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David Faber's The Faber Report is a scathing critique of the greed that permeates all levels of Wall Street, from analysts and investment bankers to money managers and brokers. Faber, who has been covering Wall Street for some 15 years--first as an editor and reporter at Institutional Investor and then, more famously, as a correspondent on CNBC--relates story after story about the conflict of interest that runs rampant between Wall Street and the companies it represents and the investing public. Organized into chapters such as "Why I Hate Analysts," "Why I Love Short Sellers," and "The Truth About Your Broker," the book mixes firsthand observations with advice to individual investors. For example, in the chapter on stock analysts, he advises investors to "Use mass upgrades and downgrades as a contrary indicator" and "Give less credence to positive calls, more credence to negative calls." While some readers may be put off by Faber's self-congratulatory tone, most individual investors would do well to consider Faber's main point about what really happens on Wall Street every day. This book should especially resonate with fans of CNBC's Squawk Box. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Something For Everyone
Decades from now, when historians want to get a better understanding of what Wall Street was like at the turn of the 21st century, they won't need to look much further than The Faber Report. Faber's book paints an amazingly clear and comprehensive picture of today's investment climate, giving the reader gobs of insight into the inner workings of the Street.

The book has something for everyone; whether you're a novice investor trying to navigate the world of mutual funds or a hedge fund manager with a penchant for short selling, you'll find it eminently useful. (And if you happen to be the New York state attorney general looking for a blueprint to prosecute Jack Grubman and the rest of Wall Street, you'll find the book very worthwhile!) While the book covers investing basics with exceptional clarity (it has a paragraph on the P/E ratio that is one of the best I've seen), it also contains some headier material that more sophisticated investors will find helpful (his 12 point checklist for uncovering financial shenanigans is a keeper).

It's difficult to write a book that is both entertaining and instructive, but Faber has pulled it off in spades.

Decent read, but not worth $
Explaining how analyists work and their associated confilcts of interest is very interesting stuff. However, this book doesn't really offer advice to investors on how to invest intelligently. In the end, this is a decent book with some good info on how the street works, but its not worth $. I dont plan on re-reading this one in the near future.

The Brain's the best there is!
There's no one better in the world of financial reporting than David Faber. As a member of the media, I could only wish to be as connected, informed, and intelligent as he is. But most importantly, he's the best there is when it comes to sifting through the b.s. that has plagued Wall Street over recent years. This book is almost uncanny, in that it was written months before the dominant financial headlines that rocked the markets in the summer of 2002. We get the warnings about Worldcom, Imclone, and so on, well before anyone else does. Plus, he tells the reader where they can find raw data, what to look for, and the signs that a stock is trouble. Not really a "How to Invest" book, but rather, a "How to Be Informed" book. This book is a must-read. Faber tells it like it is. He was right in the 1990s when he warned on CNBC about the over valued Internet stocks, and time proved him right. By reading this book, you'll understand what to look for the next time Wall Street starts blowing a bubble.

Good For Understanding Wall Street But Not for Making Money
David Faber is a good reporter in that he does not only repeat what information is given to him but injects some analysis and investigation into his stories. These capabilities are reflected in this book in explaining how the different hedge funds, brokers, mutual funds and bankers interact and affect the market. Although there is some fluff , all in all this book is interesting if only to satisfy your curiosity.
On the other hand, even though it gives you an understanding of wall street it offers no help on how to use that to profit. Considering that most individual investors are in the market to make money, this book leaves a gap to be filled. To that effect I found the book " Generate Thousands in cash on your stocks without selling them" recommended by another reviewer to be helpful in supplying specific strategies to recover losses on stocks in this market.

I think Faber is great...
Along with Haines and Kernan, they have a very entertaining show. I normally do not trade off of their information, but it always keeps me up to date. And, I think Faber has proven himself as a great investigative reporter.

It is a good book, and gives good insight into the inner-workings of Wall Street. There is a lot of good education on how the "big boys" operate - hedge funds, investment banks, etc.

All in all, a good read.

Kernan
TRADEthemove.com ... Read more

Book Description

For the beginning financial professional and the sophisticated investor, here is a thoroughly updated edition of the classic guide to the inner workings of the stock market.

John M. (Jack) Dalton, formerly with the American Stock Exchange, explains the workings of the securities industry, including the initial public offering, types of stocks, who’s who inside the brokerage firm, back-office operations, and investment analysis. This updated edition includes new chapters that cover ongoing changes at the NYSE, the AMEX, and Nasdaq, online trading and the globalization of the stock market.The book is also thoroughly updated to reflect changes that have taken place on Wall Street and in the way securities transactions are conducted since the publication of the second edition in 1993.

In addition, a comprehensive glossary that defines more than 600 financial terms—from “Advance-decline theory” and “Arbitrage” to “market-and-limit order” and “Zero plus tick”—enhances the relevance and accessibility of this book. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A fairly good over view for me
I am just beginning to learn about the stock market, and all the other dimensions that go along with it. I found this book quite informative, I have read it two times now. I use this as a text book to study from. I am also reading other books on the subject to make sure the information I learn is correct.

Dangerously Inaccurate
Prentice-Hall is notorious for sloppy textbooks, and this book is in the company tradition. The text was not edited, proofread, or fact-checked. The glossary entry for wash sales is egregious, but almost any page provides examples. All information in this book is therefore suspect.

Good introduction to the mechanics of the market
Rather than providing any sort of investment advice, this book explains the actual workings of the stock market. How a trade flows from a customer, through a broker, to the floor, and on to the various settlement engines. It's good background for anyone who invests in the market, and especially useful to anyone who works in (or with) the financial IT industry.

As other reviewers have noted, the poor copy-editing is embarassing. But even with all the typos, the information presented is very useful.

Good general overview for beginners
As a beginner, I found the book to give a good overview of the stock market functionning. It is quite thorough and explains all the fundamental mechanisms. I would also recommend 'What you need to know before you invest' from Rod Davis

Another money maker! . . . just not yours.
Very few people will really tell you how the stock market actually works. If they did, it wouldn't. After you read the basics about placing orders and some technical indicators and patterns they hope you'll jump right in and lose your money. Do yourself a favor, study the market from a social history/military/control mechanism point of view by utilizing free library books. By the time you get it, you'll have saved more start-up capital and you won't go broke. Or, find somebody that will tell you the real deal -- and when you do, listen! Be prepared for a real shock, and then a huge sigh of relief! ... Read more

Book Description

This book has the most thorough text on Point and Figure charting.Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of P&F is provided. (302 pages)

Indecision and turbulence prevail in the financial market at this time.Meanwhile, attempts to identify major price swings in the stock market dominate investment strategies.Perhaps more than ever before, people seem unable or unwilling to venture into investment decisions.Growing numbers of individuals depend on others for acceptable investment returns.To accommodate increasing expectations for better investment performance, timing strategies in the equity markets must play a larger role.

This material represents a compendium of technical investment analysis for entrepreneurial investors.The book includes a unique blend of pragmatic investment management concepts and real-world mathematical emphases are excluded for the sake of pragmatism.Broad-based treatment of investment management principles in diverse settings functions as a surrogate to mathematical and theoretical overkill.

Although sequential reading represents the more conventional approach, by the continuity and flow of the book, readers will find that individual sections can still offer their autonomy and ability to stand-alone.

The book differs from competitors in several ways.The author draws upon many years of practical experience in asset evaluation, selection and allocation techniques.The emphasis centers on taking complex subject matters and reducing it into a workable presentation for readers.Concepts that have heretofore been regarded as esoteric by some will be made quite lucid by supporting illustrations.Chart configurations, relative strength, and other frequently misunderstood techniques help identify supply and demand imbalances and pinpoint issues primed for price moves in either direction.

This book offers a total perspective on personal portfolio management.The author will continually espouse the view that undervalued and overvalued assets offer uncommon profit opportunities.Its coverage is in sharp contrast to the more arcane academic view relating to market efficiency.Academicians subscribe to the idea that all markets are efficient and that returns may be increased only by the assumption of additional risk.Their view states that all known information about securities is embodied in the current market price.Securities adjust instantaneously to new information disseminated about different firms.In other words, academicians propose that undervalued and overvalued assets do not exist.Therefore, it is virtually impossible to earn superior returns or outperform the market. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A must-have book about technical analysis
This book extends point and figure techniques for modern markets. The author methodology is consistent and logical, and the ideas particularly interesting. It is a successor to Wheelans classic. Lots of food for thought. Now all we need is a decent point and figure charting program so we can push the envelope even further. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Work of Antony Sutton!
The Work of Antony Sutton!

Most Americans have not heard of Dr. Antony Sutton...but he is well known to the quasi-underground readers of revisionist history and
conspiracy theory...

There are others that have written about the same subjects as Sutton...Carrol Quigley(Professor of History at Georgetown University)...Werner Keller...Dr. Emanual Josephson...Gary Allen...Charles Levinson...etc...but none covered the subject in as great a detail and as broad an area and with the documentation that Sutton did...in Wall Street And The Bolshevik Revolution(Arlington House Publishers) he documents that a small group of Wall Street bankers financed the Bolshevik Revolution...in the 3 volume,Western Technology And Soviet Economic Development(Hoover Institution Press)these same groups actually built the
Soviet economic structure from 1917 to the
present...and it is this work, i believe,(in part) and the work of others documenting this subject that helped bring down the Soviet Union...if they financed the Revolution and built the economic infrastructure...then they controlled it...which is what they are doing today with the billions of dollars they are investing in the Peoples Republic of China...! Control of the economic structure of a country is real power not political power...!

Sutton has written about many other subjects but it is the above mentioned that are amoung the more important works...i believe they are available at...

www.amazon.com... you won't look at International Politics in the same way...again...

woody voinche
marksville, louisiana

Red flags over Wall Street
The contents of this book will both shock and disgust you. This book shows the costs and negative side of 'engagement' advocated by the American Establishment and their boot-licking cronies in academia and 'think tanks'. Sutton draws upon govenment files, books, newspaper clippings and biographies to support his claims.

He shows that the American government intervened on the behalf of Leon Trotsky, who was detained by Canadian authorities, so he could travel to Russia and agitate for the Reds. Apparently Trotsky might have been German instead of Russian, but in the end I guess we'll never know for sure. Both Trotsky and Lenin were sent into Russia with money and assistance from foreign governments to stir up trouble.

This book also goes into detail on the 1917 American Red Cross mission to Russia which had more bankers than doctors. William Thompson, then a Director of the New York Fed, gave $1 million to the Reds for propaganda purposes. He then brought enough of his Wall Street buddies on board that the Bolsheviks were their guys, to bring the White House over to their side. Wilson's influential advisor at that time was Edward Mandell House, who in Phillip Dru: Administrator stated that he believed in socialism as envisioned by Karl Marx, but with a spiritual leavening. With advisors as such, it was not so difficult.

House also used his influence to get Red agitator Minor, who drew a cartoon showing Wall Street types fawning over Marx in the introduction to the book, off the hook after being arrested by military authorities in France for distributing subversive Bolshevik propaganda. His daddy was a well-to-do person back in Texas, where House came from, who gave good old E.M. House a call to get junior off the hook.

Sutton also showed how many of the businesses that did business with the Reds originated from 120 Broadway. Since the robber barons already ran out all competition in the US, they needed captive foreign markets to satisfy their insatiable greed. They had a boot in all camps, and used their ability to feed, fund, and arm the winning party, in this case the Bolsheviks, to obtain trade concessions. This lot did the same by backing Sun Yat Sen in China, and various governments in Latin America.

Sutton also shows how many of these Wall Street supporters of the Bolsheviks started a group stating their opposition to the socialists. They then told New York Times reporters that they feared a Red revolution in America and that the Reds would sabotage and wreak havoc on our economy even as they were setting up the Ruskcom Bank and conducting business with them. Sutton appropriately described this behavior as totally amoral.

There was one quote from the book that will be forever etched into my mind. This quote was from a business figure working in the American consulate in Russia to a British colleague. It was along the lines as such:
You may have heard that I own 50% of the forests in Siberia and all of the Magnesium deposits in Georgia. Now, of course, this isn't true. But, let's say that it is true. I am an American wolf and you are a British wolf. But, both being intelligent wolves, knowing if we don't join forces this hour and together hunt the German wolf, we will come to naught.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the business mentality. It has always been that way, and with industrialization and our livelihoods increasingly put in the hands of these people, it explains very easily how the man in the street gets screwed. Read this book and take it to heart. These egotistical, greedy SOBs have been running our country into the ground for over a 100 years, and reading this book and sharing it with fellow patriots is the only way to stop these treasonous scumbags!

Excellent Primary Documentation
Author Anthony Sutton has done a remarkable job of documenting the insidious betrayal of the super wealthy American elite, who literally bankrolled the most brutal communist government of all time. If you have ever wondered why the very wealthy should seem to be sympathetic with communism, herein lies the answer. This is extraordinarily important information, which deserves a wide audience.

Informative
Should be read in tandem with Tragedy and Hope, to understand how the invisible power structure work to shape world events. A must read for those who wants to gain a coherent understanding with regards to the origins of the Cold War.

Lifts the veil on the financing of the Bolsheviks by America
Professor Sutton provides us with another remarkable tool that goes far towards exposing the lie of the 'spontaneous rise of the Bolsheviks,' and the culpability of American financiers in this traitorous history. Accessing State Department records, personal diaries, biographies and conventional sources Sutton presents a wealth of data that these evil, parasitic overlords would like to see buried. He uncovers little known stories such as America's Red Cross Mission to Russia in 1917 whose contingent included more financiers than medical personnel. More time was spent negotiating business contracts with Kerensky than tending the sick and wounded. Rockefeller agent William Thompson funneled $1 million to Lenin just for propaganda purposes! Years later Kruschev would maintain that he constantly received codes, money and secret government reports via Rockefeller dominated CIA 'Quislings.' Interestingly, The Federal Reserve Bank (which the Rockefeller's own! [see also; 'The Federal Reserve Conspiracy' by Dr. Emmanuel Josephson] was located at 120 Broadway in NYC. The principal conduit between the banking community and the Bolsheviks was The American Intermational Corp. located at 120 Broadway. The Guggenheims and General Electric (major financiers of the revolution) also had offices at 120 Broadway. This book is must reading for anyone trying to dig there way out of the morass of information and books that passes for 'history.' It should be read by every school child, along with Sutton's other books. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for New Era Value Investing

"No other book reveals so much about how a portfolio manager looks at the world.You will see how the transformation in the U.S. economy and stock market in the 1990s caused this seasoned value investor to transform her investing discipline to keep pace with the times, and you will gain invaluable insight into how an investment discipline is crafted to maximize gain and control risk for real, paying clients. This book is a must-read for every serious investor, and anyone who aspires to manage money for others."
–Dr. Arthur Laffer, Chairman, Laffer Associates

"If you invest real money in the stock market, you have to read this book. In New Era Value Investing, Nancy Tengler gives you an inside look at the real work a serious value investor does in constructing a diversified portfolio of high-quality stocks. Nancy’s review of the history of value investing is worth the price of admission by itself.She explains how to use her Relative Dividend Yield and Relative Price-to-Sales Ratio frameworks to assess the value of both old-fashioned manufacturing companies and growth companies. She shows you how to use her Twelve Fundamental Factors analysis as a work plan to evaluate the strength and value of a company, helping the reader to understand that value investing is a lot of work. The genius of the book, however, is the way Nancy helps the reader understand how to balance the disciplines needed to be a value investor and the flexibility you need to adapt value methods to changing market fundamentals. New Era Value Investing is a book you are going to keep on your shelf."
–Dr. John Rutledge, Chairman, Rutledge Capital ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A well-written, disciplined yet flexible methodology
Here is a rarity in value investment literature: a more or less complete system for finding RELATIVELY cheap stocks. And the system described is indeed useful enough that nearly anyone with a value disposition might take at least a portion of it away to incorporate into his or her own approach.

Ostensibly, the heart of Tengler's book is the use of relative dividend yield or relative price to sales ratio (relative to a stock's prior trading history). However, the most useful portion of her method concerns her thoughtful use of a checklist/scoring system to help avoid "value traps" --purchasing stocks with dividend yields which are high for good reason, for example. The described scoring system is at once disciplined and somewhat flexible, two key attributes to wade through a crowded, value-driven market.

The book is exceptionally clear and concise in terms of the general methodology offered by the author. However, the scoring system as modified by Tengler for assessment of bank stocks should have been more clearly defined by way of example, especially since banks are such a large part of the relative dividend investment universe. This is a small quibble as compared to the useful general approach given to the reader.

The best value investment literature offers both a general way to recognize value and practical means to find it. The approach offered here is somewhat novel, very useful, and well-described. The book is one of the more useful works to appear in value investment literature over the past several years, and even if the reader chooses not to embrace the entire approach, he or she will probably find a few useful ideas to discern value.

Article Stretched Into a Book
The book was okay. However, I thought the author threw in too much unnecessary information in order to keep the book from only being 30 pages long! For instance, do we really need a rehashing of the history of value investing? Also, there are lots and lots of charts, which I think is overkill.

Other than that, the book is fine!

Relying on Fundamentals - Back to Basics
One of the best and most informative pieces on fundamental investing. A well written, step by step overview of how to look at and analyze a company's future prospects, while not paying too much currently. Following this formula will certainly help readers outperform overall equity indices, over long periods of time. A wonderful strategy for retirement plans, college savings accounts, and any fund with a time horizon of three years or more. What you will learn from this book is how to find those companies that have become fallen angels; once the high flyers, now the value stocks, and how to assess there future prospects.

When All Else Fails - Go Back To Fundamentals
One of the best pieces on fundamental investing ever written. This is more than just a "story" about what an accomplished investor has done throughout her career. It is truly a roadmap for creating a disciplined investment strategy; one that works now, has worked historically, and will continue to work through any market environment.

Breaking away from some of the more traditional and over simplified strategies involving just dividend analysis, this "New Era" approach allows an investor to slightly broaden the "universe" of stocks to capture those with slightly higher growth potential.

This type of strategy is appropriate in every investor's portfolio. For institutional investors, this could be your core strategy. For individuals, this discipline can become your overall governing approach to reviewing stocks.

This book is well written, easy to understand, and is complete with charts to help explain the very detailed points Ms. Tengler makes throughout the book.

Highly recommended to all investors, even to those interested in technical analysis.

Amazing insight into market inner workings
I am a professional investor and have read most books on the market. This book is in a category with the Bible--Graham and Dodd's. To get as much info in one book was areal accomplsihment and testimony to the author's knowledge of the behavior of company's income/balance sheets as wellas the workings of the market. She has accomplsihed an incredible feat. ... Read more

Book Description

Tame the Wall Street beast—bull or bear—and succeed in any stock market with five precise winning strategies.

In today’s volatile market, standard investment strategies are just too narrow.The five easy-to-understand (and easy-to-use!) tips in this book will help you take advantage of the market, no matter what the current climate!Regardless of previous investing experience, anyone can make profitable investments by following these proven strategies.

Jake Bernstein, an expert with more than 35 years in the field, offers a contrary and controversial viewpoint that cuts through technical jargon to bring you methods that have been tested and proven effective.He will show you how to:

• Organize a successful trading routine
• Pick the right stocks at the right time
• Navigate the market to maximize returns
• Analyze critical indicators, charts and graphs
• Manage risk
• Spot big moves before they happen
• Identify abnormalfluctuations in stocks
• Use the repetitive, historical patterns of the market to get in (and out) at the right time

With lots of answers and no nonsense, this book will show you how to make big money in the market —and keep it—under any conditions!

Book Description

In the course of his research, bestselling author and market expert Charles B. Carlson noticed a surprising trend in the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average -- the worst-performing stocks in one year turned out to be among the best-performing stocks the following year.

These simple observations, now backed by extensive research, have become the basis of a new and startlingly effective method of stock investing that is the subject of this book. Carlson's "worst-to-first" strategy yields amazing results again and again. In fact, if you simply invested in the worst-performing Dow stock each year beginning with $1,000 in 1983, your nest egg would have grown to an astounding $68,000 by the end of 2002. In contrast, an investment in the Dow Jones Industrial Average would have netted only $14,000.

In Winning with the Dow's Losers, Carlson shows how an investor, with any size portfolio or any level of investment knowledge, can employ this simple, sound, and time-tested strategy to generate impressive wealth over the long term.

• Start with as little as $1,000.
• Invest in as few as 1 or as many as 10 Dow stocks.
• Review and adjust your portfolio no more than once a year.
• Achieve better results than the famous "Dogs of the Dow" approach.

Stock market fads come and go. Investors who chase them usually enrich their stockbrokers and not themselves. Not any longer. Now, with the help of Winning with the Dow's Losers, you can pick winning stocks year after year.

Reviews (3)

Sound Investment Advice For These Times
Charles B. Carlson's Winning With The Dow's Losers is an excellent resource for today's investor. The wealth of information provided between the covers is both unbiased and rich in content.

Carlson provides extensive charts and graphs displaying key statistical information where anyone can easily evaluate for their own purposes. The section where Carlson evaluates each of the 30 DOW stocks is quite exemplary. Even though the information is pretty current, Carlson keeps into account the trends of the market. He is conscience that such DOW Stocks as Eastman Kodak and AT&T might not be in touch with the current market conditions. Therefore, it may not be profitable to investment money in thoses stocks even after a battered down prior year. He also provides insight on future changes in the DOW and possible new candidates in the 30. Further analysis into the DOW Transport and Utility stocks are given as well.

The main focus of the book is to guide the reader on the simple stragegies of investing in reliable DOW Stocks and to turn over your portfolio systematically from year to year. However, the supplemental points as illustrated above certainly make this book fully loaded with valuable information. Therefore, I say keep this one handy on your shelf.

Consider Commissions, Taxes, etc.
Charles Carlson's recent book is a variation of the "Dogs of the Dow" and like the Dogs books, this one also is flawed in the overall strategy. I suggest one take the data as presented in Carlson's book and calculate what percentage advantage the worst-to-first stocks have in order to double the DOW 30 from 1931 through half of 2003. When I checked out the ten worst price performers, Carlson's top performing portfolio, I found that the advantage only amounted to 1.22%. That means Carlson's strategy of selecting the ten worst performers by price as the stocks to purchase the follow year, outperformed the DOW 30 by 1.22% per year. This small advantage results in a portfolio that is doubles the DOW 30 over a 72 year period.

What Carlson fails to tell investors, or at least does not emphasize, is that commissions, taxes, bid/ask spread, and market impact will more than use up that 1.22% advantage. Therefore one is significantly better off to purchase an index of the DOW 30, sit back and do nothing. This is an investment book where you can save your money and invest in an index. You will be further ahead seventy years from now.

Simple Winning Strategy Using DJI Losers
Charles Carlson, the author of seven previous investment books, has uncovered a simple strategy using the worst calendar-year Dow performers to beat the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) at its own game! Carlson's strategy is a twist to the Dogs of the Dow (DoD) strategy presented in Beating the Dow (1990) written by Michael O'Higgins. O'Higgins selected the ten highest paying dividend stocks in the DJIA and bought them at year-end and held them for a year, and then bought the next batch of highest yielding stocks, etc. That strategy did great in back-testing, but has not done well in the past few years.

For the uninitiated, Carlson provides the historical basis of the DJIA and devotes an entire chapter to the DJIA components, developments, and changes in the index. At least one page is devoted to each stock in the index with complete information on its historical significance and business. Another chapter is devoted to counterpoint arguments against the naysayers of his strategy.

Carlson's strategy does not use dividend yield as his selection criteria, but instead focuses on those stock(s) that have the worst yearly percentage price performance. He simply buys the DJIA stock(s) with the worst annual performance at the end of the year and holds it for one year, then he selects that year's worst performer and buys it, etc. In addition to the one stock portfolio, Carlson also shows the comparative results using the worst performing 3-stock, 5-stock and 10-stock portfolios. The 5- and 10-stock portfolios show the most consistent performance and have less risk than a one stock portfolio.

The book focuses on the performance of the worst 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-stock DJIA portfolios, and provides statistical information showing how these different stock strategies compared to the DJIA annually since 1931 (using back-testing) on a dollar-term, percentage, annual return, and percentage difference from its 200 day moving average basis. He also provided comparative results for last 30 year, 20 year, 10 year and 5 year periods. In addition, there is as 37-page appendix containing the performance of each DJIA stock since 1931 as far as annual performance change, the DJIA annual change, and the performance of each of his stock strategies in each of the years.

In a separate chapter, he even compares his strategies with the Dogs of the Dow and indicates their superiority over the DoD since 1999. The performance before that time showed mixed results depending upon which of Carlson's strategies are used.

Overall, the author presents a credible case for considering his DJIA strategies. He warns investors that they should only invest a portion of their money in any of these strategies, and to be sure to have a diversified portfolio overall to be successful. This book offers investors a mechanical stock selection process that takes the emotion out the investment equation. In that respect it has much to offer. ... Read more

Book Description

The Micro Cap Investor

Learn how today's smartest investors are discovering opportunities—and reaping profits—ahead of the Wall Street pros

Micro cap stocks are all but ignored by professional investors who can't risk losing their companies' clients—and their own careers—to the sudden volatility and price swings that are common to the micro cap market. But it is just that volatility, plus their proven record for outperforming large cap stocks over the long term, that makes micro caps perfect for independent investors looking for market-beating returns.

The Micro Cap Investor takes a behind-the-scenes look at this exciting sector to:

• Detail a market-tested process for uncovering and investing in micro caps with the greatest potential to outperform the market
• Reveal the ten key catalysts that take under-the-radar micro caps and propel them into the public spotlight
• Explain how smaller investors can use the "information advantage" to actually gain a sizable edge over institutional investors

Let The Micro Cap Investor show you how to uncover today's most promising companies, and use the power of micro cap investing to dramatically improve your long-term investment performance. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great followup to intermarket technical analysis [murphy]!
I like this book a lot. It covers stock selection using a sector rotation and intermarket-analysis methodology. I think everyone who has read John Murphy's classic Intermarket Technical Analysis should go out and buy this book. Murphy gives you the theory, Pring gives you the execution -- both are needed. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a compilation of articles, editorials, correspondence and good sayings originally published in the magazine Stock Market Technique between August 1933 and May 1934, inclusive.Subjects included selecting the best opportunities, buying on bad news, using Dow Theory, cascaret system of trading and more.There are also good stories on Wall Street operators including Bernard Baruch, Jesse Livermore, and Arthur W Cutten. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Highly Recommend
This is a compilation of articles written in the early part of the last century. The stories are fun to read, but more important there are messages that will serve to make you money, and help to preserve capital. It is funny, there is a 1929 chart of GE that shows the same type of rise and fall that we saw over the past year with many of the must own stocks. I found that what was true 70-100 years ago is still true today. ... Read more

Book Description

The scientific study of complex systems has transformed a wide range of disciplines in recent years, enabling researchers in both the natural and social sciences to model and predict phenomena as diverse as earthquakes, global warming, demographic patterns, financial crises, and the failure of materials. In this book, Didier Sornette boldly applies his varied experience in these areas to propose a simple, powerful, and general theory of how, why, and when stock markets crash.

Most attempts to explain market failures seek to pinpoint triggering mechanisms that occur hours, days, or weeks before the collapse. Sornette proposes a radically different view: the underlying cause can be sought months and even years before the abrupt, catastrophic event in the build-up of cooperative speculation, which often translates into an accelerating rise of the market price, otherwise known as a "bubble." Anchoring his sophisticated, step-by-step analysis in leading-edge physical and statistical modeling techniques, he unearths remarkable insights and some predictions--among them, that the "end of the growth era" will occur around 2050.

Sornette probes major historical precedents, from the decades-long "tulip mania" in the Netherlands that wilted suddenly in 1637 to the South Sea Bubble that ended with the first huge market crash in England in 1720, to the Great Crash of October 1929 and Black Monday in 1987, to cite just a few. He concludes that most explanations other than cooperative self-organization fail to account for the subtle bubbles by which the markets lay the groundwork for catastrophe.

Any investor or investment professional who seeks a genuine understanding of looming financial disasters should read this book. Physicists, geologists, biologists, economists, and others will welcome Why Stock Markets Crash as a highly original "scientific tale," as Sornette aptly puts it, of the exciting and sometimes fearsome--but no longer quite so unfathomable--world of stock markets.

... Read more

Reviews (20)

Bring your college economics professor along.
WOW! What I thought would be an indepth examination of markets and how and why they fluctuate was...but that's the simplistic version of it. This is, by far, the most complex and detailed account of stock market behavior I think in existence. Whether that's good or bad is entirely up to the individual reader to decide.

It is heavy on the mathmatical end of it, so bringing along your left brain with this book is a must. I found it too confusing in trying to make the formulas fit with what the text was trying to tell me. In short, I got so lost I had to reread several points, which detracted from the overall experience of learning. It's excrutiatingly detailed, to say the least. This isn't a bad thing, but definitely not my preference.

If you are highly skilled with formulas or have a LOT of time to kill reading a book, I recommend this. Otherwise...just drop your econ professor an email.

An Engaging and Thought-Provoking Work
If you love to read works on economics, math and physics and love to assemble models of the world, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Indeed, if economic models were this much fun when I was an undergraduate, I might have become an economist.

Funny thing though, this was not written by an economist, but by a geophysicist.
It seems physicists and psychologists in particular are writing more interesting economics books these days than economists themselves.

The core focus of the book is a derivation of a market model that includes value investors, momentum investors and the herding effect of individual economic agents acting in a world of partial information. The final model is stunning.

Sornette points out the main problem with predicting bubbles: even if all the signs say "yes," there is still a pretty good chance that the bubble will be self-correcting. Turns out chasing market bubbles is a little like chasing soap bubbles - they may simply disappear at any moment. Thus, the book and the model are of limited use in any type of market timing. Indeed, the model suggests that the market should now be in the tank, and yet it continues to hover on the higher side of its expected range.

As much as I loved the book, there was a slight aftertaste that this was all nothing but a very mathematical and high-minded type of technical analysis. That at base, when all was said and done, this was not all that different from the various "tools" in the chartist's handbook, e.g. MACD, RSI and OBV, etc., etc., etc. The difference may be solely that Sornette knows his statistics and would easily and readily dismiss any model which did not perform significantly different from chance.

Finally, this book will have you trotting out your old high school calculus book. It brought back memories of just how much fun mathematics can be.

All in all - I give it 5 stars.

Insightful!
The word crash strikes fear into any investor's heart. Fear not, writes scientist Didier Sornette, who has crunched the numbers (not to mention the probabilities and log periodicities) and has determined that crashes are, in fact, quite normal and predictable. If prices are soaring and everyone you know says profits are guaranteed, get ready. Sornette backs up his argument with countless charts, formulas and phrases such as "spontaneous symmetry-breaking regime." Still, there's enough plain English here to enlighten the lay reader. We suggest this book to traders and investors looking for a unique analysis of market crashes.

More than it first appears.
This is poorly edited, poorly focussed, and inadequately titled. It discusses the behavior of complex systems containing intelligent operators between cusps. Things like the human biosphere -- as well as financial markets. I would hope for a second edition suitable as a required text for upper-division students of demographics, international relations, ecology, anthropology and the like as well as the economics and finance majors its title seems pointed to.
Read Chapter 10 first. It is the most important. Then you can read the rest.

Best Explanation Yet
Of all of the books that I have read about the market (and I have read a bunch), this book provides the most compelling explanation for unusual or rare events. I am a self admitted mathamatical dunce, but even for someone that has never taken a calculus class, I could understand the underlying message of this book. The math is much too complicated for me to understand, but fortunately the style of writing the author uses allows readers like me to get around the math and to the point. ... Read more

Book Description

A Simple, Breakthrough Stock-Picking System! Pick winning stock after winning stock with nationally recognized financial expert Edward F. Mrkvicka, Jr. Using his proven Trinity Trading System, anyone can enter the market and profit, whether you’re a beginning investor on the Internet or a professional trader who needs to supercharge a portfolio. J.K. Lasser’s Pick Winning Stocks will put power into your investing as you scan key indicators listed daily in the Wall Street Journal. Then, the resistance barrier breakthroughs you chart today will begin rewarding you with a lifetime of significant returns. This easy-to-understand guide isn’t like other investing systems on the market, yet it is so clear and safe, you’ll be recognizing buy and sell signals in minutes—with or without a broker. Critical coverage will help you:

• Locate information you thought was available only to Wall Street insiders—and put it to use energizing your investments
• Take the "emotion" out of placing or canceling an order by picking stocks objectively and confidently
• Increase profitability, no matter what kind of market conditions you’re investing in

Reviews (8)

I am going to try this system out
I am starting today. I am getting wall street journals and recording the stocks that hit 3 times in the next 24 days.
I read some of the reviews and either people thought the book was written by the Lord above, and made bank, or that it didnt work. This is my guess as to why this is: The book DOES NOT SAY to buy any stock that trips across the radar screen, (like some of these boneheads obviously have done)instead read the book throughly instead of lightly going through it. The book states you have to look at the market conditions, and also the fundimentals of the stocks. Look at the earnings over the last few quarters. Look at the expected earnings for the future. Learn how to read a balance sheet. Two good books by "O'Neal who published Investors Business Daily Newpapers......one is how to invest in stocks. Look him up as a good suppliment to this book. Once you use that to help you filter out the bad stocks and learn how to read a balance sheet and to apply it to the trinity trading system, you should go on to accumilate some pretty nice wealth in your future. Anyway, I will repost in several months to tell you how it went.

Educational and informative
I learned a lot from this book - and it was easy and enjoyable to read.
I was impressed by the author's correct prediction of the crash of Nasdaq and the sizable correction of the Dow.
While not a perfect trading system (but then what is), I've done well with it. I suspect I would have done even better if the market wasn't experiencing its present turmoil.
I also noticed this; you have to read and understand the entire book to fully benefit from the trading system; i.e., the trading system is not a stand-alone, but rather a gestalt.

It has worked for me.
I wish this book had been written 15 years ago when I first started trading. No, not every trade has been a winner, but the majority have been. And, by following the author's advice, the few losers I've had have cost me virtually nothing, while my many winners have won BIG.
Bottomline: I've made more money trading this system then any other I've ever used.

Great strategy... if it worked
This was a very interesting book. I enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, the Trinity Trading System doesn't work. Since I'm a software developer, I created a database and program to automatically alert me to ALL stocks that fit Mrkvicka's strategy, and I've been monitoring it. It just doesn't work. The losers far outnumber the winners, and the winners have not been stellar. Anyone can sell a book that has a "sure-fire system," but in the end Mrkvicka provides only anecdotal evidence to back up the system. If you want an example of a statistically sound book, check out O'Shaughnessy's What Works On Wall Street or Siegel's Stocks for the Long Run. If Mrkvicka really believes in his system, he will publish valid data to prove it, not just list a few winners.

Make your picks carefully
I put the book's principles to work, and got mixed results. I would say roughly 75% of my picks based on this system produced gains in the first few days/weeks. I've probably traded 40 different stocks. I took the authors advice and moved my stops up as the price increased. However, after posting nice gains in the short term, and subsequently upped the stops as they moved, most of the stocks pulled back and hit the stop for a small gain or small loss. I had one stock post a 70% increase in a few of weeks. Check out CHH bought in early July. However, the stock had strong earnings, strength and it was also being heavily accumulated at the time I bought it. Most days 4 times the average daily volume, and up to as much as 20 times normal volume. Also, CHH is in the leisure industry which happened to be in the top 3 industries at the time. And it just so happens that it was pulling out of price consolidation or base - a perfect 'cup with handle' formation. See investors.com for further detail. It looks like all of these things made a difference in my best performing stock. I would suggest using TTS to alert you to stocks, but also check their fundamentals, volume and industry strength. Don't just buy any stock that hits your radar screen. In a bear market, I would suggest targeting a small profit, then sell it once it hits. I know that the author states that you should go long in a bear market, and short in a bull market, based on his belief that a stock that is bucking the trend shows real strength in whichever direction it is moving. But, I've found that most stocks will eventually follow the market in either direction. If I would have sold at a small profit, say 10-15% which most of the stocks that I picked made, I would have done better. Also, I would pick one stock at a time and let it prove itself instead of picking many stocks just to be fully invested. And I wouldn't limit myself to the prices that he recommends based on your portfolio, nor the number of stocks. I believe it's better to have a few good stocks and feed them, then to have many mediocre ones. Like he says, don't alter the princples of TTS, but feel free to tailor it to your needs. An interesting and good read even if you don't try it. ... Read more

Book Description

The renowned, iconoclastic head of the Acorn Fund shares his profit-maximizing, risk-minimizing investment advice in a book as irreverent as it is smart.

When USA Today asked a group of prominent professional portfolio managers whom they would choose to manage their personal wealth, the person most often cited was Ralph Wanger (Warren Buffett came in second). Hailed by both Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report as the "dean" of small-cap investing, Ralph Wanger explains the principles of investing in small, rapidly growing companies whose stocks will yield well-above-average returns.

Investors are like zebras in lion country: They must settle for meager pickings by sticking in the middle of the herd, or seek richer rewards at the outer edge, where hungry lions lurk. Wanger shows investors -- whether they are investing in mutual funds or buying stocks on their own -- how to achieve the right balance of safety and risk to survive and prosper in the investment jungle. Destined to become a classic in the field of investing, A Zebra in Lion Country is as entertaining as it is instructive. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A great book by a great manager and a talented writer
Mr. Wanger's Book is probably the most honest, sensible, intelligent and realistic book written on investing. Reading this book helps you acquire the necessary logic, method, style, and discpline to use in order to succeed in the market for the long run. Thank you Mr. Wanger.

A must-read for small-company stock and fund investors!
Ralph Wanger writes about his investment philosophy and his experiences while managing the Acorn Fund (spanning over 25 years, and encompassing varied stock-market environments) in this `un-putdownable' book. Most investors know that the phrases "disciplined investing" and "small-cap stocks" generally don't go together. In an area where gunslingers dominate the scene, Wanger's approach, explained by him in his inimitable humorous style, comes across as a breath of fresh air. "A Zebra Among the Lions" will be useful both for mutual fund investors and for those who want to invest in small-cap stocks on their own. Chapter 6 ("Themes and Variations") and chapter 7 ("Downstream from Technology") are of particular interest -- Wanger not only explains his investment philosophy in detail here, but also gives helpful pointers to those who have the time and the inclination to venture into the small-cap world on their own. And for those who prefer to stick to mutual funds, he provides a yardstick by which to evaluate their fund managers. Wanger also elaborates on the opportunities in international small-cap investing (and its importance in the coming years and decades) in Chapter 11 ("While You're at It, Include the World"). Finally, in Chapter 12 ("Parting Reminders"), he offers valuable guidelines that the investor has to keep in mind in order to achieve success. In summary, Wanger explains how it is possible for the zebra (the investor) to eat fresh grass (get attractive returns) and yet, minimize the chances of being attacked by the lions (losing money in the market)! "A Zebra Among the Lions" shatters the myth that small-cap investing has to be tumultuous and risky. Quite to the contrary, it can be systematic and rewarding. And fun too! If you find this a little hard to believe, I strongly recommend that you read this book!

Ralph Wagner explains how to invest in Ralph Wagner
The subtitle claims this book explains "how to invest in small rapidly growing companies".

Well, it turns out that, according to this book, the best way to accomplish this is to invest in small, rapidly growing companies. In all seriosness, there is almost no useful advice in this book about how to pick stocks.

What this book does explain, in extravagent detail, is why you should not pick stocks, you should use a mutual fund, and while we are on the subject, the Acorn fund (which is run by Ralph) has made lots of money. Also Acorn lost some money here and there, you shouldn't get the impression that the author is claiming infallability.

In all fairness, this was a fairly interesting read, and provided some good general insights into investing. But as far as useful insights into choosing small, rapidly growing companies, the reader is left with the impression that this can only be done by professionals. A legitimate viewpoint, except for the fact that this is exactly what the book promises (fraudulently, in my estimation) to explain how to do.

Excellent book
One of the best books I've read in investing. I highly recommend it.

A great book by a great Fund Manager and a talented writer
Mr. Wanger's Book is probably the most honest, sensible, intelligent and realistic book written on investing. Reading this book helps you acquire the necessary logic, method, style, and discpline to use in order to succeed in the market for the long run. Thank you Mr. Wanger. ... Read more

Book Description

A one-of-a-kind guide to investing in vice industries
Although vices such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling may be deemed socially irresponsible, in the investment world, these stocks continue to dramatically outperform the S&P 500 in this depressed market. Stocking Up on Sin shows readers how to get in on this hot investment trend and make the most out of publicly traded companies that deal with "vice" products such as coffee, weapons, alcohol, and tobacco.
Caroline Waxler (New York, NY) is a New York-based financial journalist. She contributes regularly to Worth and Glamour magazines as well as the Financial Times. She was also the ghostwriter for Worth's Greatest Stock Picks of All Time. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

I had no clue
Thank god there are people like Ms. Waxler out there who can write about a topic that is intimidating but does not have to be. Just from reading the book, I want to meet this young lady. She would be a riot to spend an evening with and I am sure my worth would skyrocket soon thereafter.

Why can't all investment books be this funny?
Hurrah to Ms. Waxler for doing the impossible--writing an investment book that is not only smart and savvy, but witty and--dare I say it--a page turning.This is one of those books that you read and then buy a dozen to give to friends. My friend is using it in her MBA papers. It just makes sense.

Great stock tips
This book is written with great insight and wit. As am amateur investor I valued Ms. Waxler's insight.The book is so appropriate to the decadent world we live in.She is right on!

The Heavens Parted and God said, "Read This!"
First of all, let me admit that when I 1st read the Book Flap of Ms. Waxler's book I was suspicious, downright suspicious. Most books on investing that don't take themselves seriously wind up right next to that Dilbert book my nephew gave me for Christmas because he thought I'd like the "Office Humor Element" contained within. He Wrong and so was I. Ms Waxler's book is an insightful and hilarious read. Finally a book that didn't talk down to me, as an investor this book allowed me to start thinking about things in a new perspective and I might add it made me laugh while I was thinking. I book this book as a birthday gift over 3x now and everyone I have given it to was really grateful. Do yourself a favor, become friends with me so on your birthday I'll give you this book or Just buy it yourself.

Stock up on this one!!
I have never found another book to be so creative, funny, and practical all at the same time. Ms. Waxler has given me some very good ideas for my investment strategy moving forward. This was truly a pleasure to read, and I HIGHLY reccomend this book tosavy investors who want some insightful stock tips, as well as to those who want a very good laugh!! I wish this book had been on my Wharton business school reading list. A MUST read. It makes a great gift, too! ... Read more

Book Description

“Tom Abate’s reporting on biotechnology has always been ahead of the times. The Biotech Investor tackles the brave new world of stem cells, genomics, and clones and comes up a winner.” —Thom Calandra, editor in chief, CBS MarketWatch

In The Biotech Investor, San Francisco Chronicle biotechnology reporter Tom Abate explains the science, finances, time horizon, and technological and commercial potential of this burgeoning industry.
Abate provides guidelines for assessing company leadership, easy-to-digest reports from the labs, and indispensable investor tools and metrics. He shares strategies for
• tracking the effect of breaking news and the NASDAQ
• anticipating drug trial announcements and FDA approvals
• assessing the potential market, patent rights, and distribution deals for a drug
He looks beyond medicine to biotech-related opportunities in everything from agriculture to jean manufacturing to software development. The Biotech Investor is the comprehensive, expert source for successful and intelligent investing in one of the twenty-first century’s most promising industries.

... Read more

Reviews (2)

Well structured and interesting
An excellent introduction to biotech investing.

Tom Abate is a good writer and knows his subject. I thought this book was written in a guarded, pragmatic way that suits the reader's purpose (presumably investment). The dustjacket shouts of a 'coming boom' but the author can be forgiven for what is basically puffery. Abate is clearly arguing for a period of drawn out growth fuelled by demographics and accelerating technical progress - not an imminent goldrush.

I gained a number of insights I consider valuable:
-An understanding of the mechanism of FDA approval and how companies manage themselves around it.
-The fluid business models of existing companies.
-The way in which institutional fund managers seem to advocate active trading over a 'buy and hold' approach to biotech portfolios (this surprised me).

Timely, relevant and convincingly argued. I'd probably buy another book by this author.

A strong dose of reality to the often hype driven sector
Tom Abate has been covered the Biotech industry for the San Francisco Chronicle for years. It shows. He brings a strong dose of reality to this hype driven sector.

Who this book is for:
-Independent investors willing to spend a lot of time doing research
-People looking for a current industry overview
-Job seekers

The Good:
-Extremely well written
-Up to Date (as of spring 2003)
-Knowledgeable - several small tidbits of data pay for the book by themselves

The Bad:
-Will quickly go out of date. For example the Appendix contains a list of firm websites and market caps; Market Caps change - companies disappear.
-Not enough FDA information. This should have been a separate chapter covering the FDA approval process in detail as well as other countries' processes.
-Too much basic investment advice: firm valuation/free cash flow/ portfolio theory / investor risk profile. Other books do a better, more thorough job of this.
-No bibliography

I gave it 5 stars because if you are going to invest in biotech the book will more than pay for itself. ... Read more

Book Description

Why do markets so often seem to defy logic?

Why do people hold on to their losers and dump winners?

How does your risk tolerance affect investment success?

Answers to these and other perplexing questions are found in Getting Psyched for Wall Street.This ground-breaking book explains how investors' actions and emotions affect the market.It usses the principles of psychology and the power of behavioral finance to explain the seeming contradictions of Wall Street.Now it's possible to really understand what's going on-- and profit from it.Dr. Murstein cuts through the fog that obscures the workings of the stock market.He explains why and how the market functions, in terms that can be easily understood.The book includes numerous examples and illustrations to help readers see how the concepts can be used to profit consistently.This isn't just theory: Dr. Murstein is living proof that his concepts work. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Investment book "sleeper"
I was curious about the nearly unanimous 5-star rating given this book by other reviewers. After picking up a copy from Amazon and reading it, let me join the chorus with my own 5-star rating! What a find! Murstein seems to cover nearly everything you would want to know about the market in a succinct and humorous manner, remarkable for a volume of only 350 pages. Of particular and topical interest: it has been published recently enough to discuss the impact of the Enron scandal and how investors should approach the market in these times. It is scholarly without being stodgy. Murstein evaluates the great variety of strategies, schemes, systems and newsletters out there with a very critical eye. He names names and doesn't pull any punches. While the book is oriented mainly toward the individual securities investor, he does have a useful section on mutual funds (my special interest). There's one outstanding chapter near the end (alone worth the price of the book) called "Maxims, Adages and Suggestions" - over 70 of these, many of which are very useful. One last word: I'm familiar with and rely on the Lynch and Zweig investment books; the Murstein volume beats them both hands down!

An economist's opinion
This book is a must for every serious investor. It is informative and based on research findings, but humorous and easy to read. I especially liked the chapters showing that serious individual investors can outperform professional money managers, and how to do it.

The ultimate key to working the market
Finally! A book every individual investor can understand and use immediately. Murstein is both lucid and witty. His analyses are scholarly but clearly presented. Practical? Check his chapter on a rational approach to selecting stocks. My own investment strategies will never be the same. Professor Murstein, where were you when we needed you at the beginning of our investment rollercoaster?

Give This Book to YOUR Broker [if you have one]
I REALLY enjoyed the history of investing in the introduction.

Afterward, I found certain sections to be particularly illuminating with regard to my personal efforts to increase my assets via the markets, but the numerous graphs often left me, neither a psychologist nor a financial professional, wondering.

SO, I've given a copy of this book to my broker, and I hope that SHE will use it to enrich us both.

A superb blend of psychology and finance
Getting Psyched For Wall Street: A Rational Approach To An Irrational Market by psychology and behavioral finance expert Bernard Murstein is a superb blend of psychology and finance. Specifically written to help ordinary investors of all background better understand the interaction between human psychology and the ups and downs of Wall Street, Getting Psyched For Wall Street covers everything from why so many people were blind to Enron's problems to why stocks sometimes go up on bad news and down on good news. Getting Psyched For Wall Street is a unique, inherently fascinating, "reader friendly", practical work that should be read by any investor seeking to understand how market forces function and are influenced. ... Read more