Wade beat market averages in 1999 and 2002!
930429
I bought Wall Street Money Machine Vol 1 and 2 and 2 Bad Years and up we go a little over a week ago and am already making money based on WADEs strategies. I was also impressed to see that Wade beat all market averages last year with a whopping 23% average gain while the Dow, NAZ and S&P were all down. Even Warren Buffett was down 10%. A lot of highly paid mutual fund managers had funds down -40%.Following Wade sure beats "buy and hold" and hold and hold and hold and wait and wait and wait for the stocks to get back to where they were 5 years previous!
2416030
It is a great movie, 1985 the stock markets are hot, people are making money.  Everything in the world is good and this movie captures it all. The lure of making fast money, insider trading, it's all good! Pick this movie up
You can't beat the '80s soundtrack too!!!
3328757
I bought this book last year. I read it twice before embarking slowly with real money. I Started with small investments. Over the last 11 months, my investments are up 14.8 %. I am not kidding. What happened is that I did not have much time to look at methods that Phil was talking about. As I started Googling, I found that there was a support community out there. [...]

With the help of my own diligent research, and Stock2own, I was able to make some sound investments, and not only did I NOT loose money, which is the first principle of Rule #1 investing, but I actually made almost 15%!

Wow - thanks Phil.

CJ
1643982
This is the third year in a row I have reviewed this almanac.  Clearly I believe there is real value in this tome. The introduction last year had the quote "We discovered that while stocks do indeed fluctuate, they do so in well-defined, often predictable patterns. These patterns recur too frequently to be the result of chance or coincidence." in the introduction. In this book you will find a compilation of money making market anomalies. If you believe the market is efficient this is not the book for you.
In the prior edition was an extensive review of the effect of the pre-presidential election year. It would have been a great tip off to the rally that began in March of 2003. There hasn't been a losing year in the Dow 30 since FDR. If you had reviewed this page you would not have been caught flatfooted. (see page 42 & 30). In this year you can review the historical track record of election year markets (pg 34).
In fairness, the Lester indicator (on page 40) was misleading in 2003 as the Dec 2002 low was violates and then the S & P roared to new highs in March. It was tradeable in that with proper risk control you could have made a 4%+gain, below the average listed as 10.7%.
Sometimes there is additional work you can do to make the #s more understandable. I went to page 18 to calculate the net Feb-Dec return of the respective January Effect listings (after all, aren't you most interested in how it performs after you get the signal?). For the record, it was not a good signal this year.
There is a review of Larry William's "The Right Stock at the Right Time". The review mentions many market anomalies like are found in the Almanac. I will make a point to read this book.  I read the book reviewed in the 1993 edition and it was exactly as represented, so I have great confidence that this review is spot on as well. There are several other investment books as well on page 98
If you want to play the various oddities to beat the market, this book makes it simple. Since it has a week by week calendar, it could be your organizer. Imagine that, an organizer that makes you money.
1604911
I've probably read over 200 books about the stock market in the last 25 years.  This one is in my "Top 5."  It's also a steal at $10.  The info on "what to avoid" + "what to look for" could easily save 100x the purchase price in next one or two trades.
1971720
Traditional wisdom about investing is full of conflicting messages. We all heard that past performance doesn't guarantee future results (means it's hard to say about future based on the past data). But at the same time, we are told that US stocks are expected to return about 8% annually based on the past performance (means it would be reasonable to expect 40%+ return over 5 years). And at the same time, in Q1'06 Dow is still lower then it was 5 years ago (hmm, if 5 years is not a long run, what is?). Each statement describes the US market, sounds simple and straightforward, but they are giving conflicting views, so this knowledge is not really helpful. Simple, but doesn't make sense.

This book does make a lot of sense. It starts with a very impressive overview of the global history from the earliest known civilizations. Then it tells you about cycles in economic activity. The quality and quantity of the facts and references is amazing! Then authors gives you an overview of the current situation in macroeconomics and geopolitics. And then he is explaining his view of the future, both short and long term.

It's is clearly not a "how to get rich quickly" book. The main focus is not what you should be doing but to explain you the big trends so you can make your own educated decisions.

The book is written in 2002, but it will stay actual for years to come. Actually now in 2006 it's amazing to see how acurate Faber's forecasts were.

The book is also pretty short and easy to read.

Highly, highly recommended!
983122
I still remember the impact Steve Briese'a ideas had on me when I first encountered them a dozen years ago.  There are three groups of futures traders - hedgers (the true insiders!), big speculators (supposed to be smart but not always...), and the rest - small specs.  The US government publishes reports about their relative positions.  When you see a situation where the bulk of hedgers is squaring off against the bulk of small specs, you have the makings of an explosive move.  In whose favor? Who do you think is likely to win - the insiders or the small fry?

This analysis is further complicated by the fact that hedgers tend to be on the short side of the market (you may want to look up my latest book Sell & Sell Short).  Briese discovers their true bias by comparing their current position to the historical norm.  A beginner may look at the numbers, see that hedgers are 70% bearish and decide that the insiders expect a decline.  In fact, if their bearish norm in this market is 90%, then 70% is wildly bullish!

Briese's book covers everything you need to know about COT )Commitments of Traders Reports) - including technical patterns, currencies, metals, oil, and much more.  If you trade futures, you sure need this book!

I like Briese's breezy writing style (pardon the pun!) but dislike the arrogant title of the book.  I know of only one Bible, and Briese is definitely not its author.  This minor quibble aside, I highly recommend his book to every serious futures trader.
2256452
I saw the price on this book drop and much like a stock analyst swoopt in. I'm only 16 but I have a decent amount of cash I save to the side using a principle I read online. Anyways, I decided that it would be worth my money if I made a return so I bought this book and read away. The book itself is great, easy to understand and all that. The thing is that many people have Stock Market guide's and made careers from that. What makes this book great is how recent it is and in doing so gives a few current examples and examples from up and coming industries. I always though the stock market was simply a legal casino game, thanks to this book I learned how there can be a science to it :)
2469462
MARKET RETURNS ARE NOT NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED!  AS OUR RECENT EXPERIENCE DEMONSTRATED, THE ENTIRE STOCK MARKET WAS CORRELATED ON ITS WAY DOWN!  STOCK MOVEMENTS ARE NOT INDEPENDENT!  Please read the Black Swan, Mr. Edelman - before you continue writing books of your own!

Also, when quoting Benjamin Graham please do a decent job at that, Mr. Edelman.  After all, he wasn't just talking about risk, but rewards as well.  I also wanted to note that risk in a stock is not about daily up down movements.  The really important risks have to do with loosing 95% of your money.  No correlations and calculations of which stocks do well together in the portfolio will tell you whether and which of the stocks and when they will just go down 50% in a single morning (or even if a company will fail to file its 10-K on time).

Also, he talked about how timing the market doesn't work, but to my knowledge failed to mention anything about pricing stocks and whether that works.  He does indirectly allude to that by mentioning that value stocks tend to do better as a group than growth stocks.  Value simply means that you get something for your money (don't overpay for the hopes and dreams of growth).
3033696
If this book were on my night stand in 2002 instead of 2008, I would have been profiting in the latest five year bull run instead of regretting the trial and error methods that led to the predictible losses and accidental gains which left me on the short end of success much of the time.

I now know that investing and trading are not about how hard you work at making the right choices, but how well you manage the risks that encompass the choices you make. AJ and Rick are teaching me the right way to make choices, but more importantly I'm learning to manage the choices I make.

This book is not a read once and be rich. It is a read often and be smart.

Thank you AJ and Rick.
2385067
Right before the real estate market went belly up, I was able to short sell my 3 bdrm, 2.5 bath 2000 sq ft home in Fresno, CA and used the proceeds, after divorcing my wife and letting her have the children, to purchase this incredible shirt.

My credit rating took a pretty nasty hit as I only had enough funds to put down 35% on this shirt and had to finance the rest by selling a kidney. This shirt was just a tad on the small side but after I sold my kidney, I lost enough weight thanks to the infections caused by having my surgery done in the kitchen of some nice old lady's restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. With the sale of my house, kidney, and a favorable exchange rate, I was able to purchase the shirt of my dreams.

This shirt breaths like Egyptian cotton! Every time I wear it I feel like I am the most successful man in the room as I strut my stuff during business meetings! "Hi! Thanks for joining us today! Why yes, this shirt was VERY expensive! And thank you for offering your couch for me to sleep on instead of being under the overpass! This shirt does keep me warm but I don't want to get it dirty!"

The colors and style of this shirt say I mean business without coming across like some trendy euro-douchebag.  I can wear it while I'm standing in line at the Food Bank, when I'm panhandling downtown or when I'm turning tricks for Top Ramen and RC Cola at the Greyhound station's restroom.

Sell everything you have and purchase this shirt.  It's comfortable and you'll be a man of distinction in it! Your friends will be jealous, but console them and even offer to let them touch or wear it! Just make sure you sign a pre-nup in your next marriage if you own this shirt! You don't want to lose it!
3212399
Others have said it well but Scott has done a great job of informing and educating investors about our current market structure. He demystifies HFTs and Algo trading and how it became so ubiquitous.

Most importantly he's written it in a wonderful style that is almost as thrilling as mystery novel. Seriously!

I enjoyed it from start to finish and recommend it to anyone, professional or retail, wanting to know just "what the hell is going on out there" with our markets.

Thanks Scott! And, thanks for sending me a copy of your book!!!

Dave Fry
Founder
ETF Digest
408204
I loved this book.  It's amazing how much detail there was about only 7 games.  Of course, the fact that Beal and others consented to be interviewed for the book, helped a great deal.  Beal spent a lot of time with the author.  But it's still amazing that 7 games could generate a book that size.  And it's never boring.  It's not even a particularly detailed description of the games.  There's a lot of extra stuff that makes the book very interesting.

And now, as of Feb '06, Beal is back in Vegas!  Early in the month, he played 5 days and then actually released a press release saying he was done with poker (I think he was down about $3M for the 5 days).  But then, 5 days later he was back and had a big swing (about $9M swing, if I recall correctly, to put him up $6M (out of a possible $10M)).  Last I heard, Todd Brunson was able to win back some of the money (about $3M, so Andy's still up $3M).  Ted Forrest is up next.

Given all that, I assume there will be a new version of the book.  The author is in attendance at these games, so he'll have plenty more details.
2393861
When I first heard of Wade Cook, I was filled with ambiquity. Everything appeared to be too good to be true. And you know what they say about too good to be true. Consequently, I wasted the last 6 years listening to brokers and losing money on some real bad advice. My accounts are still bleeding red from their "professional" advice.
Then I bumped into a friend who told me about Wade Cook. I told her that I had heard the name before, had already lost money following my brokers advice and was not enthusiastic about doing anymore with the stock market.
Nonetheless my friend persuaded me to at least paper trade a few deals the Wade Cook way and if I wasn't happy, she would never mention Wade Cook or the stock market again. So I agreed to paper trade. While at the book store, I noticed they had just loaded a stack of Wall Street Money Machine V.1 books on the shelves so obviously a lot of people were going to (or expected) to buy this book. I went ahead and bought Wall Street Money Machine V.1 and started to listen to Wade's Wednesday nite conference calls, took great notes and went to work. Amazingly (to me) it worked! I saw tremendous gains in a short time.
I started with real money, very slowly at first and was surprised to make money on every trade. My best deal was a $3,000 profit in three days. Yes, that is after you include commissions and fees.
All I can say now is that I feel like an idiot for not doing this sooner. I have quit my job and now do this full time. I transferred my 401 (k) (still bleeding red from former equities) into a self directed IRA, sold off some of those dead broker advised "investments" and am now making money following Wade's advice. I also have a regular brokerage account.
Following Wade's advice has made all the difference for me. Obviously, there is an element of risk and Wade talks about that both in his book and on the teleconference calls.
I highly recommend Wall Street Money Machine for anyone who wants to cash flow the stock market, to earn a second paycheck without a second job or to do as I did, to exit the rat race, own your own life, stop trading time for money for an unappreciative employer and take charge of your life.
Wade's advice works, but only if you use it.
4761818
Malkiel holds the simplistic 'buy-and hold' strategy to investing; his approach and studies are what day-traders should definitely pay attention to and follow. The current market is very volatile, considering the Fed is buying and buying just to keep the market afloat  Malkiel presents the idea that the market will eventually 'fix' itself and come to terms and show what the 'true value' of the market is.

While I am somewhat worried in the current state of the economy and the stock market, I have faith in Malkiel's thesis in that I will be better off holding out through the storms and buying mutual, index funds which will make me better off in the long run.

Overall, great and simple read where Malkiel presents his thesis and uses history to support it.  Definite read for lower and middle class investors who are saving for retirement.
215327
Interesting to see the mention of this book as a "favorite" of Bill Gates, given to him by Warren Buffet with a strong recommendation. Article in the Wall St. Journal mentioned it was out of print. Within days, miraculously back in print, complete with kindle edition (which I purchased) and climbing the best seller lists. The book's "business adventures" take place in the mid 60's and it was fun to journey back to those days when I could not have cared less about business and finance - provides an interesting perspective after 40 years in business and finance - especially with regard to well paid executives and engineers making an astounding $13k a year! Frankly, they don't write them like this anymore. Probably one of the best written tomes of a non-fiction nature in terms of vocabulary, erudition, grammatical precision and article structure that I have read. Some will find the long detailed stories on the role of the SEC, happenings in the currency exchange markets to be overdone, but for those with and interest it is a treasure trove to explore these things when the U.S. would still pay off foreign currency claims in gold at $35 an ounce.
2411891
I'll admit, this is the book that got me enthused about investing. Wade Cook is a great teacher of stock market concepts. Before reading Wall Street Money machine, the options markets were a mystery to me. Wade cleared it up, and when I was done reading the book I couldn't wait to get started. However, that's where the honeymoon ended and reality set in.

While there are a number investment strategies in this book, it really doesn't show you how to find the stocks and options which would generate profits. I got the feeling that the book was pushing me towards signing up for one of Wades services. Because I want to be a self sufficient investor, depending on a stock picking service is that last thing I wanted. I want to know how the stocks are found to begin with, not just what to do with them after they are presented.

I began losing money immediately, but I certainly don't blame Wade Cook, I blame myself. I needed more information. Way more. My suggestion would be to read the book, and then sign up for a virtual stock trading service like what OptionsXpress.com offers, where you can experiment with your trading technique before investing any real money.

I'm a bit surprised at the cult like mentality I see in some of these reviews though. The books are great, but for me, that's as far as it goes. I'd recommend Googling "Wade Cook" and reading some of the stories of people who've lost money too so you have both sides of the coin.

Despite my opinion of Wade's business practices, I'd still recommend this book for the novice investor.