What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Tycoon »

Fallible wrote:
Tycoon wrote:Investing the Templeton Way by Lauren C. Templeton and Scott Phillips

A 276 page book that should have been condensed to 50 pages.
I am curious: what is the "Templeton Way"? (I ask because that is the first mutual fund a broker put me into in '87 - a fund with an 8.5 percent front-end load.)
From what I read one must find bargain priced stocks. Further, buy them when everyone else is selling and sell when everyone else if buying. That's the way "Uncle John" did it. That 8.5% front-end load helps too.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by linenfort »

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane

Fun. I picked it up because Shutter Island was such a good read. Turns out this one brings back characters from earlier books, but it doesn't matter. It's great as a standalone novel.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by stratton »

The following book is by "Dow 36,000" author James K Glassman.

Safety Net: the strategy for De-Risking Your Investments in a time of turbulence

Basically less stocks, dividends, more bonds and a market shorting hedge. Very shallow without looking at how things work that hide nasty little surprises that make the way he's doing it more dangerous.

For example

Dividend stocks. Dividends don't go down as much in 2008. Can't figure out why Dow Jones High Dividend etf (DVY) went down so much. Maybe because it's not capped on sector weighting and had 47% in financials. He didn't bother covering how dividends can shift sector weightings.

Hedging. Suggests short etfs including leveraged ones. Doesn't even acknowledge they use daily volatility. Very, very dangerous. A 2x short REIT etf ended up losing more than the index it was shorting.

NOT RECOMMENDED!

Paul
...and then Buffy staked Edward. The end.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

"Heat" by Stuart Woods.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

Fallible wrote:
Tycoon wrote:Investing the Templeton Way by Lauren C. Templeton and Scott Phillips

A 276 page book that should have been condensed to 50 pages.
I am curious: what is the "Templeton Way"? (I ask because that is the first mutual fund a broker put me into in '87 - a fund with an 8.5 percent front-end load.)
Templeton was a value oriented contrarian investor. He liked to buy unloved stocks at low price to earnings ratios.

He was also into 'emerging' markets long before anyone else. For example Japan (which was an EM in the 1960s). Finding ways to buy stocks in these countries in the 1960s and early 70s was not easy-- the analogy to investing in Nigeria or Iran now. Whilst the US was off doing the tech bubble (the early 60s tech bubble, that is) and various fads, and then after the market peak in late 1960s the 'one decision' or 'nifty 50' stocks (Polaroid, GE, IBM etc.) Templeton was off finding the unloved and the unnoticed. His heydey was the 1970s and probably the early 80s.

It was the largest Canadian mutual fund (I had an investment in it for 20 years or so). Front end loads of around 10%, and a 2% MER as I recall. Nonetheless it did do well-- more in the early years than when it got really big.

As usual, when the performance got noticed, money flooded into the fund and the performance started to decline, it was harder for him to find opportunities.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

LadyGeek wrote:The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold - part of the Vorkosigan Saga series.

I'm hooked on this series. Along with a creative writing style and imaginative plot, the author is constantly leading you down a path and throwing in a last minute twist. I can see why Bujold is a Hugo award winner.



Somewhat darker, but with similarly strong female characters, is CJ Cherryh. The Merchanter-Union series 'The Company Wars' are not all good, by any means. But Downbelow Station deserved its Hugo. And I have a soft spot for 'Rimrunners' and 'Merchanters Luck' especially the latter (both only make sense if you have read Downbelow Station).

The David Brin pair 'Startide Rising' and 'The Uplift War' are both pretty amazing in the human-alien-space conflict genre. Sundiver is the prequel and the 'Brightness Reef' trilogy is the successor (I found it hard to get into).
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by goldendad »

"Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by placeholder »

Finishing up Dexter's Final Cut the latest in Jeff Lindsay's series about Dexter Morgan serial killer. For those that don't know the first season of the TV show was roughly based on the first book but from there they completely diverged so it's interesting to compare how the two progressed.
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Post by pinecrest »

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

pinecrest wrote:On a privacy-related site, I came across this recommendation: "Jeffrey Deaver book called Broken Window, in which a serial killer uses this info to get close to victims, kill them and also frame someone else for the murder. Pretty scary stuff."
Is that Broken Window XP or Broken Window 8?
pinecrest wrote:Naturally, I had to check this out. I've read one other book by Deaver and I'd call him an OK author, nothing special. You have to wait until about a third of the way into the book before learning that the serial killer may have some connection with the data mining industry. That apparently is where he's getting his info to ingratiate himself with women, gain their confidence, then turn on them and kill them.


So he uses data mining for date mining?
pinecrest wrote:He uses a different set of data to frame innocent men for their murders. Nice guy.
Does he kill innocent men with window frames?

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Post by pinecrest »

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

"White Cargo" by Stuart Woods, an excellent author.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by FabLab »

Currently reading Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis.
The fundamental things apply as time goes by -- Herman Hupfeld
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by HomerJ »

goldendad wrote:"Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond
I'm reading this too... Excellent book about why the broad strokes of history happened the way it did...

Basically, why did Europe develop technology before China or Africa or the Americas? His point is that it's not based on anything that happened in 1500 A.D., but on other non-human factors like geography, and available grains and animals from 5000 years ago that gave Europe the advantage.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

Valuethinker wrote:
Fallible wrote:
Tycoon wrote:Investing the Templeton Way by Lauren C. Templeton and Scott Phillips

A 276 page book that should have been condensed to 50 pages.
I am curious: what is the "Templeton Way"? (I ask because that is the first mutual fund a broker put me into in '87 - a fund with an 8.5 percent front-end load.)
Templeton was a value oriented contrarian investor. He liked to buy unloved stocks at low price to earnings ratios.

He was also into 'emerging' markets long before anyone else. For example Japan (which was an EM in the 1960s). Finding ways to buy stocks in these countries in the 1960s and early 70s was not easy-- the analogy to investing in Nigeria or Iran now. Whilst the US was off doing the tech bubble (the early 60s tech bubble, that is) and various fads, and then after the market peak in late 1960s the 'one decision' or 'nifty 50' stocks (Polaroid, GE, IBM etc.) Templeton was off finding the unloved and the unnoticed. His heydey was the 1970s and probably the early 80s.

It was the largest Canadian mutual fund (I had an investment in it for 20 years or so). Front end loads of around 10%, and a 2% MER as I recall. Nonetheless it did do well-- more in the early years than when it got really big.

As usual, when the performance got noticed, money flooded into the fund and the performance started to decline, it was harder for him to find opportunities.
Valuethinker,

Thank you for this background. The fund I had was Templeton World (before Franklin Templeton) and what I remember of it was the broker, who revered John Templeton, telling me the fund earned 15% in '87 or '88. I also remember (could be faulty) it continuing to do well for some time after that and I probably would've stayed in it had I not read about John Bogle and indexing a short time later. From what you've said, it sounds as if Templeton's heydays were over several years before I and other family members were put in the fund and the broker hadn't realized this.

Fallible
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by eagleb1977 »

Richard Ferri "All About Index Funds: The Easy Way to Get Started". Great book so far!
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

eagleb1977 wrote:Richard Ferri "All About Index Funds: The Easy Way to Get Started". Great book so far!
I'd also suggest his The Power of Passive Investing. I also love the Superman cover. :)
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by gkaplan »

I currently am reading Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron, the third in the series that features Maine game warden Mike Bowditch. Mike, after butting heads with his superiors, has been exiled to a remote outpost in Washington County on the Canadian border, where he now butts heads with game poachers and drug smugglers and drug runners.

Doiron is a Maine native and a registered Maine Guide and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine, so his Mike Bowditch series has a ring of authenticity. Doiron, until just recently, was the editor-in-chief of Down East: The Magazine of Maine.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

HomerJ wrote:
goldendad wrote:"Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond
I'm reading this too... Excellent book about why the broad strokes of history happened the way it did...

Basically, why did Europe develop technology before China or Africa or the Americas? His point is that it's not based on anything that happened in 1500 A.D., but on other non-human factors like geography, and available grains and animals from 5000 years ago that gave Europe the advantage.
I don't know where one accesses the debate about Diamond. Because he was not a specialist but came from a medical background, there was rejection of his theories. People who specialize in this area also found some quite significant points of debate-- I don't remember all the details. It was a masterful synthesis though. His point about germs is, I think, now widely accepted in the success of the western world in overrunning the new world so quickly and decisively. Charles Mann's books 1491 and 1492 I think are interesting on all this.

Note that, and I think Diamond admits that, the Chinese developed many of the same technologies far earlier: gunpowder of course (we got it from them via the Mongols). Printing press. etc. And in the 1300s they were exploring the coast of Africa, but the Emperor called them home and destroyed the charts.

I also really enjoyed his book 'Collapse' about island societies and what they might have to tell us.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

pinecrest wrote:On a privacy-related site, I came across this recommendation: "Jeffrey Deaver book called Broken Window, in which a serial killer uses this info to get close to victims, kill them and also frame someone else for the murder. Pretty scary stuff."

Naturally, I had to check this out. I've read one other book by Deaver and I'd call him an OK author, nothing special. You have to wait until about a third of the way into the book before learning that the serial killer may have some connection with the data mining industry. That apparently is where he's getting his info to ingratiate himself with women, gain their confidence, then turn on them and kill them. He uses a different set of data to frame innocent men for their murders. Nice guy.

I just finished reading the "brochures" of the main data broker in the book, and there are various "packages" a subscriber can buy. I still don't know if the killer is a subscriber or an employee at the data broker.
If you've ever seen the original Michael Mann film 'Manhunter' (it's a classic, I think William Petersen plays the character who becomes Clarice Sterling's boss (Scot Glenn) in Silence of the Lambs-- I would rate it as a much more effective movie than SOTL) then this will strike a chord. I haven't read the novel that went with it (Red Dragon, which introduces Hannibal Lecter).
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by jginseattle »

A Mysterious Something in the Light: Raymond Chandler, A Life, by Tom Williams
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Tycoon »

How Would You Move Mount Fuji: How the World's Smartest Companies Select the Most Creative Thinkers, by William Poundstone
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Macmungo »

I've just been revisiting one of my favorite places, Paris, in two separate eras, the 1780s and the 1990s. First I read J.H.Adams's "The Paris of Thomas Jefferson," which covers the years when Jefferson was American minister there, 1784 to 1789. The second book, Adam Gopnik's "Paris to the Moon", reveals that a remarkable amount of the contemporary Paris of the 1990s, was being built during the time Jefferson was there and still exists. The Adams book is heavily weighted towards architecture, though it covers a good deal more. (I still find it hard to reconcile Jefferson's constant speaking and writing about "liberty" with the fact that his exquisite tastes were being supported by the labor of over 200 slaves.) Gopnik's book is a series of essays about a writer's family (and especially their small son) discovering and adapting to a still enchanting place. Gopnik's book is a collection of essays; they are very rich and should not be read all at one time. Great fun to move back and forth to the same places separated by 200 years.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by tylerdurden »

About to start reading League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth. Funny that I'm doing so while watching an NFC playoff game. :)
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by dianna »

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath on vacation and then turned to the Big Disconnect by Steiner-Adair about technology and social connection. Overall, I thought that David and Goliath was a nice thought-provoking read and I generally enjoy Gladwell's writing. The Big Disconnect has been a bit of a disappointment thus far.... Too verbose for the points being made but still decent fodder.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

Macmungo wrote: (I still find it hard to reconcile Jefferson's constant speaking and writing about "liberty" with the fact that his exquisite tastes were being supported by the labor of over 200 slaves.) .
A problem as old as philosophy. Consider the Stoic philosophers in Roman times.

Usually the way around it was to make slaves 'not human' and therefore worthy of less 'liberty'. The famous formula in the US constitution for counting slaves vis a vis the population of states (1 slave = 3/5th of a free man?). At some level you define your sphere of influence.

Living up to espoused ideals is a problem as old as we have had espoused ideals and moral codes.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

Finished The Billionaire’s Apprentice: The Rise of the American-Indian Elite and the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund, by Anita Raghavan. The "apprentice" is Rajat Gupta, the former highly-respected head of McKinsey & Co. (where Jeff Skilling should've stayed) and multi-millionaire who had it all, still didn't have "enough," and turned to insider trading to get more. He doesn't seem to understand his actions, but probably comes close when, some eight years before his 2012 conviction, he responds to a question by Columbia U students about his attitude toward money and wealth:

“When I look at myself, yeah, I am driven by money,” he said. “I like many creature comforts. I want to make sure I take care of my kids well and so on and so forth. And when I live in this society you do get fairly materiliastic, so I look at that. I am disappointed.I am probably more materialistic today than I was before and I think money is very seductive...you have to watch out for it because the more you have it, you get used to comfort, and you get used to, you know, big houses and vacation homes, and going and doing whatever you want, and so it is very seductive. However much you say that you will not fall into the trap of it, you do fall into the trap of it.”

Bogleheads might be interested in a shrewd aspect of Warren Buffett's $5 billion deal to help Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis (boldface mine). According to the book, Buffett told a Goldman rep he would be ready to accept the proposal but with a condition: that the four senior execs of Goldman (includes CEO Blankfein) “not sell any of their stock before his security was called or redeemed. It was vintage Buffett: he wasn’t going to put his money on the line if Goldman’s senior executives were not prepared to risk theirs.”
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by LazyNihilist »

Fallible wrote:“When I look at myself, yeah, I am driven by money,” he said. “I like many creature comforts. I want to make sure I take care of my kids well and so on and so forth. And when I live in this society you do get fairly materiliastic, so I look at that. I am disappointed.I am probably more materialistic today than I was before and I think money is very seductive...you have to watch out for it because the more you have it, you get used to comfort, and you get used to, you know, big houses and vacation homes, and going and doing whatever you want, and so it is very seductive. However much you say that you will not fall into the trap of it, you do fall into the trap of it.”
This is scary. Scary because I see a reflection of myself in that quote.
10 years back when I was starting to work I never thought I would be greedy for money. I was happy with what little I earned. Now I see myself less satisfied and wanting more money. :(
The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must -Thucydides
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

Fallible wrote:Finished The Billionaire’s Apprentice: The Rise of the American-Indian Elite and the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund, by Anita Raghavan. The "apprentice" is Rajat Gupta, the former highly-respected head of McKinsey & Co. (where Jeff Skilling should've stayed) and multi-millionaire who had it all, still didn't have "enough," and turned to insider trading to get more. He doesn't seem to understand his actions, but probably comes close when, some eight years before his 2012 conviction, he responds to a question by Columbia U students about his attitude toward money and wealth:

“When I look at myself, yeah, I am driven by money,” he said. “I like many creature comforts. I want to make sure I take care of my kids well and so on and so forth. And when I live in this society you do get fairly materiliastic, so I look at that. I am disappointed.I am probably more materialistic today than I was before and I think money is very seductive...you have to watch out for it because the more you have it, you get used to comfort, and you get used to, you know, big houses and vacation homes, and going and doing whatever you want, and so it is very seductive. However much you say that you will not fall into the trap of it, you do fall into the trap of it.”
It's a good call. Gupta by being head of the world's (oldest) and most respected management consultancy, had access to the highest levels of corporations and governments, which would *listen* to him. He had more real power than most people will ever have-- the power to influence at the highest levels of decision making.

For which he was probably paid say $5-10m a year. So more than all but the most successful CEOs, hedge fund managers, private equity partners.

And yet, operating around these billionaires, he wanted more.

It's a lesson about life. No matter what peak you surmount, you are going to rank yourself against the other mountain peaks, and some of them will be higher...
Bogleheads might be interested in a shrewd aspect of Warren Buffett's $5 billion deal to help Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis (boldface mine). According to the book, Buffett told a Goldman rep he would be ready to accept the proposal but with a condition: that the four senior execs of Goldman (includes CEO Blankfein) “not sell any of their stock before his security was called or redeemed. It was vintage Buffett: he wasn’t going to put his money on the line if Goldman’s senior executives were not prepared to risk theirs.”
Buffett had been badly gored by his efforts to change the compensation structure when he was Chairman and major shareholder of Salomon Brothers-- to pay bonuses in restricted stock not cash. So he understands the business of investment banking, and where the soft spots are. Buffett is not the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. He possesses that capability, unusual in humans and very unusual IME in corporate egos, of learning from his mistakes.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

Your brain has a biological response to a good book
Getting wrapped up in a good novel actually causes changes in your brain that can last for at least five days, according to new research.
...
Neurons in this area of the brain are associated into tricking the mind into thinking the body is doing something it's not, a phenomenon known as grounded cognition.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

Valuethinker wrote:
Fallible wrote:Finished The Billionaire’s Apprentice: The Rise of the American-Indian Elite and the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund, by Anita Raghavan. The "apprentice" is Rajat Gupta, the former highly-respected head of McKinsey & Co. (where Jeff Skilling should've stayed) and multi-millionaire who had it all, still didn't have "enough," and turned to insider trading to get more. He doesn't seem to understand his actions, but probably comes close when, some eight years before his 2012 conviction, he responds to a question by Columbia U students about his attitude toward money and wealth:

“When I look at myself, yeah, I am driven by money,” he said. “I like many creature comforts. I want to make sure I take care of my kids well and so on and so forth. And when I live in this society you do get fairly materiliastic, so I look at that. I am disappointed.I am probably more materialistic today than I was before and I think money is very seductive...you have to watch out for it because the more you have it, you get used to comfort, and you get used to, you know, big houses and vacation homes, and going and doing whatever you want, and so it is very seductive. However much you say that you will not fall into the trap of it, you do fall into the trap of it.”
It's a good call. Gupta by being head of the world's (oldest) and most respected management consultancy, had access to the highest levels of corporations and governments, which would *listen* to him. He had more real power than most people will ever have-- the power to influence at the highest levels of decision making.

For which he was probably paid say $5-10m a year. So more than all but the most successful CEOs, hedge fund managers, private equity partners.

And yet, operating around these billionaires, he wanted more.

It's a lesson about life. No matter what peak you surmount, you are going to rank yourself against the other mountain peaks, and some of them will be higher...

Valuethinker,

Yes, and this is very much what the book reveals about Gupta, in particular from one close friend, Bala Balachandran, who felt that Gupta's retirement from McKinsey was a key turning point in his life. "Up to his McKinsey days, he was guided by the McKinsey guidelines and values. He was governed by McKinsey and not Rajat (the also convicted Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam). He was on the right side. After McKinsey, he put his eggs in the basket of money rather than reputation. He stepped up his quest for money because his professional superiority had climaxed."

I thought there also were subtle but telling signs that even at McKinsey, Gupta's judgement was at times questionable.

Bogleheads might be interested in a shrewd aspect of Warren Buffett's $5 billion deal to help Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis (boldface mine). According to the book, Buffett told a Goldman rep he would be ready to accept the proposal but with a condition: that the four senior execs of Goldman (includes CEO Blankfein) “not sell any of their stock before his security was called or redeemed. It was vintage Buffett: he wasn’t going to put his money on the line if Goldman’s senior executives were not prepared to risk theirs.”
Buffett had been badly gored by his efforts to change the compensation structure when he was Chairman and major shareholder of Salomon Brothers-- to pay bonuses in restricted stock not cash. So he understands the business of investment banking, and where the soft spots are. Buffett is not the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. He possesses that capability, unusual in humans and very unusual IME in corporate egos, of learning from his mistakes.
Spot on about Buffett. The author didn't go too deeply into Buffett's Goldman investment, but I was amused by Buffett's reaction to the first time Goldman suggested one to him - the conversation lasted about 15 seconds, no deal, meaning Buffett knew instantly it was wrong for him. When Goldman came back with a revised proposal, Buffett's first reaction was, "I am listening." The Goldman guy then continued and Buffett said, "I am still listening." After hearing more and then accepting it on the condition I wrote about here earlier, Buffett said he was going to Dairy Queen.

Falllible
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Valuethinker »

Fallible wrote:
Valuethinker wrote:
It's a good call. Gupta by being head of the world's (oldest) and most respected management consultancy, had access to the highest levels of corporations and governments, which would *listen* to him. He had more real power than most people will ever have-- the power to influence at the highest levels of decision making.

For which he was probably paid say $5-10m a year. So more than all but the most successful CEOs, hedge fund managers, private equity partners.

And yet, operating around these billionaires, he wanted more.

It's a lesson about life. No matter what peak you surmount, you are going to rank yourself against the other mountain peaks, and some of them will be higher...

Valuethinker,

Yes, and this is very much what the book reveals about Gupta, in particular from one close friend, Bala Balachandran, who felt that Gupta's retirement from McKinsey was a key turning point in his life. "Up to his McKinsey days, he was guided by the McKinsey guidelines and values. He was governed by McKinsey and not Rajat (the also convicted Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam). He was on the right side. After McKinsey, he put his eggs in the basket of money rather than reputation. He stepped up his quest for money because his professional superiority had climaxed."

I thought there also were subtle but telling signs that even at McKinsey, Gupta's judgement was at times questionable.
I'd be interested in what those were.

Each of the consultancies has a 'flavour'. Bain it's the application of a standardized template to a business problem. McKinsey tries to avoid doing that, has a lot of emphasis on thought leadership and client focus. The charge levelled at McKinsey, and all consultancies, is that they are 'fad of the moment' with the client- -bending in the wind. The most embarassing example was Enron, where McKinsey and other firms made millions, and it was lauded in a dozen business school case studies (now all withdrawn from circulation and pulped, if someone has a copy, it is quite valuable). And yet the thing was a house of cards.

I know when McKinsey did my employer (in London) we found out later they had applied exactly the same template to several firms in New York.
Bogleheads might be interested in a shrewd aspect of Warren Buffett's $5 billion deal to help Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis (boldface mine). According to the book, Buffett told a Goldman rep he would be ready to accept the proposal but with a condition: that the four senior execs of Goldman (includes CEO Blankfein) “not sell any of their stock before his security was called or redeemed. It was vintage Buffett: he wasn’t going to put his money on the line if Goldman’s senior executives were not prepared to risk theirs.”
Buffett had been badly gored by his efforts to change the compensation structure when he was Chairman and major shareholder of Salomon Brothers-- to pay bonuses in restricted stock not cash. So he understands the business of investment banking, and where the soft spots are. Buffett is not the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. He possesses that capability, unusual in humans and very unusual IME in corporate egos, of learning from his mistakes.
Spot on about Buffett. The author didn't go too deeply into Buffett's Goldman investment, but I was amused by Buffett's reaction to the first time Goldman suggested one to him - the conversation lasted about 15 seconds, no deal, meaning Buffett knew instantly it was wrong for him. When Goldman came back with a revised proposal, Buffett's first reaction was, "I am listening." The Goldman guy then continued and Buffett said, "I am still listening." After hearing more and then accepting it on the condition I wrote about here earlier, Buffett said he was going to Dairy Queen.

Falllible
[/quote]

Which also proves Buffett is a superb negotiator ;-). Wait until Goldman is desperate, and then play hard to get.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by vrex »

Emma by Jane Austen. Just finished Sycamore Row by John Grisham.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by MP173 »

The Bretheren by John Grisham. Not so good.

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

Valuethinker: my new replies are in blue. I wasn't sure how to cut it down. Fallible
Valuethinker wrote:
Fallible wrote:
Valuethinker wrote:
It's a good call. Gupta by being head of the world's (oldest) and most respected management consultancy, had access to the highest levels of corporations and governments, which would *listen* to him. He had more real power than most people will ever have-- the power to influence at the highest levels of decision making.

For which he was probably paid say $5-10m a year. So more than all but the most successful CEOs, hedge fund managers, private equity partners.

And yet, operating around these billionaires, he wanted more.

It's a lesson about life. No matter what peak you surmount, you are going to rank yourself against the other mountain peaks, and some of them will be higher...

Valuethinker,

Yes, and this is very much what the book reveals about Gupta, in particular from one close friend, Bala Balachandran, who felt that Gupta's retirement from McKinsey was a key turning point in his life. "Up to his McKinsey days, he was guided by the McKinsey guidelines and values. He was governed by McKinsey and not Rajat (the also convicted Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam). He was on the right side. After McKinsey, he put his eggs in the basket of money rather than reputation. He stepped up his quest for money because his professional superiority had climaxed."

I thought there also were subtle but telling signs that even at McKinsey, Gupta's judgement was at times questionable.
I'd be interested in what those were.

This book, of course, is not the one to fully understand McKinsey & Co., or even Gupta's overall reign there, as its main focus is on Gupta at Galleon and Galleon. But the author (who uses too much from Jeffrey Skilling) leaves no doubt there was strong feeling among many at McKinsey that Gupta sacrificed the company's "above-the-fray" professionalism so carefully cultivated by Marvin Bower (the "conscience of the company" who joined McKinsey in '33) for a business that valued profit above all else. I also thought that Gupta's handling, or mishandling, of Anil Kumar when Kumar got into trouble at McKinsey showed amazingly poor judgement. And this is before Kumar goes on to also work for Galleon and eventually becomes a key figure in the insider-trading convictions.


Each of the consultancies has a 'flavour'. Bain it's the application of a standardized template to a business problem. McKinsey tries to avoid doing that, has a lot of emphasis on thought leadership and client focus. The charge levelled at McKinsey, and all consultancies, is that they are 'fad of the moment' with the client- -bending in the wind. The most embarassing example was Enron, where McKinsey and other firms made millions, and it was lauded in a dozen business school case studies (now all withdrawn from circulation and pulped, if someone has a copy, it is quite valuable). And yet the thing was a house of cards.

I know when McKinsey did my employer (in London) we found out later they had applied exactly the same template to several firms in New York.
Bogleheads might be interested in a shrewd aspect of Warren Buffett's $5 billion deal to help Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis (boldface mine). According to the book, Buffett told a Goldman rep he would be ready to accept the proposal but with a condition: that the four senior execs of Goldman (includes CEO Blankfein) “not sell any of their stock before his security was called or redeemed. It was vintage Buffett: he wasn’t going to put his money on the line if Goldman’s senior executives were not prepared to risk theirs.”
Buffett had been badly gored by his efforts to change the compensation structure when he was Chairman and major shareholder of Salomon Brothers-- to pay bonuses in restricted stock not cash. So he understands the business of investment banking, and where the soft spots are. Buffett is not the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. He possesses that capability, unusual in humans and very unusual IME in corporate egos, of learning from his mistakes.
Spot on about Buffett. The author didn't go too deeply into Buffett's Goldman investment, but I was amused by Buffett's reaction to the first time Goldman suggested one to him - the conversation lasted about 15 seconds, no deal, meaning Buffett knew instantly it was wrong for him. When Goldman came back with a revised proposal, Buffett's first reaction was, "I am listening." The Goldman guy then continued and Buffett said, "I am still listening." After hearing more and then accepting it on the condition I wrote about here earlier, Buffett said he was going to Dairy Queen.

Falllible
Which also proves Buffett is a superb negotiator ;-). Wait until Goldman is desperate, and then play hard to get.[/quote]

Yes, and this is why I'd like to know more about the Buffett-Goldman deal. Since he knew so quickly the initial proposal was wrong for him, did he somehow expect it? What was it he heard in those 15 seconds that made him sign off so quickly and what did he hear the next time around that made him quickly begin to consider it?
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by LadyGeek »

Valuethinker wrote:
LadyGeek wrote:The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold - part of the Vorkosigan Saga series.

I'm hooked on this series. Along with a creative writing style and imaginative plot, the author is constantly leading you down a path and throwing in a last minute twist. I can see why Bujold is a Hugo award winner.
Somewhat darker, but with similarly strong female characters, is CJ Cherryh. The Merchanter-Union series 'The Company Wars' are not all good, by any means. But Downbelow Station deserved its Hugo. And I have a soft spot for 'Rimrunners' and 'Merchanters Luck' especially the latter (both only make sense if you have read Downbelow Station).

The David Brin pair 'Startide Rising' and 'The Uplift War' are both pretty amazing in the human-alien-space conflict genre. Sundiver is the prequel and the 'Brightness Reef' trilogy is the successor (I found it hard to get into).
I already finished Cetaganda, and am now in the middle of Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold. From your prior comments (not the one quoted here), I can also see the series getting into a lighter tone. However, I can't put the books down; intriguing to read.

I've read Downbelow Station, among other CJ novels, and agree that it deserved its Hugo award.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

"Miracle Cure" by Harlan Coben. Very different, but very good.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by youngindexer »

Sex at dawn by Dr. Chris Ryan :sharebeer
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Christine_NM »

Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. Starts out amazing, keeps getting more so. Wonderful writing. I think it would appeal as much to men as women -- that's rare, most books seems to target one or the other gender.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by MP173 »

Just finished "Moonlight Mile" by Lehane....thanks linenfort for the recommendation.

Currently reading "Trust Your Eyes" by Linwood Barclay, who is moving up the list on my favorite mystery writers.

Ed
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by jebmke »

MP173 wrote:Just finished "Moonlight Mile" by Lehane....thanks linenfort for the recommendation.
The Patrick Kenzie stories are fun - I think I have read them all. Lehane really steps up his game in "The Given Day", a more serious novel.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by bdavidson »

Travels by Michael Crichton.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by stratton »

Were James Bond’s drinks shaken because of alcohol induced tremor?
Abstract

Objective To quantify James Bond’s consumption of alcohol as detailed in the series of novels by Ian Fleming.

Design Retrospective literature review.

Setting The study authors’ homes, in a comfy chair.

Participants Commander James Bond, 007; Mr Ian Lancaster Fleming.

Main outcome measures Weekly alcohol consumption by Commander Bond.

Methods All 14 James Bond books were read by two of the authors. Contemporaneous notes were taken detailing every alcoholic drink taken. Predefined alcohol unit levels were used to calculate consumption. Days when Bond was unable to consume alcohol (such as through incarceration) were noted.

Results After exclusion of days when Bond was unable to drink, his weekly alcohol consumption was 92 units a week, over four times the recommended amount. His maximum daily consumption was 49.8 units. He had only 12.5 alcohol free days out of 87.5 days on which he was able to drink.

Conclusions James Bond’s level of alcohol intake puts him at high risk of multiple alcohol related diseases and an early death. The level of functioning as displayed in the books is inconsistent with the physical, mental, and indeed sexual functioning expected from someone drinking this much alcohol. We advise an immediate referral for further assessment and treatment, a reduction in alcohol consumption to safe levels, and suspect that the famous catchphrase “shaken, not stirred” could be because of alcohol induced tremor affecting his hands.
...and then Buffy staked Edward. The end.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

"Dirt" by Stuart Woods.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by BenBritt »

The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy.

Things That Matter by Charles Krauthammer.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

Where Are the Customers' Yachts? or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street, by Fred Schwed, Jr. 1960 "Space Age Edition," which according to the introductions is the same as the 1940 edition except for a few forewords and introductions.

OH. EM. GEE!

How is it possible I haven't read it before? Well, as one of the forewords says, "[The] immortality [of this book] is all attributable to just five words of a 40,000-word text--the words of the title."

This is sensational. Yes, it's in the Wiki article on Book recommendations, and Taylor has made one of his collections of gems, but if I were to make a Taylor-style gem collection it would be hard because I would just be quoting the entire book, or at least the part I've read so far, about 40%.

Yes, it is relevant today. Although there are some fascinating period touches, as in a footnote, "A new name is being sought for 'customer's men.' As this is being written, 'registered representative' is being considered, but I do not think it will be retained simply because 'registered representative' is too much of a mouthful."

One gem. Just one.
All I was ever able to conclude from my informal studies was that chart reading is a complex way of arriving at a simple theorem, to wit: when they have gone up for a considerable time, they will continue to go up for a considerable time; and the same holds true for going down.

This is simple, but it does not happen to be so. The easiest way of perceiving that it is not so is to go get a properly drawn chart and look at it.
I see some similarities between Schwed's writing style and mine--at my best moments--if that's ego so be it--and all I can say is that I have not been imitating his style, because I hadn't read his writing--but now that I have, I will.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by modal »

Inside Scientology
Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

nisiprius wrote:Where Are the Customers' Yachts? or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street, by Fred Schwed, Jr. 1960 "Space Age Edition," which according to the introductions is the same as the 1940 edition except for a few forewords and introductions.
...
Yes, it is relevant today. Although there are some fascinating period touches, as in a footnote, "A new name is being sought for 'customer's men.' As this is being written, 'registered representative' is being considered, but I do not think it will be retained simply because 'registered representative' is too much of a mouthful."
...
Those period touches such as the one you mention help bring home the book's message (though probably unintended at the writing) that not much has changed on Wall Street. It felt to me at times that he wrote it with kind of a so-what-else-is-new sigh. One of my favorite cartoons used was on pg. 6, a customer's gigantic nose following the "indelibly indicated trend." :)
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by linenfort »

Good stuff!
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