Friday November 21, 2008
Business & Investing: International
Displayed below are the top selling items for today, Friday November 21, 2008 along with the review customers have voted "most useful".
To find top selling items in for a specific category, use the menu on the left or click here to see all categories.
- The Green Collar Economy : How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones
- The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It : Make a Fortune by Investing in Gold and Other Hard Assets by James Turk
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
- I.O.U.S.A by Addison Wiggin
- The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
- Financial Armageddon : Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes, Revised and Updated Edition by Michael J. Panzner
- The World Is Curved : Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David M. Smick
- A Beginner's Guide to Day Trading Online by Toni Turner
- The New Economic Disorder : Strategies for Weathering Any Crisis While Keeping Your Finances Intact by Larry Bates
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The Green Collar Economy
How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
by Van Jones
(based on 27 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: Van Jones
Publisher: HarperOne
Price: $17.15
You save: $8.84 (34%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
21 out of 24 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/11/08
Perfect Timing!
The Green Collar Economy, How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, by Van Jones, could not be more timely. As our economy (and perhaps the world economy) enters a period called stagflation--meaning, a stagnant economy coupled with inflation--Jones offers a sound solution.
Van Jones gets right to the point in the first sentence of the introduction: "The pain at the gas pump is just the beginning...This weakness can and will send the entire country into a particular kind of a tailspin." Jones writes that oil can't keep up with the demand and that it is running out. This is a fact--we cannot keep on living as we have, sucking up finite resources as if there is no end.
"Clean coal", (an oxymoron, he explains, and part of a clever marketing campaign,) nuclear power plants, and off shore drilling are not the answer to our problems. We need to invest in sustainable resources--like the sun and moon--for the future of the planet and people.
Using corn for fuel was also a huge mistake. I love what he wrote: "Government-mandated and subsidized ethenal from corn will go down in history as the 'Iraq war' of environmental solution."
The solution to the problem lies within our people. Jones believes we need workers--and lots of them--trained to green our economy. Most of the jobs would be considered blue-collar, and little more than a high school education and some training would be necessary. The new green collar workers have jobs "preserving and enhancing environmental quality." Jobs run the gamut of installing solar panels to energy auditors.
Yesterday on the radio, I heard a plumber complain that he hasn't had so little work in over 20 years. That he considered a good day when he could work until 1pm. These people are who Jones writes about and are the workers who would most benefit from the new green economy.
Let us hope that The Green Collar Economy becomes the reality.
Highly recommended.
By the author of the award winning book, HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Green Collar Economy
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The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It
Make a Fortune by Investing in Gold and Other Hard Assets
by James Turk
(based on 45 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Edition: Reprint
Author: James Turk
Publisher: Doubleday Business
Price: $14.65
You save: $0.30 ( 2%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
53 out of 56 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 4/19/05
Reality catches up
The world is today awash with liquidity. Thanks to the extravagant living backed by paper currency, America is today the world's largest debtor nation. Though debt by itself is not bad, it is dangerous both to the borrower and the lender if it is not backed by productive assets. This book is about the origin and consequences of such a situation and the currency that has helped inflate the global monetary bubble on a scale that is threatening to burst on our faces.
First the book gives a good definition of money as a standard of value, store of value and a medium of exchange. Going by this definition, over the centuries mankind has experimented with several monetary equivalents including cattle, sea shells, metals and the like. Whatever the medium, there was a definite asset equivalent attempted to be stored in money. This system got refined over the years and ultimately gold emerged as the undisputed monetary standard in the nineteenth century. Under this system, governments and central banks had to maintain gold equivalent in their vaults for the paper currency issued by them. Excessive government spending was thus effectively curtailed and exchange rates were automatically balanced. It is the gradual deviation and debasement and later the outright abandonment of this system in 1971 that seems to have led to today's situation where the dollar has just over 1% of its value as gold reserves with the Fed.
In an imminent possibility of a virtual run on the dollar by creditor nations and oil exporting countries, the dollar is bound to plunge. Gold expressed in dollar equivalent will surge. This logic does not need any further explanation. But what is more interesting is the discussion on alternate investment strategies that can outperform gold in real terms. Silver emerges as a surprising and sure alternative. Unlike gold, silver gets consumed in large quantities in industrial use and not reclaimed. Hence the quantity of silver available above the ground is actually reducing. When there is a rush to convert paper currency into precious metals, the authors expect silver to rise faster than gold due to these fundamentals. If gold is a Boeing 747, silver will be an F-16 is a good analogy.
The book discusses some facts on mining of gold and different categories of companies involved in this industry. Depending on factors like asset base, quality of mines, financial and operational leverage, quality of management and country risk, each of these are analyzed for their risks and potential returns.
Numismatics also gets a fair share of the coverage.
The book is however bound to come under severe criticism on the following grounds.
- Gold is not the only possible store of value
- The fundamental principles on which monetary expansion kick starts economic expansion is completely ignored
- In a global economy where currencies are tightly linked and freely traded, only the dollar is isolated for criticism
- Unbridled monetary expansion is bad, but return to gold standard is ridiculous in a modern knowledge based economy
- Large transaction and holding costs in buying gold is not the efficient way to deal with investments.
Despite these shortcomings, gold will continue to retain its excellent qualities and reading this book will only add glitter to this noble metal whenever you see it.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It
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Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
by John Perkins (based on 642 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: John Perkins
Publisher: Plume
Price: $10.20
You save: $4.80 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
526 out of 750 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/3/04
Spellbinding modern history
This book is spellbinding like a novel and a must read for anyone interested in Post World War II history. It is the story of America's march to dominate world politics and commerce told by an insider, a man who was there when the deals were struck. Although he may upset readers who want to believe that our leaders always wear white hats, the author's stated and obvious intent is to educate. In the end, he helps us see a way to realize America's Founding Fathers' dream of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all people everywhere. A chilling, yet ultimately positive and encouraging, narrative.
Click here to see more reviews for: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
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I.O.U.S.A
by Addison Wiggin (based on 17 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Addison Wiggin
Publisher: Wiley
Price: $11.97
You save: $7.98 (40%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
9 out of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/12/08
Great intro to the debt crisis
Enlightening. I bought the book after seeing the movie. Both helped me understand parts of the debt crisis that I didn't fully get before. Some of the dangers it warns against seem to be unfolding now.
I've developed a far more skeptical attitude towards the stock market recently, largely because of IOUSA. This skepticism has helped me dodge some of the recent equity losses. I realize this is extremely short-term, but at least I'm aware of the arguments opposing Wall St's continual bull-pumping. The traditional mentality of "don't sell now, it's the best time to buy" is incredibly ingrained in our society. People forget that on occasion there are extended periods of time that are really really bad to invest in equity markets.
This book (and the movie it's based on) helped me realize these things.
Click here to see more reviews for: I.O.U.S.A
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The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith (based on 22 customer reviews)
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(Mass Market Paperback)
Author: Adam Smith
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Price: $7.95
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
94 out of 102 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/7/05
Foundations of micro and macroeconomics
Using a vast historical database and plenty of everyday examples Adam Smith lays the foundations of modern economics without the formalization which would come later.
He starts by exploring the need for specialization of labour once societies advance beyond the hunter gatherer phase. As a result each individual is incapable of sustaining his basic needs and thus must purchase these using his labour which Smith views as the source of all value. As a result demand and supply is created for such labour.
He makes the natural assumption that each individual pursues their best interests.
He foreshadows the concepts of marginal utility and scarcity in determining the shapes of demand curves for commodities. ( He never actually mentions curves ).
Similarly, he describes the three factors determining supply prices for commodities ( rent of land, wages and capital costs ) and the various factors which influence them ( the equivalent of modern supply/demand curves for each factor ).
He puts these together under ideal circumstances to show how supply and demand meet to clear markets ( equilibrium in modern language ).
He then turns to macroeconomics laying the foundations for GDP and shows how capital can be distributed to "unproductive labour" ( that labour used to maintain productive labour ) such as doctors lawyer entertainers etc and "productive labour" ( that labour used in the manufacture and distribution of raw and finished products ). He explores the consequences of various distribution of each from both the micro and macroeconomic perspective.
He concludes by emphasizing the importance of government in providing international and domestic security as well as providing public works and institutions especially education.
Naturally this requires state revenue and he devotes almost one entire "book" to taxes.
He delves briefly into political economy especially merchantilism and it's detrimental effects to society at large.
A great introduction to modern economics that is often missed in didactic lectures. This book gives the motivation for many modern economic concepts that is often lost in mathematical formalism.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Wealth of Nations
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Financial Armageddon
Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes, Revised and Updated Edition
by Michael J. Panzner (based on 35 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Edition: Rev Upd
Author: Michael J. Panzner
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
Price: $11.53
You save: $5.42 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
117 out of 145 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/20/07
One of the better Doom + Gloom books
I like to read gloom and doom books. They are more fun reading than crime stories. I remember reading "Bankruptcy 1995" in the early 1990's - a book which predicted the bankrutcy of the United States in 1995. It was a scary reading in 1990, but as we know today, that prediction did not come true. In fact, the majority of all predictions about the future turn out to be wrong. It is not easy to predict the future correctly.
The book under review distinguishes itself from other books on this subject by its willingness to consider extremely dark scenarios in the future. Contrary to most other books, Panzner believes that the future will unfold via a debt deflation first followed by hyperinflation later on. He seriously believes that the Dollar will get more valuable in the future due to the Dollar scarcity caused by the accelerated repayment of debts.
The attempt to analyze the future in terms of inflation and deflation is in my opinion a case of old and obsolete financial thinking. The last major incidences of hyperinflation and deflation occured at least 70 years ago. Since then, the nature of money has changed completely. Today, money is essentially a piece of data in a computer system. Very little cash exists in the world in form of currency. Ben Bernanke is right by emphasizing that it is very easy to fight deflation: just mail to everybody credit card offers with 0% interest valid until the balance is paid off. (Such offers exist already today: 1.99% until the balance is paid off). Although Bernanke did not say it, it is equally easy for the government to fight hyperinflation. Since hyperinflation is characterized by extreme circulation velocities of money, what needs to be done in such a case is simply restrict people's access to their bank balances and credit cards to let's say $100 per day. That will dramatically increase the scarcity of Dollars which in turn will kill any emerging hyperinflation. All of that is easy to implement because money today is not tangible currency (like 60 years ago) but electronic bytes in computer memories. Computers are very powerful. That power can be utilized in order to control the flow of money and economic activity very efficiently.
If the future does not bring deflation nor hyperinflation, how will the future unfold? I believe, in the future we will not run out of money. Instead, we will run out of resources. For instance, gasoline may not be avaiable all the time. Electricity may not be avaiable 24 hours a day (blackouts). Water may not be avaiable 24 hours a day. Certain types of foods may become scarce. I believe that these things are going to happen first before any serious financial crash will occur. More effort is being spent on securing the financial system than money is being spent in securing essential resources for the future. In other words, the future will unfold pretty much in the direction of what happened in the Soviet Union before it collapsed. Everybody had a job and plenty of money. The money had great purchasing power, but unfortunately stores were empty most of the time, that is, money could be not be exchanged against consumer goods all the time. Certain essential things could not be obtained in stores, but on the black market only in form of barter (supplemented by money and alcohol as a form of payment). A development like this would be the logical conclusion of monetary policies started by Roosevelt in the 1930's.
One last remark: Every doom and gloom book should commit itself to stating a date by which the author admits that his predictions were wrong. For instance, if you predict bankruptcy of the United States, please also state a date by which such an event is going to happen at the latest. It does not make sense to predict the bankruptcy of the US 100 years from today. Such a prediction is totally worthless. If no date is specified by which the prediction is going to happen at the latest, there are no means to falsify the intellectual efforts of the author. In such a case, the prediction has only entertainment value.
Click here to see more reviews for: Financial Armageddon
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The World Is Curved
Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy
by David M. Smick (based on 22 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: David M. Smick
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Price: $17.79
You save: $9.16 (34%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
39 out of 43 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/11/08
Continues where "Flat" left off (and rebuts it)
Smick uses a fascinating series of facts and stories to paint a picture of the world-to-be that is frightening, enlightening, awe-inspiring and hopeful (for the person that knows how to exploit the opporunities). I haven't read a book that changed my world view this much since How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business by Doug Hubbard (which Smick could probably have used on a couple of points in his book).
Smick takes, I think, a more realistic view of the world than Friedman's The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Where Friedman optimistically sees a move toward an equalibrium of an "even playing field" between all of the world's economic participants, Smick sees something less even - and not entirely in the favor of the developed West. Smick sees market uncertainties, the mortgage crisis, and consumer debt as evidence of a trend toward increasing uncertainties. China is the new economic giant, but lends itself to much less predictability than the relatively solid advances of the western world in the last quarter century.
I have to wonder if Smick makes the "narrative fallacy" as explained in Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable or his earlier Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets. Still, Smick seems to make a convincing case, even if at times anecdotal.
Smick discusses the possibility of a Chinese financial bubble alongside the details of US monetary policy. Utterly unnerving and engaging, it will should eclipse "Flat" as the "must read" for long-term thinkers.
Click here to see more reviews for: The World Is Curved
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A Beginner's Guide to Day Trading Online
by Toni Turner (based on 96 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Edition: 2
Author: Toni Turner
Publisher: Adams Media
Price: $10.85
You save: $5.10 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
194 out of 203 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/6/00
A Beginner's Guide to Day Trading Online
Thinking I could transfer my 20+ years of quite successful investing experience to a more active trading style, I started online trading about 8 months ago. Reading this book was like reading my own journal of the past 8 months's painful experience! Reading this book before I started may not have prevented me from making those mistakes, but it most likely would have helped me recognize them once made and stopped me from repeating them over and over, piling up ever more losses! Just as she describes, the good news is you do turn a corner to profitable trades once you learn some very basic but important lessons. This book can shorten that time for beginners.Her section on Boot Camp is very good. Her system has rank beginners learning and up and running in 2 weeks what took me about 3-4 months to discover from everyone who would teach me.
There's also more than enough technical strategies presented which traders from beginners to more experienced ones can apply and use daily.
Her light humorous style makes this easier to read than most trading books without detracting from the serious message. If my sister or a good friend wanted to start trading, this would be the book I'd give them to read first.
Click here to see more reviews for: A Beginner's Guide to Day Trading Online
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The New Economic Disorder
Strategies for Weathering Any Crisis While Keeping Your Finances Intact
by Larry Bates (based on 5 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Edition: Revised
Author: Larry Bates
Publisher: Excel Books
Price: $10.19
You save: $4.80 (32%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
34 out of 38 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/2/01
Best expose on the "real" economy in years!
Dr. Bates really exposes the truth behind our currency and banking system and how it affects all of us in our daily lives. This is a must read for all trying to make heads or tails of the turmoil in our economy today. While it was written five years ago, the information and basic principles it uncovers are timeless and will be as true one hundred years from now as they are today. If you are concerened for your financial future or that of future generations, you will find solutions to the economic problems that we are facing today. For those who need to know what to do to protect their hard-earned assets, this is again, a must read.
I am impressed with this book and recommend that every household read a copy. It should be required reading for all business and economic majors.
Click here to see more reviews for: The New Economic Disorder
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