Should the blame fall on Wall Street, Main Street, or Pennsylvania Avenue? On greedy traders, misguided regulators, sleazy subprime companies, cowardly legislators, or clueless home buyers?According to Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, two of America's most acclaimed business journalists, the real answer is all of the above-and more. Many devils helped bring hell to the economy. And the full story, in all of its complexity and detail, is like the legend of the blind men and the elephant. Almost everyone has missed the big picture. Almost no one has put all the pieces together.All the Devils Are Here goes back several decades to weave the hidden history of the financial crisis in a way no previous book has done. It explores the motivations of everyone from famous CEOs, cabinet secretaries, and politicians to anonymous lenders, borrowers, analysts, and Wall Street traders. It delves into the powerful American mythology of homeownership. And it proves that the crisis ultimately wasn't about finance at all; it was about human nature.Among the devils you'll meet in vivid detail:• Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide, who dreamed of spreading homeownership to the masses, only to succumb to the peer pressure-and the outsized profits-of the sleaziest subprime lending.• Roland Arnall, a respected philanthropist and diplomat, who made his fortune building Ameriquest, a subprime lending empire that relied on blatantly deceptive lending practices.• Hank Greenberg, who built AIG into a Rube Goldberg contraption with an undeserved triple-A rating, and who ran it so tightly that he was the only one who knew where all the bodies were buried.• Stan O'Neal of Merrill Lynch, aloof and suspicious, who suffered from "Goldman envy" and drove a proud old firm into the ground by promoting cronies and pushing out his smartest lieutenants.• Lloyd Blankfein, who helped turn Goldman Sachs from a culture that famously put clients first to one that made clients secondary to its own bottom line.• Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae, who (like his predecessors) bullied regulators into submission and let his firm drift away from its original, noble mission.• Brian Clarkson of Moody's, who aggressively pushed to increase his rating agency's market share and stock price, at the cost of its integrity.• Alan Greenspan, the legendary maestro of the Federal Reserve, who ignored the evidence of a growing housing bubble and turned a blind eye to the lending practices that ultimately brought down Wall Street-and inflicted enormous pain on the country.Just as McLean's The Smartest Guys in the Room was hailed as the best Enron book on a crowded shelf, so will All the Devils Are Here be remembered for finally making sense of the meltdown and its consequences.

    Written by a world-renowned industry expert, the reference discusses how to forecast returns under different parameters. Expected returns of major asset classes, investment strategies, and the effects of underlying risk factors such as growth, inflation, liquidity, and different risk perspectives, are also explained. Judging expected returns requires balancing historical returns with both theoretical considerations and current market conditions. Expected Returns provides extensive empirical evidence, surveys of risk-based and behavioral theories, and practical insights.

    Readers will learn about investors, brokers, dealers, arbitrageurs, retail traders, day traders, rogue traders, and gamblers; exchanges, boards of trade, dealer networks, ECNs (electronic communications networks), crossing markets, and pink sheets. Also covered in this text are single price auctions, open outcry auctions, and brokered markets limit orders, market orders, and stop orders. Finally, the author covers the areas of program trades, blocktrades, and short trades, price priority, time precedence, public order precedence, and display precedence, insider trading, scalping, and bluffing, and investing, speculating, and gambling.

    The six tall men who started Benchmark, Silicon Valley's most exciting venture capital firm, put themselves at the cutting edge of the new economy by backing billion dollar start-ups like eBay and Webvan.

    But only two things have ever been money gold and silver. When paper money becomes too abundant, and thus loses its value, man always turns back to precious metals. During these times there is always an enormous wealth transfer, and it is within your power to transfer that wealth away from you or toward you." --Michael Maloney, precious metals investment expert and historian; founder and principal, Gold & Silver, Inc. The Advanced Guide to Investing Gold and Silver tells readers: The essential history of economic cycles that make gold and silver the ultimate monetary standard.How the U.S. government is driving inflation by diluting our money supply and weakening our purchasing powerWhy precious metals are one of the most profitable, easiest, and safest investments you can makeWhere, when, and how to invest your money and realize maximum returns, no matter what the economy's stateEssential advice on avoiding the middleman and taking control of your financial destiny by making your investments directly.

    This work contains chapters, data, and research that reveal contemporary shenanigans that have been known to fool even veteran researchers.

    If you are interested in the theory or practice of valuation, you should have Damodaran on Valuation on your bookshelf. You can bet that I do. -- Michael J. Mauboussin, Chief Investment Strategist, Legg Mason Capital Management and author of More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places In order to be a successful CEO, corporate strategist, or analyst, understanding the valuation process is a necessity. The second edition of Damodaran on Valuation stands out as the most reliable book for answering many of today's critical valuation questions. Completely revised and updated, this edition is the ideal book on valuation for CEOs and corporate strategists. You'll gain an understanding of the vitality of today's valuation models and develop the acumen needed for the most complex and subtle valuation scenarios you will face.

    But while most are looking at conventional barometers like unemployment rates and housing statistics, the smartest investors are following the curious and often ignored indicators that offer a true sense of where the economy is and where it's heading. These factors have been proven to provide the vital information needed to beat the market.Dow Jones columnist Simon Constable and respected financial historian Robert E. Wright offer valuable tips and insight to help investors forecast and exploit sea changes in the global macroeconomic climate. Unlike other investment handbooks, Constable and Wright’s guide explores the little-known economic indicators that the smartest investors watch closely in order to beat the stock market—from “Big Macs” to “zombie banks.” This valuable and informative read entertains and enlightens while offering essential advice on navigating the global economic climate.

    capitalism, the future of banking, and the root causes of the financial meltdown.Award winning, veteran sell side Wall Street analyst Mike Mayo writes about one of the biggest financial and political issues of our time - the role of finance and banks in the US. He has worked at six Wall Street firms, analyzing banks and protesting against bad practices for two decades.In Exile on Wall Street, Mayo:Lays out practices that have diminished capitalism and the banking sector Shares his battle scars from calling truth to power at some of the largest banks in the world and how he survived challenging the status quo to be credited as one of the few who saw the crisis coming Blows the lid off the true inner workings of the big banks and shows the ways in which Wall Street is just as bad today as it was pre-crash. Analyzes the fallout stemming from the market crash, pointing out the numerous holes that still exist in the system, and offers practical solutions. While it provides an education, this is no textbook. It is also an invaluable resource for finance practitioners and citizens alike.

    But their investment strategies are so widely divergent, what could they possibly have in common?As Mark Tier demonstrates in this insightful book, the secrets that made Buffet, Icahn, and Soros the world's three richest investors are the same mental habits and strategies they all practice religiously. However, these are mental habits and strategies that fly in the face of Wall Street's conventional mindset. For example:-Buffett, Icahn, and Soros do not diversify. When they buy, they buy as much as they can.-They're not focused on the profits they expect to make. Going in, they're not investing for the money at all.-They don't believe that big profits involve big risks. In fact, they're far more focused on not losing money than making it.-Wall Street research reports? They never read them. They're not interested in what other people think. Indeed, Buffett says he only reads analyst reports when he needs a laugh.In The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros you can discover how the mental habits that guided your last investment decision stack up against those of Buffett, Icahn, and Soros. Then learn exactly how you can apply the wealth-building secrets of the world's richest investors to transform your own investment results.

    Savvy investors will not just survive; they will thrive. Your portfolio won't fix itself; you have to do that. It's easy to close your eyes and pretend that it all never happened, but you'll never get back to even that way, much less profit from the opportunities that this new market offers to investors who know where to put their money. For the first time in any of his books, Cramer offers a portfolio of twelve stocks that he says are poised to profit from the economic recovery. And he gives investors a list of five regional banks that could make big moves and return a handsome reward to shareholders. As always, Cramer explains why investors can't just take his word but have to "buy and homework" on these stocks to make sure that their stories don't change. If you're near or in retirement, Cramer tells you why stocks should still be an important part of your investment portfolio. And for younger investors, Cramer explains why you must take advantage of what could be a rare opportunity to buy stocks at fabulous prices and set up a terrific portfolio. And as if all that weren't enough, Cramer has come up with twenty-five new rules for the post-crash market. (Rule Number 4. It pays to follow the dumb money.) The foundation for the portfolios that will soar when the economic recovery takes hold, Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even is indispensable for any investor still reeling in shock from the 2008-2009 market collapse and wondering where to go from here.

    In Investing In One Lesson, investment guru Mark Skousen clearly and convincingly reveals the reasons for the seemingly perverse, unpredictable nature of the stock market. Drawing upon his decades of experience as an investment advisor, writer, and professor, Dr. Skousen explains in one spirited, easy-to-follow lesson why stock prices fluctuate with such apparent irrationality. Lifting back the veil of perplexity and confusion that surrounds the workings of the stock market, Dr. Skousen explains:*Why good news for the economy is often bad news for the stock market*Why stocks of old, established companies in shrinking industries tend to be a better investment than shares in rapidly growing firms in cutting-edge fields*Why stock prices can suddenly skyrocket or collapse--regardless of market fundamentals*Why initial public offerings often enrich insiders at the expense of the majority of investors*How Wall Street is like a giant casino--and how it isn'tThe perfect investment primer, Investing In One Lesson provides an introduction to everything from day trading to contrary investing to chart-based techniques. Dr. Skousen's book concludes with a comprehensive but simple investment strategy to maximize your returns without having to dedicate countless hours to researching the market. Dr. Skousen packs his book with entertaining personal and professional anecdotes illustrating his central point--that the business of investing is not the same as investing in a business. He offers investors a wide-ranging but accessible course on investing history, psychology, and strategy--all in one lesson.

    The book covers the broader financial environment of the reorganization and the basic process of investment analysis and investment strategies. The author uses numerous real-world examples and case studies to emphasize important concepts and critical issues. The developments that have created these extraordinary investment opportunities have also created tremendous demand for professionals with experience and knowledge in the restructuring process. Distressed Debt Analysis: Strategies for Speculative Investors addresses the complete knowledge needs of investors and professionals in the burgeoning world of financially distressed companies. It is perfect for financial analysts, portfolio managers, bankruptcy departments of law firms, restructuring advisory groups, turnaround consulting firms, and reorganization and distressed securities departments of investment banks.

    Illustrated.

    Investing the Templeton Way provides a never-before-seen glimpse into Sir John's timeless principles and methods.Beginning with a review of the methods behind Sir John's proven investment selection process, Investing the Templeton Way provides historical examples of his most successful trades and explains how today's investors can apply Sir John's winning approaches to their own portfolios. Detailing his most well-known principle investing at the point of maximum pessimism- this book outlines the techniques Sir John has used throughout his career to identify such points and capitalize on them.Among the lessons to be learned:Discover how to keep a cool head when other investors overreact to bad newsBecome a bargain stock hunter like Sir John-buy the stocks emotional sellers wish to unload and sell them what they are desperate to buySearch worldwide to expand your bargain inventoryProtect your portfolio from yourself through diversificationRely on quantitative versus qualitative reasoning when it comes to selecting stocksAdopt a virtuous investment strategy that will endure in all market conditions