Reviews (2)

INVESTING WITHOUT FEAR - OPTIONS
THIS BOOK IS AN EASY READ, WRITTEN BY AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR THAT KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. I NO LONGER HAVE FEAR TRADING STOCKS AS I ALWAYS HAVE OTHER INVESTORS MONEY TO HEDGE MY POSITIONS. THE CHAPTER ON MARGIN IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK. YOU CAN GET IT ON AMAZON.COM. THE BOOK HAS BEEN UPDATED IN APRIL 2003.

INVESTING WITHOUT FEAR - OPTIONS
THIS EASY TO READ BOOK IS WRITTEN BY A SEC REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR. THE BEST PART IS THAT IT TEACHES THAT WHEN YOU INVEST YOU DO NOT WISH, HOPE OR PRAY. THESE DO NOT WORK AT ALL.
YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE PRICE OF A STOCK DOES NOT MATTER AS THE PRICE WILL ALWAYS VARY.

THE CHAPTER ON TAXS IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK.

DR ALEXANDER ELDER AUTHOR OF COME INTO MY TRADING ROOM HAS SAID, "THIS IS A GEM OF A BOOK FOR SERIOUS OPTION WRITERS. MOST OPTION BOOKS DEAL WITH BUYING OPTIONS BECAUSE MOST BOOKS ARE WRITTEN FOR GAMBLERS."
OUR CLUB HAS MADE BIG MONEY IN THE MARKET DCOWNTURN AND WITH TAX-ADVANTAGED INVESTING. MEMBERS OF THE CONTRARIAN INVETMENT CLUB, DENVER COLORADO. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Very shallow
First part explains option trading platforms and order routing, and is very confusing. The interviews with option traders in the second part mostly concentrate on differences between electronic trading and trading on the floor. The rest of the book is a very basic description of what options are and what technical analysis is. That's it. Nothing in the book can be used for option trading.

Just an overview
This book tries to be too many things at once and so it fails to give you enough detail on anything specific. Part one covers options markets, order types, options strategies and even a bit of the history of the evolution of the options trading field. Part two is interviews. Part three is basic technical analysis concepts. Part four deals with the psycological aspects of trading. All of this rather briefly. On any of the above you need much greater detail if you are serious about options trading. Use this book as an introduction only.

Informative Options Book
This is a very informative book about trading options electronically. The emphasis is on thoroughly discussing different trading platforms and techniques to be used to trade on them profitably. Howard is very strong on explaining different trading methods. I like all his books.

This is not a good book for options.
People who want to learn about trading options using a computer will do well not to buy this book.In part one this book glosses over options essentials with some of the strategies like straddles explained in just 4 lines.Part Two is filled with one on one interviews with traders which is ok if you are the type who invests after watching interviews on CNBC.Parts Three and four gives a very brief summary of some of the technical analysis methods out there and mentions a few trading psychology theories.It tells you about trendlines but leaves you befuddled about how to apply it.I ended up not learning anything about options but a little about history.I suggest Trade options online by George Fontanills that is an excellent book that is well written and actually gives you websites which is a foreign concept in Mr Abell's book.

I really enjoyed this book
It's very important the develpement of trading on line and day traders, too. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Finally an option book to be proud of
Mr. Walker is clear and concise in his depiction of how the options markets work. He details various strategies and makes options investing understandable to those new to it.

In my 11 years as a futures investor, broker, and author, I have never seen someone with as much grasp of options investing as Mr.Walker and have the capability to explain it.

An excellent Book
Comprehensive, simple, full of examples - worth the money.

Anyone Can Understand !
Yes, As a beginner I can confidently say I know what option is, it's uses and the risk involve. The Author did not only explain the principle but gave practicable example everyone can relate to. All in simple and plain English, you don't need to have been to a school of economy to know what an option is. With the help of this book, I can't look stupid when others uses terminologies relating to option. Keep up the good work Joseph.

understandable explanation of why you care about options.
If i had to pick a book that explained the most about options to the layman in the clearest language in the fewest pages, this would be it.

a must read for anybody who wants to understand how to use options

Good introductory book with plenty of examples.
Good introductory book with plenty of examples. Good layout too. Many different options trading techniques are discussed, each with an indication of how risky it is. It even suggests leaving some of the more advanced techniques to the professionals, or more experienced traders - good advice. ... Read more

Book Description

Chicago's hottest traders reveal their Midas-touch secrets. In Trading Chicago Style, futures trading stars explain how they reached the pinnacle of Chicago's rough-and-tumble, lightning-fast commodities markets. Packed with winning tips, strategies, and methods, this book delivers closely guarded advice and genuine secrets that were - until now - not available anywhere else. Each chapter features trading techniques of one of today's market wizards, along with computer techniques and off-floor methods. Traders from every major chicago exchange - Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board of Exchange, and Chicago Stock Exchange - are included.

Aggressive traders will love its easy-reading style and its immediately useful techniques. Traders looking for that extra trading edge will find it in Trading Chicago Style.

Chicago's hottest traders reveal their Midas-touch secrets. In Trading Chicago Style, futures trading stars explain how they reached the pinnacle of Chicago's rough-and-tumble, lightning-fast commodities markets. Packed with winning tips, strategies, and methods, this book delivers closely guarded advice and genuine secrets that were - until now - not available anywhere else.

Each chapter features trading techniques of one of today's market wizards, along with computer techniques and off-floor methods. Traders from every major chicago exchange - Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board of Exchange, and Chicago Stock Exchange - are included. Aggressive traders will love its easy-reading style and its immediately useful techniques. Traders looking for that extra trading edge will find it in Trading Chicago Style. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Real Mark Brown
Neal Weintraub is a good friend of mine and I am mentioned in some of his books.I have always found him to be a honest and trustworthy promoter of the futures industry.I see others are writing very negative reviews about Neal's books using my name and location in the US.I am a very vocal critic of scams in the business and it is very unfortunate that Amazon does not better police their web site to assure potential book buyers of the real identity of who is making comments.www.markbrown.com Mark Brown

Negative contribution to industry
I have jousted and admonnished the author for years regarding his poetic license to fabricate useless methods on trading beginning with the programmer's forum. He professed nothing but non-sense back then and he has not deviated from this fruitless journey. This book should NOT be read even if free. A total waste of time. It is an attmept to capitalize on a great book, Jack Schwager's Market Wizard's. An appropriate title for this book is "trading Loser's Style".

Total waste of print and time
It's amazing what this guy attempts to pass off as value. First of all he represents he is a trader of reknown. This is total rubbish. Being from Chicago myself I knwo that this guy is a total charlatan and he never made a dime trading. He was a part time trader on the 'baby' mid america exchange. It is equivalent to playing the penny slot machines. The interviews he conducts are made with traders who are of higher stature than the writer--I use that term lightly--but that is like calling a midget a giant since everything is relative. I would like to write that I axquired one morsel of information from this book but all I got was worthless words. I cannot recommend any less this book. Instead of even reading it, I recommend you pound your head against the wall since that would be more gratifying.

Nice insight from real traders
Wow! this book has some bad reviews. I am really surprised, perhaps some of the reviewers really expected to be handed a real trading system for 29.95. The book jacket definitely over-promises based on what is inside, but there is still tremendous value in here. If you look past the blatant attempts by some of the interviewees to market their services and take the nuggets where you find them then you will have not wasted your time.

I know several of the traders interviewed in the book. They have reputations that span the spectrum. But the really outstanding interviews were of the traders that you don't find interviewed in other texts. The nameless Phantom, CV, the Committee and Mark Brown interviews come to mind. They are worth the price of the book. The pit stops are also useful, but in some cases are found in other texts

Absolutely worthless--has no application to real trading!!
I couldn't stop laughing as I read this book. Unfortunately, I know the author and his reputaion as a huckster and this comes out plain and clear in this book. I am a floor trader and I have made money trading. I believe the author was at best a mini trader on the Mid-America exhange which is like playing pop warner football versus the big Chicago Exhanges--Merc and CBT. Even at the Mid-America I was told he could not make money. I guess the adage if you can't trade then teach or write best applies--in this instance even the writing and the concepts are vacant!! Don't be fooled by the hype--steer clear of this book. It's totally fiction. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sold Short is the story of Manuel Asensio, a successful but controversial securities broker whose claim to fame is aggressive short selling--a widely disparaged (and sometimes wildly profitable) investment technique that realizes success only if stocks decline in value. Since the larger financial community is overwhelmingly comprised of long sellers who profit when prices rise, the shorts' contrarian position is always at odds and usually portrayed as an unscrupulous, backdoor attack on all things good and holy. Asensio sees it quite differently, of course, and with the help of Jack Barth, he reveals how a young boy who barely escaped Cuba before the revolution could come to be viewed as the devil incarnate by corporate honchos and Wall Street analysts whose professional paths he has crossed. After explaining how his firm uncovered some of their "grossly overvalued" companies, and what happened when he bet against them in the market, Asensio details the process so interested readers can theoretically profit from similar moves. Some of the material here is much too technical to interest casual investors, and Asensio's philosophy will still be scorned by those who don't abide it. Fellow shorts and those interested in all the machinations of the market, though, should find it an absorbing and informative read. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Average Investing book
I have no problem with the theory of short-selling although many investors do. I'm not a big believer that shorts squeeze companies nearly as much as long investors like to claim so I hoped to learn from the source.

Frankly, I'm disappointed for two reasons. First of all, Mr. Asensio doesn't really give good examples of selling short stock as an investment strategy EXCEPT as it relates to small overly promoted fraudulent stocks. I had hoped to learn financial analysis of when a stock should be shorted. Instead, this book focuses only on overly hyped companies run by stock promoters. Fair enough. But the positions in these smaller companies would be much harder to short. In addition, Mr. Asensio may have the time to study the small stocks and uncover these unethical stocks, but it's really not pertinent to the average investor and therefore had minimal value to me.

My second problem with the book is the grandioise self-serving nature of the narrative. Ok, the writer is from Cuba, works his way into the investing business but never feels like he's part of the "club". So he sticks it in their ear by being a short seller. But there is always an explanation about the bad things said about him. And in the last chapter, he attempts to explain away the securities violations he has been charged with and agreed to pay.

This book starts ok but quickly gets very boring and has nothing of value for a person trying to learn about short-selling. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have a specific interest in bogus stock promotions.

Open your eyes to the world of bad apples
This is an excellent book that you should know about the context of shorting and the risk you'll be exposed to when shorting a stock. I repect Mr. Asensio's attitude of doing continuous researches about the same companies that he believed would go down eventually, and keeping all these information public on the Internet that you can always read them for yourself after all these years. The books covers real cases of companies that he shorted and he made available to the public about the 'facts' he found. Granted the whole truth is not possibly disclosed fairly by all parties (short and long), the final results spoke for itself - many of the companies are already off the market. Mr. Asensio's thoughts on a couple technical companies that he recommended sold short hit many essential points from technical standpoints.

This is a book for you to get the background and environment you're dealing with in the stock market. After reading this book, you'll have more sense about getting away from longing bad apples and not hitting on potential hyped companies. The book is about stories of 'sold short', long can sure benefit from the book. Ethical or not doesn't matter, the important thing is that you can learn from the stories and make your long position more robust. All investors should have this books on the shelf and read at least a couple chapters.

Not What I Expected
My original hope when picking this book up from the library was to learn about shorting stocks. Unfortunately Manuel Asensio's book is written on a level where few people can even relate. Mr. Asensio speaks in a language that only very experienced stock shorters can even understand. Whereas some of Asensio's use of language is a bit colorful, he writes wildly about all these key names like his audience is completely familiar with unknown CEO's from unknown companies. Why not talk about some of the big time tech stocks that tanked in the early 2000's like Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, and the late Enron? I actually stopped reading this book midway because of the incessant name dropping.

There are a few pages where Ansensio talks about stock shorting basics and how he started in the business. Maybe if Ansensio related to a wider audience, this book would hae a good reputation. Like this he merely talks how he uncovers terrible fraud and should be viewed as a champion of justice. Mr. Ansensio, you need a big time reality check.

Sold Short by Manuel P. Asensio
On website AsensioExposed.com you'll find what every investor needs to know about short-seller Manuel Asensio. But will never hear from him.Great reading!

Nothing about how to short a stock !
The whole book is about how "he" shorted stocks. Nothing about technical or even fundamental analysis.

As the other reader commented earlier, he would short a stock and then go "bad mouth" or "share his insights" on the website or in public paper.

Gained nothing about reading this book. Save your money for other books ! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Comments: Solid Explanation of Black-Scholes
This book gives extremely clear explanations of Black-Scholes option pricing theory, and discusses direct applications of the theory to option trading. The explanations do not go far beyond basic Black-Scholes. There are three reasons for this: First, a novice need go far beyond Black-Scholes to make money in the options markets; Second, all high-level option pricing theory is simply an extension of Black-Scholes theory; and Third, there already exist many books that look far beyond Black-Scholes without first laying the firm foundation given here. This book may be used as a text or text supplement at the advanced undergrad or masters level. It can also be used as a supplement at the PhD level by students who need to better understand fundamental option pricing theory and options markets. The book can also be used by anyone who has a basic understanding of options and wants to trade them for the first time. The trading advice is meant for the novice, but may be useful to more experienced traders. The trading advice does not go far beyond elementary call and put positions because more complex trades are simply combinations of these. The book is a soft cover paperback, 296 pages long, and includes a password for a simple EXCEL spreadsheet that allows the user (with a view on a stock) to forecast option prices allowing for bid-ask spreads, commissions, and the volatility smile. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This is an important book
I trade equity options. I have read a lot of books about options. Basically, once you have read McMillan's book, none of the other option books have anything to add. Except this book.
This book shows some original thinking; it's not just the same old thing about bull spreads, etc. The book advocates more than just selling puts to get premium or to use as a method of buying stock at a discount. He explains how you can sell puts on solid companies and buy stock of other companies with the premium you brought in. He really got me thinking, and I have gone from his ideas to developing some of my own.
This book is well worth reading. Read it to get ideas on how to use puts for your own advantage. Learn something new.

Too Much Theory, Not Enough Real World!!
I picked this up ... at a book clearance sale, if you have to pay more pick another title. First of all the author says he sells puts (contracts agreeing to buy a stock or index at a set price until a specific date for which you receive a premium) to buy stocks in his investment account. There is not a single example in the book of a trade he executed this way. Instead he fills about 1/4 of the book with hypothetical computer runs assuming you had sold every LEAP contract over a multi year period. That is just a silly example for the individual investor. That is akin to comparing all of the insurance coverage written by Prudential with you writing a policy on your grandma.

Second he gives you numerous pages on how to calculate Volatility and Black-Scholes, etc. What is missed is that you want to be selling Puts and Calls when Volatility is High, and most option brokers do this calculation with a computer. As for Black-Sholes, the calculation is easy to find on the web, but any "advantage" that it may provide is used by insititutions who can rapidly scan the whole market and quickly correct any price imbalances. Unless you enjoy crunching financial formulas by hand, this section is filler at best.

Finally, his stock selection and risk control methods are questionable at best. Think Enron and realize that even "independent" reviewers like Morningstar and Value Line had it well rated up until the bitter end. If you dont already have a solid stock picking methodology, you should not start buy selling options. The notion that a reader should do anything other than sell an option that is 100% covered by CASH is the same as endorsing the methods that bankrupted many very large traders, banks and hedge-funds.

If you are looking for investment ideas Getting Started in Options may be a good place to START. Throw in Peter Lynch, Justin Mamis, and Andrew Tobias for good measure.

One idea explored throroughly
I saw this book in the book store, and spent some time there reading the first few chapters. I was so interested in his ideas, that I purchased the book. It's well-written and not at all dry, unlike some other investment books.

The author starts off by telling us how he had been able to amass a decent-sized portfolio over the years. He had a couple of hundred thousand dollars saved away, all invested in good long-term stock investments. He wished there was a way he could generate more income on-top of his already solid investments.

He started out by selling covered calls on some of his stock portfolio. That worked for a while, but he soon became frustrated that some of his best performing stocks were being called away, while he was left with a portfolio of poorly performing stocks. That is one of the down sides to covered call investing.

So he tried selling put options instead. Selling a put option is when you promise to purchase a stock at a specific price. In exchange for this promise you get paid a premium up front.

The author has found a lot of success picking solid companies, with sales and earnings growth, and selling put options one or two years out (LEAPs). Most of the LEAP puts he sells expires worthless, thus allowing him to keep the premium as profit, and sell some more long-term puts for more premium.

Most of the book deals with his back-testing data for this theory. He tests different quality stocks, different expiry dates, and different strikes. All in an effort to find the best overall results. In the end, some of his data suggests that selling long term puts at a strike price below the current price on the highest quality stocks has a 95% plus success rate.

If this type of theory interests you, I suggest getting this book and studying the theory and data for yourself.

The LEAPS Put as A Conservative Financial Derivative...
Jim Rogers, George Soros' former partner, onced admonished against the use of put writing, a financial instrument which brought him catastrophic losses early in his extraordinary career. Of course, LEAPS puts did not exist at the time Rogers was making use of them, and one wonders what he might think, or might have done, with Dennis Eisen's book, which makes a compelling case for LEAPS put writing.

This book is a singular, well conceived investment strategy lesson in several respects. It's rare that such a book can captivate an audience of beginning, intermediate and advanced investors, but I suspect investors of just about any caliber will find this worthwhile reading. That is to say, most readers will likely find something new here about calls and puts (both the regular option and LEAP flavors), although the author does well to stick more or less exclusively to LEAPS put writing. Also, the author uses historical runs to substantiate the tactics he's advising, which make his claims all the more informed and interesting.

Eisen addresses the key issues of rate of return, risk, and probability exceedingly well, and he contributes something altogether new to the field --probability tables, based on an issue's earnings growth and volatility. The author also addresses the proper allocation of margin, option taxation, and gives a decent explanation of option volatility. The book's essential and recurrent theme is that LEAPS puts tend to completely disregard an underlying issue's earnings growth potential.

The book's essential shortcoming is that its underlying option pricing formula, which accounts for stock dividends and American style options unlike the European-styled Black-Scholes model, is delineated for copy in the text as a BASIC program rather than as an EXCEL spreadsheet. Unless the reader is using BASIC, which seems unlikely to me, he or she will find the awaiting transcription task a substantial chore. And the volatility calculation Eisen suggests is based on a year's worth of an underlying issue's price data. The book might have included a macro spreadsheet for all of the requisite data and calculations, or the author might have made such a spreadsheet available for extra cost, which I --and I am sure many others-- would gladly pay.

What Barron's thought
BARRON'S, page MW 14

Leap Year Poaching profits with LEAP puts

By Michael Santoli

Yes, it's been a treacherous market the past week -- all year in fact -- full of choke lines and obscured quicksand pools to menace anyone who's strayed off the narrow path that leads to the few favored stocks. Yet even in such a trying environment, money is left unattended for the poaching in some corners of the market. In one, the sales pitch is this: "I'll pay you cash today and you can keep the money if, among a selection of high-quality stocks, no more than a few have fallen by 30% or more in a year or two."

In brief, that's the offer that certain disciplined sellers of long-term puts take up with relish. Dennis Eisen, a mathematician and consultant who has devised a system for selling LEAP puts with impressive success, is one such investor. LEAPs (short for Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities) are options that expire in January of each year and mature two or three years from the time of their listing. By selling LEAP puts, one is taking in a cash premium in hopes that the underlying stock won't fall below their strike price by expiration, in which case it's necessary to buy the stock at that level.

Eisen crafted his methods after running a huge simulation of the results of having continually sold puts on each of the 300 or so available LEAP stocks over the past decade. Encouraged by his data, he's been doing so for his own account for years with fine results and has written a new book, Using Options to Buy Stocks, that describes his approach.

Put selling has a partially justified reputation as a high-risk game, exposing the seller to unquantifiable losses should a stock plummet and force the seller to buy it at above-market rates. But by focusing on long-dated puts, restricting the activity to high-grade stocks and following certain risk-limiting rules, Eisen has found that his program acts as a nice profit enhancement to his straight stock portfolio. He says that only five times in over 1,000 trades in recent years has he had a stock "put" to him, a testament to the steady bull market and his discipline.

To locate the most solid companies, Eisen restricts his put sales to stocks with consensus "buy" ratings from research houses Zacks or S&P. One rule he advocates is to select a strike price equal to about two-thirds of a stock's current value, leaving a good deal of room for the shares to fall before the seller goes into the red.

There are logistical issues that put sellers must deal with. A broker has to be found who is comfortable with put-selling programs, margin requirements must be attended to closely and the investors should know all tax angles -- all concerns Eisen deals with carefully in his book.

He also is not promising unrealistically gaudy profits from his strategy. Eisen says he has a rather conservative, blue-chip stock portfolio and prefers to play the flashy technology stocks by selling puts against them as a source of funds to plow back into his core stocks. As a rule of thumb, he says his brand of LEAP put-selling can augment an expected 15% base return from his stocks by an additional 10% or so. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

the art of short selling by kathryn f. staley
the book is good overall. it gives you many detailed particular examples and is worth reading also because it gives you an idea which SEC forms to review to determine if a stock is worth buying or shorting. A bit weak ongeneral guidelines though. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Paving Wall Street

"This is a remarkable book that weaves the deep scientific roots of modern finance and modern financial institutions with humorous perspective and considerable wisdom. Few understand the pervasive and complex economic principles that govern our world of finance. Few are aware of the academic and scientific origins of financial practices and market instruments that are commonplace today. Ross Miller uses his experience and talents acquired as an experimental economist to help us understand a world that is contradictory, potentially dangerous, and paradoxical. He entertains us while doing it." —Charles R. Plott, Edward S. Harkness Professor of Economics and Political Science, California Institute of Technology

"Decisions by millions of individuals produce the fierce tides and churning seas of Wall Street. Miller wields his microscope in the laboratory of experimental economics to provide a sprightly and insightful analysis of investor behavior." —Richard Zeckhauser, Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

"Dramatic new ways for buying and selling–spectrum auctions, e-commerce, derivatives–are the economics professions contribution to the Information Revolution. This book explains how many of these innovations began with simple experiments at Caltech. The style is a refreshing combination–dramatic and fun to read, but also historically and scientifically accurate. So, I can send one to my Dad, a salesman, and another to my girlfriend, a patent attorney." —Colin Camerer, Rea and Lela Axline Professor of Business Economics, California Institute of Technology

"Paving Wall Street is a first-rate insight into bubbles and the experimental research performed on the topic by leading academicians such as Vernon Smith." —David Dreman, Chairman, Dreman Value Management

"Academic ideas have revolutionized how Wall Street operates. Entirely new markets have been created. This revolution continues today, accelerated by the rise of increasingly automated markets. Ross Miller has produced a book that makes the leading-edge financial and economic thinking that shapes these new markets accessible to practitioners and professionals. With no equations and a deft touch, this is an excellent guide to the future of greater Wall Street." —David J. Leinweber, PhD, Economics/Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Mentions an article of mine in endnotes
But that's not my only reason for thinking this a great book.

Ross M. Miller makes three large claims here.I think he makes good on the first two.I'm not so sure about the third, but even there he makes a case that needs to be made.

First, he explains that one branch of economics has become an experimental science.

Second, he says that this variant of economics has produced important results - theorems disclosing how markets might best be structured or restructured, and how the privatization of now-public goods might be accomplished, in ways that could produce enormous productivity gains.

He more pessimistically claims though, thirdly, that these theorems probably won't produce such gains, because in doing so they would hurt politically powerful interests.

The idea of "experimental economics" is simple enough: a college professor need only ask his students to co-operate in a simple auction-based game, so that he (and they) can observe the process by which prices come into existence under simplified conditions.Once a body of observations has developed, he and other experimenters can vary the rules and conditions of the game and observe the effect the changes have upon the trading strategies of the players and the game outcomes.

It was at Harvard University, in the 1940s, that such experiments got their start, in the classroom of Professor Edward Chamberlain.In the decades since, a body of observations has developed that in some respects supports neoclassical economic theory, but that in one crucial respect calls for its modification.Neoclassical theory needs to be modified to account for the possibility of irrational price bubbles.What is of greater policy importance, though, is that post-Chamberlainian experiments have given us a good idea of how markets can be structured to prevent bubble formation.

Where it's at in economics today
About 1975, when Ross Miller and I were grad students in economics, there was a consensus "economic view of the world." Economists who had to deal with the real world -- policy makers and development types -- didn't really believe it, but the mainstream did. Not only believed it, but took it for granted.

That's not true today. The consensus is fragmenting. If you want to understand the underpinnings of this intellectual shift, read Ross's book. It's written clearly, even excitingly, with well-chosen examples. And it is written by a real economist, who's trying to understand what's right and what's wrong about how we think about the economic world.

Perfect for our Economic Times!
A solid, fluid look at experimental economics!In these turbulent times on Wall Street (and really in markets around the world) this proves to be a great source of how we've come to this point, but more importantly, where we can go from here. ... Read more

Book Description

The must-have book for all futures traders

In Fundamental Analysis, the legendary Jack D. Schwager has produced the most comprehensive, in-depth book ever written on the use of fundamental analysis for futures trading. In what is destined to become the bible of the futures industry, Schwager has poured out insights gathered during his long career as a trader, researcher, bestselling writer, and highly regarded authority in the field.

This book is packed with invaluable information you'll use every trading day. "Futures guru Jack Schwager has created the definitive source on using fundamental analysis for price forecasting that no trader can afford to be without." -Tom Baldwin Chairman, Baldwin Group

"This book won't make you a great commodities trader instantly, but it will teach you what you must know to start." -Jim Rogers Author, Investment Biker

"Jack Schwager always provides clear and compelling material on the often opaque subject of futures trading." -Richard Dennis President, Dennis Trading Group

"Jack Schwager's deep knowledge of the markets and his extensive network of personal contacts throughout the industry have set him apart as the definitive market chronicler of our age." -Ed Seykota

Fundamental Analysis is the first book in the Schwager on Futures series-the definitive source on the futures market for the next century that no trader will want to be without.

Jack Schwager is one of the most important and visible figures in the futures industry today. His Market Wizards and New Market Wizards are two of the bestselling finance titles of all time. Now Schwager has created the most comprehensive guide ever for using fundamental analysis for futures trading. The much-awaited Schwager on Futures series greatly expands and updates material first contained in his A Complete Guide to the Futures Markets, which has been the bible of the industry for the past decade.

In this first volume of the series, Fundamental Analysis, Schwager shows traders how to apply analytical techniques to actual price forecasting and trading in virtually all futures contracts currently traded. In chapter after chapter, Schwager draws on what he has learned during his legendary career as a successful trader, researcher, and bestselling investment author to dispense priceless insights.

Explains how to apply the techniques of technical analysis to fundamental data-information not found elsewhere
* Shows how regression analysis works and tells how to use it as a tool for price forecasting
* Includes step-by-step instruction on how to build a forecast model
* Contains a 13-chapter section illustrating the applications of fundamental techniques to individual markets and market groups
* Outlines how to analyze seasonal fluctuations, including seasonal price charts of 27 active markets

Numerous charts, tables, and examples illustrate all key concepts, and the text itself is written in the clear, nontechnical style that has helped make Jack Schwager one of today's most widely read and highly regarded investment writers. ... Read more

Book Description

It's not hard to understand why options trading continues to grow in popularity, especially among sophisticated investors with large stock portfolios. Options are a cheaper and therefore, inherently less risky way of speculating on the price movements of stocks or other under-lying goods, yet, due to their volatility, they provide more price action per dollar than do stocks. And, when traded in conjunction with stock portfolios, options can significantly enhance an investor's ability to manipulate the risk and return characteristics of their entire investment. Yet, despite these and other advantages of options, many investors shy away from this highly lucrative type of speculation because of the seeming impenetrability of many of its underlying concepts and technical principles.

Now in a book that demystifies options for financial professionals, Professor Robert W. Kolb, one of the nation's leading authorities on the subject, provides readers with a solid grounding in the principles and practices of options trading. An excellent resource for investors who need to quickly get up to speed in options, Understanding Options offers a balanced presentation that builds swiftly from the most basic concepts and terms to advanced trading strategies and techniques. Written in plain English and filled with real-life examples and case studies, it schools readers in:

• All essential terms, concepts, principles, and practices
• Popular trading techniques and their payoffs
• Option strategies
• Option hedging
• Formal trading models, including the Binomial and Merton models
• Options on stock indexes, foreign currency, and futures
• Option pricing in both the American and European markets
• The options approach to corporate securities
• And much more

Concise yet comprehensive, authoritative yet highly accessible, Understanding Options gives you everything you need to feel right at home in the lucrative world of options.

Comprehensive, practical, authoritative—the fastest, most accessible route to the lucrative world of options

From the basics of what an option is to advanced techniques for profiting from options in a variety of markets, Understanding Options covers all the bases. Written by a leading international authority on options trading, this practical, hands-on guide offers detailed, step-by-step coverage of option trading techniques and their payoffs, option strategies, European and American option pricing, option hedging, and much more. It also explores options on stock indexes, foreign currency, and futures, and takes a close look at the options approach to corporate securities.

A concise, yet comprehensive, introduction to options for financial professionals

• Gets you quickly up and running with all the essential knowledge you need to break into the options markets
• Featuring a balanced presentation that moves swiftly from basic terms and concepts to advanced trading models
• Packed with easy-to-follow examples and case studies that lucidly illustrate all points covered

Book Description

Recent years have seen a number of introductory texts which focus on the applications of modern stochastic calculus to the theory of finance, and on the pricing models for derivative securities in particular. Some of these books develop the mathematics very quickly, making substantial demands on the readerOs background in advanced probability theory. Others emphasize the financial applications and do not attempt a rigorous coverage of the continuous-time calculus. This book provides a rigorous introduction for those who do not have a good background in stochastic calculus. The emphasis is on keeping the discussion self-contained rather than giving the most general results possible. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent - Good Mathematical Level
Does an excellent job of presenting the mathematics WITH RIGOR. The mathematics is more mature than Bingham & Kiesel, but the book is more accessible and far more readable than the similar texts by Karatzas & Shreve and Musiela & Rutkowski.

A Good book for Martingale approach
This book discusses the financial mathematics fromthe view of martingale approaches. It is good forsomeone who want to price derivatives by martingale approach. Unfortunately, this book lacks talking about exoticoptions like average options,lookback options and passport options. ... Read more

Book Description

Producers use these agricultural derivatives to protect against price risk; speculators are more than willing to assume those risks, hoping that price movements on the underlying products will translate into healthy trading profits for themselves.AGRICULTURAL FUTURES AND OPTIONS will give you a broader understanding of all sides of this tremendously complex yet important market. You will: Learn how to structure profitable trades for options on agricultural futures; Get inside hints for trading Euro-Differential contracts on the New York exchanges; Discover invaluable comparisons of the similarities and differences between trading in Chicago, London, and New York; Find complete industry regulations in both the United States and United Kingdom. Screen-based versus open-outcry trading...the unstable political climate in Eastern Europe...challenges presented by the globalization of communications...increased sophistication and utility of computer programs. Traders in agricultural futures and options must stay in touch with the experts to stay on top of the latest risk-protection trends and developments. Whether you trade for risk-hedging insurance or speculative profit, AGRICULTURAL FUTURES AND OPTIONS will help you make the most of your F&O investment in today's fast-moving markets. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good book for the novice
This book gives a great overview of the agricultural commodities markets of the world.It covers how the futures markets work, why they came into existence, and how they can be used to manage risk.The first six chapters are the most useful for the majority of readers; they focus mostly on the corn, soybeans, and wheat futures exchanges in the midwest United States.Several later chapters cover European exchanges and minor world exchanges.Don't expect to become a trader after reading this book, but it's a great place to get started learning about agricultural futures and options. ... Read more

Download Description

The essential resource for the successful option trader
High Performance Options Trading offers a fresh perspective on trading options from a seasoned options trader programmer/engineer, Leonard Yates. Drawing on twenty-five years of experience as an options trader and software programmer, Yates has written this straightforward guide. First he provides readers with a solid foundation to trading options, including an introduction to basic options terminology, a thorough explanation on how options are traded, and specific trading strategies. .
Leonard Yates, CTA (Chicago, IL), is the Founder/President and Chief Programmer of OptionVue Systems International, Inc., which specializes in developing and marketing options trading software and services. ... Read more

Book Description

The theory of pricing and hedging of derivative securities is mathematically sophisticated. This book is an introduction to the use of advanced probability theory in financial economics, presenting the necessary mathematics in a precise and rigorous manner. It enables the reader to understand journal literature with confidence, to apply the methods to new problems or to do original research in the field. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Learn continuous-time finance from this book!
Learn continuous time finance from this book: you won't be disappointed. I have read almost all the most famous finance books and I must say that this is by far the best one of them. Although somewhat limited in scope, it is masterfully written: everything is explained clearly and carefully. All statements are rigorously proved. I would say it is suitable both for beginners, having a minimum exposure to measure-theoretic probability and willing to spend some time on it, and for advanced students. Personally, I first read the book as a beginner and found it extremely useful, but even now, that I understand and know most of the material, I find it to be an invaluable reference. The level of mathematical sophistication is quite high, so don't expect anything like Neftci, Baxter and Rennie, Mikosch or Bjork. The level is the same of Duffie, but, while Duffie presents a lot of material and most of the time he doesn't provide proofs and explanations (which, personally, I find irritating), this book is limited to few selected topics, but they are explained at length.
Unfortunately, the perfect finance book has not yet been written (finance professionals seem to be too busy and well paid to write good books), but this one is almost perfect. If you really want to understand quantitative finance, I strongly recommend that you invest a good amount of hours in studying this book. Two good books to acompany this one might be Resnick's book on probability and Steele's book on stochastic calculus.

Nielsen is simply amazing
Nielsen has written a virtually self-contained treatise on the subject. Reading this book was a beautiful learning experience: The author's clarity of thought was striking; the examples made particular points transparent; and the exercises made invaluable contributions to understanding.
The three appendices (on measure and probability, the Lebesque integral, and the heat equation), and the first three chapters make the book as self-contained as is possible.
Synopsis: I do not know of a better book on this subject.

Excellent textbook
This is an excellent textbook on financial mathematics. It is quite mathematical, but self contained, clearly and carefully written. The appendices are very well written condensed reviews of basic technical facts. The book also contains discussions of a topics that I've never seen anywhere else, such as "Arbitrage and Admissibility" and "The doubling strategy". As mentioned in the preface, the book is based on a doctoral-level course, and the author clearly had the benefit of a large amount of feedback from students. Reading it, one can't help notice the presence of a very large number of extra remarks and hints, inserted on every page in order to clarify what must have been a denser original text. Finally, I have to mention the excellent editorial work done by Oxford University Press in producing this book, as compared to similar books published by Wiley.

The mathematical finance book to own.
This book is excellent. As anyone interested in this field knows, there is a lot of high-level math. The author has included several appendices which cover the required background, and he only includes proofs that are helpful to overall understanding. All theorems without proofs have references to the standard math texts.

In comparison to other texts, it does not leave many important ideas to intuition like Neftci's book. Baxter & Rennie is better than Neftci, but not as good as Elliot & Kopp or Lamberton & Laperyre. All of the above I have studied to some extent, and Nielsen's book seemed to include all that these did AND to fill in the gaps. This is the first book I have seen to actually define 'numeraire'.

Make no mistake, to truly understand this material one has to make an investment in learning a good amount of math. The texts I recommend for real analysis are Royden (tops among all for ease and clarity) and Folland (more comprehensive, but very well written); for probability I recommend Resnick's new book which includes a good chapter on discrete-time martingales (much more readable than Chung) and the legendary text by Billingsley.

If you are willing to learn about 4 chapters of Royden and keep Resnick at your side, then this is the only book you need. If not, then start with Baxter and Rennie.

A book that can help you break the entry barrier..
I read it with Rudin's"Principle of Mathematical Analysis" & Royden's "Real Analysis" by self-study.In my view,you can replace Lamberton & Lapeyre with it.It is rigorous yet accessible for non-math major who is interested in derivatives pricing but frustrated with the high-level mathematics.Buy it and read it with your patience.It won't make you disappointed. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Dynamic Parallels
Joe Leininger provides great insight in his daily efforts to be both a good and Christian person with his success as a commodities trader.

Few businessess are as brutally competitive as trading in Chicago exchanges. However, with great faith and works, Joe obviously holds to his strongChristian values in this tough environment.

This book helps me come togrips with striving for success while hoping to maintain the fundamentalvalue of helping and loving one's fellow man (or woman).

I think this book was great, and one of a kind.
Lessons From the Pitwas a very fasinating and involving book.It is obvious that Joe Leininger spent a lot of time thinking and planning this book.This book is not one where the first chapters are interesting.Thewhole story is interesting.I kept saying to myself "at the end ofthe chapter, I will go to sleep, but I just couldn't put it down!Hetalked about personal subjects also, making you feel like you were justtalking to him, alone.I highly recommend this book, and I think thatLessons From the Pit was the best book I have read so far.

This is a must if you aspire to greatness in business
An excellent picture of how to live a balanced life and besuccessful at it.Especially applicable to those in the financialfield, but applies to all of us who desire to excel in our field. Joe's personal experiences in such a high pressure environment serve as poingant lessons.Take advantage of this book as a roadmap on the path to success.

Excellent life advice
Under the guise of being about trading securities, this is an excellent book about life, about observing what work gives you and what it deprives you of. About making changes that lead to a richer life and how to knowwhen work costs too much. It also offers wonderful insights into the lifeof a trader and the paradox of being a good trader and trying to balancethat with being a good Christian.

Entertaining and insightful book about values and business
Joe has done a good job of taking interesting stories from his life and distilling an excellent life-lesson from each.Joe's life comes through clearly in this well written collection.He is transparent and engaging. Not only does it draw us to examine our inner health and values, but tolook to our own stories for the lessons hidden in them.Worth a planeflight to read it. ... Read more

Book Description

Examines the methods of the world's most legendary trader, W.D. Gann.Puts Gann's work in clear, understandable terms. Presents a logical, easy-to-use method of trading.After reading this book, you'll know that turning points can be found and accurate price projections made.In all markets and all time frames.The rules are fully automatic.Filled with over 70 charts showing the method in use. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A mess
One can seldom find such one sided, overwhelming negative comment on Amazon of a trading book. All reviewers before me rated this book with less than 3 stars. This book really belongs to the rare breed.

Though he author used a lot of charts, supported with Stochastics (he used that badly, too), to elaborate how to use Gann's ideas to trade for profit, he failed miserably. His charts and his analysis were simply beyond apprehension, even for a pro like me. You couldnt understand what "pattern" (that's what charts are for) the author was talking about. He should have employed some professionals to edit his original script. The addition of copy and paste ideas from the original Gann books just couldnt help at all. Dont waste your hard earned money on this mess.

p.s. I am sorry that the only points the author made it clear were:

1)The basic ratio of Gann Angles is 1:1 - one unit of price equalling one unit of time. A 2x1 Gann Angle indicates that prices are moving two units of price in one unit of time. (Perhaps the only clear thing on this book)

2)After an initial, sustained price move, either up or down, prices retrace ot 50% of their initial move. If the retracement exceeds 50%, prices should continue to the 62.5% (5/8) level, before a reaction occurs. (Gann used 1/8 as the base unit of his forecast) (Perhaps the only simplifed and clear thing on this book)

I couldn't figure it out
Maybe I am incapable of understand Gann's square of 9 and angles because I was not really able to decipher most of this book. I will admit, the book does attempt to simply Gann's methods.. but it is far from clear. This does not totally discredit the book and it's potential methods, but I was not able to understand it to where it might improve my bottom line.

Anything but Simplified and Clear...
Gann's trading methods have always been a mystery to those of us who don't understand his strategies. However, this book makes an attempt to resolve the mystery behind Gann's trading system and it's almost more "simplified" if you read a book that Gann had written himself. This book does nothing to shed light on how Gann worked his magic. You're better off reading something by William Gann himself and trying to decipher his methods on your own.

Dull but tries hard
This book achieves what it aims to do. It gives an overview of some of Gann's ideas and explains his 50% retracement rule in almost painful detail.

I understand the frustration of the previous two reviewers. The book is poorly edited and full of typographical errors. Because it contains a lot of detailed workings, there is a tendency for the eye to skip over that detail. I can imagine that is exactly what the editor's eye did. Hence the typos.

This book is not worthless though. It contains some sound advice about the importance of employing systematic analysis and the disciplined use of stops. It also provides a simple but reasonably effective trading technique. On the other hand, it is dull and too long. The general technique is also covered more succinctly and interestingly in other trading books.

It is not worth the "new" price but a cheap secondhand copy or, even better, a loaner might be worth the effort

Full of mathematical errors.Beware! Wastage of Money.
Looking for book to blow you out your wits, waste your time and money. Then you have found the boook your looking for. Yes! it comes with a confusion GAURANTEED.. Whats more you also get free mathematical errors for no cost at all but your time...Ladies and Gentlemen presenting.. "The W.D. Gann Method of Trading" a SIMPLIFIED ( Yeah right ), CLEAR ( hehhehe) approach... by Gerald Marisch. ... Read more

Book Description

An unprecedented book on option pricing! For the first time, the basics on modern option pricing are explained ``from scratch'' using only minimal mathematics. Market practitioners and students alike will learn how and why the Black-Scholes equation works, and what other new methods have been developed that build on the success of Black-Shcoles. The Cox-Ross-Rubinstein binomial trees are discussed, as well as two recent theories of option pricing: the Derman-Kani theory on implied volatility trees and Mark Rubinstein's implied binomial trees. Black-Scholes and Beyond will not only help the reader gain a solid understanding of the Balck-Scholes formula, but will also bring the reader up to date by detailing current theoretical developments from Wall Street. Furthermore, the author expands upon existing research and adds his own new approaches to modern option pricing theory. Among the topics covered in Black-Scholes and Beyond: detailed discussions of pricing and hedging options; volatility smiles and how to price options ``in the presence of the smile''; complete explanation on pricing barrier options. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Recommneded for traders with advanced math skills
This book isn't about teaching you how to place an option trade and profit. Instead, it's about the mathematics behind option pricing model. I am a beginner in options trading and was looking for answers on how options get priced and what parameters affect the price. To be more precise, I was carious to know how the formula looks like. I learned from the book important things like Delta, Gamma, Vega parameters and their impact on pricing options.

Logical progression of ideas in a lucid style
I picked up this book as additional reading for an actuarial exam on investments, in hopes of getting a better and more intuitive understanding of the Black-Scholes Formula. This book develops ideas in a clear, natural, intuitive sequence. I particularly commend the author for a lucid and agreeable style. I was expecting a book on this kind of subject to be dry and heavy-going, but instead what I found was a very good teacher guiding me through the subject. It should be mentioned that the development of the formula entirely from scratch is not in this book, as that would basically require stochastic calculus or other techniques beyond the scope of the book. Even so, he does explain the rationale behind the formula as well as related concepts such as hedging away risk and self-financing strategies. He gives the appropriate versions of the Black-Scholes Formula for stocks with continuous or lumpy dividends and, of course, talks about put-call parity for European options. There is excellent coverage of The Greeks (delta, gamma, vega, etc.) along with numerous graphs. A nice surprise was the inclusion of some approximation formulas for the cumulative normal distribution that can be calculated easily with a spreadsheet or calculator. Finally, he has very good coverage on binomial trees, of both the classic "Cox-Ross-Rubinstein" and the "flexible" varieties. I have to admit that I have read only through Ch. 7 so far (which is approx. 2/3 of the book), but I will probably keep going because it is so good.

Outstanding and Easy to Follow
Great book for practitioners in finance without cumbersome math formula!

Intuitive & good for beginners while many typing errors
Be careful with the typing errors which could be misleading
especially in many chapters in the late of the book.
Except that, it is really easy to read without much math
or computer background in the perfessional field.

Understanding the B&S and Binomial
If you wanna use the Black & Scholes formula to simply compute option values and nothing more, then that's not the book for you. However, if you are eager to understand the interesting and important part of option pricings theory (B&S and Binomial Tree)without dwelling into maths and understanding intuitively what makes it tick, then, you might have found the right book for you. ... Read more