment, I rolled my 401 (k) into a self directed IRA with a brokerage firm. I now choose my investments between stocks, mutual funds and bonds or even Tax Liens, Discounted Mortgages and Real Estate. I'm in control, not my employer.

The only real benefit of a 401 (k) is the borrowing provision which unfortunately too many so called fiancial experts discourage.

And after the Enron issue, who wants to have that much money in company stock?

Kiyosaki is alerting people and none too soon. I am certain that all of the one star reviews are from brokers, financial planners and benefits directors from companies that hope that you blindly follow their advice even it means not having anything for retirement.

I cannot emphasize the importance of reading RDP and more importantly, following the advice.

To repeat, Rich Dad's Prophecy is definitely A MUST READ!

A Bold Contrarian View
It takes guts to write a prophecy, and it takes particular guts to write this prophecy. It is a refreshing, and probably correct, "contrary" opinion to the endless optimism that you get from Wall Street. For this reason alone, the book deserves five stars. (It is also better written than some of the earlier works, probably the result of practice.)

Early in the book Kiyosaki starts by pinpointing the central problem of retirement income--that ERISA, the so-called Employees' Retirement Income and Security Act, had actually undermined the security of workers' retirement incomes by replacing so-called defined benefit plans, underwritten at fixed levels by companies, with defined contribution plans, under which workers were individually responsible for investing their own contributions. Baby Boomers bought this snake oil because of their desire for individual, rather than collective, security. The results, and wreckage, can be seen at places like Enron. But the marketers of the new plans certainly knew what they were doing.

The underlying problem is that the Baby Boomers were the last American generation to be more numerous than their parents. Every succeeding generation has been of comparable, or even smaller, size because the Baby Boomers' fertility only approximated replacement rates. Thus, there is a flat, rather than broadening, pyramid as age groups get younger. This historic demographic shift called for far-sighted savings and investment plans designed years ahead of Baby Boomers' retirements. (Japan has a much higher savings rate than the US and is now staring this issue in the face.) Because Baby Boomers have put off retirement planning too long (as they have earlier in life with other issues), they are facing a massive financial crunch. The result, as Kiyosaki points out, will be a stock market crash that's almost a foregone conclusion: It's more a question of when rather than whether. The fact that this prophecy originated with "Rich Dad" doesn't make Kiyosaki less of a prophet. After all, God gave Moses the ten commandments.

My main quibble, and it's really a difference of opinion, is with the 2016 target date. In my new book, "A Modern Approach to Graham and Dodd Investing," I outline a target date closer to 2006 (along with some proposed solutions). That's when early Baby Boomers turn 60,and can start tapping their IRAs without penalty. (And they've never been ones to postpone gratification.) It's possible that my target date is too early, and that Kiyosaki's is too late, with the truth somewhere in between. But he and I agree on major concepts, while differing in detail.

A poorly written book based on a bad assumption...
Basically, RK uses this installement in the Rich Dad/Poor Dad series to claim that the stock market is due a big fall when, by federal law, Baby boomers start to withdraw equity from their tax deferred retirement vehicles at age 70.

This means that RK is predicting not only stock market performance over a decade in the future, he's also predicting tax law over a decade in the future.

The chances that the tax code governing 401k's will weather the years unscathed are miniscule. And it's a good thing too. RK's "ark" of choice - real estate - would also plummet in value during a massive depression where paying tenents would be scarce.

Going into a depression saddled with large real estate debt is a surefire way to be living under an overpass in a cardboard box for your retirment.

RK's got a point -- the market will be hurt when Baby Boomers liquidate their assets to live off of in retirement. But its doubtful that the government will force this selloff when the boomers get here. This shouldn't stop a wise investor from making long-term stock purchases or using more creative vehicles to make money.

I like that RK is so enthusiastic and assertive about getting your financial life in order and making a change in the way that you make money. Investments are great and people should build up some investments for their futures. But this book is founded on such shakey soil that it's difficult to stomach. Pick up some of his others (Rich Dad/Poor Dad or the Cashflow Quadrant) if you need a pick-me-up.

Promising more than delivering
The premise of this book is tantilizing: 1) The stock market will crash, and 2) here are some investment ideas to survive and prosper when the crash comes.

The author presumes that when retiring baby boomers begin to withdraw their 401(k) and mutual fund assets there will be more "sellers" of shares than "buyers" - thus the market will fall. This is a two-dimensional vision of the marketplace, yet plausible.

Regarding investment ideas for the reader: other than recommending the purchase of "income producing" real estate the second half of this book is hollow, and used by the author as little more than a platform for promoting his cash-flow board game and additional books he has written.

I don't feel that the day I spent reading this book was wasted, however, I'm not going to recommend it to any of my "thoughtful" friends. ... Read more

Amazon.com

At one time or another, everyone is a newcomer to the world of personal investing. Teach Yourself Investing Online, by financial journalists Thomas S. Gray and Claire Mencke, is an easy-to-follow primer for those now ready to boot up their speculative bags of tricks in cyberspace. Covering both basic Web skills and hints for employing them at popular financial sites, it presents the fundamentals of organizing, researching, planning, and trading in a way that even absolute beginners can readily grasp and immediately initiate. The approach here is to present highly visual two-page spreads devoted to "Finding the Investment Style That Fits," "Opening an Online Account," "Calling Up Company Reports," "Tracking Upgrades and Downgrades," and dozens of similar topics. Each includes elementary instruction with pointers to one or more Web sites that perform the function or explain it in greater depth, a series of screen shots from those sites illustrating this narrative, and a sidebar with related information. Anyone at least moderately familiar with investment practices and principles may discover little new here, but those looking to get started will find plenty of helpful direction and advice. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Investing Online by Gray and Menche review by Ellen Hochman
Excellent and interesting, not stuffy at all. Easy to follow with practice lessons at the end of every chapter. Good essential information for the beginner investor, not just for online traders. Covers the "how-to's" of analyzing stocks and mutual funds to add to your portfolio put in easy to understand and fun terms. By: Ellen Hochman

Very detailed book on all aspects of online investing
This is a very detailed book which covers all aspects on online investing. Most people can skip chapter 1 which shows basic Internet browsing and navigation. The rest of the book shows web pages you can look at. I like this book because the authors highlight and explain the different parts of each of the web pages. At 400 pages, this book is short enough so that you won't get bored and long enough that the author just don't explain a concept in a sentence or a paragraph. The authors give enough detail so that you can understand and profit.

Pleased Reader
"Teach Yourself Investing Online", by Thomas S. Gray and Claire Mencke, is the ideal book for online investors, both novices and old-timers. The information is easy to understand, easy to read, and very interactive. There are sites to visit, quizzes and worksheets to fill out, and pages and pages of screenshots and sidebars and intriguing reading. This book can be used for quick reference or for straight-forward research. Very up-to-date and needed in this fast-paced Internet world, with online catalogs and stock trading sites, this book is your manual to succeed in this day in age. The book covers such subjects as stock quotes to saving for your child's college fund to shopping online. I was clueless and, frankly, frightened of the stock market and Internet investments before I peeked at these pages -- now I'm hooked, making extra money, and learning how to budget my finances. This book is for young and old investors alike, and it's easy to follow, with clear language and straight-forward visuals. It was obvious to me that these authors know what they're talking about. A must! If you think you could never make it in this busy online investing economy, you need this book! If you think you know all there is to know, you need this book! Finally, I read something I needed so much! ... Read more

Book Description

Proven strategies for finding-and profiting from-imminent bull markets in every corner of the globe

Right now, somewhere on earth, a bull market in a little-publicized region is providing savvy investors with double- and triple-digit returns. Investors who limit themselves to U.S.-based stocks and bonds are missing out on that opportunity. Global investing authority Dan Denning and his worldwide clients know where those bull markets are and, more important, know how to identify regions poised to enter bull market phases.

In The Bull Hunter, Denning reveals how to unearth opportunities destined to provide ground-floor investors with safe, outsized profit opportunities in countries, industries, and sectors that are at the beginning of huge bull markets. Denning, whose financial publications routinely reach more than one million investors around the globe, has spent decades drawing on his unmatched network of contacts to determine the telltale signs of a market that's about to pop, the warning signals of a market that is still years from becoming a top prospect, and what investors can do to find and profit from the former while understanding and avoiding the latter. The Bull Hunter will provide investors with the knowledge and confidence to uncover pending bull markets, and turn today's often threatening economic climate into personal investment success. ... Read more

Book Description

Facing a volatile stock market, many people have turned to real estate as a way to invest their hard-earned money.While many investors opt to buy property and then sell it quickly, other investors choose to hold onto their property for a longer period of time to realize a greater return on their investment.Real estate experts Scott Frank and Andy Heller have developed a proven and diversified program for real estate investing that incorporates both approaches and enables investors to take control of their financial futures and build wealth over time.

Their new book, Buy Low, Rent Smart, Sell High: Real Estate Investing for the Long Run outlines a win-win-win program, one where average people can reap significant financial rewards by investing in real estate.

* Win One:Buying Low - The investors firstwin occurs by purchasing real estate at a 10-20percent discount by seeking out motivated buyers and avoiding paying agent commissions.The book reveals the secret to buying foreclosed homes with clean titles from banks and mortgage companies.

* Win Two:Renting Smart - The property is rented through a lease/purchase agreement.Not onlydoes the investor get a down payment from thelease/purchasee, but he or she also receives monthly rent that usually exceeds the monthly mortgage payment.Also, the lease/purchasee takes on the maintenance and repair responsibilities and tends to be a better tenant in return for their special lease/purchase terms.In addition, as the owner of the property, the investor is able to receive taxwrite-offs.

* Win Three: Selling High - The final win results when the lease/purchasee exercises his or her right to purchase the property.The owner hasrealized the benefits of owning the property and has sold it to the lease/purchasee without agent commissions.If the lease/purchasee decides not toexercise his or right, the investor still wins because he or she can either extend the lease purchase agreement and increase the purchase price(based on property appreciation) or enter into another lease/purchase agreement with a new tenant and begin the cycle of wins all over. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The most useful book and guide on this topic!
Kudos to Heller and Frank for a practical guide to profitable and socially responsible real estate investing! As a novice real estate investor, I found Heller and Frank's book the most useful of all guides I have read on the subject. In addition to providing a practical step-by-step program for maximizing profits, their method also makes it possible for people who have in the past been unable to buy homes do so. The tools provided through the book (sample contracts, residential rental agreement, option to purchase agreement, and more) were also very helpful...I'd highly recommend this book to anyone thinking about investing or to those investors who are seeking to maximize their profits.

excellent strategy
As a person contemplating real estate investing, this book offers an excellent opportunity to invest wisely and help others in the community. The book is clear, concise, and easy to follow. "Buy low, Rent smart, Sell high" allows families to have a piece of the American Dream. This plan provides a unique opportunity for the investor to not only make a profit, but to feel good about what they're doing. I highly recommend this book to anyone thinking about real estate investing.

Great book for mid/long term Real Estate investors
This is a handbook for Real Estate investors. Lots of useful tips and examples and an honest and fair way of doing business.
I found very useful the real life cases and the examples of contracts, letters, and way of working with the lease/purchase model.

Decent, but has the typical flaw...
in books of this type. These guys supposedly based their business around REO properties. Usually buying from the bank after the foreclosure process for 25% less than market value. They must live in an area with absolutely NO competition. Where I live everybody and their dog is after these types of properties, thus it is impossible to buy these houses for this type of discount. If you can get one it will be a DOG and you had better be ready to pour some money in it to get it sellable.

Another beef is with their numbers. They assume at one point purchasing a house with a mortgage for $67500 say that your PITI(principal, interest, taxes and insurance) will be $500. They then say you can rent this type of house for $1000. Not in my neck of the woods. Be sure to check your local numbers for insurance and taxes and rental rates.

That said, I do like their Rent-to-Own sales plan and the premise that someone renting-to own will take better care of the property than a transient renter would. I also like their breakdown of the six profits centers they look for in each property.

If you are looking for a way to get started in real estate I recommend their plan once you have purchased the property, I just wouldnt limit yourself to just trying to fight for REO houses. There are many opportunities for buying houses for less than market price, just do your homework and don't limit yourself.

Very Good, but I'm no Expert.
This book was very easy to read, and very clear. It offers a clear plan how to sell medium income family homes on contract and make a nice profit. I find the ideas very exciting because I would rather the renter take more responsibility for the home, and when they are working to actually OWN the house, thats exactly what they do. One note, you need to get the homes at %20 below appraised value, which basicly means getting foreclosed homes, but it does tell you how to do this. I only have one rental house, but I believe I'm going to use this book to sell it on contract to my renters. ... Read more

Book Description

Every trader will appreciate this reliable, realistic, and systematic approach to trading financial and commodity markets. In a step-by-step manner, the author applies a rigorous mathematical discipline to finanical speculation and explain how to analyze markets, forecast price movements, develop trading strategies, and manage trading capital. Kase also unveils several highly sophisticated indicators that are far more precise than conventional technical indicators. Unlike most books on trading, Trading with the Odds contains complete coverage of money management, including the author's own ``Kase Dev-Stop,'' a highly calibrated money management tool. Trading with the Odds also includes: Uses and abuses of conventional technical analysis; New technical indicators for analyzing markets and entering trades. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A Serious Professional - Excellent Work!
For any trader looking for real concrete answers and positive direction in technical analysis, this is the book to read! Ms. Kase is able to break down the main elements of the markets into easy to understand terms and logically explains how and why her approach and methods work.

Her impressive successful background and experience cannot be disputed; this shows in her work. There are many weak "black box" systems for sale out there - this is not one of them. The Kase indicators and methods to trading in the markets are not limited to specific periods in time, nor are they limited to specific markets; this is the fundamental basis for their solidity and amazing accuracy.

Her "Dev-Stop" and "PeakOscillator" are excellent tools! I highly recommend this book and the fine work of Ms. Kase to any trader serious about trading using technical indicators.

Statistics approach to the markets - Excellent
I ordered this book and then devoured it twice. I disagree with other inputs that the book does not provide details for the indicators. Ms. Kase is extremely open in disclosing the math and logic behind her technical indicators and her overall approach to the markets via statistics. With little study, one can easily derive her mathematical approach. The chapter explaining standard deviations was worth the price of the book alone. Having taken a post-graduate level statistics class, I found her explanation of standard deviations and statistics to be the best I've ever read to explain the math. You do not need to be a math whiz to understand her approach because of the easy-to-understand explanations. If you trade using standard deviations, this is a "must-read" book.

Good ideas, average book
I like this book because it uses some similar methods that I already incorporate into my trade. Using Elliot Wave to form a possible pattern in the near future and create a bias , and then using an indicator as a filter for an allowance of trade ("permission"). Kase develops a number of oscillators, stop variation and so forth that are custom to her and requires you to buy it from her webpage . That part is a bit annoying, especially when I doubt the indicators are any less useless than all the others out there. Nevertheless, this is a decent effort by a profitable trader and that alone is reason to take a look at it.

Deception Abounds!!
Kase is a very smart woman, unfortunately she has hooked into the hype and "guru" mentality that is the financial community for futures. ...it is a mere proxy for getting you to buy her software. Save your money!!

I agree, listing systems in the back portion of the book showing spectacular profits that are based on trading unrealistic quantities(250) is purely eye candy. I wonder if she pulled some of this some stuff in her "distinguished education" classes.

I was deceived. It's just an advertising folder.
This book by Cynthia Kase is intended to provide you with "the power of statistics to profit in the futures market". To acomplish this, she proposes the "kase permission stochastic" in chapter 4, the "kase peakoscillator", "peakout line" and "kaseCD" in chapter 5, and the "dev-stops" in chapter 6. But the unbelievable is that she hides all the mathematics required to calculate those indicators. Very disappointing. I was deceived. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Must reading for anyone thinking about taking the plunge into online day trading

If you’re looking for an honest and authoritative assessment of different trading strategies, risk control techniques, and trading technology, you’ve come to the right place.

"Etzkorn has assembled a cutting-edge blueprint for those looking to move into online trading. Covering everything from trading basics like Level II screens to more advanced technical analysis, What Works in Online Trading provides all the tools to excel."—Henry O. (Hank) Pruden, Ph.D. Professor and Exec. Director, Institute for Technical Market Analysis at Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California

"With a career spanning nearly 15 years in the markets, both as a trader and writer, Mark Etzkorn, now Editor in Chief of Active Trader magazine, has gained the experience and the contacts to provide you with a well-balanced education on trading. Take advantage of the insight presented in this book."—Thom Hartle Editor, eCharts.com (www.echarts.com), and Vice President, Wizard on Wallstreet, Inc. (www.thewow.com) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Decent book
This is not your ordinary trading book, but one that teaches some real "usable" techniques. The book is broken up into chapters written by different people, so the tone of voice will change frequently. The prize of this book is the Seleznov breakout method, which anyone can use to trade profitably for life. That alone is worth thousands of times the price of this book. I'd recommend this for any serious amateur/semi-pro level short term trader who may be lacking a consistent trading system.

Strategies you can use
I have read many "trading" books, and find this one a pleasant suprise. Section Two includes a good source of trading strategies that work, each one written by people who actually trade. Strategies covered include 1) pure price action by Gary Smith, 2) breakouts by Mark Seleznov, 3) seasonals by Steve Moore, et.al., 4) patterns by Mark Etzkorn, 4) springs and upthrusts by Hank Pruden, 5) Bow Tie patterns by Dave Landry, and a few others.

The strategies include a good summary of setups, entries, stops, and exits. These summaries are general enought that you can program them in most any backtest software you use, not just Tradestation or C++. I use them to backtest with TC2000 and TC Companion.

The book also has very good information on risk mangement, the mechanics of trading and the mindset of different trading styles.

The great thing about this book, is that it is a well integrated compilation of tools and techniques from a variety of well known and/or highly successful traders. The editor did a wonderful job of taking this diverse group and integrating the book into a very logical and usable flow.

While it may be too much for the pure beginner, this book will be most appreciated by the intermediate to advanced trader.

Eclectic, but useful
This is an eclectic book. It doesn't focus on a major theme and is a collection of different people's views plus the author's.

I would not recommend this book for beginners who want to learn the basics because I don't feel the foundation is thorough.

It is a good book for those who want to see how others trade, their diverse techniques, and their opinions on trading. Also of value are the risk management techniques.

A more appropriate title would be: Different techniques by various traders and other trading tips.

Good Book - Like it
This is a good book that tells it like it is. It made me stop and think before I risked my money in the stock market. It was written by a group of writers who seem to know their stuff. It talks about a subject which many day trading books do not! It is risk mgmt. If you wanted to learn about NASDAQ, this is a good book. If you wanted to learn about the NYSE, I would read another one. The thing though is the diveresity in topics covered in this book. I do recommend it to begginers and intermediate traders. Beware that after reading this book, you may end up postponing your plans to trade in a rush. ... Read more

Book Description

For Making Sense of Investing Today...the Fully Revised and Expanded Edition of the Bestselling The Motley Fool Investment Guide

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