TheStreet.com Guide to Smart Investing: Everything You Need to Know to Outsmart Wall Street and Select Winning Stocks [Paperback]

Dave Kansas (Author), Street.com (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2002

The first year of the new millennium has brought profound changes to the landscape of America’s financial markets. Understandably, investors are feeling increasingly wary when it comes to choosing stocks. Now more than ever, TheStreet.com Guide to Smart Investing is the guide no investor can do without–an invaluable resource to help you regain your confidence and ride out today's difficult market. TheStreet.com, the exciting on-line financial news center, has become one of the most trusted news sources–and the go-to investment site–in the world of finance. Featuring contributions from TheStreet.com’s premier columnists and specialists, the book discusses how to research stocks; how to use the extraordinary resources of the Internet in screening stocks and deciding which stocks to invest in; how to build a portfolio; what the effect is on a stock in the case of a merger, management change, acquisition, or change in the company’s profile; and penetrating insights into how the economy has changed and what that means in terms of future stock performance.
Written with clarity, verve, and attitude, and drawing on unparalleled expertise, TheStreet.com Guide to Smart Investing is destined to be the investment bible for anyone weathering today’s New Economy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The first year of the new millennium has brought profound changes to the landscape of America?s financial markets. Understandably, investors are feeling increasingly wary when it comes to choosing stocks. Now more than ever, TheStreet.com Guide to Smart Investing is the guide no investor can do without?an invaluable resource to help you regain your confidence and ride out today's difficult market. TheStreet.com, the exciting on-line financial news center, has become one of the most trusted news sources?and the go-to investment site?in the world of finance. Featuring contributions from TheStreet.com?s premier columnists and specialists, the book discusses how to research stocks; how to use the extraordinary resources of the Internet in screening stocks and deciding which stocks to invest in; how to build a portfolio; what the effect is on a stock in the case of a merger, management change, acquisition, or change in the company?s profile; and penetrating insights into how the economy has changed and what that means in terms of future stock performance.
Written with clarity, verve, and attitude, and drawing on unparalleled expertise, TheStreet.com Guide to Smart Investing is destined to be the investment bible for anyone weathering today?s New Economy.

About the Author

Dave Kansas, the founding editor-in-chief of TheStreet.com, helped to build the organization from its first publishing day in November 1996 to its current position as a premier financial news operation, with offices in New York, San Francisco, and London. Kansas has written articles about investing and business for numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, and The Industry Standard. He lives in Manhattan.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Business (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385500955
• ISBN-13: 978-0385500951
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,972,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A New Economy?, July 24, 2006

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Q (Q Continuum) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TheStreet.com Guide to Smart Investing: Everything You Need to Know to Outsmart Wall Street and Select Winning Stocks (Paperback)

This book was written in 2000 and it reflects all the "irrational exuberance" of the late 90s. The authors proclaim a "new economy" in which traditional rules of valuation are no longer applicable! "Expansions have grown longer and deeper, while recessions have become narrower and shorter. The resulting long-run growth has created a New Economy, an economy that's forcing stock market analysts to redefine how they view investments and long-term earnings" (3). "Technology has played a starring role in the New Economy's emergence. . . . Given the backdrop of benign inflation, a technology-driven productivity revolution, and sound fiscal policy, it becomes easier to see why a number of high growth companies receive mind-boggling valuations" (4) As a result of these miraculous new conditions, "the economy can grow faster and longer without the kind of inflationary and financial dislocations that have felled previous expansions" (8). How naive this book sounds after the terrible market crash of 2000-2003! My favorite example is the author's discussion of Cisco, which enjoyed a P/E of 186 in August 2000. The author states, "Does that kind of sky-high P/E ratio mean that you shouldn't own the stock? Not necessarily. The fact of the matter is that some companies deserve to have lofty P/E ratios because their earnings potential really is that tremendous" (179). Cisco fell from $80 in 2000 to $8 in 2002. It's currently (July 2006) trading at around $18 with a P/E of 20. Many tech stocks fared far worse.

OK, it's not all bad. When the author gets off his soap box, he does provide some good insight into how the stock market works, and how to evaluate a stock. His discussion of the value and limitations of PEG ratio is quite helpful. And the section on options is absolutely the best introduction to this complicated subject that I have found anywhere. His discussion of larger market forces such as inflation and interest rates is also very good. Worth reading, but don't believe the hype about the "New Economy" and tech stocks.