People wanting basic advice about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement planning, and tax strategies are often frustrated by information overload. Picking the right book seems as daunting as deciding what to do with their savings and investments. Investing 101: Updated and Expanded removes both roadblocks, putting people on a path that they can understand and stick with. Kristof is renowned for taking the mystery and anxiety out of investing by keeping choices manageable. Kristof walks readers through the entire investment cycle and the way they think of their financial lives, rather than presenting stand-alone concepts like stocks and real estate. This expanded edition has new information about 529 college savings plans, annuities, Roth IRAs, reverse mortgages, and why declining markets can be good for you. It includes a cautionary look at home mortgages as investments. There's even a portfolio for the lazy investor. Kristof's loyal readership and the success of this book's first edition demonstrate that she understands what's on the minds of investors as intimately as she knows what's happening in financial markets. Winner: Cover and Interior Design, The Bookbinders Guild of New York/2009 New York Book Show Awards

Investing 101

Kathy Kristof

Bloomberg Press

The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need: The Good, the Flawed, the Bad, and the Ugly

Larry E. Swedroe

Jared Kizer

An up-to-date resource on the intricacies of the credit defaultswap basis While credit default swaps and credit derivatives are of greatconcern to many in the field of finance, the Second Editionof The Credit Default Swap Basis does not directly focus onthese issues. It is instead about an aspect of CDS behavior, thebasis, which is of importance to all users of CDS products. Anunderstanding of the basis is essential to anyone involved in thecredit-risky debt capital markets, whether you're an investor,trader, or broker.The credit default swap basis (the basis) defines therelationship between the cash and synthetic credit markets. Financeprofessionals need to understand the drivers of the basis in orderto better undertake investment and value analysis, and for tradingpurposes. In this updated Second Edition, author MooradChoudhry, a market practitioner who has published widely in thefield of credit derivatives, explores this dynamic discipline andexamines the structural changes in the CDS market, including newsettlement mechanisms and contract standardization. Along the way,he describes how basis pricing has changed in the aftermath of thefinancial crisis and what that change means in regard to overallmarket and trading opportunities.The only book on basis issues of credit default swaps, itprovides practitioners with vital information on valuation, creditrisk assessment, and basis trading strategiesAddresses structural changes to the market, including theintroduction of central clearing houses in the U.S. and Europe andstandardization of contracts to reduce disputes about payoutsettlementsCovers the close relationship between the synthetic and cashmarkets in credit, which manifests itself in the credit defaultswap basisThe Credit Default Swap Basis, Second Edition offersinvaluable market insights to all financial professionals seeking adeeper understanding of credit derivatives and fixed incomesecurities.

The Credit Default Swap Basis (Bloomberg Financial)

Business & Money

Choudhry, Moorad

Finance

An objective look at America's rapidly shrinking water supply Once believed to be a problem limited to America's southwest, water shortages are now an issue coast to coast, from New England to California. In Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America, author Susan J. Marks provides a comprehensive analysis of the current conflicts being waged over dwindling water supplies. She presents the findings of university studies, think tanks, and research groups, as well as the opinions of water experts, including Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. The book <ul>
<li>Explains where our water comes from and who controls it, as well as the cost of water on cash, commodities, and capitalism</li> <li>Describes the risks of running out of water</li> <li>Details how we can preserve and protect our most precious, yet most undervalued natural resource</li> </ul>
Right now, battles over water supplies rage across the country. Aqua Shock is an objective look at how we arrived at this crisis point and what we can do-and should be doing-to solve the water crisis in America.

Aqua Shock, Revised and Updated: Water in Crisis

Marks, Susan J.

Economics

The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream

An incisive look at the consequences of today's costly and damaging suburban lifestyle 
In The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome, Bloomberg News' John Wasik exposes the economic, cultural, environmental, and health problems underlying life in suburbia. Wasik provides powerful insights into how the U.S. suburban lifestyle has become unsustainable and what can be done to salvage it. His observations are firmly grounded in exclusive on-the-ground research, interviews with thought leaders, and the latest studies and statistics. The book <ul>
<li>Exposes the untold truths about suburban home ownership: green isn't always so green, life isn't cheaper after accounting for gas, water, and taxes, and modern suburban living isn't so idyllic considering the toll it takes on our health</li> <li>Includes exclusive research and analysis by experts in the field that debunks the many myths associated with suburban living</li> <li>Explores innovative solutions being developed in cities across the country</li> </ul>
The American Dream of moving further from a city to buy a bigger house and find better schools has become a costly nightmare. The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome examines why and what can be done.

Wasik, John F.

Completely revised and updated edition of this very popular and successful small business book The first edition of 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business was hailed by management guru and author Tom Peters as "Brilliantly researched. Brilliantly written. A gem of priceless value on almost every page. Read. Inhale. Absorb. Great Stuff!" In this completely updated third edition of 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, renowned small-business expert and consultant Jane Applegate shares new, powerful, creative, simple, and proven approaches for building a better small business. <ul>
<li>Details how business owners can use online marketing and social networking more effectively</li> <li>Offers timely strategies for thriving in challenging economic times</li> <li>Includes scores of real-life success stories and all-new interviews with small-business owners, experts, and VIP's including Guy Kawasaki, Kay Koplovitz, and Michael Bloomberg</li> </ul>
It may be small, but your business is a big deal to you, your customers, and employees. 201 Great Ideas provides lively, practical strategies to help you manage, grow, and promote your business.

201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business

Applegate, Jane

Management & Leadership

An innovative approach to applying Elliott Wave Principle By convention, most Elliott Wave Principle (EWP) practitioners focus on individual market price movement. Connie Brown has a global reputation of developing analysis that focuses on the integration of global markets. In a two book series you will be taken through the steps to master the global cash flows of today’s financial markets. The approach found in this first book differs from the traditional view of EWP because it shows you how geometry and the use of simple boxes drawn within a trend will guide you away from the common complaint of subjectivity, thereby making smarter trades of higher probability. While EWP can be a challenging topic, the structure of this book eases you into the analysis principles. With Mastering Elliott Wave Principle you are guided step-by-step through the learning phases of Elliott Wave analysis and then your understanding is further challenged through self-examination. The preliminary coaching unravels common misunderstandings that sabotage the beginner. You will discover how price swings and waves are not the same. Elements of balance and proportion are mathematical concepts taught through geometry and not subjective. These basic skills establish a foundation that allow beginners to understand what to expect from their level of skill. There are three distinct levels of skill that all masters of the EWP have learned. Now there is a series to guide your understanding at each skill level so you can develop a working knowledge of how to define market positions around the world in short or long term time horizons. Bring your biases, bring your past concerns and discover how this breakthrough and original approach to teaching the Wave Principle can help you. <ul>
<li>Traders, from beginners to advanced, can use this book to become proficient in the Elliott Wave Principle</li> <li>Contains practice charts to compare your understanding and skill level with follow-up discussions of how you may have differed based on the results from twenty years of coaching</li> </ul>

Mastering Elliott Wave Principle: Elementary Concepts, Wave Patterns, and Practice Exercises

Brown, Constance

The final word on passive vs. active investing The debate on active investing-stock picking and market timing-versus passive investing-markets are highly efficient and almost impossible to outperform-has raged for decades. Which side is right? In The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing, author Larry E. Swedroe puts an end to the debate, proving once and for all that active investing is likely to prove futile as the associated expenses-costs, fees, and time spent analyzing individual stocks and the overall market-are likely to exceed any benefits gained. The book <ul>
<li>Presents research, data, and quotations that reveal it's extremely difficult to outperform the market</li> <li>Explains why investors should focus on asset allocation, fund construction, costs, tax efficiency, and the building of a globally diversified portfolio that minimizes, if not eliminates, the taking of idiosyncratic, uncompensated risks</li> <li>Other titles by Swedroe: The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need and The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan
</li> </ul>
Investors are on a never-ending search for a money manager who will deliver returns above the appropriate risk-adjusted benchmark, aka the "Holy Grail of Investing." The Quest for Alpha demonstrates that it's a loser's game-while it's possible to win, it's so unlikely that you shouldn't try.

The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing

Swedroe, Larry E.

Investing

The truth behind the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history In 2005, fifteen workers were killed when BP's Texas City Refinery exploded. In 2006, corroded pipes owned by BP led to an oil spill in Alaska. Now, in 2010, eleven men drilling for BP were killed in the blowout of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. 
What's next? In In Too Deep: BP and the Drilling Race That Took it Down, Stanley Reed, a journalist who has covered BP for over a decade, and investigative reporter Alison Fitzgerald answer not only that question, but also examine why these disasters happen to BP so much more than other large oil companies. 
<ul>
<li>Places the blame on a corporate culture created by former BP CEO John Browne who was forced to resign in 2007 after he lied in court documents in a case involving his gay lover </li>
<li>Details a BP built on risk-taking and cost-cutting </li>
<li>Examines the past, present, and future of BP</li>
</ul>
 In August 2010, BP successfully "killed" the company's damaged deepwater well. But, the environmental fallout and public relations campaign to rebuild the brand are just beginning. In Too Deep details why BP, why now, and what's next for this oil giant. Q&amp;A with Authors Stanley Reed and Alison Fitzgerald Author Alison Fitzgerald How did you do the research for this book? We had both been writing about BP and the disaster for some time so we each had an enormous trove of information, interviews and documents before we even began writing In Too Deep. 
Stanley had covered BP for more than a decade and drew on the reporting from his many stories for BusinessWeek. He also had notes and recordings from several exclusive interviews with John Browne and a trip to Russia with the powerful BP boss. The book includes lots of never-before-published details from these experiences. Alison had been covering the investigations into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and so had a vast file of documents related to BP's safety history and violations. Armed with that information, we both set out to speak to as many people as possible -- BP executives, former executives, competitors, oil workers, lawyers, government officials, safety experts, and politicians. We conducted dozens of new interviews just for the book while continuing to follow the investigations and the financial and legal troubles of the company. We also had the help of our Bloomberg colleagues who were writing about this tragedy every day and were generous in sharing their research, published stories, and unpublished notes. Their work was central to shaping this book. Author Stanley Reed You trace BP's record of accidents -- and specifically the Gulf oil spill -- to the reign of John Browne, the CEO who preceded Tony Hayward. What was it about his tenure that led you that conclusion? John Browne built today's BP, mostly through deals. He also pushed hard for financial performance. The company he created was good at gaining access to oil both through deals and exploration. But it was weaker on day-to-day operations. The culture he instilled at BP stressed financial performance and risk-taking while paying only lip-service to safety. Even before the end of Browne's tenure at BP in 2007, those shortcomings were revealed by the explosion that killed 15 people at the Texas City refinery in 2005. Tony Hayward vowed to fix those problems, but he was a protégé of Browne, and in the end couldn't do enough to change his predecessor's legacy. Was BP really different than other oil giants like ExxonMobil or Shell? Yes. This was actually a notion that surprised us both, in fact. Just after the Deepwater Horizon exploded, many people thought this was simply a random accident, one that was bound to happen to someone, and that BP was unlucky. Instead, we heard over and over from oil executives, regulators, and outside safety experts that BP had a particular problem with safety. The actual safety and enforcement records confirmed what all these people were telling us. What do the other companies do that's different? We looked at ExxonMobil, in particular, and found that they have strict safety rules and these are inviolable. Every operation is tested against a safety matrix. As the risk rises, the hurdle to approve the operation also rises. When they can't make the hurdle, the job is canceled. BP didn't have such a strict system in place. The company had a decentralized structure that left mid-level people in charge of major decisions and those people were judged and compensated based on the financial performance of their units. BP was putting in a centralized safety system, but the Gulf of Mexico unit had resisted that. Given that, how is it that BP was so successful before 2010? Browne bought two companies, Amoco and Arco, when oil prices were in the doldrums. Those deals looked very smart when prices surged and the profits rolled in. BP is also very good -- better than its competitors -- at exploration and at persuading governments to give it access to oil. They spent less money to find more new oil than almost any other oil company for more than a decade. What's next for BP? BP is still a money machine. It's profitable again even after writing off $40 billion 2010. Recent asset sales proved that BP's oil and gas properties are worth much more than the market thought. With its strong portfolio and depressed stock price, the company is a potential takeover target--though only a handful of companies could contemplate such a move. The new CEO, Bob Dudley, is trying to instill a new safety culture throughout the company. His challenge is to clean up BP's act without destroying its creativity.

In Too Deep: BP and the Drilling Race That Took it Down

Reed, Stanley

FitzGerald, Alison

Biography & History

A complete resource to trading today's currency market Currency movements are impacted by a variety of factors, including interest rates, trade balances, inflation levels, monetary and fiscal policies, and the political climate. Traders use both fundamental data and a variety of technical tools to trade within this market. Inside the Currency Market describes both the underlying dynamics that drive this market and the strategies that can help you capture consistent profits in it. Page by page, this reliable guide skillfully discusses the structure of the market, its roles in the global economy, the forces that drive currency values, trading strategies, and tactics. It also offers a detailed understanding of how global financial flows, derivatives, and other markets such as oil and gold impact currencies. Along the way, author and professor Brian Twomey provides information on gathering and analyzing global financial data so that traders can gain a "big-picture" perspective when attempting to identify trades. <ul>
<li>Explains virtually every element of the market and can function as a desk reference that puts everyday events into context for traders</li> <li>Fundamentally driven trades based on interest rate differentials and trade imbalances are discussed, as well as technical trades involving chart patterns, trends, and trading ranges</li> <li>Each chapter contains questions and answers to help readers master the material</li> </ul>
The currency market continues to generate interest and attract new retail traders due to the many opportunities available within it. This book will show you how to successfully operate within this arena by making the most informed trading decisions possible.

Inside the Currency Market: Mechanics, Valuation and Strategies

Twomey, Brian

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