Bill and all,
Hope the holidays are fun for all of this thread's inhabitants and their loved ones. Upon many recommendations, I tried to get Norman Fosback's Stock Market Logic to read during my many airplane trips this week. Alas, the local public library showed it on the computers, but it wasn't on the shelf. (darn computers!) I did, however, find a very, very interesting book that I think all of you on this thread will enjoy (no, I have no stake in it): 20 Ways You Lose Money on Your Way to the Stock Market, by Scott Fraser (1996). It was right where the Fosback was supposed to be (Fosback, Fraser, see?), and I thought I'd give an unsolicited review to mark my return to our cozy thread.
First, don't let the amateurish title of the book throw you off. True, there is the inevitable page or two explaining the difference between a put and a call, and a looong and overdone explanation of the difference between a bid and an ask (Fraser sometimes delights in convoluted analogies). Yes, some of the tips are for beginners. But otherwise, this book is just so full of interesting facts right up the alley of market cynics like us. Fraser starts with his first premise: the only way to make money from a stock is to have more people buy after you than before you. A solid balance sheet, great products, etc, etc, just don't matter, other than how they influence this balance of buying. Old hat to most of us, but from this bulding block, Fraser rips apart a lot of the old maxims about buy & hold, dollar-cost, mutual funds, IPOs, advisors, etc. Unlike a lot of market cynics (including some on SI!), he doesn't do the old vague "oh, the market is manipulated!" song & dance, but gives specifics facts, scenarios, and anecdotes to back up his advice. Of course, lots of stuff about the "law of gravity in markets" and inevitable reversals of herd mentality. No hot stock tips here, just lots of stuff on what not to do. Interesting reading even for market non-participants, as there is a lot of stuff about the structure of IPOs and the like in here that I haven't seen anywhere else. I give it a strong buy recommendation for all thread-dwellers. :-)
Hmm, this feels like a 4th grade book report. Anyone else read the book and care to comment? |
