exchange

An extremely basic treatment of futures and options. Hedging strategies explained are inadequate at best with no explanation or regard to the cost of the hedge as it would relate to risk vs. return. Author tries to tell you that if you have an overnight position you should hedge so that you can sleep better. Author also describes the 30 or so different commodity contracts very briefly with no fundamental insight whatsoever. You can get more from looking at the exchange web sites. I recommend that you skim the book in the bookstore and then leave it there !

In my view the best book about commodity trading I have seen so far. Easy to read, and with many examples, it offers an excellent guide for the beginning trader, and a valuable reference source for the experienced.

George Kleinman's vast experience in the markets, enables him to focus in his book on those aspects of trading, analysis, and money management, that really matter to become a successful trader. I trade for quite a few years now, and still take his book to hand regularly.

The stories and anecdotes that George offers us throughout the book would be a reason in itself to buy it, and could only come from somebody who knows the exchange floors.

Let me preface this with the fact that George and I had a falling out a few years ago and haven't spoken since.

With that said, if you want a solid fundamental understanding of how and why the futures markets work - this is the book for you. George has an uncanny ability to break down the market into vey easy and understandable terms. He even throws in some stories that not only make this an educational read but a fun one.

I really wish this book was around before I studdied for my Series 3.

Kevin Cotter, former publisher of the Cents Financial Journal

PS As to the dummies comment that was made by another reviewer - big words and fancy formulas do not make for substantial portfolios.

Same day - 3 reviews, it looks suspicious.

I would prefer 250-300 pages, could have left out some stuff. I still liked it better than other titles I've gotten and give it 4-stars.

I am an MCSE in NT4 now and am working on the 2000 upgrades. I was having problems with the test, so I got this book. I've been working with Exchange for a while, but the exam was so tricky. This book really pointed out the details. I'm taking it again soon.

Where work the trading system explained in this book???
Don't loose your money and time reading this book

When I first started trading, the concepts in this book were way beyond me.
I tried the LSS system and it didn't work.
Some 14 years later (February 2004), this book is working for me.
Not LSS, but the concepts. They are aimed at the type of market we have right now.
The concepts come from Taylor who documented a three day cycle in the 1960's.
This book describes Angell's spin on it.

George Angell constantly produces hits when it comes to futures investing. From his proprietary LSS system to his down to earth attitude he has my complete professional courtesy.

His book opens the eyes of the average investor and let's it be known that futures are not one dimensional. You have multiple strategies and tools at your disposal to help you succeed. One of those tools is hedging. ... This is a must have book for the novice futures trader.

Todd's book should be in every beginner's library at home because of its detailed description of each commodity in detail and where to get futher reference info. Also, it introduces and explains what commodities are all about in an easy-to-read format suited for 8th grade level reading. Perfect!

With these good points, it does however to skim over several important issues. First of these is actual trading techniques; Todd gives just a few examples of techniques like call spreads and triangle formations, but wished he went on... Second, he gives little, next to no info on money management leaving the reader knowing that while it is important, how do we do it??? And thirdly, an area that many futures how-to books seem to avoid is price forecasting. True, we can't trade the past and past performances are only statements of what happened with prices. Ok, now where do we go from here?? We sort of need suggestions or tools to predict the market and with a good degree of accuracy. This causes the reader to form one of 3 dangerous trading habits: Guessing the markets, trading at random without a plan and/or doing nothing because the trader is confused. Sure, the readers are taught the basics so that they can call their broker to say "Buy one July Porkbelly at 68" to place a trade, should they be selling instead of buying or should they have a virtue of patience???

Strategy and money management are the heart of successful commodity trading...Readers should then be shown what to do and how to do it. Otherwise, this book will fall into the realm of "Information without application."

The book is really basic in nature and tries to cover what the title conveys. I am disappointed that the math involved in most futures and options is not even touched upon (it could have been even without calculus). There are plenty of other books out there that do a much better job in introducing futures with math.

This is an excellent book that I recommend to anyone just getting started in learning about futures. The author writes in wonderful detail, and makes it easy for a person to understand the basics of the futures markets. This book is *the* place to start - it's a must read for beginners.

Briefly, I read two chapters...took the book into a MacDonalds...and read while waiting to order my take-out! Put the book down while getting catup and walk-out without the book! Drove 35 miles and was so determined to get the book bac that I drove the 35 miles or so back! When I arrived at MacDonalds...the book was gone...no one saw it! So, someone is enjoying the books or so I hope so...and my notes ought to help them, too. And what will I do? I will purchase the book again!

Why? Because what I read sounded like good advice.

I found the information in this book straightforward and helpful for novice investors. The book covers the basics of investing (investment types, diversification, indexing, the beauty of compound interest, etc.) and makes a handy guide for investors.

Very informative, and filled with humor to boast. I enjoyed reading this book from end to end.

I bought this book yesterday and I am taking it back today. I am pretty new to investing (maybe 10 trades in all) and even I found errors and misleading statements right from the start. For example, this book describes both bonds and blue chip stocks as investments that will never lose value, which is absolutely not true.

Here are some other misleading quotes:

"Stocks by default provide higher returns than mutual funds since management fees are not levied on stock owners." In reality, many mutual funds actually exceed the returns of particular stocks, even when the management fees are taken into consideration.

"If your stock is worth more now than what you paid for it, then you have realized a capital gain." In fact, you have not realized anything until you actually sell the stock at its increased value.

In both of these examples, I think I understand what the author was getting at, but the statements are so misleading or vague that they seem dangerous, especially for beginners. And the book is chock-full of these statements. A book if this kind seems like such a great idea, it's too bad this one tried but failed to deliver what the beginner probably really needs.

The best part of this book is it's simplicity. The author was able to put aside enough of the technical jargon that most brokers love to repeat after each other to intimidate us artistically inclined creatures.

Another aspect I love is how concise and to the point everything is in this book. It was capable of clearing away the mystery of investing. My attitude has changed from a Las Vegas casino view of the stock market to one of respect for the market.

I went ahead and opened an account with an online broker, followed some basic principles and am doing okay. No, I'm not a tycoon. I just invest a little at a time for the long haul.

In a word, this book provides enough horse sense to get you started on the road to understanding investments.

This book has all the basics you need to know about the stock market, from options to IPOs. It is indeed a great book for beginners, especially if you don't know much about all the investment terms. However, if you look for actual stock plays and case studies, look for another book.

I recently purchased the e-book since I'm located overseas (in Saudi Arabia) and postage is sometimes more than the cost of the books. It also takes in excess of 3 weeks to get mail here from the States. I purchased and downloaded the e-book and was all set to print. I could only print the first 14 pages and then was notified by the Abode print driver that I could not print any more pages that day. After doing some checking I found that permissions were set by the publisher that only allowed printing 35 pages every 7 days - what a rip off!!! By the time I can finally print the last pages we'll be celebrating July 4th 2004 (well maybe not that long). But the idea that printing is being restricted after purchase is outrageous. I have written Amazon to inform them. At the very least the publisher should advise of this practice BEFORE YOUR PURCHASE. I will not purchase any e-books until this practice by Wiley is discontinued.

I happened to pick up this wonderful book while in Chicago recently. In browsing through the introductory pages, I smiled at the references to both Warren Buffett and Jack Bogle. Now here, I thought, is someone who "gets it". Buy this book and read it. It is worth every penny. Amidst today's cacaphony of financial marketing, Lerman's voice emerges from these pages with refreshing honesty, simplicity, and reason.
Those trying to educate themselves in the area of personal finance and investment should read this book carefully. For conservative investors as well as for those inclined to a bit of speculation on occasion, this book is very well written and informative.
Following up on the themes that, in the long run (emphasis), economic fundamentals drive returns; that larger, well-established, actively traded markets are, over time (emphasis), highly efficient; and that costs matter greatly when assessing net performance over extended periods; Lerman does an excellent job of explaining the rapidly developing role of ultra low-cost, exchange traded funds (ETFs) as part of any core indexing program. At the same time, he carefully exposes the many hidden (and, unfortunately, rising) costs lurking in most mutual funds today.
Still, Lerman wisely acknowledges, in the short term things can and do happen. While over long periods of time certain markets may be extremely efficient, the difference between that and what may happen in the near term is, as Buffett points out, the difference between day and night. After all, we are inescapably human, and fear and greed will never be completely expunged from our collective psyche. Sudden, unexpected events can result in major market and/or sector security specific swings, and it is during those times that patient investors as well as prudent speculators can occasionally reap outsized returns. Here again, ETFs (as well as the related E-Mini Stock Index Futures for more enterprising individuals) can help.
In short, by building a long-term, broadly-based core portfolio around low-cost ETFs and perhaps a few well-chosen securities and/or money managers (particularly in less efficient markets), and by then (for the enterprising investor) complementing such a portfolio with the occasional, more speculative foray, whether by utilizing ETFs, E-Mini Stock Index Futures, or other means, an intelligent individual should be able to navigate successfully today's choppy financial waters.

This is a well written book and easy to read about the history of ETFs and Emini futures. The author describes the creation of the likes of SPY, QQQ, SMH. Why is it important to know about these instruments, how they get created, who manages them, their cost effective investing over regular mutual funds. He goes in great detail by listing all EFTs available today with their tickers as well, till the point I don't need to keep going to the internet. I started trading the EFTs for profit and for hedging in particular after reading this book. The introduction about the Emini futures is useful and gave me a good start in this subject.

This book won't help you in the least if you're studying to pass an MCSE exam. Fortunately passing an Exchange exam and administering an Exchange server for an organization have almost nothing in common.

For those looking to effectively plan and manage their Exchange environment this book provides an excellent set of things to consider along with some standard Microsoft recommendations, which you can fine tune to meet the needs of your particular organization.

Most of the information found here can be found in various whitepapers and technet articles on Microsoft's website, but it's nice to have them all compiled into a single location which can easily be referenced.

This book is very helpful in day to day Exchange Administration, I do not recommend this for some one preparing for MCSE or a beginner in this field, you need to have a good grasp on the subject matter to get your moneys worth from this book.

I need your Address/Fax numbe

I think that CAMP, APT, etc aren't good for investors, but this book misleads them even more. There are several mistakes, and opposite data in various chapters.

Most investors would benefit from reading this book. It is a good overview of what is known about market inefficiencies and how they can be exploited.

For those who find it too down-market, he also has a weighty tome called "Modern Investment Theory" which is more thorough and more academic in tone. As an example, it describes how to combine Markowicz's techniques with factor models to exploit the inefficiencies more effectively than the approach suggested in 'What works on Wall St' etc.

The Inefficient Stock Market is a nice slap in the face to Modern Finance. Getting my MBA, i was always turned off by Portfolio Management Theory because of the unrealistic assumptions made on the onset (such as everyone being rational and everyone holding an efficient market portfolio). Mr. Haugen provides a great analysis and statistical evidence to show that many of those critical assumptions are in fact wrong.

He also provides an investment strategy of sorts that outperforms the S&P 500. All hedge fund managers should read this book.

This book is lucky to get 2 stars. The only reason it did, was because it took Technet and shrunk the pages. It's more convenient than carrying around a Technet CD. There is no new information in here. If you have been using Exchange for a while, don't buy this book. If you have Technet (and know how to use it), don't buy this book. I was looking for a book that would be more in depth and help me out with troubleshooting Exchange. This book does not do that. If you have never seen Exchange and were recently hired to support 20 Echange servers across a large WAN, buy this book, otherwise look for something else.

If you are looking for an in-depth troubleshooting giude, there are plenty out there. If you have been working with Exchange and Outlook for some time, but can't remember how to do those mundane tasks "helpdesk" does, this may be the ticket. Don't remember how to install or configure AutoAccept Scripts? Its here. Need to move mailboxes (you've done it dozens of times---two years ago), its here. This book gives equal time to both Exchange and Outlook, not something you find everywhere. It is what it is. Don't expect it to be more and you'll be glad that you got it.

I praise Microsoft Press for producing a book that is so simple to use. If you are an IT professional and want to be a hero, you need this book!!! Better yet you can't live without it. It gives you step by step procedures to maintain your server at top notch condition. I have bought other books that were so hard to understand and use and cost an arm and a leg, but this book and the other Pocket Consultant books are just what you need. I can't wait for the IIS pocket consultant to come out. Microsoft Press needs to produce more of these books for other applications.