Commodity-markets

I think that CAMP, APT, etc aren't good for investors, but this book misleads them even more. There are several mistakes, and opposite data in various chapters.

Most investors would benefit from reading this book. It is a good overview of what is known about market inefficiencies and how they can be exploited.

For those who find it too down-market, he also has a weighty tome called "Modern Investment Theory" which is more thorough and more academic in tone. As an example, it describes how to combine Markowicz's techniques with factor models to exploit the inefficiencies more effectively than the approach suggested in 'What works on Wall St' etc.

The Inefficient Stock Market is a nice slap in the face to Modern Finance. Getting my MBA, i was always turned off by Portfolio Management Theory because of the unrealistic assumptions made on the onset (such as everyone being rational and everyone holding an efficient market portfolio). Mr. Haugen provides a great analysis and statistical evidence to show that many of those critical assumptions are in fact wrong.

He also provides an investment strategy of sorts that outperforms the S&P 500. All hedge fund managers should read this book.

This book and its concept dwells into the area of the financial markets and how they affect each other. Its theory meshes with various other market theories in that if one market goes up, another may respond differently. This is one of the handful of books i would recommend to anyone beginning to get serious about the financial markets. I first picked this up in a state library, much to my amazement it was brand new and never borrowed, much like a lot of the information in it.

You'll learn a lot from this book. Most investors sit obsessively focused on the market averages. They'll cut on their TV and see the ticker on CNBC be in the green and feel elated or else they'll see it red and get worried. Murphy's book will show you how a study of the bond, currency, and commodities markets along with an analysis of the stock market will help you see the big picture and get a better feel for where the economy and all of the markets are going. The past 3 years has proven to us that just because the stock market has a rally doesn't mean we are on the verge of a big economic boom or a new bull market.

Murphy demonstrates how each of these four sectors interact with one another and the business cycles and if you can grasp the lessons he teaches you then you'll have a clearer understanding of what drives the financial markets. Once you understand these cycles you will be able to forecast the intermediate term trend of the markets. It really isn't that complicated.

The only negative about this book is that it reads like a textbook. It takes a theory of how these markets rotate with one another and demonstrates it with example after example. It takes work to get through the book, but the payoff is well worth it. In fact the lessons in this book are critical to anyone who wants to become a successful investor. In today's environment of rapid boom and bust in which market timing is critical they are more important than ever. Even though it is 10 years old, this is the best book on the subject.

Those who were reluctant to accept the benefits of intermarket analysis after reading Intermarket Technical Analysis (1991) will find making the paradigm shift much easier after reading his latest book published in February 2004 called Intermarket Analysis. Murphy has the benefit of some monumental market events in the last three decades to demonstrate his case and he uses them to great effect.

As John pointed out in an interview for Stocks & Commodities magazine I did with him in December 2003, it was his original goal to write the quintessential intermarket book but then found the topic so involved that each chapter could have become a book. There is just so much to discuss. Attempting to cover anything but a small snippet in a review is sheer folly. It is also impossible to do the book justice.

Markets have become so interdependent in the last decade, a correlation that continues to strengthen with time. If those who suffered financial ruin between 2000 and 2002 had read Intermarket Technical Analysis, how many of them could have avoided huge losses and even profited from what occurred? We will never know for sure but is it a risk they anyone can afford to take, especially when considering that the cost of avoidance (cost of the book) is less than $50? For those serious about making money in the market and keeping it, his new book, Intermarket Analysis is an absolute must!

Matt Blackman - Technical writer/review and regular contributor to Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities Mag, Traders Mag (Europe), Working Money, Traders.com Advantage, SFO Magazine

This is not a beginner's guide to futures trading, but an incitement to pick up more of Gould's material and subscribe to his futures hotline. Historically, it's more interesting than that, as there's another futures salesman who seems to have ripped off most, if not all, of Gould's text, with slight changes. If you've ever subscribed to the most popular futures "course", you'll know who I mean. As for the actual method outlined, Gould doesn't tell you very much. As with his more successful pupil, there's just enough information to entice you into believing you can profit using it, but nothing about trend, indicators, the CRB, nothing at all. It's just bait, nothing more.

One trading strategy, a little discipline and you too can make oodles of noodles! If you know about sideways trading ranges and how to trade them get another book. If you don't have any idea what the last sentence means you could start here. Basic primer. Easy read but not inspiring enough to make me want the rest of his books. Maybe I'm jaded, having read much and worked with the concept daily as a broker, but hey for ten bucks you might think you've just found the goose that lays the golden eggs!

The problem with this book is that it adresses too many points, providing little or no detail on each of them. All the book does is merely tell you there is something like Fundamental Analysis, Technical Analysis, etc., but it is too shallow to really learn something useful about all these fields.

Personally, I ordered this book because I wanted to learn more about the inner workings and the behind-the-scenes aspect of the futures markets. However, despite the title, the book offers very little information about how the Futures markets actually work.

There is a lot of information here. It can be a little overwhelming, but the complete details that Mr.Bernstein gives on the futures market are absolutely accurate. He really knows how to bring the complexity of futures trading to the masses.

I am a 11 year veteran of the futures market, and an author of three futures investing books, but I still find myself referencing back to some of Mr. Bernstein's books, this one included.

"How The Futures Markets Work" is precise, honest, and informative. Consistent with other works by Jake Bernstein, this book is objective: written solely to educate and inform the reader.

This book does not attempt to convince an unsuspecting or uninformed reader to trade futures. Nor does it form an opinion about whether investment in the futures markets is "good" or "bad". Instead, it arms the reader with enough information to make an informed, intelligent decision about whether or not to trade futures.

This is a textbook. It provides an objective, base-level understanding of the futures markets, including: the history of the futures contract, the purpose of the Futures Exchange, how to chose a broker, market forces affecting futures prices, and trading strategies. You will not necessarily be able to jump right into futures trading after reading this book, but you will have acquired a firm foundation on which to become more informed should you wish to do so.

This book works towards leveling the playing field in the investment community, something much needed. Void of marketing and sales hype, this book provides a refreshing, candid, and honest description of what should be expected from trading futures, both from the market and from you as a futures trader.

The most important chapter in this book is chapter 9: "The Psychology of Investing". Mr. Bernstein makes it very clear, there is no quick way to achieving success as a futures trader and that success will most like be achieved based not on our trading system but rather by our ability - as people - to properly implement our trading system. This chapter alone makes the book a worthwhile purchase.