Learn how to detect any corporate sleight of hand—and gain the upper hand with smart investing Investing expert John Del Vecchio and “Motley Fool” Tom Jacobs offer a compelling arguement that the secret to stock-market success today isn’t finding the next Google or eBay, but avoiding the next AIG or Enron. To that end, they offer simple, clear techniques for detecting when and how legitimate companies make their numbers look better than they are. What's Behind the Numbers? offers seven rules for finding companies playing with—rather than by—the numbers and explains how to avoid losing money by determining exactly when a stock is about to head south. John Del Vecchio, CFA, serves as a Principal of Ranger Alternative Management and principal of Parabolix Research, Inc. Tom Jacobs is lead advisor for the Motley Fool Special Ops, a stock service where he manages a special situations and opportunistic portfolio. He is cofounder of Complete Growth Investor LLC.

A time-tested guide to stock trading market cycles Published every year since 1968, the Stock Trader's Almanac is a practical investment tool with a wealth of information organized in calendar format. Everyone from well-known money managers to savvy traders and investors relies upon this annual resource for its in-depth analyses and insights. The Stock Trader's Almanac 2013 contains essential historical price information on the stock market, provides monthly and daily reminders, and highlights seasonal trading opportunities and dangers. The Stock Trader's Almanac 2013 is packed with timely insights and targeted analysis to help you navigate turbulent markets and beat the odds in the year ahead. This trusted guide combines over a century's worth of data, statistics, and trends along with vital analysis you won’t get anywhere else. Alerts you to little-known market patterns and tendencies to help forecast market trends with accuracy and confidence An indispensable annual resource, trusted for over 40 years by traders and investors The data in the Almanac is some of the best in the business For its wealth of information and the authority of its sources, the Stock Trader's Almanac stands alone as the guide to intelligent investing.

Learn how to detect corporate sleight of hand-and gain the upper hand with smart investing

An accessible guide to the essential issues of corporate finance While you can find numerous books focused on the topic of corporate finance, few offer the type of information managers need to help them make important decisions day in and day out. Value explores the core of corporate finance without getting bogged down in numbers and is intended to give managers an accessible guide to both the foundations and applications of corporate finance. Filled with in-depth insights from experts at McKinsey & Company, this reliable resource takes a much more qualitative approach to what the authors consider a lost art. Discusses the four foundational principles of corporate finance Effectively applies the theory of value creation to our economy Examines ways to maintain and grow value through mergers, acquisitions, and portfolio management Addresses how to ensure your company has the right governance, performance measurement, and internal discussions to encourage value-creating decisions A perfect companion to the Fifth Edition of Valuation, this book will put the various issues associated with corporate finance in perspective.

This is THE book you have been waiting for: Cut to the chase, clear, anti-industry money and investing thinking for the educated layperson. For your family, friends, and community. Tom Jacobs and John Del Vecchio, authors of the best-selling book What's Behind the Numbers?, have now come out with their next best-seller, The Rule of 72. In an era where it is easy to be skeptical with how companies manage their funds, Beginning with the Rule of 72, an easy in-your-head plain-as-day way to understand compound interest, Tom and John teach that there is a way to find companies that are actually willing to pay investors to own their stocks. These experienced and highly successful investment experts review the principles of the Rule of 72, explain the best ways to evaluate financial risks, and review the six tests for grading stocks. Tom and John explain the trifecta for how to grow financial armor and protect your money from self-interested company management and the financial services industry. The book also includes interesting facts that you may not already know, plus a compounding calendar on the book's companion website. Regardless of your investment experience or financial management knowledge, this is a must-read for everyone.

Praise for Financial Statement Analysis A Practitioner's Guide Third Edition "This is an illuminating and insightful tour of financial statements, how they can be used to inform, how they can be used to mislead, and how they can be used to analyze the financial health of a company." -Professor Jay O. Light Harvard Business School "Financial Statement Analysis should be required reading for anyone who puts a dime to work in the securities markets or recommends that others do the same." -Jack L. Rivkin Executive Vice President (retired) Citigroup Investments "Fridson and Alvarez provide a valuable practical guide for understanding, interpreting, and critically assessing financial reports put out by firms. Their discussion of profits-'quality of earnings'-is particularly insightful given the recent spate of reporting problems encountered by firms. I highly recommend their book to anyone interested in getting behind the numbers as a means of predicting future profits and stock prices." -Paul Brown Chair-Department of Accounting Leonard N. Stern School of Business, NYU "Let this book assist in financial awareness and transparency and higher standards of reporting, and accountability to all stakeholders." -Patricia A. Small Treasurer Emeritus, University of California Partner, KCM Investment Advisors "This book is a polished gem covering the analysis of financial statements. It is thorough, skeptical and extremely practical in its review." -Daniel J. Fuss Vice Chairman Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP

The world is changing and has never been more challenging to private equity players, public companies, and investors. With record market volatility and a global economic crisis, decision makers of all types can learn from successful private equity players and other top value builders. Private equity is growing at a rapid rate, with $2.7 trillion in transactions since 2001 and buyouts occurring in every type of market, including declining ones. And now, with the end of investment banks as we know them, the door is open to more opportunities than ever. In The Private Equity Edge, economics giant Arthur B. Laffer, along with value-building experts William J. Hass and Shepherd G. Pryor IV, combines the concepts of intrinsic value, macroeconomics, and incentives into a single strategy used by today’s top value builders. You’ll learn how to create value while reducing risk by: Thoroughly exploring relevant data to quantify ranges of value and risk Anticipating reactions of those whom you seek to influence Exploring possibilities and options before making major decisions Employing incentive systems that work in both up and down markets Examples of major private equity players at Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, Cerberus, and Madison Dearborne Partners illustrate what to do and what to avoid in specific situations. Decision makers seeking to take full advantage of the new, interconnected world of business and economics will learn how to make the best decision the first time around, quickly and with conviction—the key to seizing the private equity edge.