I re-read Ben Graham’s The Interpretation of Financial Statements this week. It’s a manual on, you guessed it – how to read financial statements. Okay, it’s not a thriller, but it’s barely 100 pages long and you can finish in an afternoon between naps.

At the end of the book, he briefly covers the difference between stock prices and values. This was 1937. Graham was well ahead of his time: Continue Reading…

I ran across an interesting article in The Atlantic on the advantages of being a jerk versus being nice and how both fit into the business world. The author covers several case studies before boiling it down to what works best between the two.

But it got me thinking about how it relates to investing, like the prediction sideshow that drives financial media and why some people hang on every word. Continue Reading…

Marketwatch published a scare tactic this week loading up several targets for the average investor to blame when they fail. It’s the typical one-sided drivel that’s heavy on noise and light on help.

By the end, the authors served up Wall Street, institutional investors, high frequency trading, regulations, CEOs, financial advisers salespeople, high fee funds, active managed funds, IPOs, M & A, the SEC, and computers.

Oh yeah. Don’t forget the wealthy. Somehow it’s their fault too: Continue Reading…