A practical look at the valuation models used by Wall Street

Veteran consultant and educator Scott Hoover analyzes the limitations and idiosyncrasies of major valuation models. He examines the time value of money, cash flow analysis, discount rates, and other tools, and describes how money managers and bankers apply them to valuation.

&#8220Balen reminds us that the murky tale of the first bubble stands as a cautionary tale for our time." --Lisa Jardine, London Times The greatest financial scandal in history was not the collapse of Enron or WorldCom, not a piece of insider trading from the 1980s, not a hedge fund leveraged to a trillion dollars or a crooked offshore account. It was bigger than all of them combined. So vast, in fact, that it threatened to bankrupt an entire nation's wealth, transforming old monied families with centuries of affluence into the newly destitute. The South Sea Bubble was a share scheme allowed to run crazily out of control. Modeled on the share trading that had just transformed the rival French economy, it was masterminded by an unscrupulous Englishman who saw a route to untold riches selling shares in a valueless company. The South Sea Company was supposed to establish a lucrative trade in silver and spices between England and the Americas. But there was a problem hidden from investors: for almost the entire duration of its sorry history the Company didn't even own a boat. For the first time Malcom Balen tells the dramatic full story of how the fraud was carried out and covered up. Although set in the mazy back alleys of the newly inaugurated financial districts of London and Paris of the 1720s it remains utterly a tale of our times.

How investors can protect themselves from the wolves of Wall Street

On Wall Street, the house holds the keys--and everyone else risks being taken for a ride. Investing Despite Wall Street,Inc., is todays most open and unflinching look at how the denizens of Wall Street have always taken care of themselves first, at the expense of small investors, and what investors can do to protect themselves from such large-firm shenanigans.

Author and longtime Wall Street observer Fred Plemenos provides a simple, concise review of the basics of investing, and how to apply them to the new reality of todays stock market. Instructive investment principles and guidelines are designed to protect individual investors and their portfolios from Wall Street, and include:

• Understand the sector youre investing in
  
• Know the importance and influence of economic factors
  
• Learn to use technical and fundamental analysis
  

"Wall Street Journal" bestselling author David Nassar changed the course of independent investing--and sold more than 100,000 books--with his landmark "How to Get Started in Electronic Day Trading." Times and markets have changed, however, and a sense of caution has replaced that period's go-for-the-gusto ethos..

At the same time, millions of traders and investors can't help but see--and hunger for--the fast-turnaround trading profits that are still there for the taking. "How to Get Started in Active Trading and Investing" is once again the right book at the right time, distancing itself from the day-trading mania with profitable strategies and techniques for this all-new market. Essential reading for today's new breed of commonsense trader/investor, it explains how to: Understand--and profit from--the moves of market makersDiscover and implement a personalized trading styleImprove market-timing skills and instincts.

Despite what many investors believe, short selling can be a risk-averse strategy for traders and investors alike. What Is Short Selling? provides a complete introduction to the basics and nuances of short selling, including:

• How to bolster portfolio performance
  
• How to spot an excellent short sale candidate
  
• Hedging and speculating
  

Found in this book are two smaller volumes. The Ticker and Investment Digest is a periodical concerned with investments and speculation of the stock market. Sample contents: Studies in Stock Speculation; How to Select Investments; Bargain Indicator; Ethics of Speculation; Market Outlook; A Sign of Bull Moves; and much more. Also found within is the 1929 annual stock forecast, which presents an analytical report on market conditions.

In "A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market" best-selling author John Allen Paulos demonstrates what the tools of mathematics can tell us about the vagaries of the stock market. Employing his trademark stories, vignettes, paradoxes, and puzzles (and even a film treatment), Paulos addresses every thinking reader's curiosity about the market: Is it efficient? Is it rational? Is there anything to technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and other supposedly time-tested methods of picking stocks? How can one quantify risk? What are the most common scams? What light do fractals, network theory, and common psychological foibles shed on investor behavior? Are there any approaches to investing that truly outperform the major indexes? Can a deeper knowledge of mathematics help beat the odds?All of these questions are explored with the engaging erudition that made Paulos's "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper" and "Innumeracy" favorites with both armchair mathematicians and readers who want to think like them. Paulos also shares the cautionary tale of his own long and disastrous love affair with WorldCom. In the tradition of Burton Malkiel's "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" and Jeremy Siegel's "Stocks for the Long Run," this wry and illuminating book is for anyone, investor or not, who follows the markets-or knows someone who does.

Maximize profits in the single-family and multi-unit rental market . .

You probably know that small rental properties are among the safest, most affordable, and most profitable investments around. With the a little help, however, you can minimize both your investment and your costs and send your profits straight through the roof!. .

In this comprehensive handbook, real estate investing expert Steve Berges reveals the secrets that have made him one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the field." "He shows you all of the indispensable tricks of the trade, explains why they are so important, and connects them to other essential steps for super-profitable investing. Arming you with his Five Golden Rules for Success, Steve Berges also shows you how to: . . . Select a house and negotiate the best price and terms . Perform a comprehensive financial analysis to maximize value . Secure financing and prepare for your closing . Find qualified tenants and draft favorable lease agreements . Reduce operating costs, increase rents, and improve profitability . Avoid the little-known pitfalls of real estate investing . . .

With Steve Berges' expert guidance and no-nonsense advice, you can maximize your investment, minimize your time and effort, and make the most of every foray into the real estate market.. .

Invest sucessfully in the companies that will prevail through thechnology booms and busts -- with indispensable advice from the world's most trusted business publication, The Wall Street Journal.

There's no doubt the Internet has changed the way we live, the way we work, and the way we invest in the new millennium. But while many investors made fortunes investing in technology companies while the Intenet stock bubble was inflating, countess others lost their shirts when the bubble finally popped.

Now, Stephen E. Frank -- a veteran of The Wall Street Journal and CNBC -- explains what we need to know about investing in Intenet and technology stocks in today's postbubble economy. In Networth, Frank lays out a straightforward framework for understanding how the Intenet works, now different business models stackup, and how to think about technology stacks as part of a broader investment portfolio. He weighs in on the potential risks and rewards of each Internet subsector, and profiles a slew of dot-com companies, from obvious candidates like Amazon.com to transformed titans of the old economy like United Parcel Service.

“Tom Abate’s reporting on biotechnology has always been ahead of the times. The Biotech Investor tackles the brave new world of stem cells, genomics, and clones and comes up a winner.” —Thom Calandra, editor in chief, CBS MarketWatch

In The Biotech Investor, San Francisco Chronicle biotechnology reporter Tom Abate explains the science, finances, time horizon, and technological and commercial potential of this burgeoning industry.
Abate provides guidelines for assessing company leadership, easy-to-digest reports from the labs, and indispensable investor tools and metrics. He shares strategies for
• tracking the effect of breaking news and the NASDAQ
• anticipating drug trial announcements and FDA approvals
• assessing the potential market, patent rights, and distribution deals for a drug
He looks beyond medicine to biotech-related opportunities in everything from agriculture to jean manufacturing to software development. The Biotech Investor is the comprehensive, expert source for successful and intelligent investing in one of the twenty-first century’s most promising industries.

As yet, single stock futures are still in their infancy, but they now represent the most exciting new product launch within the equity derivatives arena. They have a multiplicity of advantages for many traders and investors, being cheap, easy to understand, and a highly efficient use of capital to enhance investor opportunities.

Single Stock Futures is a practical, easy-to-read and comprehensive guide that will help traders and investors understand and utilise this innovative and exciting product.

"SSFs have been portrayed...as a new stage in the evolution of financial derivatives - which is certainly the case. But they could be more than that: they could radically alter the dynamics of equity investing...The possibilities are huge, but as yet only dimly perceived."

From Single Stock Futures - The Ultimate Derivative, written by David Lascelles for the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.

Everything a novice investor needs to know about getting started in stocks

While dozens of books purport to be for the beginning investor, most beginner books assume a level of knowledge that true novices just dont have. Understanding Stocks is targeted to the beginning investor, providing a concise yet comprehensive overview of the stock market without subjecting readers to terms and ideas they cant understand and frankly, will probably never use.

Written in an engaging and direct style, Understanding Stocks uses short, easy-toread chapters to provide a solid working knowledge of the stock market.

Topics include:

• What is a stock?
  
• How to place a trade
  
• Evaluating a stock
  
• Knowing when to sell
  

An in-depth examination of a powerful new trading strategy

"Fischer provides an intriguing and thorough look at blending the Fibonacci series, candlesticks, and 3-point chart patterns to trade securities. Backed by explicit trading rules and numerous examples and illustrations, this book is an invaluable tool for the serious investor. Read it."
–Thomas N. Bulkowski author of Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns and Trading Classic Chart Patterns

In this groundbreaking new book, Fibonacci expert Robert Fischer and coauthor Dr. Jens Fischer successfully merge Fibonacci applications with candlestick charting to create an innovative trading strategy that will help you enhance profits and reduce risk.

Filled with in-depth insights, helpful charts and graphs, and practical real-world examples, Candlesticks, Fibonacci, and Chart Pattern Trading Tools reveals how correctly combining these different strategies can give you a noticeable edge in challenging market times–regardless of whether you are a short-term or long-term trader–and improve your chances of success under a variety of market conditions.

You’ll be introduced to the critical aspects of this synergistic approach through in-depth analysis and detailed explanations of:

• Core combinations of Fibonacci trading tools with candlesticks and regular 3-point chart patterns
• The magic figure "three" and its relevance in pattern recognition
• Fibonacci-related trading strategies, selected candlestick chart patterns, and regular 3-point chart patterns
• Applications of these trading strategies–double tops, Fibonacci price extensions, PHI-channel applications
• PHI-ellipses as trading tools
• And much more

Along with the computer technology of the WINPHI charting program included on the companion CD-ROM, Candlesticks, Fibonacci, and Chart Pattern Trading Tools will help you understand and implement this profitable trading strategy to the best of your ability.

Now completely revised and updated, the Jorgensens' classic guide to increasing wealth provides solid advice on investing, paying taxes, buying insurance, and more...in good times and bad.

You can get rich -- regardless of age, income, or marital status -- by simply following the advice of financial duo Jim and Rich Jorgensen. It's Never Too Late to Get Rich explains how to apply their tried-and-true rules of financial planning in any financial climate, taking you through a process built on nine foolproof, easy-to-follow strategies:

• Pay yourself first

• Don't be a lender

• Kill those credit cards

• Be willing to accept some risk

• Build a rock-solid investment portfolio

• Invest with technology

• Delay your taxes

• Buy adequate life and disability insurance

• Work with a financial planner

Here too are invaluable guidelines on saving and investing in a crashing or soaring stock market, on minimizing taxes, and on preparing for big expenditures like education and retirement. Fully updated with information on new ways to earn interest, the latest financial websites and resources, and much more, It's Never Too Late to Get Rich is your reliable guidebook toward the financial security that you've always dreamed of.

A must-have for the desk of every online trader, this almanac puts important and needed information at every trader's fingertips, including online brokerage Web sites, analysis of market makers and ECNs, symbols for both stocks and futures, useful software and chat rooms, and online traders' terminology.

Praise for High-Flying Adventures in the Stock Market

"Most Americans know mutual funds only by their performance numbers. In High-Flying Adventures in the Stock Market, Molly Baker takes us inside the fund industry to give us a compelling and intimate look at the human drama of running a fund."–Douglas K. Sease, Editor, Wall Street Journal Books

"Baker uses the eye for detail she acquired as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal to explain the high-pressure world of the money manager in laymen’s terms. For those seeking a readable, inside account of the ’90s historic stock market boom, this is a book to add to the portfolio."–Dana Milbank, Staff Writer, The Washington Post

"A wonderful read–Baker takes you through a year in the life of a fund manager–it’s so well conceived and written that you’ll think you were there too. Individual investors who manage their own money should put this book in their portfolio. Informative, educational, and great fun."–Larry Waterhouse Jr., Chairman, TD Waterhouse Investor Services, Inc.

"Baker has provided an unusual perspective into the world of mutual fund management. She is a real reporter who is skilled in her understanding of what she describes and lively in her choice of episodes. The book is fun as well as informative."–Peter L. Bernstein, President, Peter L. Bernstein, Inc., Author of The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession

"A fantastic voyage through the mutual fund universe. Every serious investor should read this book."–Andrew Metrick, Assistant Professor of Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

This practical, hands-on blueprint to stocks and mutual funds provides a thorough overview of today’s stock market. From understanding how trends and policies affect markets and the basics of placing a trade to advanced issues including technical analysis, short selling, Modern Portfolio Theory, and more, this unique and useful workbook explains the stock market in clear, concise language.

A $10,000 investment in Warren Buffetts original 1956 portfolio would today be worth a staggering $250 million ... after taxes! What are his investing secrets? How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett contains the answers and shows, step-by-profitable-step, how any investor can follow Buffetts path to consistently find bargains in all markets: up, down, or sideways.

How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett sticks to the basics: how Buffett continually finds bargain stocks passed over by others. Written by an actual financial analyst who uses Buffetts strategies professionally, this tactical how-to book includes:

• Comprehensive financial tools and information
  
• Strategy-packed Buffett in action boxes
  
• Buffetts own stock portfolio­­continually updated on the authors website!
  

Latest Edition: Pricing Derivative Securities (2nd Edition)The development of successful techniques for valuing derivative assets is among the most influential achievements of economic science. Pricing Derivative Securities presents the theory of financial derivatives in a way that emphasizes both its mathematical foundations and its practical implementation. The book's organization reveals its three distinctive features. Part I surveys the necessary tools of analysis, probability theory, and stochastic calculus, thus making the book self-contained. The chapters in Part II, Pricing Theory, are organized around the dynamics of the price processes of underlying assets, progressing from simple models to those that require considerable mathematical sophistication. The last part of the book is devoted to the empirical implementation of the pricing formulas developed in Part II, offering a detailed survey of numerical methods and providing a collection of programs in FORTRAN and C++.Errata(s)Preface, Page viChapter 13, Page 534"www.worldscientific.com/books/4415.zip" The above links should be replaced with"www.worldscientific.com/doi/suppl/10.1142/4415/suppl_file/4415_software_free.zip"Errata