Futures-market

This was the second book I read on financial markets. There is a wealth of information on all kinds of financial stuff.
I specially liked the Options chapter. I think the Stocks chapter was an overkill but still there was much useful info.
Pretty organized and fairly unbiased. The retirement piece at the end of the book was definitely underdone but I don't think this book was meant to cover retirement anyways.
The author doesn't try to portray the financial markets as a road to riches. He lets the reader draw his own conclusions from the topics covered. An educational read overall.

I learned a great deal from this book and I can tell you it is worth every cent of its price, which I considered high before purchasing. The author has a very creative style and yet is able to explain even the most complicated information in an easy to understand and often humorous way. Even if you don't think you will take advantage of all the knowledge you will gain from reading it, I suggest you do read it all, as you never know what may prove useful in the future.

This is a good book. I had the privelege of recently attending a seminar by Lowell Catlett. He is pragmatic and thorough and yet, at times, witty. This book is written much the same way.

The book is very thorough. It takes you through the history of markets, how they evolved and how they are used today. It provides insights and some "Dos" and "Don'ts". He really makes you think.

It uses a lot of examples that are clear and very helpful. This makes it an excellent reference book for future trades.

The only negative I found in the book is one of its virtues, it is too thorough. I think some of the discussions, such as grains and livestock, are similar. The book could have been shortened by about 10 - 20 percent by combining similar options , commenting on the differences and providing an example.

Overall, I rate this an excellent book! I recently got an MBA from a top school and I learned a ton. This book is a must for the serious options trader who wants to build a good understanding of the investment methods.

Dr. Catlett's book covers futures and options with real life situations. Real life situations include hedging against losses from various situations. I had the opportunity to have Dr. Catlett for a Professor, teaching financial futures markets class at New Mexico State University.

The book covers how to hedge and how not to hedge. He walks you through all of these topics to fully understand the process. There are tables and charts that to help understand the process. After completing the book you will have a great understand of futures and options markets.

The book is a great reference for futures & options trading!

This is a 100% trading psychology book. No FA, no TA, but ten chapters or the author's so called principles on trading psychology, which are

1. The market is always right.
2. It's all in your head.
3. You cant prepare enough.
4. Supply and demand rule the markets
5. Commit your thoughts to paper
6. Developing and perfecting your trading shtick
7. Enhancing your shtick
8. Discipline
9. Staying the course
10. On becoming the ideal trader

Though the above can be commonly found in most trading books, the author had done it relatively well by drawing many uncommon analogies, stories, idiomatic phrases that put life into the book. In particular I like his description of successful traders as captains in the oceans, mice in the laboratories and actuaries in insurance companies.

In short, if you wanna read a good trading psychology book, this is it. If you want TA or FA knowledge, look somewhere else.

p.s. The seven cardinal sins of trading in the last chaper is a favorite of mine. They are:-

1. Pride, which challenges the first rule of trading: The market is always right.
2. Greed, holding onto trades hoping for more and more profits while all TA signals are telling you the party is over.
3. Envy, drains positive energy from their psyche, leaving them mean spirited and weak.
4. Anger, that when Greek gods decided to destroy a human, they got him angry and let him destroy himself.
5. Lust, equates to ignoring key defensive rules or self control. The unbridled gambler is the epitome of lust, doubling up after every loss.
6. Gluttony, a lack of focus. Trading becomes obsession They eat and sleep trading.
7. Sloth, that a lazy successful trader is an oxymoron. He or she just doesnt exist.

I have read other books by Mr. McCafferty and have found this one to be the most valuable, not to mention entertaining. It seems as though most of the newer books out there are just a rehashing of commonly known techniques and offer little valuable insight into how the market actually operates, that is not the case with this fine book. Mr McCafferty seems to understand the way the markets operate and the players in the trading community. He mentions several successful traders and their methods and explains them very well, probably better than those traders could themselves, which is a true testament to his ability as a writer. I learned specific strategies that have changed the way I trade and have been surprised by how well the simple things Tom mentions (and many of us overlook) have worked for me. I can say that I am a more profitable trader because of what I read in this book and for the [$$] it cost me, that is an unbelievable deal. Thank you for unselfishly sharing your trading experiences with us Tom, my life has been enriched because or your words.

Naisbitt looks a long term futuristic trends. He helps one to see the big picture both chronologically and globally. Take for example his opening observation that "While America's new information economy is our most important megatrend, it is only part of the puzzle." He logically argues that "collectively what is going on locally is what is going on in America." The five bellwether states, which set the trends for the rest of the couutry are idenified as; California, Florida, Washington, Colorado, and Connecticut.
A strong case is made in the second chapter for "high touch" (i.e., human involvement) to remain a vital component of the high tech age.
In the third chapter, the global economy is described. The airplane and satellite communication are identified as the technologies that caused the transition from a national to a global economy.
Although an international, global economy exists, surprisingly at the same time decentralization is occurring. He explains in chapter 5 why.
In the following chapter he similarly explains how people are becoming increasinly proactive in their individual futures, and not rely on institutional help.
The proactive theme is carried a step further in chapter seven.
Chapter 8 discusses the phenomenon of networking.
Right up to the end of his book, he makes a solid case for the trends he describes. This is a well-written book, researched so that its essential theme remains accurate although a lot has changed since it originally was published.

This book clearly deserves more than five stars for its power and effectiveness in identifying, explaining, and projecting many important trends in American society over the last 18 years.

I first read this book when it was published in 1982, and decided to reread it recently to understand more about the methods used by testing them with 20-20 hindsight.

The book built from the principle that the "most reliable way to anticipate the future is by understanding the present." Although the book relies a lot on that method (by examining current beginnings that could turn into mighty rivers), its real power comes from the long-term perspective of how an information society will be different from the prior industrial one.

The trends identified were:

(1) Becoming an information society after having been an industrial one

(2) From technology being forced into use, to technology being pulled into use where it is appealing to people

(3) From a predominantly national economy to one in the global marketplace

(4) From short term to long term perspectives

(5) From centralization to decentralization

(6) From getting help through institutions like government to self-help

(7) From representative to participative democracy

(8) From hierarchies to networking

(9) From a northeastern bias to a southwestern one

(10) From seeing things as "either/or" to having more choices.

The detail behind each of the trends is often more rewarding than the overall trend itself. You get specific examples that excite your imagination. "On the producer side [of multiple choices], it means there can be a market for just about anything."

Even if you read this book back in the 1980s, I suggest that you take another look at it now to reinforce your understanding of the fundamental trends that will continue to be important for decades to come. That's because "we are living in the time of parenthesis, the time between eras." "We are clinging to the known past in fear of the unknown future." "The computer will smash the pyramid [at the center of how everything is organized]."

After you have finished considering or reconsidering this book, I suggest that you think about where your life may be out of alignment with these trends. Do you live where job growth and quality of life will be best? Are you taking advantage of your potential as an individual?

Let irresistible trends ease your breakthrough gains!

I've found this book to be as informative as any book written on equity options to date. Tompkins takes on a complex subject and makes it understandable . If I could make only one suggestion to the author , it would be " Talk more about takeovers " ; the effects on option pricing and volatility :...A definate buy for the person looking to understand the equity options enviroment.. J54B

Mr Tomkins walks the fine line between layman accessiblity and Rocket Scientist complexity in this well-written (and often suprisingly amusing) book with dexterity. Most of the competion are repetitive and trivial or ferociously mathematical. My only complaint is that this category of book is always expensive. However at least in this case one gets good value

I bought this book 7 years ago, and just recently took it back off the shelf to read/reread sections related to my current work. Book is packed with explanations that facilitate understanding of these complex instruments. And it's nice to see how the binomial model is developed by its inventors. I highly recommend this book to all seeking to understand how to price and analyse options. The reason I gave it 4 stars was that book has an equities focus.

Always an up-to-date work. The excellent analysis of every aspect of options ranks it a must for the researcher (speculator or agent trader) in order to comprehend thoroughly the real nature and forces of the derivative instruments of the markets and obtain a strong infrastucture for consequent reading on strategies and technical analysis. Mathematics of the book are plain and worth reading to the last equation, for they prove to be the key to the understanding and valuation of any novelty work on the subject.The authors' state-of-the-art multiple remarks and explanations on options prices,their factors and sensitivity factors makes it an everyday's book, besides its academic value. A stand alone book for traders that once you get it is to be read over and over in sequence with any new techniques to be tested.

This was the first book on reincarnation I have ever read and it was a great start. Edgar Cayce was the founding father of metaphysics in the West and, therefore, a perfect basis for a beginner. I learned the facts I needed to know and the places I needed to go next in order to explore my interests and beliefs.

There is a reason why two-thirds of our planet's population believes in and embraces reincarnation. Although it's been centuries in coming, Westerners are beginning to accept this "philosophy" as truth, as well.

If you've ever been curious about reincarnation on any level, this book will serve as an excellent introduction to this phenomenon. Elwell Sparrow's clearly-written book is based upon the readings and teachings of world-reknown psychic Edgar Cayce, himself a Christian. However, if you are of a different faith or spiritual belief, do not let that disuade you from reading this book!

After reading this moving, exciting book, many of your questions will be answered. This is a highly informative book, and at its conclusion, you may find that reincarnation (at its most fundamental level) is the fascinating commonality among the world's religions and peoples.

I highly recommend it! It changed my outlook on life forever.

This book is a continuation of volume 1 - being that it is purely focused on financial markets and financial products. I was looking for a book on managing risk surrounding the development of new products (i.e. goods) and services for the market place. These issues are VERY different than those surrounding financial products in a nearly efficient market. I'll keep the book for the excellent content, but beware - it's probably not what you might expect!

The chapters on Interest Rate Option Models (Riccardo Rebonato) and Calculating Risk Capital (Thomas Wilson) are great critical surveys on their respective topic

I've just re-read this book and think more highly of it now than I did previously. Larry Downes & Chunka Mui define a "killer application" as "a new good or service that establishes an entirely new category and, by being first, dominates it, returning several hundred percent on the initial investment." As they explain, the primary forces at work in spawning today's "killer apps" are both technological and economic in nature. "The technology we are concerned with is the transformation of information into digital form, where it can be manipulated by computers and transmitted by networks." Digital strategies are needed to achieve market dominance.

The co-authors divide their book into three parts: Digital Strategy, Designing the Killer App, and Unleashing the Killer App. In Part I, there is a brief discussion of one "killer app" in the Middle Ages, the stirrup, which added mounted cavalry to the battle equation. The "lowly stirrup" played a singular role in rearranging the political, social, and economic structure of medieval Europe.

In The Lever of Riches, Joel Mokyr identifies countless other "killer apps" throughout history such as paved streets and sewerage disposal; the lever, wedge, and screw; the heavy plow and three-field system; the weight-driven mechanical clock; spectacles; the printing press; the steam engine; the telegraph; the bicycle; ...each of which also had a truly profound impact.

To repeat, Larry Downes & Chunka Mui concern themselves with the technology of transforming information into digital form. Thus in Part I, they examine the "killer app", explain what they call "the new economics", and then shift their attention to the nature of a digital strategy. They dully acknowledge the disruptive power of "killer apps" which can suddenly destroy the equilibrium of what appeared to be stable systems of commerce and government. For them, business change now originates with digital technology; more specifically, with "killer apps." Strategies are needed to manage (to the extent possible) their impact to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. These strategies must accommodate three new forces: digitization, globalization, and deregulation. The "dirty little secret" to which Gary Hamel has referred is that the strategy industry "doesn't have any theory of strategy creation." The success of any digital strategy may well be the result of what Hamel calls "lucky foresight." Downes & Mui seem to agree with Hamel while offering, in Part II, what they refer to as "a few rules of thumb." They suggest three stages of "killer app" design and carefully explain each. They identify 12 specific principles on which to base the design process. In Part III, they shift their attention to "Unleashing the Killer App" and correctly stress the importance of communication, one which "speaks with the language of ideas, scenarios, options, and what-ifs."

In Chapter 7, the reader's attention is directed to two major corporations, McDonald's and VEBA AG, which illustrate digital strategy in practice. These are, in effect, mini-case studies. It is important to point out, however, that effective digital strategies are not the sole province of major corporations such as these. A "killer app" can quickly increase or reduce the size of any company. Consider the fact that a single dry goods store in Kemmerer (Wyoming) can become the J.C. Penney Company which, in turn, now struggles (with mixed results) to compete successfully with a company whose own history can be traced back to the Walton 5&10 in Bentonville (Arkansas). Downes & Mui assert that "Developing digital strategy...requires components of both problem-pull and technology-push...operating together in a well-functioning organization [in which] the process becomes not only circular but indistinguishable...in a pragmatic, indeed opportunistic, response to the new digital environment."

In the final chapter of their brilliant analysis, Downes & Mui suggest that cyberspace "is fueled by free computing power and free bandwidth...and free software." Consequently, "the social conditions that resulted are raw, and the nature of the business climate, by necessity, less developed." As with The Golden Rule dry goods store (in 1902) and then the Walton 5&10 (in 1950), today's companies must seek out new areas of opportunity and start doing business there. "Those who make the transformation by developing a digital strategy are choosing to engage the frontier on its own terms, just as their counterparts from Europe did in settling the New World."

Larry Downes & Chunka Mui have outlined the process of digital strategy, explained the twelve design principles, and described the experiences of organizations that are transforming themselves so that they can unleash "killer apps." Which companies will conquer the "frontier", whatever and wherever it may be? Which companies will not? In the Digital Marketplace, we won't have to wait very long for the answers. Probably in what seems to be about five minutes. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point.

The stirrup in the Medieval Ages, the Model T automobile in the Industrial Age, and PCs, electronic funds transfer, word processors and Web search engines in the Information Age are all examples of "killer apps" - new goods or services that establish entirely new categories and reshape existing power structures.

"Like the Hindu god Shiva, they are both regenerative and destructive," explain consultants Larry Downes and Chunka Mui in their highly compelling digital strategy manual, "Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance" (1998 Harvard Business School Press). The book is chock full of case studies of companies who are either riding the Internet wave to fortune and fame - or have been sidelined and marginalised.

The new forces of our age are globalisation, digitisation and deregulation. Traditional corporate strategies are getting replaced by digital strategies, which are more dynamic, intuitive, and participatory.

The Internet (along with its intra-organisational manifestation, the Intranet) has firmly occupied centre stage in the global marketspace thanks to three fundamental laws: Moore's law, Metcalfe's law, and Coase's law. Moore's law maintains that processing power doubles every 18 months while costs hold constant. According to Metcalfe's law, the utility of a network is proportional to the square of the number of users.

And economist Ronald Coase observes that as markets become more efficient, there is an increasing organisational trend towards downsizing, outsourcing, and decentralisation ("The Law of Diminishing Firms"). Killer apps are now the result of these three principles operating together in cyberspace. To these three laws, the authors add one more: the Law of Disruption, accounting for the disruption caused by exponentially-changing technology on incrementally-changing social systems.

The Internet is taking every advantage of every new advance in communications, interface design, computer architecture and information sharing software via a combination of Moore's and Metcalfe's laws. The explosive growth of the multimedia Internet is redefining business-to-consumer and business-to-business services across the globe; for instance, it enables suppliers and distributors - and even prospective mates - to directly find one another across international borders, sidestepping many intermediaries.

"The Web is currently tearing apart the financial services and telecom industries, among others, inspiring civil wars there much as the steam engine did years ago," the authors explain.

Via killer apps, cutting edge companies in the Internet age are transforming their businesses from producers of commodity goods to providers of sophisticated services. Companies like Dell Computers, Cisco Systems, Federal Express, Charles Schwab and Amazon.com are successfully re-aligning relationships with and among consumers via Internet technologies and building unprecedented brand loyalty in cyberspace.

The Web is creating "shock waves in information components of every industry," so much so that digital technologies are not just enablers of change, but disrupters of current operating models.

Digital age strategies need not be the preserve only of IT companies - Nike, for instance, is progressively divorcing itself from production, distribution, advertising, and even design; most of these operations are being outsourced. "We decided we're a sports company, not just a shoe company," CEO Phil Knight has remarked. "What Nike has kept for itself is brand management, the relentless development of the Nike world view, the Nike lifestyle, and the Nike experience," the authors explain.

To be able to develop digital strategies, a company must improve its ability to spot, internalise, shape and exploit killer apps, the authors claim. Organisations have to be become more nimble, open, fun, and take on a new incarnation.

Traditional organisations need to focus on three key areas of change for digital strategy in the network age: re-shaping the organisational environment, building new connections with business partners and customers, and re-defining their core structure and strategy.

Re-shaping the business environment can take place via features like mass customisation, user empowerment, and online communities. For instance, Federal Express is reaping tens of millions of dollars of savings in customer service costs thanks to enhanced features on its Web site such as letting customers print their own airbills, complete with bar code.

Experimenting with digital strategies may even involve "cannibalisation" of one's own products and services, a fear shared by many print publications initially venturing online. The key, the authors claim, is to use the online channel as an entry point for higher-value services, such as searchable and customisable financial data feeds. Otherwise, a competitor may cannibalise your products. "Jumpstart new markets with the credibility and goodwill you already have," the authors urge.

Notable success stories in this regard include U.S. electronics parts distributor Marshall Industries, which seemingly cannibalised its own business by setting up a Web site which put its suppliers and buyers directly in touch with one another. But in effect, it created a new global channel - it now receives 2,000 inquiries a day from 52 countries via its Web site. Thus inspired, Marshall Industries is now getting into the Extranet services business for the electronics industry.

Examples of successful online personalisation services include PointCast, the Wall Street Journal's Personal Journal, Intuit's Quicken, and Hallmark Greeting Cards' online reminder service for special anniversaries.

"The closer you can get to activities about which the community feels passionate, the greater the potential value you can capture," the authors claim (much on the lines of John Hagel and Arthur Armstrong's earlier bestseller, "Net Gain"). Sites like PlumbNet and Barter Systems are tapping into "Do It Yourself" trends - the growing desire for people to take charge of activities themselves and save money.

Successful examples of virtual community building include online gaming, ESPN SportsZone's fantasy leagues, online dating services, and America Online's People Connection service and Buddy Lists. "Brand management in cyberspace requires real engagement with customers," the authors say. Customer service is being replaced by "customer intimacy."

Forming partnerships and building new organisational connections are key in the digital age. These can cover the full gamut from strategic alliances and joint ventures to equity stakes and outright ownership - well exemplified by Microsoft's buying out of WebTV, and its 25 percent stake in cable TV giant ComCast.

Managing innovation as portfolio management using risk analysis calls for new skills, leadership, and will, the authors explain. For instance, while it was in the era of first generation spreadsheets, Lotus spun off a separate company called Iris to develop the Notes product.

Another source of new ideas and fresh inspiration can come from hiring young people, and tapping into the skillsets and aptitudes of children (probably better addressed in other books like "Growing Up Digital" by Dan Tapscott).

Acquiring the killer app mindset requires a strong degree of technology alignment. "Organisations cannot unleash killer apps until they can harness their own business and technology expertise," the authors say.

For this, organisations need to invest in IT and skillset-building. This can be aided by fostering an e-mail culture and reliable tools for document sharing and collaboration. "It becomes impossible to determine where the business stops and the technology starts," the authors explain, citing examples like Amazon.com and Cisco.

Companies also need to constantly innovate. The online mall MCI Marketplace died a slow death because it became stale; cybermalls will need to continually add new features and create new shopping experiences on the Web.

"The organisation with the healthiest environment for identifying, nurturing and redefining killer apps, whether their own or those invented by others (perhaps for entirely different purposes), is the organisation that will translate its digital strategy into market dominance," the authors conclude.

In sum, this is a conceptually breathtaking overview of the context within which the Web paradigm is changing business the way we know it. An online companion and an online discussion group would have helped extend the shelf-life of this book.

The major principles of this module deal with ideas and methods to increase one's ability to focus on higher levels of information that began as low level mechanization concerned with bits and bytes and how they transform applications into working models. The whole scope of what and how these electronic machinated applications interface with a larger picture is understood as a disruption at best to harmonious interactions within the whole IT and corporate application structure. (Downes, Mui, 2003).

Between the middleware applications and the physical interfaces that bring us computing connectivity, there are numerous processing's, intermingled and costly, which brings us to today's computing networking.

It is the affordability equation, enhanced through Moore's implications and understanding of outcomes such as higher quality, less costly interfaces, and devices that help design interfaces, simply. The ease to operate, at blazing speeds, brought about by higher computing power, and its ideas of mass proliferation have its beginnings with Metcalfe's Law. The economics of sheer computing power, its application infrastructure, is in fact, a Coasean theory of that economics.

Because of the profundity of Moore's Law, and its ability to affect not only the realm of computing, but also industrial, automotive, and aerospace as well, that law, is the 'killer app'.

Killer apps are not just related to new application coded language transformed into cyberware, but ideas, equations, formulas, and entirely new directional thought patterns that lead to unfilled frontier process exploration. The round wheel opened the imagination and innovation of a pre-industrialized world. Watches, clocks, automobiles, gears, rollers, and most things round come from nature, our first architect, but the formula and prescience of the 'wheel', became the 'killer app' within the science of generations to come. The 'wheels' ability to survive as an innovation proves the point, that 'killer apps' must have profound and lasting disruptive affects of visionary quality to an industry or industries. (c)Lyle K'ang, 2003).

This story is I think one of the best reads I have ever read. It was definetly not the kind of book you could put down or read half way through and stop. It's the kind of book that urges you to read more and you do. Once and Future King was full of everything from action to adventure to even comedy and drama I found so many different genre in this one book. I liked this book because it took a boring subject like the life of King Arthur and made it come to life with jousts, magic, quests, and a love triangle that will make your head spin. Though i will admit it does get slow at some parts but once your past those your ok. This book is a must read and should be on everyones shelf.

First of all, "the Once and Future King" is an amazingly written novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though it was quite lengthy (about 640 pages, and small font). I'm usually not the kind of person to be able to sit down and read for hours, but it definitely had me hooked after the first book.
The best thing about the book is that it isn't just an amusing story about Arthur and his reign over Camelot, it is also a parable in a sense. The book satirically discusses the problems of humanity and government, as Arthur learns these things for himself. Merlyn teaches Arthur that brute force isn't the only way to get things done and rule over a country. Arthur tries many times to come up with a plan to abolish might, though failing due to difficulties of society. It is wonderful how the book can be enjoyed at any age, and for different reasons. Younger audiences may find the adventure aspects of the story amusing, such as the tales of the sword in the stone, and Wart (Arthur's younger self)'s animal experiences. Others may read deeply enough to find the second story written between the lines. The book tells the stories of Arthur's progression into adulthood, and his realizations about society, how it can almost never be stable.
By far, I recommend this book to anyone who can read and has at least some traces of an attention span. You should purchase T.H. White's "the Once and Future King" today, just for the joys of reading such great material.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White is the story of King Arthur of England and the rise and fall of his reign. What I liked most about this book wasn't just White's wonderful story telling. What I enjoyed most was its humor and the overall witty atmosphere. The novel is divided into four books that chronologically tell the story of Arthur and his accomplishments.
Book One "The Sword and the Stone" is the story of Wart becoming the King of England. Growing up without a father Wart thinks of himself as sort of an outcast. He becomes his best friend Kay's squire and he soon wishes he could be a knight. Later on, he pulls a sword from a stone making him King of England.
Book Two "The Queen of Air and Darkness" begins Arthur's reign as King of England. He established the Round Table and a code of chivalry making every knight fight for what should be done instead of what can be done. When his reign seems to reach his peak, he accidentally makes love to his sister, Morgause, while under a spell and she has their child, Mordred who signifies the beginning of Arthur's fall.
Book Three "The Ill-Made Knight" is the story of Sir Lancelot and his entrance into the Round Table and also into the lives of Arthur and his wife Guenever. He soon has an affair with Guenever that Arthur tries his hardest not to face. As the code of chivalry seems to fail, Arthur sends his knights in search of the Holy Grail. Lancelot begins to follow God during the journey.
Book Four "A Candle in the Wind" is the final book and tells the story of the fall of Arthur. I would continue, but this book concludes the novel and summarizes all that had lead to this point and I would therefore "spoil" the ending.
Overall, what I thought of as an assignment for school soon became an absolute joy to read and I recommend this book to anyone in need of an adventure.