Stock Market Books: My favourites
Friday, November 14, 2008
Many blog readers asked me to write about “best books on stock markets”. I am writing about books which helped me immensely throughout my investment career. This is not a comprehensive list of “Best books on stock markets” but a list of “my favourite books on stock markets”.
My favourite books on Stock Markets:
1. One up on Wall Street: Peter Lynch. This is a must read to learn about stock markets.
2. The Intelligent investor: Benjamin Graham. Warren Buffett learnt a lot by reading this book.
3. Security Analysis: Benjamin graham. This book is a must read for every value investor. This is “The Bible on value investing”.
4. The Best Investment advice I ever received: Liz Claman. Simple investment lessons from stock market legends.
5. All about Stock market strategies: David brown and Kasandra Bentley.
6. Your Money and Your Brain: Jason Zweig. Psychology plays vital role in stock market movements especially over short term. This book is all about brain’s role over your investment decisions.
7. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings: Philip Fisher.
8. Wise investing made simple: Larry Swedroe.
9. Contrarian Investment strategies: David Dreman. Contra investors always make money due to their investment style and duration. But these investors needs extreme patience to make money.
10. Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist: Lowenstein Roger. Read this book to know about the legendary investor.
11. The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America’s top traders – Jack Schwager.
12. Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All time: John Boik. Good book for traders.
Note: I am requesting readers to suggest their favourite books which helped them in taking better investment decisions. You should not just read these books but you should "eat them". One should learn about stock markets by doing hard work like reading books and magazines. You need to learn about Companies and businesses. There are no shortcuts to make money in stock markets on consistent basis.
You will continue to lose money as long as you depend on "stock tips" and other short cuts. Use CNBC to know about latest business news but not for stock tips. Never believe in broker's tips. They will give these tips to all their customers. You will never make money by following herd.
I don't know how long this bear market will last but current crisis provided long term investors "once in a life time investment opportunity". Those who will accumulate good stocks on SIP basis throughout this bear phase will get very good returns. Many good stocks will not participate in the bear market rallies but they will give outstanding returns if you invest for long term. They will test your patience.
Note: I merged my old blog on Stock Market with Stock Market Guide. Thanks to the readers for this suggestion.
Stock Market Nostalgia: On November 15 in 1867, the first stock ticker was unveiled in New York City. It was invented by Edward Calahan, who configured a telegraph machine to print stock quotes on streams of paper tape. In 1869, Thomas Edison patented an improved, easier-to-use version of Calahan's ticker.
Special thanks: I am indebted to Arun Varghese for his help. He is sending me valuable research reports which are helping me in gaining more knowledge about companies. Thank you, Sir.
Spam: I am fed up with spam comments by teams of “Know your profit”, “Share Tips Info”. When will they stop using such cheap SEO techniques in gaining readers?
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16 comments:
good to read books, analise and patiently invest in share market. most of the books are available free of cost at www.sabfreehaimamu.com.......... just chek out and gain more knowledge......
Regards
Amar
"Dhandho Investor" by Mohnish Pabrai. This guys is proclaimed clone of Warren Buffet because of his investing style. Great ways of identifying oppotunities have been explained in very simple (Buffet) way. Must Read.
Thanks to Ashish for suggesting another good book and thanks to Amar Deep for giving download link. I am requesting more readers to suggest their favorite books.
How to Make Money in Stocks - A Winning System in Good Times Or Bad by William J O'Neil...
O neil found the CAN SLIM model for identifying growth stocks...This book is really good for a beginer.....Flip side is it uses American market for examples/reference...though I personally feel this can be applied to Indian stocks too...
A link for what CAN SLIM model is -
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/canslim.asp
And you know, what else would be great....Dr: Krishna & other readers giving us their picks which satisfies the CAN SLIM model
You asked for it. So, here is my treasure trove of books worth reading if one needs to make a mark in investing...
A) Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits - Philip A. Fisher
B) A Lion In Zebra Country - Ralph Wanger
C) Seeking Wisdom--From Darwin to Munger" by Peter Bevelin.
D) Yet another fantastic book, if you can get it, is "Margin of Safety" by Seth Klarman. This guy Klarman is my favourite investor after Buffett and Munger. The book is a masterpiece and is an absolute must read for a value investor.
http://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com/pages.html
E) "Speculative Contagion" by Frank K. Martin
Fantastic book recommended by Warren Buffett.
F) "Supermoney" by Adam Smith. Also read "The Money Game" by the same author. This is not the venerable Adam Smith but George J.W. Goodman who uses the nom de plume Adam Smith. Great books, both.
G) "The Dhando Investor" by Mohnish Pabrai. A must read, imho.
H) "The Black Swan---The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. He has also authored "Fooled by Randomness---The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets".
Both are books that should be read and thought about.
I) Panic Profits by John Brown..
its an extremely gud read and VERY RELEVANT too..delves into investor psychology and dintinguishes between a panic fall and a bear run... (and how easily one can interprete a bear run as a panic fall
J) The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm
The Panic of 1907" (Wiley, $29.95) begins with the Park Avenue suicide of Charles Barney, a prominent New York banker. Barney was one of many casualties -- both individual and institutional -- of an attempt to corner the market in shares of United Copper Co., which brought a string of banks to the brink of collapse.
Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of one of the worst financial meltdowns in U.S. history, the book's arrival on shelves in September is all the more fortuitous
http://www.amazon.com/Panic-1907-Les...6936551&sr=1-1
K) The Fall of the House of Habsburg by Edward Crankshaw.
L) Medici Money by Tim Parks.
M) No Two Alike by Judith Harris.
N) "Game Theory at Work : How to use Game Theory to Out think and Outmaneuver your Competition" by James Miller.
O) Traders, Guns & Money - By Satyajit Das
Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives
You'll end this book thinking that you understand the world of financial derivatives -- which will put you on a par with those on Wall Street who built the synthetic assets that big investors now use to pass risk and reward around the world.
Das has the distinct advantage of having worked for the big banks and investment houses, such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, that sell derivatives to clients. That means he knows both what promises the inventors and marketers of derivatives had made and how those promises played out in reality. That makes this, at times, a strikingly funny book.
P)Way of the Turtle by Curtis Faith
Q) The Vital Few Vs. the Trivial Many :Invest with the Insiders, Not the Masses
Insider trading analysis guru George Muzea wrote a book called The Vital Few Vs the Trivial Many: Invest with the Insiders, Not the Masses. He called corporate insiders "the vital few" and investor masses "the trivial many". By following the vital few, he made big profits in the stock market for himself and for his corporate clients.
By explaining which information is accurate and valuable, as opposed to that which is misleading and financially hazardous, investment professional George Muzea will show you how to successfully and intelligently evaluate the stock market and find valuable gems that have yet to be discovered by the masses.ONE CAN BUY the book at Amazon..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
R)The Little Book That Beats The Market - by Joel Greenblatt.
S) Your Next Great Stock: How to Screen Market for Tomorrow's Top Performers by Jack Hough.
A 5 star rating...looks interesting.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/se...r=Jack%20Hough
T) Behavioural Investing authored by James Montier.
It is a 706 page book and easily the most comprehensive book on Behavioural Investing that I have come across. Read it.
Happy Reading!
Regards,
BSE Gems (Member of Phoenix forum)
Bio-fuels that won’t starve you
The aggressive move to replace fossil fuels with bio-fuels has driven agriculture to a turning point globally. Economic growth, energy needs and climate change will redefine supply-demand equations and contribute to accelerating food prices, says a latest report of the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Bio-fuels, in particular, have been high on the global agenda largely due to rising concerns about energy security, high energy prices and climate change, as well as the income expectations of farmers and other investors.
Meanwhile, the International Grain Council (IGC) has reported an overall growth in the consumption of cereals by 32 per cent in 2007-08 and an estimated 31 per cent in the coming year (41 per cent and 32 per cent respectively in the US).
The total quantity used globally this year (95 million tonnes) is large, relative to total world trade in corn (100 million tonnes) and total world corn production (777 million tonnes).
The rapid expansion of ethanol and bio-diesel has increased dependency on natural vegetation and crops grown specifically for energy. Bio-fuel production has also introduced new food-security risks and newer challenges for the poor, particularly when resource constraints have led to tradeoffs between food and bio-fuel production and rising food prices.
The FAO has already sounded its concern over this alarming situation.
Alternatives to food crops
Given this scenario, governments are looking for alternatives to currently used food crops. In India, sweet sorghum shows promise for ethanol, as it is, like sugarcane, sugar-based and simpler to process, has 2-3 cropping periods a year, and can be grown in fallow sugarcane land, says a report.
The quantities of bio-fuels required to meet energy needs vary between countries and depend on the choice of feedstock. For example, if 20 per cent of the maize crop in the US were used for ethanol production, it would meet only one-third of the country’s 10 per cent ethanol blending target.
In India, the Government has approved 10-20 per cent blending of ethanol with petrol for automobiles. Efforts are on for large-scale production of bio-fuels from various organic sources such as sorghum, wheat, maize and sugarcane. However, in a country that struggles to achieve self-sufficiencyin food, diversion of foodgrains for bio-fuel production will lead to shortage and a consequent price rise, making it inaccessible to the poor. If 20 per cent of the sorghum crop in India were to be replaced with sweet sorghum, it would be sufficient to meet the country’s target of 10 per cent ethanol blending, says a report.
The increased bio-fuel demand during 2000-2007, compared with previous historical rates of growth, is estimated to have accounted for 30 per cent of the increase in weighted average grain prices. The biggest impact was on maize prices; bio-fuel demand is estimated to account for 39 per cent of the increase in real prices of maize; 21 per cent for rice; and 22 per cent for wheat, says the report.
Cashew apple’s potential
The cashew apple, an important organic resource generated in cashew plantations and wasted in large quantities, holds promise as an attractive substrate to produce bio-ethanol, says Dr M. Abdul Salam, Professor and Chairman, Department of Agronomy, Kerala Agricultural University, who has done extensive research in cashew.
In India, cashew is grown in 8.37 lakh ha mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka and Kerala. Only the nuts are used to produce cashew kernels, while almost all the cashew apple is wasted except in some places like Goa. Additional income prospect would motivate growers to cultivate cashew in the large tracts of wasteland lying unused in the country.
The cashew apple contains a large amount of starch which can be used in ethanol production. In Goa, feni containing 40-50 per cent ethanol is made from cashew apple. Products such as juice, jam, candy and pickle are also made from it.
Technology requirement
Global production of cashew apple is estimated at about 21.7 million tonnes. Therefore, the potential for bio-ethanol production from cashew apple is high, Dr Salam said.
One kg of raw nut is estimated equivalent to apple capable of producing 500-600 ml of ethanol of about 70 per cent purity. So, globally cashew apple can generate about 17.3 lakh tonnes of ethanol. The current technology used in ethanol production from cashew apple is not sophisticated or economically viable, Dr Salam said. UNIDO has initiated steps to evolve a suitable technology.
Wasteland development
A pragmatic effort by the Government to utilise wasteland for cashew cultivation would not only help produce ethanol but also lower the country’s decades-old dependence on imported raw nuts. It would also help enhance the income of cashew farmers, generate employment opportunities and offer a fuel source for the rural poor. Additionally, it would promote conservation of environment and ecology, especially in coastal areas.
The IFPRI has called for a comprehensive policy framework for sustainable bio-fuel development.
Ethanol fuel market
Brazil remains the world leader in production and consumption of ethanol, which accounts for 20 per cent of that country’s transport fuel market and is 55 per cent cheaper than regular gasoline. More than 60 per cent of its cars are flex-fuel vehicles that can run as readily on ethanol as regular gasoline.
India and Thailand lead Asia in ethanol production and use. A sugar glut and burgeoning supplies of molasses in 2002 hastened the establishment of an ethanol programme in India.
In mid-March that year, the Government decided to allow the sale of E-5 countrywide and mandated that nine States and four federally ruled areas will have to sell gasoline blended with 5 per cent ethanol from January 1, 2003. This has translated into a captive market for at least 0.5 billion litres of fuel ethanol.
The IFPRI says the poor are impacted by bio-fuels as consumers in the food and energy markets, producers of agricultural commodities in small businesses, and workers in labour markets. The increase in agricultural demand and the resulting increase in agricultural prices will affect poor people in different ways. Some poor farmers could gain. However, the majority of poor people would respond to high food prices with reduced consumption, leading to calorie and nutrition deficiencies
"The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders"
In Jack Schwager's closing interview with Dr. Van K. Tharp in "Market Wizards": "When people approach the markets, they bring their personal problems with them".
Dear Krishna,
Now I am confused this post is same as one on
http://stocks-information.blogspot.com/2008/11/good-books-on-stock-markets-and.html
but was written before you have posted it on your blog
is this blog somewere related to you
Mohit
I am speechless after seeing that post. That blog is no way related to me. It is painful to see their manipulation. I am requesting users to suggest how they are manipulating even date by copying post. He copies almost many posts of me and publishing them as his own. I will write to Google regarding this.
Dr Krishna,
I have written to blog writter that he was copying you and received the comment from the blogger that says he has clearly written source Stokmarket guide on some of the post he has copied but he says some blogs are not copies and may be similar by chance now its intresting :)
I have seen he has written in some articles that it is referred from your blog I dont know if he had made those additions now
Thanks
MOhit
Thank you Mohit for your help. As long as I have readers like you, I don't care about those copycats. In the initial days, I used to search for such copy bloggers and sent that matter to Google. But I have stopped it now. It is almost impossible to stop such activities in this world wide web. They are copying entire post and putting ads. They are even manipulating dates through advanced posting options in the blogger. If they are genuine persons, why are they changing the dates?
Thank you Mohit once again.
Sir,
I am new to your blog, but ever since stuck on to it. Great Useful content! Thanks a lot!
Do chk out http://www.copyscape.com/ they might have some premier service to avoid copycats
Great list, but I noticed you have not included any major Indian author.
The first book I read on investing was Invest The Happionaire Way by Yogesh Chabria and it was great because it introduced me and simplified lots of things. It was like a story with a good moral.
Plus since it is more Indian, it makes sense to read. What do you feel about this book? I loved it personally.
Happy new year!
Lots of useful information on your blog - and the books mentioned in some of the comments have been added to my list of 'books to read'.
A great book on fundamental analysis is "The Five Rules of Successful Stock Investing" by Pat Dorsey. Highly recommended for all investors.
Thanks to Subhankar for suggesting another good to know about fundamentals of stocks.
im nu to all this blogging, but as you suggestted all these books are quiet neat and gives you a viewpoint on every aspect. but ohter than this i also happen to read some blogs quiet interesting ones and one of them sticks out quiet clearly written by http://www.sudipbandyopadhyay.in/ if interested yoou can surely check it out.. till then ..
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