By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night hespent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and internationalglobe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht,crashed a Gulfstream jet, and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to thewife and kids who waited for him at home, and the fast-talking,hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did hisbidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of theill-fated genius they called… In the 1990s Jordan Belfort, former kingpin of the notoriousinvestment firm Stratton Oakmont, became one of the most infamousnames in American finance: a brilliant, conniving stock-chopper wholed his merry mob on a wild ride out of the canyons of Wall Streetand into a massive office on Long Island. Now, in this astoundingand hilarious tell-all autobiography, Belfort narrates a story ofgreed, power, and excess no one could invent. Reputedly the prototype for the film Boiler Room, StrattonOakmont turned microcap investing into a wi
Mutual-fund superstar Peter Lynch and author John Rothchildexplain the basic principles of investing and business in a primerthat will enlighten and entertain anyone who is high-school age orolder. Many investors, including some with substantial portfolios, haveonly the sketchiest idea of how the stock market works. The reason,say Lynch and Rothchild, is that the basics of investing -- thefundamentals of our economic system and what they have to do withthe stock market -- aren't taught in school. At a time whenindividuals have to make important decisions about saving forcollege and 401(k) retirement funds, this failure to provide abasic education in investing can have tragic consequences. For those who know what to look for, investment opportunities areeverywhere. The average high-school student is familiar with Nike,Reebok, McDonald's, the Gap, and the Body Shop. Nearly everyteenager in America drinks Coke or Pepsi, but only a very few ownshares in either company or even understand how to buy them. Everystu
The acclaimed New York Times bestseller-updated for the secondanniversary of the collapse of Bear Stearns The fall of Bear Stearns in March 2008 set off a wave of globalfinancial turmoil that continues to ripple. How could one of theoldest, most resilient firms on Wall Street go so far astray thatit had to be sold at a fire sale price? How could the streetfighters who ran Bear so aggressively miscalculate socompletely? Expanding with fresh detail from her acclaimed front-page seriesin The Wall Street Journal, Kate Kelly captures every sight, sound,and smell of Bear's three final days. She also shows how Bear's topexecutives descended into civil war as the mortgage crisis began tobrew.
Offering a straightforward, non-intimidating approach tolearning investing, this book gives beginner investors theknowledge they need to understand documentation and investingconcepts--from key terms to complicated interest-bearingaccounts.
When Guerrilla Marketing was first published in 1983, JayLevinson revolutionized marketing strategies for the small-businessowner with his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients. Basedon hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson's philosophyhas given birth to a new way of learning about market share and howto gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition,Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-businesssuccess including * strategies for marketing on the Internet(explaining when and precisely how to use it) * tips for using newtechnology, such as podcasting and automated marketing * programsfor targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referralbusiness * management lessons in the age of telecommuting andfreelance employees Guerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur'smarketing bible -- and the book every small-business owner shouldhave on his or her shelf.
The CEO of a billion-dollar mutual fund company shows investorshow to avoid common pitfalls in investing in mutual funds, increasetheir return without increasing their risk, develop a fullydiversified portfolio, and more.
Unravel the Mysteries of the Financial Markets—the Language,the Players, and the Strategies for Success Understanding money and investing has never been more importantthan it is today, as many of us are called upon to manage our ownretirement planning, college savings funds, and health-care costs.Up-to-date and expertly written, The Wall Street Journal CompleteMoney and Investing Guidebook provides investors with a simple—butnot simplistic—grounding in the world of finance. It breaks downthe basics of how money and investing work, explaining: ? What must-have information you need to invest in stocks, bonds,and mutual funds ? How to see through the inscrutable theories and arcane jargonof financial insiders and advisers ? What market players, investing strategies, and money andinvesting history you should know ? Why individual investors should pay attention to theeconomy Written in a clear, engaging style by Dave Kansas, one ofAmerica’s top business journalist
THE ESSENTIAL GALBRAITH includes key selections from the mostimportant works of John Kenneth Galbraith, one of the mostdistinguished writers of our time - from THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY, thegroundbreaking book in which he conined the tern "conventionalwisdom," to THE GREAT CRASH, an unsurpassed account of the eventsthat triggered America's worst economic crisis. Galbraith's newintroductions place the works in their historical moment and makeclear their enduring relevance for the new century. THE ESSENTIALGALBRAITH will delight old admirers and introduce one of our mostbeloved writers to a new generation of readers. It is also anindispensable resource for scholars and students of economics,history, and politics, offering unparalleled access to the seminalwritings of an extraordinary thinker.
Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil,extracting it hadnt seemed worth the effort and risk untilrecently. But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oilskyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier totap, the region has become the scene of a competition between majorpowers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble forcolonization there. But what does this giddy new oil boom meanforAmerica, for the world, for Africans themselves? John Ghazviniantraveled through twelve African countriesfrom Sudan to Congo toAngolatalking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists,priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinarypeople whose lives have been transformednot necessarily for thebetterby the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octanenarrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons fordespair, and reasons for hope emerging from the worlds newestenergy hot spot.
How can you construct a financial investment strategy toprotect yourself … yet still get the growth to ensure a solidfinancial future and comfortable retirement during these turbulenttimes? By building an investing safety net that gives you the gainsneeded for growth – though more modest than those of past years –but protection against the downside. So when turbulencestrikes again – and it will – you won’t re-live the financialnightmares of recent years when portfolios and 401Ks weredevastated.
John Kenneth Galbraith has long been at the center of Americaneconomics, in key positions of responsibility during the New Deal,World War II, and since, guiding policy and debate. His trenchantnew book distills this lifetime of experience in the public andprivate sectors; it is a scathing critique of matters as they standtoday. Sounding the alarm about the increasing gap between realityand "conventional wisdom" -- a phrase he coined -- Galbraith tells,along with much else, how we have reached a point where the privatesector has unprecedented control over the public sector. We havegiven ourselves over to self-serving belief and "contrivednonsense" or, more simply, fraud. This has come at the expense ofthe economy, effective government, and the business world.Particularly noted is the central power of the corporation and theshift in authority from shareholders and board members tomanagement. In an intense exercise of fraud, the pretense ofshareholder power is still maintained, even with the immediatepart