The "What the hell should I read?!" Thread. Books, Blogs, and News

[CRCK]

Originally Posted by PNHH

I have sort of a general question that I hope one of you more experienced guys can answer...

Bump for this.

[Rikers]

Originally Posted by CRCK

Bump for this.

depends on the agenda but if starting mostly highly concentrate on the 2. It is simple - to be updated on current affairs is good if you can make an +EV reaction to the news but that can only be done if you have a solid base. ( And you will be able to better filter good news from the garbage - like the Economist - lol)

Also, academic books are not necessarily good on teaching a subject if you want to use it in real life. Try to find books that rely heavily on practical examples.

[PNHH]

Originally Posted by Rikers

depends on the agenda but if starting mostly highly concentrate on the 2. It is simple - to be updated on current affairs is good if you can make an +EV reaction to the news but that can only be done if you have a solid base. ( And you will be able to better filter good news from the garbage - like the Economist - lol)

Also, academic books are not necessarily good on teaching a subject if you want to use it in real life. Try to find books that rely heavily on practical examples.

Thanks for the answer, and I definitely see your point regarding +EV decisions. My thought was that in order to be able to spot trends, filter news etc., one needs to have "followed" it for a while, so that general experience can come into play.

What would you suggest instead of the Economist for current affairs (business, finance)?

[Rikers]

Originally Posted by PNHH

What would you suggest instead of the Economist for current affairs (business, finance)?

I can't give a solid answer about this. Macro is not my game.

But I follow several sources (some of them have radical/biased posts so intelligent assessment from the reader is advised):

seekingalpha.com
zerohedge.com
nakedcapitalism.com
dealbreaker.com
ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/

edit: there is a reason why reading extreme post can be very beneficial. They will generally put out a big range of arguments about something and their predictions. After the fact it is very easy to see what was good and what was wrongly argued, that is you will be able to figure out what works and what doesn't very quickly. Just don't fall for their rationalization blindly.

[PNHH]

Makes sense. I knew about seeking alpha, but thanks for the other links - will check them out asap!

[saw7988]

Hey guys. I'm an electrical engineering PhD student, focused in stuff like signal processing and probability. In my free time I think it would be very interesting to learn more about finance and hopefully if/how I can abuse my math/probability/signal processing skills. Anyone have any good reading recommendations for me?

[NajdorfDefense]

Finish your PhD, apply at Renaissance, get hired, make millions. Rinse, repeat.

There are a plethora of quant white papers you can read. Start with AQR/Asness and Derman.

[saw7988]

Originally Posted by NajdorfDefense

Finish your PhD, apply at Renaissance, get hired, make millions. Rinse, repeat.

There are a plethora of quant white papers you can read. Start with AQR/Asness and Derman.

Interesting, not the response I was expecting, but informative, thanks. What is Renaissance (Google searching didn't return anything that seemed to make sense to me in this context)?

[t_roy]

Originally Posted by PNHH

Thanks for the answer, and I definitely see your point regarding +EV decisions. My thought was that in order to be able to spot trends, filter news etc., one needs to have "followed" it for a while, so that general experience can come into play.

What would you suggest instead of the Economist for current affairs (business, finance)?

Should be noted that you should now current affairs when interviewing for most positions in finance.

But other than that it's more important to learn. Use the best academic papers and books to learn. To start with, I recommend everything by Damodarran if you want anything to do with valuation. That should keep you busy for a bit.

[Willietherock]

New Book out "The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World's Top Hedge Funds".
http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTi...fContents.html

First chaper on Bridgewater/Dalio available free
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/...18065522-4.pdf

[Biesterfield]

I read it, was just average IMO. Worth a read if you want the back stories to these guys

[Rikers]

Originally Posted by Willietherock

New Book out "The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World's Top Hedge Funds".
http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTi...fContents.html

First chaper on Bridgewater/Dalio available free
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/...18065522-4.pdf

skim it, this is just a story----nothing scientific you can actually use

[BamBam192]

Hey guys, I want to start day trading, what books should I read?

[Kanu]

Hey guys, I'm considering investing in properties which I can renovate and sell at a profit. It wouldn't actually be me doing the work but I would still like a good knowledge of the topic if I'm going to get involved in it. What books would you guys recommend reading to start learning the basics? I'll be doing it in the UK if that matters. Also, any advice on it being a terrible/good time to do this is welcome. It's not necessarily something that I have to do very soon but it is something I would like to learn about even if now isn't the best time for it. Apologies if this has been asked 100 times in the thread already. I did a quick search and found some US specific stuff but I am a giant forum fish so I have prob just missed all the useful info.

[PNHH]

Looking for info on bonds. With all the debate currently about government bond yields etc., I would like a better grasp on this. So if anyone knows of a book/website that would give me this, please feel free to share it ;-)

I know basic stuff like calculating yield, duration, convexity (and basic immunization strategies), but am looking to take my knowledge to the next level.