Books on Investing: Discussions, Reports &amp; Suggestions

Top 67. Sep 30, 2001 7:44 PM

» jbking - Intelligent Asset Allocator - Good book?

Amongst Bob's list of books is this Bill Bernstein book that I wonder what others that have read thought of it. I'm a little into it now and think I could be in for some interesting stuff on that dry topic of asset allocation.

http://www.efficientfrontier.com/BOOK/ti... is a link and the first 2 Chapters are posted on the site that cover some good ground on the basics of statistics and returns I think.

-- posted by jbking

Top 68. Jan 12, 2002 8:42 AM

» Kirk - Q_out on "Stock Trader's Almanac "

Author: Q_out
Date: January 12, 2002 8:25 AM
Subject: Re: Stock Trader's Almanac

In response to message posted by Kirk:

Thanks, Kirk, for posting that link to the Stock Trader's Almanac. Buying that book has been on my T0 DO list for 2002 since I heard Len Walter recommend it on the radio around the holidays. Len said it was the single most important book in helping him make money in the market the past four or five years.

Now occasionally he can get dyslexic in his market reports as he tries to cram a few more qoutes in his allotted 60 seconds. I've heard him reverse the prices on gold and oil for example. But I do believe he said that this book sold for about four times Amazon's price down near the Chicago Stock Exchange. smile

That makes it a deal at thrice the price!

<img src="/files/mysites/qout/bhoestarts.gif" width=53 height=34 align="left">
Q_out
DISCLAIMER: My words and observations are general in nature, and are not meant as specific investment advice. Individuals should consult with their own advisors for specific investment advice.

-- posted by Kirk

Top 69. Feb 1, 2002 8:21 AM

» Kirk - "Stock Trader's Almanac "

In response to message posted by Kirk:

Has anyone read enough of The Stock Trader's Almanac 2002 to give a review?

I see 4 people bought the book last month after I posted that link.

What did you find most useful? Do you recommend it for others? Does it talk about "Off Presidential Year Election Market Bottoms"?

-- posted by Kirk

Top 70. Mar 13, 2002 6:46 AM

» Bird2222002 - Book recommendations

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good asset protection book that evaluates pros and cons of the strategies and DOESn't just say send all your money offshore?
Also, I am looking for a good tax strategy book that talks about multi-corporate strategies. One with diagrams would be a plus. smile

I come from a business background; so I guess I am looking for books that are a LITTLE more than just introductory in nature. Have any of you read
'The Cutting Edge' at Leimberg.com? It looked pretty interesting.

Thanks for any help you could offer.

-- posted by Bird2222002

Top 71. Mar 13, 2002 8:42 AM

» Kirk - Re: Book recommendations

In response to message posted by Bird2222002:

I'd start with this book.
Common Sense on Mutual Funds : New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor
by John C. Bogle

He begins with primer-like essays on investment strategy, championing mutual funds for their inherent investment value, and then grinding each point home with a bevy of graphs, charts, entertaining anecdotes, and common sense. He repeatedly stresses time as a basic tenet for investing, listing these simple rules: "Time is your friend"; "Impulse is your enemy"; "Stay the course." And then he proceeds to blast fund managers, who have become marketers rather than managers.

You also should know the difference between an investment and a speculation. The Intelligent Investor is a great book for that.

Several of us recommend books for all levels listed here:
http://pw2.netcom.com/~kirk_69/MyBookLis...

Random Walk is Rande's top book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...

IF you buy online, then please use those links to support my efforts here (I get a commission).
thanks

-- posted by Kirk

Top 72. Mar 22, 2002 6:18 PM

» Rande - Great Read!

Great Read!

The Blue Nowhere, by Jeffery Deaver (NY Times bestselling author of "The Bone Collector")

This isn't an "investment book," but you ARE on the Net right now, aren't you? Since you are using a computer and you are on the Internet, you're going to get a kick out of this one. From the back cover:

His code name is Phate -- a sadistic computer hacker who infiltrates people's computers, invades their lives, and with chilling percision lures them to their deaths. Desperate to stop him, the California State Police Computer Crimes Unit frees former hacker Wyatt Gillette to aid the investigation. As the obsessive Gillette fervently attempts to trace the hacker's insidious computer virus back to its source, Phate delivers a huge blow -- murdering one of the division's own. Now, teamed with old-school homicide detective Frank Bishop, Gillette must combine their disparate talents to catch a brilliant and merciless killer.

Great glossary of computer industry terms at the front of the book ("chip-jock, code cruncher, packet-sniffer, kludge, wizard, etc.") to introduce the neophyte. Anyone who ever worked in Silicon Valley will be enthralled from the outset with the author's familiarity of that scene, but anyone who ever used a computer to go online will be drawn in immediately as well.

A terrific thriller -- USA Today

High-tension wired -- People

Grounded in expert knowledge about how computers actually operate....You won't learn how to break into the Pentagon. But you will get a sense of the allure of cyberspace. -- The Boston Herald

Great entertainment.

-- posted by Rande

Top 73. Jun 17, 2002 8:01 AM

» Kirk - Lakshman Achuthan's Business Cycle Books

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First posted here http://www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/i...

Author: ECRI
Date: June 17, 2002 7:42 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: but Growth rate is still up

In response to message posted by Jas_Jain:

I was talking about business cycles as defined by Wesley C. Mitchell in "Business Cycles: The Problem and Its Setting" (National Bureau of Economic Research 1927) p. 468.

"Business cycles are a type of fluctuation found in aggregate economic activity of nations that organize their work mainly in business enterprises: a cycle consists of expansions occurring at about the same time in many economic activities, followed by similarly general recessions, contractions, and revivals which merge into the expansion phase of the next cycle; this sequence of changes is recurrent but not periodic; in duration business cycles vary from more than one year to ten or twelve years; they are not divisible into shorter cycles of similar character with amplitudes approximating their own."

This classic definition is the root of the process used to officially date the business cycle. The following quote is from http://www.nber.org/cycles.html

"The NBER does not define a recession in terms of two consecutive quarters of decline in real GNP. Rather, a recession is a period of significant decline in total output, income, employment, and trade, usually lasting from six months to a year, and marked by widespread contractions in many sectors of the economy."

If you are interested in these types of cycles the aforementioned book is a necessary read as are the following two titles:

1. "Measuring Business Cycles" by Arthur F. Burns and Wesley C. Mitchell (National Bureau of Economic Research, 1947)

2. "Business Cycles, Inflation and Forecasting" by Geoffrey H. Moore (National Bureau of Economic Research/Ballinger, 1980)

Lakshman Achuthan - Managing Director ECRI @
http://www.businesscycle.com

-- posted by Kirk

Top 74. Jul 10, 2002 6:03 PM

» Kirk - "Conquer the Crash" by Robert R. Prechter Jr.

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<img src=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0470849827.01._PE30_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg width=104 height=147 align=right>Conquer the Crash: You Can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression
by Robert R. Prechter Jr.

List Price: $27.95
Our Price: $19.57
You Save: $8.38 (30%)

In Conquer the Crash, Robert Prechter explains why he thinks the boom times are behind us. Based on his interpretation of the Elliott wave principle (an idea premised on the notion that mass investor psychology is what really drives markets), Prechter believes that the U.S. economy is about to enter into a deflationary depression that few investors are prepared to deal with. In making his case, Prechter assembles an impressive array of data that in essence suggests that the bill for the last 10 years of market excess is about to come due. The second half of the book shows how to avoid becoming "a zombie-eyed victim of the depression" and offers advice on protecting one's assets in a deflationary environment (cash is king). If there's any good news in the future that Prechter sees coming (other than how to avoid it), it's that all-out depressions don't last very long. Conquer the Crash should appeal to gloom-and-doom investors and to those desperately looking for a safe haven from the uncertainties of today's markets. --Harry C. Edwards

-- posted by Kirk

Top 75. Jul 18, 2002 12:17 PM

» LindaMead - Investing With Giants by Linda T. Mead

.
Suite101.com is hosting a seminar for me to discuss this book at this URL: http://www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/i...

Special Feature: Who Knows More -- You or Your Broker?

~ S P E C I A L ~ F E A T U R E ~

Who Knows More --

You or Your Broker?
an excerpt from the new book
Investing With Giants
by Linda T. Mead

published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

reprinted here with permission.

INTRODUCTION

<img ALIGN=Right HSPACE=5 SRC="http://www.patronsaintpr.com/samples/IWG..." ALT="Linda T. Mead">

The excerpt, below, is from the new book, Investing With Giants, by Linda T. Mead, co-author with Suze Orman of You've Earned It, Don't Lose It. Mead's new book offers an introduction to investing focused on finding companies you can commit to -- blue chip corporations with long histories of weathering hard times without wilting.
In the excerpt, Mead talks about how she caught the investment bug while working with Suze Orman. The excerpt concludes with the NAIC's seven rules for building a stock portfolio. More information about the book, Investing With Giants follows the excerpt.
Who Knows More --

You or Your Broker?
by Linda T. Mead
While writing my first book, the financially based lifestyle book, You've Earned It, Don't Lose It, with personal finance guru Suze Orman, we discussed investing at great length. The one point she made that has always stayed with me is that I potentially know as much about a company as any stockbroker. At the time, I understood intellectually what she meant, but it wasn't until a remarkable sequence of events occurred that the truth rang clear.
Willing to put this philosophy to the test, I began to flex my investing muscles. I asked a broker to purchase shares of a particular retail company for me. I shopped at this nationally-known high-end retail cookware company, as well as its other divisions, and knew they were also successful in direct mail.
Not too long after, this same broker approached me with a public offering of another retail company I also knew. He gave me his one-minute spiel about the store's radical new marketing concept and merchandising approach, after which I explained to him that not only was I aware of the company, but I also knew about its competition and shortcomings. I politely declined the offer and further remarked that the company would not be around in a year. It turned out that I was right and that launched me into becoming an independent investor. That bit of knowledge was my salvation.
Later I realized that Suze was both right and wrong in her original statement. I didn't know as much as the broker -- I knew more. He was merely a salesman peddling his wares with no real understanding of what he was selling. I was out in the trenches. Confidence in hand, I opened a self-directed brokerage account with Charles Schwab & Company.
At almost the same time, the Beardstown Ladies exploded on the scene with their first book, The Beardstown Ladies' Common Sense Investment Guide, bringing the National Association of Investors Clubs (NAIC) into the spotlight. I then embarked on an educational journey, which led to teaching for the NAIC and culminated in a position on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Bay Area's NAIC.
As an investor, you have probably already heard what the basic rules of investing are, but they're worth repeating. Here are the seven basic rules every investor should never circumvent when considering buying a stock:

Investigate a company before buying
Buy growth stocks
Look for companies that are well-managed
Buy when the price is right
Diversify your portfolio
Invest for the long term
Invest regularly and reinvest dividends
Try as we might, it's hard to stick to these basic investing principles when the market is in a frenzied upswing. But it's for this very reason that we have to make an agreement with ourselves and stick to a smart investing plan, before the bottom falls out.
About the Book
Investing With Giants
Tried and True Stocks That Have

Sustained the Test of Time

by Linda T. Mead

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ISBN: 0-471-41337-2, 272 Pages, Hardcover, $27.95

Available wherever books are sold, online or off.

Or Buy It From Kirk's Bookstore Now
<img ALIGN=Right HSPACE=5 SRC="http://www.patronsaintpr.com/samples/IWG..." ALT="Investing With Giants">
Despite all that has happened in the stock market in recent years, Linda Mead has provided some solid reasons for becoming -- and staying -- a long-term investor in stocks.

-? John F. Wasik, author, The Bear-Proof Investor
Learn how to avoid the pitfalls that can ruin your retirement by Investing With Giants. Linda Mead's guide is savvy yet friendly and easy to read. It's an ideal book for those who want to invest in this new century by learning valuable lessons from the past.

-? Jennifer Openshaw, author, What's Your Net Worth?

founder, Women's Financial Network, Inc.
Strategies for Building a Stable, Long-Term Portfolio

On the Shoulders of America's Most Profitable,

Proven Corporate Leaders
Coca-Cola . . . Wal-Mart . . . IBM . . . Each of these companies represents the pinnacle of American corporate achievement. But of greater importance to today's embattled investor, they represent today's most successful corporations, blue-chip stocks around which any investor can construct a sane and sensible stock portfolio.
Investing With Giants examines how and why the stocks of America's top corporations provide consistently superior value to investors in today's stock-of-the-moment marketplace. Fascinating and instructive, it explains:

How to pull the information that matters from a company's annual report
Ways in which past performance can help you estimate future results
How benchmarking today's top companies can reveal tomorrow's rising stars

Despite occasional turbulence, the United States stock market is still history's greatest wealth-building machine. Let Investing With Giants show you how to make that machine work for you by joining the millions of investors who have wisely trusted their futures to America's proven corporate leaders and been rewarded with superior long-term performance and portfolio peace of mind.

Excerpted from INVESTING WITH GIANTS (0-471-41337-2) by Linda T. Mead. Copyright 2002 by Linda T. Mead. Reprinted here by permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. To order a copy of this work call 1-800-CALL-WILEY (225-5945) or visit the Wiley website at http://www.wiley.com. This book is available through any independent bookseller found on bookweb.org and all major online bookstores, including amazon.com, bn.com and borders.com.

-- posted by LindaMead