Economics - Investment

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• 1. Overview

1. Overview

There wouldn't be much interest in economics if you couldn't make money from it. On the one hand, it is the closest we have to a scientific theory of intelligent agent behavior (human or automated). On the other hand it is so abstract that it isn't entirely clear how it relates to real-life investing -- at least for poor slobs who don't go golfing with the CEO.

Therefore there is a never-ending demand for analyses, how-tos, get-rich-quick, why-the-market-will-rise, why-the-market-will-fall. Roughly in descending order (economics to get-rich-quick):

• Walter J. Wessels. "Economics", 4th ed. Barron's, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7641-3419-7.

  Investors often go to Barrons (the newspaper) for the inside scoop. Barrons in turn sells a series of books. Not quite a for-dummies series, but more like "for spohisticated investors who are not partners in a $10B hedge fund but want to invest that wisely".

• Charles P. Jones. "Investments: Analysis and Management", 9th ed. John Wiley & SOns, 2004. ISBN 0-471-45666-7.

  Typical introductory text for MBA, perhaps planning to go on to be a financial analyst. The key insight is that markets are efficient and ""beating the market is difficult and becoming even more so" (Eisenstadt, quoted pg 338.). Except, we should add, when there is insider trading, which brings us back to conspiracy economics. When there are billions at stake, people have been known to (gasp) cheat.

  However, even in an efficient market you can balance you own portfolio for appropriate risk and for needed payout horizons. This is the worl od life cycle planning.

• Ernst & Young's "Personal Financial Planning Guide". Ernst & Young, 1995.

  Estate planning and life cycle planning.

• Suze Orman. "The Road to Wealth". Riverhead Books, 2001. ISBN 1-57322-181-3.

  More life cycle planning, but with attention to people emotionally frazzled by balancing their checkbook.

• Larry Waschka. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Rich". Alpha Books, 1999. ISBN 0-02-862952-3.

  To heck with theory. Let's go get rich.