Although I was an economist before I saw the light and became a political scientist, I am also a risk-averse person, and taking on Wall Street is not my idea of enjoying my spare time. However, because of my interest in the use of the Internet as an information tool, I was convinced that this book review was a job for me.
The democratization of politics and the marketplace is an often-applauded value of connecting to the information superhighway. Those who might not otherwise have the necessary connection to government officials and to market information would have access via the World Wide Web. Thus, the Internet provides the tools for leveling the playing field for individuals who might not otherwise have access to all the information they need to make educated decisions.
This book claims to provide the user with a powerful arsenal of computerized tools that will increase returns on investments to 15–20 percent, and maybe even as high as 40 percent. It provides search and information tools as well as evaluation tools to help individuals decide which stocks are worth investing in to realize high returns on investment. For experts, it provides advanced trading techniques for obtaining the high rate of return repeated throughout the book. The question for me became “Dare I take the risk?” However, one must have the assets to back up any type of investment. I wish I could report that I cyber-invested and realized the 40 percent return. But because I could not make such an investment, I decided to take this all in vicariously. I was also wary of plunging into the market in these days of rapid fluctuations. However, I did learn that the Dow Jones Industrial Average may be too narrow a measure for the type of market evaluation done here. It is therefore important to look at other averages, such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Standard and Poors (S&P) 500 in order to make wise decisions. If nothing else, this book has educated me and may lead me to make investments at some time in the future.
The book is very educational. The “old Rule of 72 of dividing the return into 72 in order to get the number of years it will take to double your money” was new to me. The book explains the cyber-investing process using ProSearch, a product the authors say is used by insiders and Wall Street experts. I learned many things, some of which are
Loyalty is great in romance but can be deadly in the stock market.
You should put your stocks in different baskets.
Electronic trading is for those confident in their investment skills and comfortable with the technology.
This is an appealing book. The authors have a wonderful sense of humor, which is reflected in their use of metaphors, such as “seasoning the search” and “a pinch of earnings momentum.” The authors use tables and graphs to explain their points. The boxed items scattered throughout chapters to elaborate on various topics are valuable. Each chapter ends with the line “You Must Remember This…,” introducing a section where the authors elaborate on issues. There is also a section that takes a look at “Hotspots for Investors on the Internet”--the whole point behind the book.
Once you have determined which stocks possess the best combination of scores, because they are low priced, have high growth, and show high momentum, the question is not which stocks to buy, but when. The greatest value of the book is that it provides access to instant information, so the reader can make quick decisions in an industry where information and speed are indispensable.
It is too bad that global investing is not one of the things that the book looks at. In fact, the authors admit the usefulness of such information, but say it was beyond the scope of this book. Maybe they will write another book, on that subject.
