More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times [Hardcover]

Whitney Tilson (Author), Glenn Tongue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2009

A clear look at how to capture investment profits during difficult financial times

The U.S. economy has become crippled by the credit and real estate catastrophe. Even though we've all been affected by the calamity and have heard no shortage of news about it, it still seems unfathomable and utterly incomprehensible to most people that the actions of certain mortgage brokers, bankers, ratings agencies, and investment banks could break the economic engine of the world.

Now, for the first time, and in terms everyone can grasp, noted analysts and value investing experts Whitney Tilson and Glenn Tongue explain not only how it happened, but shows that the tsunami of credit problems isn't over. The second wave has yet to come. But if you know catastrophe is looming, you can sidestep the train wreck-and even profit. You just need to understand how bad times present opportunity and where to look. More Mortgage Meltdown can help you achieve this goal. The book

• Breaks down the complex mortgage products and rocket-science securities Wall Street created
• Addresses how to find investment opportunities within the rubble and position your portfolio to take advantage of the crisis
• Explains exactly how the combination of aggressive lending, government missteps, and Wall Street trading practices created the perfect economic storm
• Shows you why the crisis is not yet over and what we can expect going forward

More Mortgage Meltdown can help you understand the events that have unfolded, and put you in a better position to profit from the opportunities that arise during these tough financial times.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most original in its opinions on what happens from here and how investors can profit. Tilson and Tongue argue that the mess is far from over in housing. . . That said, Tilson and Tongue argue that there are opportunities for stock pickers to profit. . . The book concludes with an interesting analysis of Wells Fargo, which the authors shorted at $30 a share but then went long on at $10. . . Overall, the book is well worth reading." (The Free Lance-Star)

From the Inside Flap

The housing market has imploded and the stock market has followed suit, with stock portfolios, retirement accounts, and pension funds cut in half. The U.S. economy is reeling from the real estate meltdown and credit crunch. Not stopping at the border, the storm has broadened to Europe, Asia, and beyond throughout 2008 and into 2009. Is there anyone on the planet who has not been touched by this disaster?

Even though we've all been affected by the calamity and have heard no shortage of news about it, it still seems unfathomable and utterly incomprehensible to most people that the actions of certain banks, mortgage companies, and Wall Street firms could bring the economic engine of the world to a grinding halt. Now, for the first time, and in terms everyone can grasp, noted analyst and value investing expert Whitney Tilson, along with his partner Glenn Tongue, explains not only how it happened, but shows that the tsunami of credit problems isn't over. Another even larger wave is yet to come. If you know catastrophe is looming, you can sidestep the train wreck, and even profit, but you need to understand how bad times present opportunity and where to look.

Tilson, a columnist for Kiplinger's Personal Finance, featured on 60 Minutes, and a regular on CNBC, started presenting his findings to everyday people and found them clamoring for more. Now in More Mortgage Meltdown, Tilson explains in a clear and understandable way how misguided assumptions, insatiable greed, reckless risk taking, and government inaction led to the creation of the greatest asset bubble in history, the aftermath of which is the perfect economic storm. Then, he shows you why there's still much more pain to come and what we can expect from the ongoing crisis over the next few years.

Finally, More Mortgage Meltdown teaches you how to find investment opportunities within the rubble and position your portfolio to take advantage of the crisis. The book uses in-depth case studies of individual companies and stocks to show how to evaluate investments in these uncertain times. You will learn how to spot warning flags in the financial statements of companies that can help you avoid losing your hard-earned money. And you will learn how to spot undervalued businesses with competitive advantages or hidden assets that will likely emerge stronger from the crisis. It is important for all of us to understand how the credit and mortgage crisis happened. Equally important is the chance to potentially profit in its aftermath.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470503408
• ISBN-13: 978-0470503409
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate analysis of morgtgage meltdown!, May 24, 2009

By 

M. Nath "value investor" (NYC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times (Hardcover)

I as a Value Investor have known Whitney Tilson for couple of years now. I was eagerly waiting for this book, not to read but to store a copy for my best of best collection, reason being Whitney was very generous in sharing this state of art work through his newsletter (weekly emails) way back in Feb 2008. He has shared his views on the mortgage crisis long before anyone I know thought about it. Even if very few talked, no one shared a 60+ page presentation to general public without fees. I was very lucky to steer clearly away from the mortgage meltdown just because of the forewarnings generated by Whitney's email in Feb 2008. In this highly secretive hedge fund industry where manager's left hand doesn't know what his right hand is going to do, Whitney comes out as a selfless person who wants to give back to the society. He organizes a Value Investing Congress which I recommend every Value Investor to attend as it's very rare that so many great minds come together and share lots of good investment opportunities.

There are many books in the market which looks back in time and tell us the story of what has happened. This book is rare in the sense that the authors accurately predicted the crisis and made the presentation of mortgage meltdown (when the crisis was in its second innings) and issued a note that the crisis will need a full fledged Government intervention (when the word bailout was not heard off) to get through it. And later when the crisis was midway, wrote a book out of their original presentation. So not only the authors know about the mortgage crisis but they also knows about the accurate timing, magnitude, financial & emotional damage it has caused and many more things. This book accurately describes the fact that there is lot more to come and provide investors several key ways in which not only they can survive this meltdown but also thrive from it. The book touches every aspect of mortgage industry, cause and effects along with good investment tips. I don't want to be a spoiler to the new readers so will not say more about the book material but to recommend every stock investor to read the book at least once and take advantage of the great tips given by the authors. Book will be a good read for people who are still trying to understand how bundle of mortgages can bring down the entire world economy to its knees. Book is very simple, straightforward and has enough charts, tables and examples to make it easy to understand even for casual readers. All in all, great value for money and time and a must read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Analysis, August 12, 2009

By 

Mariusz Skonieczny "Author" (Schaumburg, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times (Hardcover)

This book is a great analysis of how we got ourselves into the mess that tipped the entire world into the recession. The authors have lots of supporting data to prove their points. The reader not only finds out the causes the mortgage meltdown, but also learns how to profit going forward. The authors present a case study of the following companies: American Express, Resource America, Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust, MBIA Inc, and Wells Fargo. I highly recommend this book.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Split decision, June 21, 2009

By 

K. Peter - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times (Hardcover)

The first half was an excellent analysis of the mess we are in and how it will only get worse. Second 1/2 advice was fair, but not why to buy the book. Should have had more evaluation of what happens as a consequence of this problem, rather than his case studies. Worth the first 1/2 but a bit disappointing after that. Read it, then HS Dent's "The Great Depression Ahead" and you will have a real game plan.