The Faber Report: How Wall Street Really Works-And How You Can Make It Work For You

Rating:
Summary: Something For Everyone
Review: Decades from now, when historians want to get a better understanding of what Wall Street was like at the turn of the 21st century, they won't need to look much further than The Faber Report. Faber's book paints an amazingly clear and comprehensive picture of today's investment climate, giving the reader gobs of insight into the inner workings of the Street.

The book has something for everyone; whether you're a novice investor trying to navigate the world of mutual funds or a hedge fund manager with a penchant for short selling, you'll find it eminently useful. (And if you happen to be the New York state attorney general looking for a blueprint to prosecute Jack Grubman and the rest of Wall Street, you'll find the book very worthwhile!) While the book covers investing basics with exceptional clarity (it has a paragraph on the P/E ratio that is one of the best I've seen), it also contains some headier material that more sophisticated investors will find helpful (his 12 point checklist for uncovering financial shenanigans is a keeper).

It's difficult to write a book that is both entertaining and instructive, but Faber has pulled it off in spades.

Rating:
Summary: Decent read, but not worth $
Review: Explaining how analyists work and their associated confilcts of interest is very interesting stuff. However, this book doesn't really offer advice to investors on how to invest intelligently. In the end, this is a decent book with some good info on how the street works, but its not worth $. I dont plan on re-reading this one in the near future.

Rating:
Summary: The Brain's the best there is!
Review: There's no one better in the world of financial reporting than David Faber. As a member of the media, I could only wish to be as connected, informed, and intelligent as he is. But most importantly, he's the best there is when it comes to sifting through the b.s. that has plagued Wall Street over recent years. This book is almost uncanny, in that it was written months before the dominant financial headlines that rocked the markets in the summer of 2002. We get the warnings about Worldcom, Imclone, and so on, well before anyone else does. Plus, he tells the reader where they can find raw data, what to look for, and the signs that a stock is trouble. Not really a "How to Invest" book, but rather, a "How to Be Informed" book. This book is a must-read. Faber tells it like it is. He was right in the 1990s when he warned on CNBC about the over valued Internet stocks, and time proved him right. By reading this book, you'll understand what to look for the next time Wall Street starts blowing a bubble.