Stock-market

John Steele Gordon is an engaging writer. Anyone familiar with his magazine articles in American Heritage knows he is adept at holding readers' attention over several thousand words.

This book reads like a collection of magazine articles. The chapters focus on different personalities or events that shaped (or epitomized) Wall Street over the last two centuries. While there are some attempts to link subjects to their past (notably in the development of rules and regulations), the book reads more like a collection from various time periods rather than a synthesized whole.

What the reader gets are interesting snapshots. And Gordon does make them interesting. Always an engaging writer, he mixes the right amount of fact and commentary to keep a credible story moving along at a nice pace. The author does justice to many fascinating personalities (Hamilton, Fisk, Gould, Vanderbilt, Morgan, Greene, Kennedy, Milkin and Boesky), and events (panics, depression, corners, theft, corruption, manipulation) that have shaped the American financial system since the dawn of our Republic. The chapters are just long enough to gain an appreciation for the subject at hand, but not too long as to bore.

This book is not a study or treatise on financial products or their development. These are mentioned in passing so as to give familiarity to the reader. But, do not expect to learn about how stocks, derivatives or mutual funds (etc., etc.) work in detail here.

While this is not an in depth study of the Street, it is an excellent and engaging survey that will interest the general reader.

This book describes the events and how the stock market came into exsistence.It mentions the events that has fuelled the market booms and busts , the regulations and new rules that were placed after each bust to prevent another bust and the great people involved -- just reminds you that their is nothing new under the sun especially what is happening in the stock market now .I recommend this book to anyone interested in the mechanisms in the stock market and how the booms and busts have created a stock market that has created wealth and admiration all over the world

If money interests you, then you should read this book. As a Wall Street professional I was enthralled by this easy read about the history of Wall Street. Mr. Gordon does an excellent job of taking us from Wall Street's unambitious start as a northern line of defense for a wilderness trading post to the its role as the most powerful stretch of pavement on Earth.

Some of the unique things you will learn include

1. Who invented modern capitalism (hint: Tulips, 1700th century)? 2. The establishment of our federal tax system 3. What structure made NY city the US's largest city 4. Wall Street's first and greatest speculators 5. The creation of the Federal Reserve System

Gordon does a great job of introducing us to the most powerful people the world may have ever known. The most notable include JP Morgan, arguably the world's greatest banker; Hetty Green, the richest (and most paranoid) woman in the world; Charles Merrill, the man who brought Wall Street to Main Street; and Michael Milliken, the world's most famous Wall Street villain to wear a toupee.

The story of Wall Street is truly extraordinary. Its history is littered with courage, greed, jealousy, genius and lots of stupidity! John Steele Gordon does an admirable job of hitting all the salient points while making the journey enjoyable and memorable. Buy this book and read it!

Economics, like physics, has a fundamental canon: you cannot make money out of nothing. To narrate the history of financial bubbles is to chronicle those times when people overlooked that fact. In those instances, asset prices soar merely to be resold for profit, with little regard as to their actual value; when something shakes confidence and buyers are in short supply, a crash follows as prices were sustainable only insofar as they could be resold higher.

According to John Galbraith, the stock-market crash that took place in the fall of 1929 was typical of this prototype. Mr. Galbraith, a Harvard economist, traced the optimism to the Florida real-estate bubble of 1925 which made people forget the elementary rules of money making. What follows is an elegant narrative that interweaves economics with history to produce one of the most telling and lucid accounts of the developments, economic and otherwise, that lead up to the October 1929 crash.

The crash, according to Mr. Galbraith, was caused by an admixture of bad income distribution (economy too dependent on luxury spending and investment), bad corporate structure, bad banking structure, foreign imbalances, and bad economic intelligence. In seeking compelling explanations, the "Great Crash" often resists conventional wisdom: for example, to those who blame the abundance of credit, Mr. Galbraith answers: "on numerous occasions before and since credit has been easy, and there has been no speculation whatever." Mr. Galbraith looks beyond central banking and interest rates to compile a rich and diverse history of the 1929 crash.

So what about preventing future crises? Here, Mr. Galbraith is ambivalent. Regulation has and can play a substantial role in preventing future troubles. But the problem lies elsewhere: people continue to believe that they have been blessed, and that they can make money with little or no effort. When wise men see such folly and decide to partake in it rather than spoil it, a bubble that later crashes is inevitable. For all those who seek an economic solution to this economic problem, Mr. Galbraith surely disappoints. The surest protection against over-speculation, he writes, is to remind people that you can never get something from nothing. Those in love with central banking might find the idea simplistic, yet its beauty lies with its simplicity.

I'm a junior in high school doing a research paper on the stock market crash of 1929. Without reading this book I would be left in the dark. Reading 6 other books, Galbraith is the only author who writes in a language that is easily understandable to someone who does not know how to calculate a beta ranking for a stock.

You want to know how irrational and unpredictable the stock market can be? Read this book. Written in easy-to-read language, it is digested almost as easily as a mystery novel, and yet provides a deep insight into the dramatic events of 1929, and gives an invaluable historic lesson. You can clearly see the parallels between events preceding market collapse in 1929 and today high-tech stock market boom - "...there is here a basic and recurrent process. It comes with rising prices, whether of stocks, real estate, works of art or anything else. This increase attracts attention and buyers, which produces the further effect of even higher prices. Expectations are thus justified by the very action that sends prices up. The process continues; optimism with its market effect is the order of the day. Prices go up even more. Then, for reasons that will endlessly be debated, comes the end. The descent is always more sudden than the increase; a balloon that has been punctured does not deflate in an orderly way." Book goes on to describe the inaction of the Federal Reserve, trade on margin, mergers, Florida real estate boom, investment trusts, leverage, short selling, and so on. Yet, you do not need to be a financial whiz to understand it. This is definitely a 5-star book.

While many stock market books have lots to say about parallels in financial history, this one is very different. The Great Bull Market is not really about the stock market at all. It's about the factors that led to the market mania of the late 1920s. Changes in social patterns, dramatic changes in the economy and living standards and a liberalisation of financial laws all led to the belief that life had really changed for everyone for the better.

Of course, there are wider things to consider than the rather simplistic and sometimes left-wing views put forward here. Even so, The Great Bull Market does take you away from the now perfunctory trawl through margin statistics and takes you into the heads of those who were actually parting with cash. For that it's a great read.

The market could only go up. Margin requirements were minimal. Investment in equities, seemingly ANY equities was a risk-less, rock solid path to fortune. Why buy one of the new electronic phonographs, or a refrigerator, on "time" (credit) when for the same amount of money, one could buy equities on margin, gain immense leverage, and be "guaranteed" to make the money back many times over, and be able to buy many more luxuries.

According to Mr. Sobel, this was, in a nutshell, the mentality of the average investor. Investment houses and financial institutions fueled the fire by making margin cheap and easy. Ultimately, stock prices were held up by nothing. Tremors of instability began to ripple through the market as the impending crash approached, often dismissed as buying opportunities. Ultimately, reality set in, and the unthinkable happened.

Are things different today? Yes and No. More safeguards would seem to be in place, however valuations of today make those of the 20's look miniscule. While a direct comparison is difficult to make between the period covered in the book, and the market of 2000, there are lessons to be learned. "The Great Bull Market" provides a fascinating account of the crash and the events that led up to it. A must read for anyone feeling a little jittery about the climate on Wall Street today!

When I was first assigned this book as an undergraduate in 1990, I was entranced by how any market could get so out of control as it did in the 1920's. Now, after re-reading it in February 2000 as a professional in the industry, I am frightened by the similarities that exist in this "new paradigm". This is a fast paced, well organized, and concise overview of how the fed, margin accounts, and a number of other powerful forces contributed, either passively or actively, to the crash of '29. I have shared this book with many of my colleagues in the investment industry, and we are all equally haunted by how history is indeed repeating itself.

Precious few individual companies in a portfolio should be held for the very long-term. Only companies that can create shareholder value, increase profits and intrinsic value steadily, and dominate their markets should be considered.

"Great Companies, Great Returns" is a guide to developing a core investing strategy with the highest quality companies. This strategy includes owning companies with household names such as Citigroup, General Electric, and Johnson & Johnson, and is meant to be a viable alternative to indexing.

As Jim Huguet says, "Core strategies differ from other investing strategies in that they are long-term, tax efficient, easy to understand, and proven, and provide excellent returns relative to the level of risk. This differs from "black box" strategies that buy stocks rather then companies, cost you dearly in taxes, and often underperform the market at high levels of risk."

"Great Companies, Great Returns" does define the qualities of "terrific businesses," and then builds the case for a great company though twelve criteria (i.e., "screens"). The book is a primer for anyone who wants a disciplined methodology for identifying and selecting companies for long-term investment.

The twelve screens in the book generated fourteen large capitalization companies. An overview for each of these companies is presented. This "Super Investing" strategy, in the author's opinion, invests in the 14 greatest public companies headquartered in the United States.

The "Great Companies" strategy is also applied to IPO's, international companies, and mostly technology-based "Great Companies of the Future." The author covers, in detail, allocating, managing, and monitoring funds in a "Great Companies" portfolio.

"Great Companies, Great Returns" contains charts, graphs, CEO interviews, worksheets, and a partial listing of helpful web sites.

I've been following this portfolio [as a fund in my Yahoo screens], and I have seen it perform quite well. I bought the book in early 2000. I went back to check the stock performance of each of the companies mentioned since Dec. 31, 1999. and here is a brief history:

Jan - March 2000 "the dot com crash": Portfolio showed weakness as analysts praised new economy and trashed old economy. Portfolio of companies was down about 17%.

March - July 2000: Portfolio gained back its losses as investors returned to blue chip investments.

August - December 2000: Portfolio showed strength as market turned sour and uncertain as election foes killed the markets.

Dec. 31, 2000: Portfolio of 14 companies was up 16%. Not bad compared to NASDAQ and DOW Jones performace.

Year to Date 2001: Portfolio has given back its gains but is showing resilience as of late,

All in all, only down 3% from investment in January 1, 2000.

The book is a great reference for these companies and I agree with the company strengths and weaknesses.

Huguet realizes that many investors are frustrated by the fact that the performance of their investment portfolio is below their expectations. They are often confused about the world of investing. Because they are busy people, they are frequently short of time. Many rely primarily on indexing. Others have just begun their investment journey. They pay too much in taxes. They are concerned about pre-retirement investing. Or they are retired and fear that they will outlive their money. They may be concerned about financing the education of children or grandchildren. "Is there an investment strategy which will produce great returns over the long-term cycle of bull and bear markets?" Huguet asked himself this question and then began rigorous and extensive research to answer it. Great Companies, Great Returns is the result of his research.

Essentially, Huguet concluded that there are certain stocks which every investor should own. Which stocks? He next concluded that there are a few great American companies in which to invest, companies whose stocks will produce outstanding, tax-efficient returns in a variety of market conditions. OK but which Great Companies? He identifies and then explains his selections.

The strategy which Huguet advocates makes compelling sense for those whose long-term investment objectives are to maximize returns while minimizing risks and taxes, and thereby achieving the greatest returns (over time) from publicly-traded stocks. Large-cap companies really do have significant strategic advantages over their smaller-cap counterparts. Of these, Huguet has selected only 14. If a reader of Great Companies, Great Returns has a better combination of traits and/or a better selection of Great Companies in which to invest, Huguet would be delighted to know. (So would I.)

I rate his book so highly for two reasons: Huguet's rationale for long-term investment is sound, and, while explaining his reasons for it, he provides a brilliant analysis of the companies in which he believes such an investment should be made. My guess is that this book will be most valuable to those who need both the rationale and the research in support of it.

This book was well worth the price. It was a very good read with clear, real world examples and illustrations. It's not just about picking winners, it's a whole fundamental philosophy on trading.

The book smells like 40 year old books do. Inside are a lot of nuances that the non-novice could appreciate. Granvile was a market master for a time and then fell from glory (FYI) like most do. He still has some good insight and the pros might appreciate that here.

This book is an absolute must read for any serious student of stock trading. I had known about On Balance Volume since the late 1960's, but had never actually read the book. What a joy to get a good copy of 1st edition and actually read the theory from it's creator.
OBV is actually a swing trading system, conceived in 1963! (There's nothing really new anymore), but can be adapted to long and very long-term trading. Filled with detailed examples of real world trading from 1961 and 1962 (tough markets), it shows you exactly how to use OBV as both a trading system and/or a confirming indicator for trading.
You should read this book if you trade stocks.