&#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
  

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

Forms, checklists, and step-by-step instructions for choosing and implementing an ESOP

Financial officers need to know how to compare an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) with other comparable plans and how to effectively present an ESOP proposal to corporate executives. ESOP Workbook: The Ultimate Instrument in Succession Planning is designed to help the corporate owner, financial officer, CPA, and attorney determine if an ESOP is appropriate for meeting a company’s objectives and, if so, how to successfully implement a suitable ESOP.

The Workbook’s step-by-step use of forms and checklists shows the financial officer how to judge the feasibility of installing an ESOP versus other qualified or nonqualified plans or approaches. Divided into three sections–– Decision Stage, Valuation and Financing Stage, and Transaction Stage–– the Workbook answers such questions as:

• How to decide upon your objectives
• How to value your company
• How to determine the feasibility of an ESOP
• How to obtain financing
• What to do about your present plan
• How to invest the proceeds
• How to do the accounting
• How to communicate the ESOP to employees

Once a suitable plan is chosen, the Workbook then guides readers through the entire implementation process.

The Workbook also contains useful information for financial advisors and life insurance agents who need to know about ESOPs for their business. Valuable as a supplement to ESOP: The Ultimate Instrument in Succession Planning or as an independent resource, the ESOP Workbook is a one-stop practical guide for CPAs, attorneys, CFOs, and owners of private and public companies.

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!
  

"Individuals have found that investment clubs are a wonderful introduction to the stock market. The first step is to get started, and Carolyn Brown has made it easy."–Kenneth S. Janke, President and CEO, National Association of Investors Corporation

The Millionaires’ Club expertly teaches the essentials of running an investment club. Comprehensive without being complicated, this easy-to-follow guide covers everything from choosing a broker and running effective meetings to investing online and analyzing your club’s results. You’ll discover how to start the club that works best for you.

The Millionaires’ Club will show you how to:

• Recruit members and develop an investment strategy
• Form your club’s legal structure and design operating procedures
• Tackle record keeping and other taxing issues
• Research securities like the pros
• Use the Internet and the news to uncover helpful data
• Invest beyond the stock market–and build your own retirement portfolio

Special Bonus
To help you stay abreast of the latest business and money management information, Black Enterprise is pleased to offer:

• A free issue of Black Enterprise magazine
• A discount coupon for savings off the registration fee at Black Enterprise Events
  (See inside coupons for details.)

Security Analysis on Wall Street The principles of investing have always been simple: buy low, sell high. The information needed to make these potentially lucrative decisions, however, is often hard to find, difficult to decipher, and not always reliable. This authoritative new book is the essential reference for students who want to learn the rational, rigorous analysis that is still the most successful way to evaluate securities. Security Analysis on Wall Street explains how the values of common stocks are really determined in today’s marketplace and takes a comprehensive look at the entire security evaluation process, as well as the major valuation techniques currently being used by Wall Street professionals. Beginning with an overview of the environment in which stocks are issued, researched, bought, and sold, Hooke examines the roles of the various players, the rules of the markets, and the activities surrounding initial public offerings. He then probes the intricacies of analyzing and reporting on securities with proven methods for evaluating the merits of a stock. This sophisticated yet straightforward system teaches students how to assess profitable firms; understand marginal performers, leveraged buyouts, and corporate takeovers; and—most importantly—to break down different analyses and get the big answers: Is the security fairly valued, and why or why not? "A welcome successor to Graham and Dodd’s Security Analysis." —Barron’s

Essential technical analysis tools, oscillators are a specialized group of indicators that act primarily as mechanisms for catching market turning points. In this indispensable new resource, Mark Etzkorn thoroughly examines all the facets of these popular trading tools, first explaining the logic on which they are based, then guiding you through the fundamentals and applications of such well-known indicators as momentum, rate of change (ROC), stochastics, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and Moving Average Convergence-Divergence (MACD). Next, advanced trading issues and new oscillator developments are explored. Providing the framework you need to make sound trading decisions with momentum-based indicators, Trading with Oscillators offers complete information on the basic concepts underpinning each oscillator--how it works, what it measures, and what its strengths and weaknesses are--along with detailed data on historical performance, divergence characteristics, variable price inputs and time frames, and a realistic appraisal of trading strategies for different market conditions.
"A comprehensive, realistic, and up-to-date explanation of a potentially valuable (but widely misused) class of technical indicators. Readers will learn not only the formulas and conventional interpretations of popular oscillators, but, more importantly, will gain an understanding of both the inherent limitations of oscillators and their appropriate role in the technical repertoire of the skilled trader." --Thomas A. Bierovic, Synergy Futures.
"A realistic appraisal of oscillators, Etzkorn separates the myth from the fact. Trading with Oscillators should be read by any trader contemplating the use ofoscillators as a market timing tool." --Jack D. Schwager, author, Technical Analysis

A rare opportunity to go one-on-one with an industry giant and one of today's most respected financial thinkers, Merton Miller on Derivatives is a refreshingly accessible overview of derivatives, the revolution they have wrought, and the disasters they've supposedly caused.

Though routinely assailed by regulators and the media, derivatives are hailed by a celebrated group of practitioners, analysts, and theorists, led most notably by Nobel laureate Merton Miller. Miller is legendary for repeatedly demonstrating—often with humor and always with grace—the value of derivatives in price discovery, managing financial risk, and tailoring a risk-return profile.

Here, in this collection of his recent essays, Miller expounds on a number of critical derivatives issues. Is it a problem that some organizations have lost substantial sums on derivatives? Miller's short answer: Some organizations will always find ways to lose money. Nor does he believe that more government regulation is the answer. He notes, for example, that for all the horror stories about derivatives, the world's banks have lost vastly more in bad real estate deals than they'll ever lose on their derivatives portfolios.

Merton Miller on Derivatives offers twenty-two provocative chapters. A sampling: "The Recent Derivatives 'Disasters': Assessing the Damage" takes a close look at such debacles as Procter & Gamble, Orange County, and Barings Bank. "Financial Regulation: The Inside Game" uses an apt sports analogy to show how the derivatives regulatory game is really played, as opposed to the way outsiders imagine it is played. "Japanese-American Trade Relations: Can Rambo Beat Godzilla?" succinctly sums up the nature of Japanese-American trade. And "Risk and Return on Futures Contracts: A Chicago View" highlights the pivotal role derivatives play in hedging risk.

There are also penetrating pieces on corporate governance that compare the system existing in the United States and England with the one existing in Germany and Japan. To complete the collection, a section called "Questions I'm Often Asked" features Miller's unique perspective on a wide range of topics, from what's ahead for China to what we've learned from the Crash of 1987.

Contrary to widely held perceptions, the so-called "derivatives revolution" has made the world safer, not more dangerous. This explains the phenomenal growth of financial futures. As Miller shows, derivatives enable organizations to deal effectively with risks that have plagued them for decades, even centuries.

Praise for merton miller on derivatives

"Miller is one of the clearest thinkers of our time. Once again, he provides a simple, insightful, and witty analysis of an important and complex topic. This book is truly fun to read." —Kenneth R. French Beinecke Professor of Management Studies and Finance Yale University School of Management.

"Some of us trade markets; others of us observe markets; Merton Miller understands markets. As this volume demonstrates, Professor Miller is unsurpassed at cutting through fluff, misinterpretation, and even obfuscation to get to the heart of highly charged issues." —Charles W. Smithson Managing Director, CIBC Wood Gundy.

"Vintage Merton Miller: zesty writing and forcefully communicated ideas, not only on derivatives, but on a wide range of topics in financial markets. This is no ponderous academic tome, but rather a series of entertaining, yet devastatingly analytical essays on controversial issues in finance. Great reading and great analysis." —Hans R. Stoll Walker Professor of Finance and Director of the Financial Markets Research Center, Vanderbilt University.

"I am grateful to Merton Miller for setting the record straight, once again, regarding derivatives. With his customary brilliance, Merton cuts through the fog of misunderstanding and nonsense that too often surrounds derivatives and reveals them for what they truly are: phenomenally successful and essential risk management tools." —Jack Sandner Chairman, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

"This book brings together Merton Miller's most important works on derivatives markets. One of the most creative and analytical minds of our time, Merton is also a great writer and storyteller. This book is a must-read for anyone seriously interested in derivatives markets." —Rick Kilcollin President and CEO, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.