Can this young upstart money challenge the global monetary order? Economist Saifedean Ammous traces the history of the technologies of money to seashells, limestones, cattle, salt, beads, metals, and government debt, explaining what gave these technologies their monetary role, what makes for sound money, and the benefits of a sound monetary regime to economic growth, innovation, culture, trade, individual freedom, and international peace.The monetary and historical analysis sets the stage for understanding the mechanics of the operation of Bitcoin, the reasons for its initial success, and the role it could play in an information economy. Rather than serving as a currency and network for consumer purchases, the author argues Bitcoin is better suited as a store of value and network for settlement between large financial institutions. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin's true importance may just lie in providing a decentralized, neutral, free-market alternative to national central banks.

    Cohen changed Wall Street. He and his fellow pioneers of the hedge fund industry didn't lay railroads, build factories, or invent new technologies. Rather, they made their billions through speculation, by placing bets in the market that turned out to be right more often than wrong and for this, they gained not only extreme personal wealth but formidable influence throughout society. Hedge funds now oversee more than $3 trillion in assets, and the competition between them is so fierce that traders will do whatever they can to get an edge.Cohen was one of the industry's biggest success stories, the person everyone else in the business wanted to be. Born into a middle-class family on Long Island, he longed from an early age to be a star on Wall Street. He mastered poker in high school, went off to Wharton, and in 1992 launched the hedge fund SAC Capital, which he built into a $15 billion empire, almost entirely on the basis of his wizard like stock trading. He cultivated an air of mystery, reclusiveness, and excess, building a 35,000-square-foot mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, flying to work by helicopter, and amassing one of the largest private art collections in the world. On Wall Street, Cohen was revered as a genius: one of the greatest traders who ever lived.That image was shattered when SAC Capital became the target of a sprawling, seven-year investigation, led by a determined group of FBI agents, prosecutors, and SEC enforcement attorneys. Labeled by prosecutors as a magnet for market cheaters whose culture encouraged the relentless pursuit of edge and even black edge, which is inside information SAC Capital was ultimately indicted and pleaded guilty to charges of securities and wire fraud in connection with a vast insider trading scheme, even as Cohen himself was never charged.Black Edge offers a revelatory look at the gray zone in which so much of Wall Street functions. It's a riveting, true-life legal thriller that takes readers inside the government's pursuit of Cohen and his employees, and raises urgent and troubling questions about the power and wealth of those who sit at the pinnacle of modern Wall Street.

    Google's AdWords platform enables you to create pay-per-click advertisements that appear as 'sponsored links' when someone searches for content related to your product or service. You bid for the position to place your ad, and you only pay when someone clicks. It's that simple. If used correctly, AdWords can garner higher targeted traffic, which in turn will increase your conversion rates and profits. So, AdWords will definitely help your business, but you have no idea how to utilize them. What should you do? Take a couple of hours to read this book. Google AdWords for Beginners is designed to teach you the fundamentals of AdWords, how it works, why it works, and the proven techniques that you can use to make it work for you and your business. Additionally, this book details an eight-step blueprint that has consistently delivered positive results for companies. Upon completion, you'll be armed with the knowledge to launch profitable campaigns or drastically improve an existing one.

    Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms’ average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty—in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne. In The Outsiders, you’ll learn the traits and methods—striking for their consistency and relentless rationality—that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance.Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these "outsiders” shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company’s long-term value.Drawing on years of research and experience, Thorndike tells eye-opening stories, extracting lessons and revealing a compelling alternative model for anyone interested in leading a company or investing in one—and reaping extraordinary returns.

    But it is much more than that, too. It is a public ledger to which everyone has access, but which no single person controls. It allows for companies and individuals to collaborate with an unprecedented degree of trust and transparency. It is cryptographically secure, but fundamentally open. And soon it will be everywhere.In Blockchain Revolution, Don and Alex Tapscott reveal how this game-changing technology will shape the future of the world economy, dramatically improving everything from healthcare records to online voting, and from insurance claims to artist royalty payments. Brilliantly researched and highly accessible, this is the essential text on the next major paradigm shift. Read it, or be left behind.

    Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that mold them into results.Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can, and must, be learned: Managing time Choosing what to contribute to the organization Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect Setting the right priorities Knitting all of them together with effective decision-makingRanging widely through the annals of business and government, Peter F. Drucker demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations.

    In Finding and Funding Great Deals, seasoned real estate agent and investor Anson Young guides you through his tried and true methods for finding deals in any market. Inside, he outlines his own methods as well as other techniques to help new and seasoned investors alike improve their real estate business. This is not a magic pill that will turn you in to a successful investor overnight; instead this is a practical guide to several approaches to use in each step of your real estate deal finding journey. Hard work required (but not included with the purchase of this book). Inside, you will learn: Inside, you’ll discover: Marketing methods Several analysis techniques Funding approaches How to help others through pain points Negotiation techniques How to build your business so you can do it all over again.

    Just as grown-ups do not believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus, “Investing adults” know that there is no such creature as the Stock-picking Fairy or the Market-timing Fairy. Further, there is no Risk Fairy who will write you cheap options that will protect your stock holdings against loss. Investing adults are familiar with Gene Fama, Zvi Bodie, Jack Bogle, and Burton Malkiel, and understand that a mean variance optimizer does not blend vegetables. In other words, this series is not for beginners. Future topics will, with luck, include the limits of market efficiency and diversification in increasingly non-segmented global markets.

    Look out below as the rest become reality." Jim Puplava, host, financialsense.com ____________ A year after Conquer the Crash published, stock markets around the world fell precipitously. The rebound of the last six months has convinced some that we are leaving the bear market behind and entering a bull market and economic boom. In this expanded and updated Second Edition of the New York Times bestseller, Prechter returns to provide answers as to what lies ahead. He provides updated economic and market analysis, shows you how to take steps to protect, survive, and prosper and asks, contrary to what most market analysts believe, whether the depression is truly at an end? The expanded and updated edition includes a new 50 page supplement plus current Safety Sources. Written by a leading expert on investing in bear markets, this book is a timely and insightful guide for anyone looking to protect and make money in today's financial markets.Praise for the first edition:..".I am saying that this is 'must reading' for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the stock market and his or her own investing." Richard Russel, Dow Theory Letters"Prechter's understanding of technical, contrary and economic analysis is exceptional" Lawrence G. MacMillan, The Option Strategist"All investors imbued with the idea that stocks should be bought and held forever should read this book." Charlie Minter and Marty Weiner, Comstock Partners, Inc."Conquer the Crash provides disciplined investors with a map, compass and survival guide. Don't leave home without it." Henry Van der Eb, The P.Q. Wall Forecast"A compelling exposition of how both the mechanics and the psychology of the business cycle can be encapsulated in market analysis." Sean Corrigan, Capital-Insight.com"Prechter knows the facts like few others. Read this forceful argument carefully. It can save you from financial loss." James R. Cook, President, Investment Rarities..".required reading for anyone who wants to enhance his or her prospects for the years ahead." Timothy Bost, Editor, Financial Cycles

    That won’t happen if you use a few tricks for squeezing higher payments from your assets—from your Social Security account (find the hidden values there), pension (monthly income or lump sum?), home equity (sell and invest the proceeds or take a reverse mortgage?), savings (should you buy a lifetime annuity?), and retirement accounts (how to invest and—critically—how much to withdraw from your savings each year?). The right moves will not only raise the amount you have to spend, they’ll stretch out your money over many more years.You will also learn to look at your savings and investments in a new way. If you stick with super-safe choices the money might not last. You need safe money to help pay the bills in your early retirement years. But to ensure that you’ll still have spending money 10 and 20 years from now, you have to invest for growth, today. Quinn shows you how. At a time when people are living longer, yet retiring with a smaller pot of savings than they’d hoped for, this book will become the essential guide.

    But that's all about to change. Thanks to "Millionaire Maker" Loral Langemeier, you can develop the same financial intelligence that millionaires use to create, grow, and sustain their fortunes.Regardless of your income--and in as little as one year--the exclusive wealth-building method in The Millionaire Maker can have you generating enough money toQuit your job and start doing the things you loveControl and then eliminate your debt no matter how much you oweLive your life on your schedule--instead of your employer'sLoral Langemeier has already shown thousands of people how to tailor her proven wealth-building program to their individual needs, no matter what their financial condition--and she can do it for you too. As a hardworking single mom, Loral developed a process of transforming her income into assets, and assets into income that in turn created even more assets--something she calls the Wealth Cycle. Using her program, you'll learn how to build your own continually growing cycle of wealth by Engaging in business ventures that generate passive incomeSubstantially decreasing your tax burdenForming trusts, corporations, and partnerships to protect your assets and create a nonstop revenue streamYou'll also gain free access to many of the resources and investment advisors previously available only to those who sign up for Loral's world-famous Live Out Loud (www.liveoutloud.com) seminars and workshops. To live the life you've always wanted, all you need is a sincere commitment to building wealth and a proven system to make it happen--which you'll find only in The Millionaire Maker.

    Douglas Hubbard helps us create a path to know the answer to almost any question in business, in science, or in life . . . Hubbard helps us by showing us that when we seek metrics to solve problems, we are really trying to know something better than we know it now. How to Measure Anything provides just the tools most of us need to measure anything better, to gain that insight, to make progress, and to succeed." -Peter Tippett, PhD, M.D. Chief Technology Officer at CyberTrust and inventor of the first antivirus software "Doug Hubbard has provided an easy-to-read, demystifying explanation of how managers can inform themselves to make less risky, more profitable business decisions. We encourage our clients to try his powerful, practical techniques." -Peter Schay EVP and COO of The Advisory Council "As a reader you soon realize that actually everything can be measured while learning how to measure only what matters. This book cuts through conventional cliches and business rhetoric and offers practical steps to using measurements as a tool for better decision making. Hubbard bridges the gaps to make college statistics relevant and valuable for business decisions." -Ray Gilbert EVP Lucent "This book is remarkable in its range of measurement applications and its clarity of style. A must-read for every professional who has ever exclaimed, 'Sure, that concept is important, but can we measure it?'" -Dr. Jack Stenner Cofounder and CEO of MetraMetrics, Inc.

    Enron was forced to declare bankruptcy after allegations of massive accounting fraud, wiping out $78 billion in stock market value. Bernie Madoff, the largest individual fraudster in history, built a $65 billion Ponzi scheme that ultimately resulted in his being sentenced to 150 years in prison. People from all walks of life have been scammed out of their money: French and British nobility looking to get rich quickly, farmers looking for a miracle cure for their health ailments, several professional athletes, and some of Hollywood's biggest stars. No one is immune from getting deceived when money is involved. Don't Fall For It is a fascinating look into some of the biggest financial frauds and scams ever.This compelling book explores specific instances of financial fraud as well as some of the most successful charlatans and hucksters of all-time. Sharing lessons that apply to business, money management, and investing, author Ben Carlson answers questions such as: Why do even the most intelligent among us get taken advantage of in financial scams? What make fraudsters successful? Why is it often harder to stay rich than to get rich? Each chapter in examines different frauds, perpetrators, or victims of scams. These real-life stories include anecdotes about how these frauds were carried out and discussions of what can be learned from these events. This engaging book:Explores the business and financial lessons drawn from some of history's biggest frauds Describes the conditions under which fraud tends to work best Explains how people can avoid being scammed out of their money Suggests practical steps to reduce financial fraud in the future Don't Fall For It: A Short History of Financial Scams is filled with engrossing real-life stories and valuable insights, written for finance professionals, investors, and general interest readers alike.

    Clason’s The Richest Man in Babylon is an international best selling and now considered classic book on financial investment and fiscal success. Through a series of delightful short stories, straight from the heart of ancient Babylon, these economic tips and tools for financial success have withstood the test of time and are applicable still today. Here, Clason's text is interpreted for the modern day world and offers you 52 simple - yet powerful - and proven techniques to manage your finances. Karen McCreadie's interpretation of Clason's work illustrates the timeless nature of his insights by bringing them to life through modern case studies. This brilliant interpretation of The Richest Man in Babylon is an entertaining accompaniment to one of the most famous books on personal finance ever written.