Extreme Money: Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk


Satyajit Das - 2011
    In "Extreme Money," best-selling author and global finance expert Satyajit Das tells how this happened and what it means. Das reveals the spectacular, dangerous money games that are generating increasingly massive bubbles of fake growth, prosperity, and wealth--while endangering the jobs, possessions, and futures of virtually everyone outside finance. ..".virtually in a category of its own -- part history, part book of financial quotations, part cautionary tale, part textbook. It contains some of the clearest charts about risk transfer you will find anywhere. ...Others have laid out the dire consequences of financialisation ("the conversion of everything into monetary form," in Das's phrase), but few have done it with a wider or more entertaining range of references...[Extreme Money] does... reach an important, if worrying, conclusion: financialisation may be too deep-rooted to be torn out. As Das puts it -- characteristically borrowing a line from a movie, Inception -- "the hardest virus to kill is an idea." -Andrew Hill "Eclectic Guide to the Excesses of the Crisis" ""Financial Times ""(August 17, 2011) Extreme Money named to the longlist for the 2011 FT and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award.

Den of Thieves


James B. Stewart - 1991
    Stewart shows for the first time how four of the eighties’ biggest names on Wall Street—Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine —created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions, until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America’s most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice. Based on secret grand jury transcripts, interviews, and actual trading records, and containing explosive new revelations about Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky written especially for this paperback edition, Den of Thieves weaves all the facts into an unforgettable narrative—a portrait of human nature, big business, and crime of unparalleled proportions.

Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis


James Rickards - 2011
    dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon.Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries' stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008.Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict.As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself.Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas.While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Rickards untangles the web of failed paradigms, wishful thinking, and arrogance driving current public policy and points the way toward a more informed and effective course of action.

The Psychology of Investing


John R. Nofsinger - 2001
    

The Stock Market Outsider: Becoming a Billionaire: Valuable, Practical Insight


Philip Fanara - 2014
    With this huge amount of money moving around daily, the average investor never becomes rich in the stock market. Why is this?Average investors do not become rich because they do not know how to apply psychology and business acumen to investment decisions. Instead they attempt to mimic the behaviors of successful investors such as Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Carl Icahn in a desperate bid to achieve half their success. Millions of investors mimic these strategies and still do not become rich.This fact applies universally – even the most successful psychologists, corporate executives, statisticians, and finance professors cannot seem to leverage their knowledge to succeed in the market.Does this mean that it is impossible to become rich in the stock market? Of course not; it is very possible to become rich in the market. The distinguishing difference between the average investor and the successful investor is a history of consistent, insightful trading.Becoming better than the average investor means seeking out knowledge that the average investor does not have. Nearly all investment books are devoid of this prized knowledge – which is why the average investor, reading the average investment book, never acquires sufficient insight to succeed in the market.“The Stock Market Outsider: Becoming a Billionaire” ventures into a realm beyond that of the average investment book. It provides an interesting, practical approach to succeeding in the market using psychology and business acumen to drive investment decisions. The book focuses on the core principle of stock market success – investing in businesses that are most likely to increase in value and understanding when to enter and exit positions. It disregards the unnecessarily complex and risky trading strategies that many traders use to their own doom – strategies that are closer to gambling than true investing.The author, Philip Fanara, is a Certified Internal Auditor with a career broadly spanning over multiple business areas. He is an avid data miner, possessing over 10 years of investment experience, an M.B.A. from Louisiana State University, and is certified in Risk Management Assurance. "The Stock Market Outsider: Becoming a Billionaire" is the culmination of his years of experience, education, and research on business and investments. The strategy detailed throughout the book was developed after devoting a year to intensely analyzing market data, psychology, and his past trading successes and failures.

Options as a Strategic Investment


Lawrence G. McMillan - 1980
    A best-selling guide giving serious investors hundreds of market-tested strategies, to maximise the earnings potential of their portfolio while reducing risk.

Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value Investor


Edgar Wachenheim - 2016
    Author Edgar Wachenheim is the 28-year CEO of Greenhaven Associates, boasting an average annual portfolio comparable to Warren Buffet's. In this book, he shares his knowledge and experiences by providing detailed analyses of actual investments made by himself and other investors. The discussion covers the entire investment process, including the softer, human side, with candid insight into the joys and frustrations, intensities and pressures, and risks and uncertainties. The unique emphasis on behavioral economics and real-world cases set this book apart from the herd--but it's Wachenheim himself and his deeply-examined perspective that elevates the book beyond a mere investing guide.Between 1990 and 2014, a typical portfolio managed by Wachenheim enjoyed an average annual return in excess of 18%, achieved using relatively conservative stocks and no financial leverage. As a proponent of evidence and example, his analysis of real cases serve as a valuable education for anyone looking to improve their own investment practices.Understand investment through the lens of a Wall Street leaderDig into the details of real-world common stock investingLearn how to invest creatively and minimize riskGo beyond theory to study strategy on a case-by-case basisInvestment principles and strategies are easy to find--entire libraries have been written about theories and methods and what 'should' happen. But this book goes beyond the typical guide to show you how these ideas are applied in the real world--and what actually happened. Investors seeking real insight, real expertise, and a proven track record will find Common Stocks and Common Sense a uniquely useful resource.

Dead Companies Walking: How A Hedge Fund Manager Finds Opportunity in Unexpected Places


Scott Fearon - 2015
    He has earned millions of dollars for his hedge fund over the last thirty years shorting the stocks of businesses he believed were on their way to bankruptcy. In Dead Companies Walking, Fearon describes his methods for spotting these doomed businesses, and how they can be extremely profitable investments. In his experience, corporate managers routinely commit six common mistakes that can derail even the most promising companies: they learn from only the recent past; they rely too heavily on a formula for success; they misunderstand their target customers; they fall victim to the magical storytelling of a mania; they fail to adapt to tectonic shifts in their industry; and they are physically or emotionally removed from their companies' operations. Fearon has interviewed thousands of executives across America, many of whom, unknowingly, were headed toward bankruptcy – from the Texas oil barons of the 80s to the tech wunderkinds of the late 90s to the flush real estate developers of the mid-2000s. Here, he explores recent examples like JC Penney, Herbalife and Blockbuster Entertainment to help investors better predict the next booms and busts—and come out on top.

Gurus of Chaos: Modern India's Money Masters


Saurabh Mukherjea - 2014
    The Indian stock market is many things to many people. Some are drawn to its thrill and promise but, more often than not, they fail to recognize the risk that accompanies the reward of a great ride. For many, the market and its workings defy logic and mastery. However, within the universe of market watchers in India, there is a small group that has managed to build a fine set of navigation tools and develop a unique perspective and approach towards the market. They have created and institutionalized investment strategies based on their experiences and philosophies. Saurabh Mukherjea delves into the minds of seven such individuals asking them to elaborate on the tools they use and how these work. He traces their journey from being novices to successful long-term investors. Using their insights and his own experience of working in the market for nearly a decade, Mukherjea provides an essential and indispensable framework for operating in the Indian stock market.The interviews with prominent fund managers in the book are:Sanjoy BhattacharyaAlroy LoboAkash PrakashSankaran NarenSashi ReddyB.N. ManjunathOne who prefers to remain anonymous

Mr. Market Miscalculates: The Bubble Years and Beyond


James Grant - 2008
    The how we got here is brilliantly described in a collection of pieces from Grant's Interest Rate Observer, the Wall Street insider's Bible. The where we are going is treated in Jim Grant's up-to-the-minute introduction. No fan of Greenspan or Bernanke, Grant tells the unvarnished truth about America.

The Davis Dynasty: Fifty Years of Successful Investing on Wall Street


John Rothchild - 2001
    With a novelist's wit and eye for telling detail, Rothchild chronicles the financial escapades of this eccentric, pioneering clan, providing a vivid portrait of fifty years of Wall Street history along the way. Rothchild shadows the Davis family's holdings through two lengthy bull markets, two savage and seven mild bear markets, one crash, and twenty-five corrections and, in the process, reveals the strategies behind the family's uncanny ability to consistently beat the markets. The Davis Dynasty begins in 1947, the year Shelby Davis quit his job as a state bureaucrat and, armed with $50,000 of his wife's money, took the plunge into stock investing. By the time he died in 1994, he had multiplied his wife's original stake 8,000 times! The story continues with his son, Shelby, who established one of the most successful funds of the past thirty years. The final characters in this enthralling family saga are grandsons Chris and Andrew. Both surrendered to the Davis family passion for investing and both went on to earn reputations as investment luminaries in their own right. John Rothchild (Miami Beach, FL) co-wrote the blockbusters One Up on Wall Street, Beating the Street, and Learn to Earn with Peter Lynch. He is the author of Survive and Profit in Ferocious Markets (Wiley: 0-471-34882-1), A Fool and His Money (Wiley: 0-471-25138-0), and Going for Broke. He has written for Harper's, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and other leading magazines and he has appeared on the Today Show, the Nightly Business Report, and CNBC.

Capital Returns: Investing Through the Capital Cycle: A Money Manager's Reports 2002-15


Edward Chancellor - 2015
    Economists, policymakers, central bankers and most people in the financial world have been blindsided by these busts, while investors have lost trillions. Economists argue that bubbles can only be spotted after they burst and that market moves are unpredictable. Yet Marathon Asset Management, a London-based investment firm managing over $50 billion of assets has developed a relatively simple method for identifying and potentially avoiding them: follow the money, or rather the trail of investment. Bubbles – whether they affect a whole economy or merely a single industry, tend to attract a splurge of capital spending. Excessive investment drives down returns and leads inexorably to a bust. This was the case with both the technology bubble at the turn of the century and the US housing bubble which followed shortly after. More recently, vast sums have been invested in mining and energy. From an investor's perspective, the trick is to avoid investing in sectors, or markets, where investment spending is unduly elevated and competition is fierce, and to put one's money to work where capital expenditure is depressed, competitive conditions are more favourable and, as a result, prospective investment returns are higher. This capital cycle strategy encourages investors to eschew the simple 'growth' and 'value' dichotomy and identify firms that can deliver superior returns either because capital has been taken out of an industry, or because the business has strong barriers to entry (what Warren Buffett refers to as a 'moat'). Some of Marathon's most successful investments have come from obscure, sometimes niche operations whose businesses are protected from the destructive forces of the capital cycle. Capital Returns is a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practical implementation of the capital cycle approach to investment. Edited and with an introduction by Edward Chancellor, the book brings together 60 of the most insightful reports written between 2002 and 2014 by Marathon portfolio managers. Capital Returns provides key insights into the capital cycle strategy, all supported with real life examples – from global brewers to the semiconductor industry - showing how this approach can be usefully applied to different industry conditions and how, prior to 2008, it helped protect assets from financial catastrophe. This book will be a welcome reference for serious investors who looking to maximise portfolio returns over the long run.

Why Moats Matter: The Morningstar Approach to Stock Investing


Heather Brilliant - 2014
    This book explains the investment approach used by Morningstar, Inc., and includes a free trial to Morningstar's Research.Economic moats--or sustainable competitive advantages--protect companies from competitors. Legendary investor Warren Buffett devised the economic moat concept. Morningstar has made it the foundation of a successful stock-investing philosophy.Morningstar views investing in the most fundamental sense: For Morningstar, investing is about holding shares in great businesses for long periods of time. How can investors tell a great business from a poor one? A great business can fend off competition and earn high returns on capital for many years to come. The key to finding these great companies is identifying economic moats that stem from at least one of five sources of competitive advantage--cost advantage, intangible assets, switching costs, efficient scale, and network effect. Each source is explored in depth throughout this book.Even better than finding a great business is finding one at a great price. The stock market affords virtually unlimited opportunities to track prices and buy or sell securities at any hour of the day or night. But looking past that noise and understanding the value of a business's underlying cash flows is the key to successful long-term investing. When investors focus on a company's fundamental value relative to its stock price, and not where the stock price sits today versus a month ago, a day ago, or five minutes ago, investors start to think like owners, not traders. And thinking like an owner will makes readers better investors.The book provides a fundamental framework for successful long-term investing. The book helps investors answer two key questions: How can investors identify a great business, and when should investors buy that business to maximize return?Using fundamental moat and valuation analysis has led to superior risk-adjusted returns and made Morningstar analysts some of the industry's top stock-pickers. In this book, Morningstar shares the ins and outs of its moat-driven investment philosophy, which readers can use to identify great stock picks for their own portfolios.

Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard: How to Achieve Super Performance in Stocks in Any Market


Mark Minervini - 2013
    -- JACK SCHWAGER, bestselling author of Stock Market WizardsMark's book has to be on every investor's bookshelf. It is about the most comprehensive work I have ever read on investing in growth stocks. -- DAVID RYAN, three-time U.S. Investing Champion[Minervini is] one of the most highly respected independent traders of our generation. His experience and past history of savvy market calls is legendary. -- CHARLES KIRK, The Kirk ReportOne of Wall Street's most remarkable success stories. -- BEN POWER, Your Trading EdgeTHE INVESTOR'S GUIDE TO SUPERPERFORMANCE! Dramatically increase your stock market returns with the legendary SEPA system!For the first time ever, U.S. Investing Champion Mark Minervini reveals the proven, time-tested trading system he used to achieve triple-digit returns for five consecutive years, averaging 220% per year for a 33,500% compounded total return.In Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard, Minervini unveils his trademarked stock market method SEPA, which provides outsized returns in virtually every market by combining careful risk management, self-analysis, and perseverance. He explains in detail how to select precise entry points and preserve capital--for consistent triple- digit returns.Whether you're just getting started in the stock market or you're a seasoned pro, Minervini will show how you how to achieve SUPERPERFORMANCE! You'll gain valuable knowledge as he shares lessons, trading truths, and specific tactics--all derived from his 30-year career as one of America's most successful stock traders.Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard teaches you:How to find the best stocks before they make big price gainsHow to avoid costly mistakes made by most investorsHow to manage losses and protect profitsHow to avoid high-risk situationsPrecisely when to buy and when to sellHow to buy an IPOWhy traditional valuation doesn't work for fast-growing SuperperformersExamples of Minervini's personal trades with his commentsWith more than 160 chart examples and numerous case studies proving the remarkable effectiveness of Minervini's methodology, Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard puts in your hands one of the most effective and--until now--secretive stock investing systems in the world.MARK MINERVINI has a trademarked stock market method that produces outsized returns in virtually every market. It's called Specific Entry Point Analysis--SEPA--and it has been proven effective for selecting precise entry points, preserving capital and profi ts with even more precise exit points--and consistently producing triple-digit returns.Now, in Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard, Minervini shares--for the fi rst time ever--his coveted methodology with investors like you!

The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm


Robert F. Bruner - 2007
    The authors, however, bring this story alive in a fast-moving book, and the reader sees how events of that time are very relevant for today's financial world. In spite of all of our advances, including a stronger monetary system and modern tools for managing risk, Bruner and Carr help us understand that we are not immune to a future crisis.- --Dwight B. Crane, Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School -Bruner and Carr provide a thorough, masterly, and highly readable account of the 1907 crisis and its management by the great private banker J. P. Morgan. Congress heeded the lessons of 1907, launching the Federal Reserve System in 1913 to prevent banking panics and foster financial stability. We still have financial problems. But because of 1907 and Morgan, a century later we have a respected central bank as well as greater confidence in our money and our banks than our great-grandparents had in theirs.- --Richard Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets, and Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business, New York University-A fascinating portrayal of the events and personalities of the crisis and panic of 1907. Lessons learned and parallels to the present have great relevance. Crises and panics are as much a part of our future as our past.- --John Strangfeld, Vice Chairman, Prudential Financial-Who would have thought that a hundred years after the Panic of 1907 so much remained to be written about it? Bruner and Carr break significant new ground because they are willing to do the heavy lifting of combing through massive archival material to identify and weave together important facts. Their book will be of interest not only to banking theorists and financial historians, but also to business school and economics students, for its rare ability to teach so clearly why and how a panic unfolds.- --Charles Calomiris, Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions, Columbia University, Graduate School of Business