Review of Confidence Games: Money and Markets in a World without Redemption (Religion and Postmodernism Series) (Hardcover)

Having read-or having attempted to read-a few of Mark C. Taylor's recent books, I was delighted to discover that this one, "Confidence Games" was both entirely different and more of the same. Where his always lucidly written, often provocative and sometimes esoteric reviews of contemporary science, art, architecture and fashion have often left me grasping for a conclusion, this book, "Confidence Games" delivers-BIG.

If writing about the meaning of it all were a physical sport, I would hazard that this fleet-footed journey from the birth of money to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center is Taylor's marathon: a long, fast ride that covers as much ground as an old school Hollywood epic without the tin-eared dialogue.

Throughout, Taylor deftly summarizes insights from celebrated economic and cultural thinkers of the last several centuries without getting bogged down in the dense foliage of history, all the while reminding readers that what paths may look today like a straight line are almost always a zig zag.

What can you expect to get from this book? For many, it will be a pithy introduction to the incredibly complex financial world we have inherited. Others will likely nod their head as Taylor provides intriguing evidence for the parallels and connections between high finance and high art, God and Mammon, computers and contemporary culture.

Like the best music, this book finds a deep groove early on and smoothly segues from pleasant chords to surprising riffs, never missing a beat even as the drummer gets wicked. This is clearly not summer or beach reading. But, given the often-cited consensus that 9/11 changed everything, a book like "Confidence Games" gives readers an unabashedly pleasurable opportunity to struggle with the very complicated questions that define the world in which we have found ourselves.

Taylor's tenacity in pursuing "the meaning of it all" through the lens of money and markets provides us with the rare opportunity to see the big picture in sharp focus.

Disclosure: Over a decade ago, I was a student of Mr. Taylor's and continue to correspond with the author on current affairs.



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Review of Wealthy Choices: The Seven Competencies of Financial Success (Hardcover)

One of the most unique financial advice books today, "Wealthy Choices: The 7 Competencies of Financial Success" teaches sound financial advice is a very open and reader friendly manner.Instead of massive discussion of theory, the book teaches by creating short, realistic vignettes and then explaining what is going on.These vignettes are situations that are sure to strike a responsive chord for many people.For example, one of them reads "How are you, Elise?How am I? You really want to know?My 401(K) statements say I have less money; the credit card company says I owe more money; I'm not having any fun; my checkbook doesn't balance; the machine ate my debit card; I didn't get to watch the videos I'm paying a late charge for; I can't find a house I can afford; and I got a bad haircut.... I'm losing it." Author Penelope Tzougros then goes on to explain what is going on, what needs to be done or how to view the situation, and what to do.

The seven competencies discussed are Valuing, Paying the Bills, Losing, Leveraging, Dreaming, Growing, and Gifting.These are not only important competencies that must be understood to achieve financial success but they are also the areas that cause the most stress in a relationship.When two people have different value systems between money, leisure, assets, etc. things can become very stressful very quickly.Dr. Tzougros does an excellent job of helping people to see where things are just differences in style and philosophy and where they are sound financial principles.This is one of the best books available for the average person untrained in financial theory who just wants to get control of their finances and achieve their goals.



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Review of Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor (Hardcover)

For almost a decade now, this has been my bible on mutual funds.Using a straightforward and candid approach, Vanguard founder John Bogle explains every aspect of mutual funds and the industry behind them.Never does Bogle exaggerate information or mislead the reader as many other financial "guru's" do to sell their books.He is a true consumer advocate and his goal is clearly to educate.

Covered is everything from stocks, bonds, money market funds, indexing, asset allocation, expense ratio's and the risks inherent not only in investing but in not investing (e.g. the erosion of the dollar vs. inflation in "safe" investments).Bogle utilizes numerous graphs and statistical data throughout the book to help make his point and to allow the reader increased comprehension.

It is important to note that this book was published in the early 1990's.Since then capital gains tax laws have changed and the Roth IRA was yet to be created.For more up-to-date information I would recommend reading Bogle's newer book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds. Nevertheless, Bogle On Mutal Funds is a great place to start educating yourself to become more financially savvy.This book has been invaluable to me and I believe it is key to my investing success.I find myself often referring to it, expecially now in these turbulent market times just to hear Mr. Bogle remind me to, "stay the course" and I will be rewarded.No wonder so many admirers refer to the beloved Mr. Bogle as, "Saint Jack."



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Review of Outsmarting the Smart Money : Understand How Markets Really Work and Win the Wealth Game (Hardcover)

In a perfect investment world the price of a stock embodies its value. And those who believe this 'efficient' market hypothesis will be buying index mutual funds certainly not this book. But those who dismiss this academic construct to profit from the inefficiencies evident in the market still run substantial risks not adequately addressed by most investment books. The minefield of risks that Cunningham guides us through is that the biases of others, the cause of those price vs. value anomalies, are also our own biases and can trigger money-losing investment decisions. Overconfidence and the "pattern seeking" bias to project short term trends into the future are just two examples, but they do so some of the worst damage. They lead to a dangerous reliance on margin borrowing and excessive trading activity. Also, recognize that companies make many of the same behavioral errors. It is the author's "smart" investor who can spot the folly of manic acquisitions by companies acting as if they were on steroids - grasping for growth at a fiscal cost. Cunningham dismisses technical analysis as "hokum" (Here he agrees with the proponents of an efficient market who maintain market movements cannot be predicted accurately). Stay away from IPO's, companies relying on pro-forma accounting, and sector funds. Read analyst reports with caution, but do study closely "management's discussion" of their business in the annual report. Be wary of stock buybacks, stock option programs, stock splits, spin-offs, secondary offerings, and performance-based incentive plans. Any of these programs can be abused and rise out of corporate hubris. Above all: Recognize your biases, your tolerance for risk, be objective, and have criteria to know when to sell your positions. A lot of territory is covered in this book with some of the best material appearing in Chapters 10 and 11. Cunningham builds a persuasive case for adopting a long term, value oriented investment philosophy which is least affected by these biases.



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Review of Issuer Perspectives on Securitization (Hardcover)

In the Executive MBA Program of the Wharton School, where I teach, we have instituted a new finance course on structured financial products and asset-backed securitizations, from the corporate treasurer's perspective. This book featuring issuer perspectives on securitization fits our courseperfectly, and is popular among the executive MBA students.The authorsare very knowledgable and are able to communicate well.I highly recommendthis book to anyone who wants to delve into this relatively new area offinance.



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Review of Hedgehogging (Hardcover)

I previously worked in the hedge-fund industry and now teach college students about finance. Therefore, I found Barton Biggs' anecdotes both instructive and amusing, having seen some of the poor lifestyle choices that some hedge fund managers ("hedgehogs", according to Byron) make.

However, the book's strength is not an "inside look" into the world of hedgehogs, but a series of instructive vignettes about how to be an "investor". According to Biggs, a true investor sees one step ahead, while the rest of us are responding to the "now".

The true investor pays a high price for this insight. A true investor makes mistakes, is inevitably early, has doubts, lives in a lonely world, and is abandoned at precisely the wrong time by his most loyal investors. Sleepless nights, grinding teeth, and poor digestion are just part of the price paid. (I certainly can attest to this, though I would never claim to be a true investor. I guess that I am just a "journeyman".)

The goal of people with money to invest is to find these true investors, give them their money, watch them closely, and stick with them through thick and thin. One must constantly watch, though, for the weaknesses that often come with success.

In the first half of the book, Byron provides many instructive stories, centered on his town of Greenwich, of successful hedgehogs who let their money determine their lifestyles. Inevitably, pride comes before the fall, destroying both lifestyles and businesses.

I strongly recommend this book, not as an investment guide, but as an "investor guide" -- a guide on how to be a successful investor or how to find successful investors to work for you. This book fills an critical hole in my library.

Addendum January 8, 2006: I've spoken to a few friends in the business who are quite angry about the passages in the book concerning the Breakers meeting that is sponsored by Morgan Stanley. I, too, felt that Biggs' comments were unwarranted, but they did not detract from the book for me. There are many in the hedge fund community who feel that Biggs owes them an apology. I agree.



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Review of J K Lasser Pro Real Estate Investment Trusts (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent survey of the world of equity REITS. And it does sum up the value of buying each type of equity REIT. But if you're looking for a book which shows you how to invest in REITS and how to analyze the figures of a REIT, this isn't the book.

I also was hoping to find information on Mortgage REITS. There was only a paragraph or two on the subject --- certainly not enough information on this topic.

This book is geared more toward the analyst or someone with a tremendous amount of experience in REITS. It assumes you have a good background in REIT investing. And it certainly does not cover the entire field of REITS.

So it depends upon your needs as to whether or not this book would be a good addition to your investing library. I personally got three bits of information out of it that were worth the cost of the book. But I could have probably gotten the information elsewhere free.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Executive Copy Director and Owner
Powerwriting.com LLC



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Review of The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel (Hardcover)

I am giving this book a 5 instead of a 3 or 4 because I believe that it does a superb job of laying out some facts that every normal adult needs to understand, and I want to encourage everyone to buy and read this book.

That having been said, I also found it disappointing.The author's main points can be summed up in this review, and take less than an hour to absorb in the actual book:

1)Peak oil and the need for alternative energies are being over-shadowed by myopic media and lack-luster academics that focus on poverty, climate change, terrorism, everything but the core Achilles heel of the Western world, its addiction to cheap oil which is no more.

2)Cheap oil is made possible by blatant political and financial maneuvers that enrich a few and set the rest of us up for life long poverty.Government subsidies and tax breaks purchases by expensive lobbyists giving expensive gifts and cash bribes to our politicians are directly responsible for pre-determined failure of our energy policy and the lack of an energy strategy.

3)The catastrophic nature of the collapse of cheap oil is dramatically enhanced by the combination of the *huge* U.S. deficit and by the increased prospects of war over oil.

The author concludes with some bottom line advice for investors: get out quickly from stocks associated with high oil usage (airlines, autos, chemicals; followed by cosmetics, food requiring processing and transport, and retail dependent on far away factories and raw materials).

I disagree with one key point he makes.He assumes that Wall Street and the media have been ignoring this problem because of "group think."I certainly do agree that the larger mass of the public and the average bureaucrat that do not know any better have fallen prey to unethical propaganda, but I am quite persuaded by Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy; Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil; The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century and other books that this catastrophe in the making was clearly understood by the White House and the US Senate in 1974-1979, and a very deliberate selfish even treasonous decision was made to profit in silence and let the people fry.

This is a much simpler book than most of the others I have read and recommend, but I give it a solid five stars because if you can only afford to buy and read one book, this is the one that will be easiest and most to the point.

And just to drive the point home, when WIRED had the cover story on alternative energy, Cheney was meeting secretly with Enron and Exxon, and went on to amass 25 documented high crimes, 23 of itemized in my review of this book (Cheney makes Agnew and Johnson look like wall-flowers--this is the guy that put HIGH into "High Crimes."
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency



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Review of Rubinstein On Derivatives (Hardcover)

So I took the class with the man last quarter and thought I did not need the book. Well, by the end of the semester I started reading it and I was pleasantly surprised by the organized nature of the book. Rubinstein's thoughts are well explained and there is a lot of clarity in his derivations, which are not overly mathematical . Rubinstein comes from another era in finance, an era when intuition was more important than the math. Right now, there is so much math in finance that intuition seems to be undervalued, which is a shame.

If this book had a solid set of questions and answers at the end, it would be a great book. Then again, we got our own problem sets from the professor, so I can't complain about that myself.



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Review of Inventing Money: The Story of Long-Term Capital Management and the Legends Behind It (Hardcover)

While Lowenstein's account of the Long-Term Capital Management debacle is more fascinating, Dunbar's book provides more "meat" for those interested in the backdrop of the historical event.Starting with a brief history of speculation and progressing to finance theory, "Inventing Money" places the Long-Term saga in a historical context.Indeed, almost half of the text has nothing to do with Long-Term directly, but Long-Term was not created in isolation.People from academia and "the Street" made its existence possible, and this book chronicles its development very well.

A bit more technical than "When Genius Failed," this book gives the reader lots of background material on the theory behind what Long-Term was supposed to do: namely, arbitrage.As a Ph.D. student of financial economics, I found Dunbar's explanations easy to understand, but I can also see that they will be quite obfuscating to non-specialists in this area.The second part, about Long-Term's dealings, is easier to understand for everyone.While his account of what transpired to Long-Term is not as vivid as Lowenstein's, I think Dunbar does a laudable job at keeping the story flowing.BTW, the paperback addition has a thoroughly updated last chapter, "Aftermath."

If you are interested in the Long-Term story, both books are worth keeping.If you have to choose, go with "Inventing Money" if you are also interested in the history of finance theory and financial engineering; if you prefer an "insider's view," "When Genius Failed" would be a better choice.



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Review of The Essential Buffett: Timeless Principles for the New Economy (Hardcover)

The definitive book on Warren Buffett has yet to be written.Perhaps only Mr. Buffett can do so, and he has no incentive in this direction.Interestingly, the more Mr. Buffett's performance weakens versus the market, the more books come out focusing on his methods.Mr. Buffett writes about his thinking in his annual reports of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks about it at his annual meetings, and occasionally shares ideas with reporters.Conclusions about his methods then are a distillation of these sources, much like the CIA used to interpret what the Soviet's thought by reviewing Pravda.The results are probably about as accurate.My main complaint about this book is that Mr. Buffett does not and probably will not invest in the new economy.And for good reasons.It doesn't fit his investing standards.So a book that takes the principles and applies them in that direction is misleading at best, and I suggest you decide what you want to call it at worst.

If you want to read a good book about Mr. Buffett, I suggest that you read How to Think Like Benjamin Grapham and Invest Like Warren Buffett.That volume covers much of the same ground as here, but does so better.It also is more accurate in characterizing Mr. Buffett's philosophy, as I understand it.You can read my review of that book.

If you have read Mr. Hagstrom's book, The Warren Buffett Way, you probably don't need to read this one as well.Let me summarize some of the key points so you can decide.Here are the principles in the book, as I have paraphrased them:

(1)Think about a stock investment like you are buying the whole business.

(2)Give yourself a large margin of safety when you buy, picking a time when a stock is depressed well below its economic value.

(3)Hold few stocks and think about their current and future fundamentals constantly to see if your assumptions are holding.

(4)Avoid speculation at all costs.

The tenets of The Warren Buffett Way are repeated here:

Business Tenets

(a)"Is the business simple and understandable?"

(b)"Does the business have a consistent operating history?"

(c)"Does the business have favorable long-term prospects?"

Management Tenets

(a)"Is the management rational?"

(b)"Is management candid with shareholders?"

(c)"Does management resist the institutional imperative?"

Financial Tenets

(a)"Focus on return on equity, not earnings per share."

(b)"Calculate owner earnings."This is essentially free cash flow.

(c)"Look for companies with high profit margins."

The reported reason Mr. Buffett does not buy technology stocks is because he feels the long-term prospects are too murky.He is probably right in most circumstances.Technology companies are usually about as successful as their new products.How can you know how good they will be versus the competition 10 years from now?

The fundamental premise of a book like this is also questionable in another way.If you want to get Warren Buffett's results, you can simply own Berkshire Hathaway stock while Mr. Buffett is alive.

For most people, indexed mutual funds are a better choice.I suggest that you read John Bogle's Common Sense on Mutual Funds to learn the argument for that approach.If 90 percent of the pros cannot beat the market, can you expect to do better?

After you read this book, also think about where modeling of a famous person's behavior might not capture what you want to learn.For example, can an actor distill her or his approach into a few principles and tenets?Yes, but that distillation wouldn't allow you to duplicate the results.

Take your money seriously, and keep focusing on how to keep it safe as your first investment priority.Avoiding losses is a key Buffett principle that has served him and his investors well.

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Review of Follow the Fed to Investment Success: The Effortless Strategy for Beating Wall Street (Hardcover)

Finally, someone designed a strategy not based on the financial hysteria of the moment, subjective attributions, or (intentionally?) indecipherable jargon. Instead, "Follow the Fed to Investment Success" simply explains, using standard economic metrics, interest rate trends of the Federal Reserve. Based on these rates, investors can follow (rather than try to predict) how to rationally invest our hard-earned cash.

I'd recommend this book for amateurs and experts alike; Mr. Roberts has shown that we all stand to learn a lesson or two!




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Review of The Irwin Guide to Using The Wall Street Journal, 6th Edition (Hardcover)

This book is a good introduction to the principles of the macro economy.

The author explains the basics of the federal reserve system, monetary policy, the causes and effects of inflation, and various personal investment products such as stocks, mutual funds, commodities, and money market accounts. The basics of each is explained, and the author shows how each is tracked daily in the Wall Street Journal. The purpose is to allow individuals to understand their investments, track their progress, and be able to react to changing market conditions. Its all sounds very axiomatic, but the great thing about this book is that it states basic principles that are often assumed, and thus left unstated.

For example, if the following excerpts are helpful to you, then this would be a great book for you:

Page 15: "The forces of supply and demand condition every business cycle."

Page 25: "Bank lending finances spending, and spending generates inflation. The Fed controls bank lending and can thereby control inflation."

Page 33: "Every commodity has a price; the interest rate is the price of money. As with any commodity, the price fluctuates according the the laws of supply and demand."

Page 165: "Mutual funds are popular with individual investors because they permit diversification in a wide variety of securities with a very small capital outlay."

These are examples of the points covered, and the level at which they are covered. If the above quotes sounded obvious, this book may be below your expertise. But if you finally want to understand the jargon you hear on CNNfn, this book will do the job.

This would be a great book to buy as a graduation gift for a high school senior, or anyone without a background in finance.



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Review of Bull's Eye Investing: Targeting Real Returns in a Smoke and Mirrors Market (Hardcover)

This book asks where the stock market will be in ten years' time, and how you should invest as a result of that. It's potentially important, because discussion of long-term investment strategy (as opposed to next quarter's earnings) is so rare - yet obviously critical for investors.For that reason, I'm going to write a more detailed review than most of the others you'll find here.I'll summarize Mauldin's key arguments, briefly discuss his recommendations, and finally give you an honest appraisal of whether you should buy the book.

SYNOPSIS.In the first half of the book, Mauldin sets out to prove that in ten years' time the US stock market will likely be no higher than it is now, and possibly significantly lower.The stock market's future level will be determined by (a) earnings growth and (b) the value the market places on those earnings (ie. P/E ratios), so Mauldin focuses on these two elements. First, he argues that earnings growth will be disappointing.Companies' earnings will be depressed by the adoption of stricter accounting standards, the expensing of options, and higher pension costs. Combine that with anemic economic growth due to the aging of the population, the current account deficit and the budget deficit, and earnings are unlikely to exceed their historical growth rate of under 6%. Next, Mauldin argues that P/E ratios are unlikely to rise over the coming decade, and may in fact fall dramatically.He assembles a battery of arguments to prove his case.Secular bull markets have never started from times when the market's P/E ratio was as high as it is today.The market is currently overvalued according to multiple measures, and will likely revert to its historical mean.The risk premium is currently low, and a recovery to more sensible levels would depress P/E ratios.Finally, P/E ratios fall as inflation rises or an economy slips into deflation; so given the US economy's current inflation rate (close to zero), there's nowhere to go that would result in a higher P/E ratio for the market.With mediocre earnings growth and falling P/E ratios, the market is therefore headed nowhere or a lot lower.

If the market will be flat or down over the next decade, how should you invest?That's the subject of the second half of the book.Mauldin recommends that you buy value stocks or a mutual fund run by a value-oriented manager, since value stocks have historically outperformed growth stocks. Stocks that pay dividends are particularly attractive, as a large part of the total return from the stock market has come from dividends.You should also assemble a laddered bond portfolio, buy real estate, and buy gold or gold stocks if you have the expertise.His key recommendation, however, is that you should put your money into hedge funds, since hedge fund results are not dependent on the market rising.

HOW CONVINCING IS HE? Mauldin supports his argument that the stock market will stagnate over the next decade with data, academic studies and a reasonable description and rebuttal of opposing viewpoints.He comes unstuck, however, with the practical recommendations in the second half of the book.Three quick examples:(1) The first half of the book suggests there's a reasonable likelihood of deflation.In that case, cash would be a better investment than most of Mauldin's recommendations.(2) If the stock market is really heading down, as Mauldin suggests with his assertion that the market's P/E ratio could go to 10 or below, the best strategy for most investors is simply to buy long-term index put options; but he doesn't mention this.(3) Hedge funds have lousy tax efficiency, so returns for taxable investors would be a lot worse than Mauldin seems to suggest. These points deserve more discussion than this space allows, so I'll address them in more detail (and provide practical alternatives) on the TechUncovered web site. Suffice it to say that despite his honesty, Mauldin's viewpoint is likely skewed by his profession: acting as an introducing broker to hedge funds.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE BOOK? Despite these criticisms, Mauldin asks important questions and assembles and summarizes a lot of material.But here's the problem.Much of the content has been reproduced from Mauldin's free emails, which are available on his web site, and some of the key arguments are available for free elsewhere, such as Grantham's letters and Bogle's speeches.(I've provided links to these sources on the Market Resource Page on the Seeking Alpha web site.) Worse, unlike the emails, the book has been poorly edited.A couple of the chapters are co-written with a colleague, and read like stand-alone hedge-fund marketing material, while others repeat points in earlier chapters.So the book misses the opportunity to integrate the content of the emails into a readable, methodical argument. Whether you decide on the email archiveor the book, though, Mauldin is definitely worth reading.



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Review of Financial Engineering Principles: A Unified Theory for Financial Product Analysis and Valuation (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

Good reading.Beaumont has shown how useful and insightful it can be to approach markets from the viewpoint of financial engineering as well as how to innovatively think about risk and return in an everyday portfolio management context. Well, I found the book to be very well written, concise, logical, and plain smart.



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Review of Derivatives: Valuation and Risk Management (Hardcover)

I have used Miller & Dubofsky to teach my undergraduate options class in the past and this year I switched to Hull (7th edition).I find that I much prefer the way Miller & Dubofsky is organized. A good example would be the treatment of forwards and futures.Miller & Dubofsky begin with forwards and move on to futures.In Hull they are treated together and this serves to confuse students, especially when it comes to valuation and marking to market.Another strength of the book is that risk management is addressed right away whereas in Hull it seems to be an afterthought.Hull's notation is also quite confusing for students.Hull tries to do everything using continuously compounded rates but for many instruments (FRAs and Interest Rate Swaps for instance) this is not possible.The result is a mish-mash of compounding conventions in the same formula.

There are a few weaknesses of the Miller & Dubofsky text as well but these tend to be minor.I think it would benefit by a second edition.




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Review of Investing Under Fire: Winning Strategies from the Masters for Bulls, Bears, and the Bewildered (Hardcover)

Investing Under Fire is a very interesting collection of essays by 30 luminaries from various fields, some of them not at all related to investing. Each selection contains at least a thought or two to repay the effort of perusal, and that's a great deal more than many books deliver, especially books about investing. The anthology's five segments cover mutual funds, key sectors - from Asia to precious metals, research and legal resources, innovative companies and geopolitical influences. Anyone who merely reads the first selection, by Vanguard founder John Bogle, and applies its lessons, would more than recapture the purchase price of the book. Despite the sometimes self-promotional comments from a few of the other contributors, it's a very valuable book. If nothing else, we note, it will expose you to a spectrum of diverse opinions, a useful prophylactic against complacency.



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Review of Inside Greenspan's Briefcase : Investment Strategies for Profiting from Key Reports and Data (Hardcover)

I have read tons of business/financial books. Inside Greenspan's Briefcase is the best guide to understanding the economy, investments and Greenspan himself. Please do yourself a favor and get a copy of this remarkable book. Rob Stein has done a great job at giving the read an easy way of understanding 'The Big Picture'



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Review of Out of the Red: Investment and Capitalism in Russia (Hardcover)

"Out of the Red"...John T. Connor's analysis of the potential for investment in the burgeoning industrial expansion in Russia is must reading for anyone interested in making any sort of financial commitment there.

Mr. Connor -- and his co-author Lawrence Milford -- do an excellent job of analyzing Russia's transformation from riigidly controlled life under the czars and Stalin into today's free market economy.They also -- in a series of concise but illuminating chapters -- present clearly the risks and rewards of investing in that economy.

Mr. Connor's assessment of the present situation in Russia is in sharp--and somewhat welcome -- contrast to the barrage of anti-Russian rhetoric in the news these days.And his experience there over the past several years make him solidly qualified for that assessment.

Mr. Connor does not write in generalities.He names specific areas in which to consider investment and specific companies within those areas.
I found the chapters on Russia's vast reserves of mined resources...its production of oil and natural gas...and the growth of its information and communication business a fascinating read.

Every U.S. investor should glom on to a copy of "Out of the Red".



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Review of Wealthy and Wise: Secrets About Money (Hardcover)

Preserve the assets you have and keep them growing in value.Make sure your wealth adds to your happines and fulfillment in life. Don't allow your wealth to overwhelm you emotionally and psychologically. This book will assist you in keeping your money a positive factor in your and your family's lives.



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