Trading Systems: Secrets Of The Masters
 Measuring Investment Performance
 Foreign Currency Trading
 The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas
 Bulls, Bear and Millionaires
 New Market Timing Techniques
 Investment Timing and the Business Cycle

Trading Systems: Secrets Of The Masters

Trading Systems: Secrets Of The Masters (246 pages, $50, 1997, hardcover) by Joe Krutsinger, published by McGraw-Hill, assembles the responses to a set of 31 questions into a series of interviews. The answers were supplied by the author and 14 other experts in commodity trading. Part 1 contains these interviews. Part 2 is a compilation of the systems/indicators derived from the information supplied in the interview section. The questions bring out the most important aspects of each trader and his best trading system. These experts divulge the inspiration for their winning systems, the most important aspects of their systems and what has influenced them. They describe their trading preferences and give a short look at the secret to their fortunes. Many of the names will be familiar to readers of STOCKS & COMMODITIES.
McGraw-Hill, 11 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011, 800 722-4726, fax 614 755-5645, http://www.books.mcgraw-hill.com

Measuring Investment Performance

Measuring Investment Performance: Calculating and Evaluating Investment Risk and Return (212 pages, $50, 1997, hardcover) by David Spaulding, also published by McGraw-Hill, gives a definitive look at a concept that has become increasingly important. In today´s investment community, performance evaluation is widely used, but not nearly as widely understood. Spaulding, an authority in the field, uses this book to emphasize the difference between figures that seem excellent over the short haul but then turn out to be unsuitable in terms of the investor´s needs in the longer time frame.

In addition to individual investors, the professional money managers and the industry watchdogs also need a benchmark by which to judge investment performance and the claims made in advertising. This book provides such a standard for those who need that. Risk, style, performance, results and anything else involved in the investment fund arena that can and should be measured is covered in this work.

Foreign Currency Trading

Foreign Currency Trading: From the Fundamentals to the Fine Points (241 pages, $35, 1997, hardcover) by Russell R. Wasendorf Sr. and Russell R. Wasendorf Jr., is also published by McGraw-Hill and gives a complete look at the foreign exchange markets. The book starts with the most basic language of currency trading and develops a full-spectrum look at the opportunities of currency exchange. It ends with a complete glossary. The novice trader will, after reading this book, at least know what is being discussed. In addition to the definitions provided, the authors, a father-son team, share many tips and strategies that should keep those willing to heed advice from the same serious trading errors. The authors also supply a look at the rules and regulations governing the foreign exchange

As the courts have removed the barriers to the trading of currencies around the world, there has been a corresponding increase in the forex markets. While this is a risky business for anyone who is involved in it, this book promises to give a headstart in understanding how the game is played.

The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas

The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas (232 pages plus software, $50 US, 1997, hardcover) by Espen Gaarder Haug also is published by McGraw-Hill. Haug has been deeply immersed in the derivatives field for much of his career. He has worked with options of one sort or another extensively. One day he decided to organize all of the options pricing formulas that he had accumulated over the years, and this book is the result. On the first page of the first chapter is the most basic of formulas and one that should be familiar, the Black-Scholes options pricing formula.

If one ever wanted a single, complete reference source for anything to do with the pricing of options, this is definitely a book to look into. The software included supplies the spreadsheets and source codes that will allow you to follow and use the formulas in your own computer.

Bulls, Bears, and Millionaires

Bulls, Bears, and Millionaires: War Stories of the Trading Life (209 pages, $29.95 US, 1997, hardcover) by Robert Koppel, published by Dearborn Publishing Group, is a compilation of interviews with some very well-known and very successful members of the financial community. There is an openness to the interviews here that is unusual when these well-known personalities relate their anecdotes.
Dearborn Publishing Group, 155 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, 800 829 -7934, fax 312 836 -1021, http://www.dearborn.com

New Market Timing Techniques

New Market Timing Techniques: Innovative Studies in Market Rhythm & Price Exhaustion (339 pages, $69.95 US, 1997, hardcover) by Thomas R. DeMark is from John Wiley & Sons. Tom DeMark´s name is widely recognized in association with technical analysis. This is the second book he has written on the subject. In this book, he refines some of his more popular previously presented indicators and adds several new insights as well. This book presents a new oscillator called the TD combo, which works in conjunction with another of his indicators, known as the TD sequential. DeMark has spent much of his life in the research and development of technical analysis, and through this book he shares his knowledge in market timing expertise. He also gives the reader information about the skills, both money management and trading, needed to become successful in the marketplace.
Wiley Book Order Dept., 1 Wiley Drive, Somerset, NJ 08875, 800 225-5945, http://www.wiley.com

Investment Timing and the Business Cycle

Investment Timing and the Business Cycle (206 pages, $60 US, 1997, hardcover) by Jon Gregory Taylor is also a John Wiley & Sons publication. Though Taylor is currently the chief investment officer of an Australian funds management company, he has spent much of his career with some of the larger US banks and investment firms and even had a stint with the US Treasury Department. With this extensive involvement in investments and business, Taylor has assembled a thorough book that clearly shows the effect of the business cycle on the profitability of various investments. He also points out that the business cycle is not a static situation, but one that evolves. The chances for making money greatly improves for those who understand the changes in the business cycle and the relationship of the wide variety of investments to that cycle. Investment Timing has hundreds of charts, graphs and tables to make the relationship between the business cycle and the various investment vehicles easy to follow.

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