International Investing

Bonds

Review to be posted shortly.

The Black Swan

This is a currently popular book often mentioned at investment gatherings and is a New York Times best seller. A Black Swan is a major event that was never expected or predicted such as Google, and 9/11. The modern world has developed many coping mechanisms to deal with the unexpected which are fraudulent, predictions are scandalous, and we fool ourselves into thinking we know more than we do. There are ways of not taking stupid risks and dealing with what we don’t know.. read on.

When Genius Failed

When Long Term Capital Management collapsed in 1998 it took with it some of the biggest names on Wall Street including Bankers Trust, the reputations of the Nobel prize winners who devised its mathematical models, and the jobs of many as far away as Australia. The usual semi-competent, arrogant and myopic characters emerge. The book is worth reading if only to see how these flawed characters prospered and then saved their own skins.

Panics & Crashes (Revised Edition 1980)

Written in the late 1970’s when the US had double digit inflation, the worst President in American history, Jimmy Carter, was in office, and oil and gold were going through the roof. Sounds familiar ? The Chevalier, Mr Schultz, reveals in specific terms what to do with your money when things start getting really bad.

Rumours in Financial Markets

A serious attempt using the results from surveys and experiments to measure the effect on volatilty and prices of unfounded rumours, how they start and spread and how traders are primed to become susceptible to entering and withdrawing from a market based on ambiguous information. Given the widespread use of charts, chat rooms, blogs, and newsletters from all sources it’s not surprising that there may be a significant time delay between the rumour and verification of the fact.

The Wisdom of Crowds

Is the market always right ? After all it is the collective wisdom of thousands of investors estimating its value minute by minute. It turns out that the crowd knows everything except what it does not know, cannot predict, or someone on the inside already knows. Following the money is one way to succeed and it will keep you out of illiquid markets where there are no crowds. The real value of this book is in being able to identify a lynch mob, where they emerge from and where they are going.

Hedgehogging

Anyone who knows John Maynard Keynes will love this book, written by the former Morgan Stanley economist. In a modern context Biggs brings Keynes’s investment philosophies to light and concludes with a chapter on his life. Mr Biggs these days runs a hedge fund so it is no surprise to discover that hedge funds are not all bad and in fact some of them are the answer to all our prayers. There are plenty of anecdotes about what to avoid in choosing an investment strategy.

Fortune’s Formula

An heroic attempt to show us how to beat the casino and beat the market, with a great explanation of the Sharpe Ratio and descriptions of individuals who may have once beat the market.

Chart Patterns

All the usual patterns to identify tops, bottoms, breakouts, measured moves, pennants, flags, triangles, wedges and gaps are covered in absolute statistical detail. You will find a complete analysis of the odds on each and every technical pattern and more. The real breakaway move in this book is the analysis of event patterns including earnings surprise and broker upgrades and downgrades. You will be reaching for this book after staring at a chart pattern you cannot identify.

The Dow Theory Today

Written in 1961 this book is a timeless classic about a particularly difficult period in the market from 1958 to 1960. Richard claims to have learned much from the writings of Charles Dow. At the very least, technical traders need to be able to answer the question : what is The Dow Theory ? The old fashioned and convincing language in this short book is sufficient reason to own it. It would be surprising to discover that William O’Neill or the Worden brothers are not familiar with the central ideas of The Dow Theory.

Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets

Not much is left out of this comprhensive volume that starts with The Dow Theory, describes chart construction, trends, major reversal and continuation patterns, investigates volume, moving averages, contrary opinion. Point and figure, candlesticks and Elliott Wave are covered. Step by step systems are offered for creating a trading system including money management. With the incredible power of computers available to average investor it is important to remember that the tail does not wag the dog and that all this analysis should actually make money for you.

Investors Business Daily and The Making of Millionaires

Real life examples of individual traders, their resources, how they trade, questions and answers with which many traders will identify.

The Succesful Investor

Title awaiting review.

How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short

Title awaiting review.