Surefire Trading Challenge Review – Forex Trading Particular
September 21, 2009 by Stock Trading · Leave a Comment
The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks
May 14, 2009 by Stock Trading · Leave a Comment
The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks
Unravel the Mysteries of the Financial Markets—the Language, the Players, and the Strategies for Success
Understanding money and investing has never been more important than it is today, as many of us are called upon to manage our own retirement planning, college savings funds, and health-care costs. Up-to-date and expertly written, The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook provides investors with a simple—but not simplistic—grounding in the world of finance. It breaks down the basics of how money and investing work, explaining:
• What must-have information you need to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• How to see through the inscrutable theories and arcane jargon of financial insiders and advisers
• What market players, investing strategies, and money and investing history you should know
• Why individual investors should pay attention to the economy
Written in a clear, engaging style by Dave Kansas, one of America’s top business journalists and editor of The Wall Street Journal Money & Investing section, this straightforward book is full of helpful charts, graphs, and illustrations and is an essential source for novice and experienced investors alike.
Get your financial life in order with help from The Wall Street Journal.
Look for:
• The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook
• The Wall Street Journal Personal Finance Workbook
• The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great
No complaints. Shipped on time, book was in great condition, exactly what I needed.
5 Stars Easy introduction for laymen to Wall Street
This book should be required reading for *everyone*. After 12 years of public school and 4+ years of college, I still didn’t know exactly what the NYSE was for, what an investment bank was, what was the difference between stocks and commodities, and so forth. Yet these things comprise some of the basic building blocks of our economy, and have made big news recently. This book is a painless, easy-to-read introduction for someone like me who doesnt read the WSJ or have an MBA in finance.
3 Stars Enjoyable; wide but not deep; some errors in first edition
I am 50 pages into the first edition (2005). It’s an enjoyable read because I love the subject area, but its lack of depth makes it a little unsatisfying, and it does contain errors.
Was it worth $11? Yes. Is it a good introduction for a novice? Yes, but it’s only a first step and you’ll need deeper more specialized knowledge to actually invest/trade/work in the markets.
In the introduction, on page 7, the contents are sold as good for slipping into dinner party conversation. The errors in the first 50 pages do not, however, give me confidence about the next 150 pages. Don’t use this (first edition) at a dinner party with market professionals unless you want to break the ice by asking about the errors.
I would be happy to buy the second or higher edition to give as a gift to a friend or family member (assuming these and any other errors are cleaned), but I would not give the first edition.
Examples of errors in first 50 pages:
First example: the discussion of ticker symbols on page 36 may have been correct 20 years ago, but not now. NASDAQ stocks are no longer restricted to four-letter symbols, and five-letter symbols are not necessarily primarily listed overseas (look at CA, or PWX, or CMCSA as counter examples). Second example: the definition of a “growth stock” on page 26 is just plain wrong; I almost coughed my lunch up when I read it. I showed it to two CFAs in my office who each laughed out loud. Third example: in the discussion of the dividend payment timeline on page 35 and 37 the “date of record” has been confused with the “ex-dividend date.” Even after correcting that, the discussion is still misleading.
A WEEK LATER: OK, I kept reading. No more blatant errors. Kansas does talk about Growth versus Value (pp 139-140) and that sounds much more sensible than his earlier analysis. I do, however, find his description of options (pp178-181) to be too light. I know it is complicated, but you cannot really compare profitability from owning 100 shares to profitability from owning an option on 100 shares unless you also compare all that to profitability from investing the same amount in each alternative. Contrary to his assertion (page 180), I would feel much happier owning the stock and watching it drop (mabye lose 50%) than owning the call option and watching it expire worthless (lose 100%)—because I would be thinking of having the same investment in each.
4 Stars The basic investing book everyone needs
Everyone today spends little time going over their financial picture as people feel investing is too complicated in their busy world of working long hours along with responsibilty raising children etc. This book is written for the novice investor as well as the more advanced investor. It is easy to follow and should be kept on your night table so you can read a page or two each night It explains all the types of investments from money funds to stocks and bonds. Even if you have never read the Wall Street Journal the authors made the chapters interesting and easy to follow . All households should have one investing primer and this one is it. Hopefully you can grow your assets with the knowledge and advice you will obtain from this book. Pick it up today!
4 Stars Wide-ranging overview of finance complete with enjoyable imagery
The information provided in The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook gives a comprehensive look at the structure of financial markets. The title of this book can be misleading given that the information presented does not offer a guide on “how” to invest, merely a full scope of the elements of financial markets. This would be tantamount to an auto and driving book with a focus on the engine and instruments of the car as well as the highway and road systems, but not on the operation of the car itself. There is considerable importance in understanding the design of the financial markets and this book easily achieves success in this area; however, in terms of investment advice, this book represents only an initial foundation of knowledge.
For those with an interest in the historical background of financial markets and systems this book will be as enjoyable as it is informative. One also will acquire the full scope of financial terms needed to speak intelligently in the finance world. The presentation of the material is done quite well with an abundance of imagery. I would recommend The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook as a starter on the subject of finance and to anyone seeking to understand the fundamentals of the market.
