The Deals of Warren Buffett: Volume 1, The First $100m


Glen Arnold - 2017
    The Deals of Warren Buffett - Volume 1 charts the series of investments that made up that journey. In revealing detail, and with a lucid descriptive style, experienced author and investor Glen Arnold explains Buffett's thinking behind these investment deals and shows how his cumulative returns compounded his wealth over time. In this formative period, from 1941-78, Buffett developed and honed the investment philosophy that would lead him to become so successful as his career progressed. But it was not all plain sailing - Buffett made mistakes along the way - and Arnold shows how Buffett learned through success and failure how to select companies worth backing. Arnold also includes insightful 'learning points' at the end of each chapter, which reveal how investors can learn from the craft of Warren Buffett to improve their own investing. Investments featured in this first volume include: GEICO, American Express, Disney, Berkshire Hathaway, See's Candies, and The Washington Post. With stories and analysis drawn from decades of investing experience, join Glen Arnold and delve deeper in The Deals of Warren Buffett!

The Big Short: by Michael Lewis


aBookaDay - 2016
    If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. SPECIAL OFFER $2.99 (Regularly priced: $3.99) OVERVIEW This review of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis provides a chapter by chapter detailed summary followed by an analysis and critique of the strengths and weaknesses of the book. The main theme explored in the book is how corruption and greed in Wall Street caused the crash of the subprime mortgage market in 2008. Despite being completely preventable, the big firms in Wall Street chose to ignore the oncoming fall in favor of making money. Michael Lewis introduces characters—men outside of the Wall Street machine—who foresaw the crisis and, through several different techniques, were able to predict how and when the market would fall. Lewis portrays these men—Steve Eisman, Mike Burry, Charlie Ledley, and Jamie Mai—as the underdogs, who were able to understand and act upon the obvious weaknesses in the subprime market. Lewis’s overall point is to demonstrate how the Wall Street firms were manipulating the market. They used loans to cash in on the desperation of middle-to-lower class Americans, and then ultimately relied on the government to bail them out when the loans were defaulted. Using anecdotes and interviews from the men who were involved first-hand, the author makes the case that Wall Street, and how they conducted business in regards to the subprime mortgage market, is truly corrupt beyond repair, and the men he profiles in this novel were trying to make the best out of a bad situation. By having the words from the sources themselves, this demonstrates Lewis’s search for the truth behind what actually happened. Ultimately, we as an audience can not be sure if the intentions of these underdogs were truly good, but Lewis does an admirable job presenting as many sides to the story as possible. The central thesis of the work is that the subprime mortgage crisis was caused by Wall Street firms pushing fraudulent loans upon middle-to-lower class Americans that they would essentially not be able to afford. Several people outside of Wall Street were able to predict a crash in the market when these loans would be defaulted on, and bought insurance to bet against the market (essentially, buying short). Over a time period from roughly 2005-2008, the market crashed and huge banks and firms lost billions of dollars, filed for bankruptcy, or were bailed out by the government. These men, the characters of Lewis’s novel, were able to bet against the loans and made huge amounts of money, but it was not quite an easy journey. Michael Lewis is a non-fiction author and financial journalist. He has written several novels—notably Liar’s Poker in 1989, Moneyball in 2003, and The Blind Side in 2006. Born in New Orleans, he attended Princeton University, receiving a BA degree in Art History. After attending London School of Economics and receiving his masters there, he was hired by Salomon Brothers where he experienced much about what he wrote about in Liar’s Poker. He is currently married, with three children and lives in Berkeley, California. SUMMARY PROLOGUE: POLTERGEIST Michael Lewis begins his tale of the remarkable—and strange—men who predicted the immense fall of the housing market by immediately exposing himself as the exact opposite type of person from them. He explains to the reader that he has no background in accounting, business, or money managing.

House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again


Atif Mian - 2014
    More than four million homes were lost to foreclosures. Is it a coincidence that the United States witnessed a dramatic rise in household debt in the years before the recession—that the total amount of debt for American households doubled between 2000 and 2007 to $14 trillion? Definitely not. Armed with clear and powerful evidence, Atif Mian and Amir Sufi reveal in House of Debt how the Great Recession and Great Depression, as well as the current economic malaise in Europe, were caused by a large run-up in household debt followed by a significantly large drop in household spending. Though the banking crisis captured the public’s attention, Mian and Sufi argue strongly with actual data that current policy is too heavily biased toward protecting banks and creditors. Increasing the flow of credit, they show, is disastrously counterproductive when the fundamental problem is too much debt. As their research shows, excessive household debt leads to foreclosures, causing individuals to spend less and save more. Less spending means less demand for goods, followed by declines in production and huge job losses. How do we end such a cycle? With a direct attack on debt, say Mian and Sufi.  More aggressive debt forgiveness after the crash helps, but as they illustrate, we can be rid of painful bubble-and-bust episodes only if the financial system moves away from its reliance on inflexible debt contracts. As an example, they propose new mortgage contracts that are built on the principle of risk-sharing, a concept that would have prevented the housing bubble from emerging in the first place. Thoroughly grounded in compelling economic evidence, House of Debt offers convincing answers to some of the most important questions facing the modern economy today: Why do severe recessions happen? Could we have prevented the Great Recession and its consequences? And what actions are needed to prevent such crises going forward?

How to Attract Money Using Mind Power: A Concise Guide to Manifesting Abundance, Prosperity, Financial Success, Wealth, and Well-Being


James Goi Jr. - 2007
    Through it, you will experience more color and texture in the treatment of this important subject, and you will deepen your feel for the life-changing concepts and techniques.If you are serious about attracting a lot more money into your life, this book should be on your bookshelf right alongside How to Attract Money Using Mind Power. And although this is indeed a companion book, you can benefit greatly from reading it even if you haven’t read the original work. All on its own, this book will give you sufficient knowledge to totally transform your financial circumstances and attract all the money you can handle. Table of Contents: 1. Desire2. Belief3. Expectancy4. Money Mindset5. Money Goals6. Think End Results7. Think and Feel As If8. Speak As If9. Act As If10. Affirmations11. Visualization12. Environment13. Organization14. Laws of Money15. Intuition16. Plans17. Right Livelihood18. Self-Image19. Personal Energy20. Radiate Financial IncreaseAttracting more money, manifesting wealth, creating a life of prosperity, abundance, and affluence—these are things anyone can accomplish, but relatively few do. The difference between the haves and the have nots? It’s a mental difference. It all starts in the mind, with the power of thought. This book will teach you how to think in a way that will propel you down your road to success, achievement, and financial freedom.

Thieves of Bay Street: How Banks, Brokerages and the Wealthy Steal Billions from Canadians


Bruce Livesey - 2012
    Though no large financial institution has recently gone bust in this country, white-collar criminals, scam artists, Ponzi schemers and organized crime, from the Hells Angels to the Russian mafia, know that Canada is the place in the Western world to rip off investors. And the fraudsters do so with little fear of being caught and punished. Thieves of Bay Street investigates Canada's biggest financial scandals of recent years. Readers will learn what banks do with investors' money and what happens when they lose it. They will meet the bogus investment gurus, the brokers who lose money with both reckless abandon and impunity, the bankers who squander money in toxic investments, the lawyers who protect them and the regulators who do nothing to keep them from doing it again. And most importantly, they'll meet the victims who are demanding that our vaunted banking sector finally come clean on its dirtiest secret.

Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians Got It Right-and How We Can, Too


George Lakey - 2016
    But the left and right can usually agree on one thing: that the Nordic system is impossible to replicate here at home. The US is too big, or too individualistic, or too puritan, or too . . . something. Whatever the reason, it's impossible, and we shouldn't bother to try.Enter George Lakey. A longtime activist and academic, Lakey has spent decades studying the economies of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, and in Viking Economics, he reveals that Scandinavia's deep commitment to the welfare state is much more recent than we think. Not long ago, Scandinavia was a far more unequal place, with a much weaker commitment to the social welfare of its citizens. There's nothing inherently Scandinavian about greater equality . . . so why not try it here?Viking Economics is more fun and entertaining than any economics book you've ever read. And, very possibly, more convincing! As he ranges from twentieth-century Norwegian history to the details of Swedish childcare policies, Lakey never loses his sense of humor or his expansive, generous vision of a better, more equal future. By explaining that even Scandinavia's grandest experiments in social equality are rooted in recent political struggles, Lakey explains shows how we can do it, too—conventional wisdom be damned.From the Hardcover edition.

Stock Investing For Beginners: How To Buy Your First Stock And Grow Your Money


John Roberts - 2017
     What was his secret, everyone wondered? And the answer turned out to be pretty basic. Because, besides being industrious and frugal, which you may have guessed, he had invested in the stock market throughout the years. This is actually not as surprising as it may sound. According to a recent World Wealth Report, the wealthy invest the largest part of their money into stocks and businesses. Our wise janitor had simply done what the wealthy do. So he got a similar result. That is, he grew his money into considerable wealth. And you can do this too. Now, we aren't saying you will make $8 million. After all, this is a beginners book and the janitor had an extraordinary result. But stock market investing is one of the best tools you can use to build a more secure financial future for you and your family. So are you someone who wants to make money in the stock market? And does that story make you feel excited? Have you tried to understand the stock market, only to be discouraged by how complicated it all seems? And aren't you just a little bit encouraged that an ordinary person, like our janitor from Vermont, could invest in stocks and succeed? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this book just might be the solution you've been looking for. Because it will show you just what you need to know, and no more, to start investing in the stock market. And it will describe all of this for you in simple terms you already understand. Not complicated theory. Not a mind-numbing blitz of technical buzzwords. Just what you need to know and no more. And the few specific steps you can take to get started. Here's what you will learn: -The 5 big reasons to invest in stocks -Simple explanations of the basics of stock market investing -Great sources of recommendations to help you pick winners (no complicated research required) -The one thing you must do to get started (but you only have to do it once) -How to buy and sell stocks -3 key strategies to protect your stock investments from big losses -And many more invaluable tips on building your stock portfolio  So that by the end of this book, you will be able to buy your first stock. You will know the simple steps to grow your money in the stock market. And start on the your path to a more secure financial future.

The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath


Ben S. Bernanke - 2015
    Bernanke was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, the unexpected apex of a personal journey from small-town South Carolina to prestigious academic appointments and finally public service in Washington’s halls of power.There would be no time to celebrate.The bursting of a housing bubble in 2007 exposed the hidden vulnerabilities of the global financial system, bringing it to the brink of meltdown. From the implosion of the investment bank Bear Stearns to the unprecedented bailout of insurance giant AIG, efforts to arrest the financial contagion consumed Bernanke and his team at the Fed. Around the clock, they fought the crisis with every tool at their disposal to keep the United States and world economies afloat.Working with two U.S. presidents, and under fire from a fractious Congress and a public incensed by behavior on Wall Street, the Fed—alongside colleagues in the Treasury Department—successfully stabilized a teetering financial system. With creativity and decisiveness, they prevented an economic collapse of unimaginable scale and went on to craft the unorthodox programs that would help revive the U.S. economy and become the model for other countries.Rich with detail of the decision-making process in Washington and indelible portraits of the major players, The Courage to Act recounts and explains the worst financial crisis and economic slump in America since the Great Depression, providing an insider’s account of the policy response.

Ethereum: The Ultimate Guide to the World of Ethereum, Ethereum Mining, Ethereum Investing, Smart Contracts, Dapps and DAOs, Ether, Blockchain Technology


Ikuya Takashima - 2017
    This book is going to provide you with everything you need to know about Ethereum and whether it is worth investing in now. Like many people, I became interested in Bitcoin years ago, when Bitcoin was still relatively new, but hinting at a huge profit margin for those who took the risk and invested. It was after a couple of years playing around on the Bitcoin market that I heard about a new type of blockchain technology, one that wasn’t just a digital form of payment, but one that could support potentially endless different types of applications. Not only that, but it comes with its own currency. This, to me, sounded like a potentially profitable situation, so I decided to dig a little deeper. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is still largely unknown to those who don’t keep up with the cryptocurrency world, so the amount of information available is limited or highly technical. Still, it was fascinating and the more I read about Ethereum, the more I began to see its huge potential. And I’m not alone. More and more Fortune 500 companies are investing in Ethereum technology as it becomes increasingly lucrative and poises to change business processes as we know them. I decided to condense my research and share my knowledge on Ethereum by writing this book. The book is designed for those who are new to cryptocurrency, but want to invest in it or learn more about it, as well as for more experienced traders looking to expand their portfolios. With a 5,000% increase in value in the first few months of 2017, Ethereum is proving to be a profitable currency. Still, as it is so new – it was only launched in 2015 – it comes with many infancy-related risks. It’s partly this that makes it so exciting. This book will help you make your own investment decisions and decide if Ethereum is the right coin for you after weighing up the pros and cons that are presented here. So far, Ethereum has made me good money and I was lucky to make the investment when I did. However, now is not too late to invest, not by a long shot. In fact, now is the perfect moment to make the most of Ethereum’s infancy and gain potential first-mover advantages. Ethereum’s technology is only at the beginning of its potential growth stages, possibly reaching to dozens of industries and thousands of services. If its technology is adopted the way it is expected to be, Ethereum will enjoy a long and lucrative spot at the top. The profits are ripe for the taking. Here Is A Preview Of What’s Included… What Is Ethereum? Smart Contracts, Dapps, And DAOs The Technology Behind Ethereum What Is Ethereum Mining? Uses Of Ethereum What Is Ether? The Financial History Of Ether How to Buy, Sell, And Store Ether The Mining Process Of Ether Should I Invest In Ether? The Future Of Ethereum Much, Much More! Get your copy today!

The Little Book of Sideways Markets: How to Make Money in Markets That Go Nowhere


Vitaliy N. Katsenelson - 2010
    Katsenelson gives a lucid explanation of today's markets with sound advice about how to make money while avoiding the traps that the market sets for exuberant bulls and frightened bears alike." -- Thomas G. Donlan, Barron's "A thoroughly enjoyable read. Provides a clear framework for equity investing in today's 'sideways' and volatile markets useful to everyone. Clear thinking and clear writing are not often paired - well done!" -- Dick Weil, CEO, Janus Capital Group"The bible for how to invest in the most tumultuous financial market environment since the Great Depression. A true guidebook for how to build wealth prudently." -- David Rosenberg, Chief Economist & Strategist, Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc."A wonderful, grounded read for new and seasoned investors alike, Katsenelson explains in plain English why volatility and sideways markets are a stock picker's best friend." -- The Motley Fool, www.Fool.comPraise for Active Value Investing"This book reads like a conversation with Vitaliy: deep, insightful, inquisitive, and civilized." -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan"Thoroughly enjoyable . . for the thoughtful and often entertaining way in which it is delivered. . . Katsenelson takes his reader step by step into the mind of the value investor by relating, in a fictional addendum to Fiddler on the Roof, the story of Tevye's purchase of Golde, the cow. He also describes his own big-time gambling evening (he was willing to lose a maximum of $40) and that of a half-drunken, rowdy fellow blackjack player to stress the importance of process. He then moves on to the fundamental principles of active value investing. What differentiates this book from so many others on value investing is that it describes, sometimes through the use of case studies, the thinking of a value investor. Not just his models or his metrics but his assessments. Katsenelson is an empiricist who weighs facts, looks for contraindications, and makes decisions. He makes value investing come alive. This may be a little book, but it's packed with insights for both novices and experienced investors. And it is a delight to read." --Seeking Alpha

The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy


Mervyn A. King - 2016
    We all sense that, but Mervyn King knows it firsthand; his ten years at the helm of the Bank of England, including at the height of the financial crisis, revealed profound truths about the mechanisms of our capitalist society. In The End of Alchemy he offers us an essential work about the history and future of money and banking, the keys to modern finance.The Industrial Revolution built the foundation of our modern capitalist age. Yet the flowering of technological innovations during that dynamic period relied on the widespread adoption of two much older ideas: the creation of paper money and the invention of banks that issued credit. We take these systems for granted today, yet at their core both ideas were revolutionary and almost magical. Common paper became as precious as gold, and risky long-term loans were transformed into safe short-term bank deposits. As King argues, this is financial alchemy—the creation of extraordinary financial powers that defy reality and common sense. Faith in these powers has led to huge benefits; the liquidity they create has fueled economic growth for two centuries now. However, they have also produced an unending string of economic disasters, from hyperinflations to banking collapses to the recent global recession and current stagnation.How do we reconcile the potent strengths of these ideas with their inherent weaknesses? King draws on his unique experience to present fresh interpretations of these economic forces and to point the way forward for the global economy. His bold solutions cut through current overstuffed and needlessly complex legislation to provide a clear path to durable prosperity and the end of overreliance on the alchemy of our financial ancestors.

Deep Value Investing: Finding bargain shares with big potential


Jeroen Bos - 2013
    Written by an investor with a long and remarkable track record, it shares for the first time the ins and outs of finding high-potential undervalued stocks before anyone else.Deep value investing means finding companies that are genuine bargains that can pay back phenomenally over the long term. They are firms so cheap that even if they were to close tomorrow their assets would pay you out at a profit. But if they can turn things around, the rewards will be many times greater ...These were the favourite shares of Benjamin Graham, author of 'The Intelligent Investor'. Inspired by Graham's classic and with a long history of discovering these great value stocks - sometimes known as 'bargain issues' or 'netnets' - author and investor Jeroen Bos reveals:- how to use only publicly available information to discover these shares and filter the gold from the dross- everything he did when analysing, purchasing, monitoring and selling more than ten recent successful deep value investments- the complete philosophy behind deep value investing, and the ins and outs of this strategy in practice- what can go wrong and how to minimise the chances of it happening to you.Deep value investing has a better track record than almost any other approach to the market. Even better, it doesn't require minute and technical knowledge of a company, nor is it fixated on earnings or often-unreliable future projections.It's all about the balance sheet and patience. This makes it the perfect investing approach for those who want to see phenomenal stock market returns without wasting time or commission costs.

Wealth Made Easy: Millionaires and Billionaires Help You Crack the Code to Getting Rich


Greg S. Reid - 2019
    You need to win and keep winning. To get there you need great connections and insider advice.But it's not as simple as tracking down the elite few - the wealth hackers of the world - and getting them to spill their secrets. . . Or is it?©2019 Dr. Greg Reid (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite


Sebastian Mallaby - 2010
    Wealthy, powerful, and potentially dangerous, hedge fund moguls have become the It Boys of twenty-first ­century capitalism. Ken Griffin of Citadel started out trading convertible bonds from his dorm room at Harvard. Julian Robertson staffed his hedge fund with college athletes half his age, then he flew them to various retreats in the Rockies and raced them up the mountains. Paul Tudor Jones posed for a magazine photograph next to a killer shark and happily declared that a 1929-style crash would be "total rock-and-roll" for him. Michael Steinhardt was capable of reducing underlings to sobs. "All I want to do is kill myself," one said. "Can I watch?" Steinhardt responded. Finance professors have long argued that beating the market is impossible, and yet drawing on insights from physics, economics, and psychology, these titans have cracked the market's mysteries and gone on to earn fortunes. Their innovation has transformed the world, spawning new markets in exotic financial instruments and rewriting the rules of capitalism. More than just a history, More Money Than God is a window on tomorrow's financial system. Hedge funds have been left for dead after past financial panics: After the stock market rout of the early 1970s, after the bond market bloodbath of 1994, after the collapse of Long Term Capital Management in 1998, and yet again after the dot-com crash in 2000. Each time, hedge funds have proved to be survivors, and it would be wrong to bet against them now. Banks such as CitiGroup, brokers such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, home lenders such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insurers such as AIG, and money market funds run by giants such as Fidelity-all have failed or been bailed out. But the hedge fund industry has survived the test of 2008 far better than its rivals. The future of finance lies in the history of hedge funds.

Debunkery: Learn It, Do It, and Profit from It -- Seeing Through Wall Street's Money-Killing Myths


Kenneth L. Fisher - 2010
     Small cap stocks are best for all time. Bunk! A trade deficit is bad for markets. Bunk! Stocks can't rise on high unemployment. Bunk! Many investors think they are safest following widely accepted Wall Street wisdom—but much of Wall Street wisdom isn't so wise. In fact, it can be costly bunk.In Debunkery: Learn It, Do It, and Profit From It—Seeing Through Wall Street's Money-Killing Myths, Ken Fisher—named one of the 30 most influential individuals of the last three decades by Investment Advisor magazine—details why so many investors fail to get the long-term results they desire. The short answer is many investors fail to question if what they believe is true—and are therefore blinded by tradition, biases, ideology, or any number of cognitive errors.Your goal as an investor shouldn't be to be error-free—that's impossible. Rather, to be more successful, you should aim to lower your error rate. Debunkery gets you started by debunking 50 common myths—but that's just the beginning. It also gives you the tools you need to continue to do your own debunkery for the rest of your investing career.