Thursday, October 25, 2007

October Bulletin

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Gi Bookshop Bulletin
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1. New: Riccardo Rebonato's Plight of the Fortune Tellers
2. New: The Effective Director
3. Harriman House: New Books Checklist
4. Gerald Ratner: 'The Rise and Fall ... and Rise Again'
5. Another new thriller: Nick Louth's 'Bite'

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Note from the Editor
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Hello,

Today's top financial-risk professionals have come to rely on ever-more sophisticated mathematics in their attempts to come to grips with financial risk. But this excessive reliance on quantitative precision is misleading - and it puts us all at risk. This is the case that Riccardo Rebonato makes in Plight of the Fortune Tellers - and coming from someone who is both an experienced market professional and an academic, this heresy is worth listening to.

There's a new book on building individual and board success, The Effective Director by IOD chairman Neville Bain, and we list no less than six important new Harriman House titles publishing between now and Christmas.

Gerald Ratner may have committed one of the most celebrated PR gaffes in modern times but in 'Gerald Ratner: The Rise and Fall... and Rise Again' we find a man who has bounced back - with a vengeance.

Last week we surprised ourselves by including a thriller in the bulletin (Joe Kolman's 'Naked Option'), and here we are again with another - 'Bite' by financial journalist and investment commentator Nick Louth.

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1. New: Riccardo Rebonato's Plight of the Fortune Tellers
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A must-read for anyone concerned about how todays financial markets are run, Rebonato argues that we must restore genuine decision making to our financial planning, and he shows us how to do it using probability, experimental psychology, and decision theory. Risk managers have become obsessed with measuring risk and believe that quantitative results by themselves can guide sound financial choices - but they can't. In Plight of the Fortune Tellers: Why We Need to Manage Financial Risk Differently , Rebonato offers a radical yet surprisingly commonsense solution, one that seeks to remind us that managing risk comes down to real people making decisions under uncertainty.

Buy Plight of the Fortune Tellers now and save 20%

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2. New: The Effective Director
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The Effective Director is a best practice guide for improving your personal effectiveness and that of the board on which you serve - whether its for a FTSE company, a small business, a public sector body or a board of trustees. Using case studies and research from the Institute of Directors it provides you with useful insights into the workings of an effective board and the real importance and benefits of good governance. Dealing with core issues such as the role of the board and the duties of directors, the book moves onto more practical topics such as building effectiveness, leadership and using existing talent to deliver extra competitive value.

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3. Harriman House: New Books Checklist
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Christmas may already be in the shops, but November and December are big publishing months for Harriman House. Here's a taste of what's due for publication:


Shares Made Simple
A Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market by Rodney Hobson
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Tears away the mystique and jargon. Publication Mid-November


Marber on Markets
How to Make Money from Charts by Brian Marber
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One of the world's most widely experienced technical analysts reveals his methods. Publication Mid-November


Investing in Funds Online
Everything You Need to Know about Investing in Funds by Jonathan Davis
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An easy-to-follow guide to help you make better investment decisions. Publication End-November



Naked Trader 2
How Anyone Can Still Make Money Trading Shares by Robbie Burns
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Eagerly awaited new edition gives all the information you need to trade successfully. Publication Early December



UK Stock Market Almanac 2008
Seasonality Analysis and Studies of Market Anomalies, edited by Stephen Eckett
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Comprehensive information on the next financial year. Publication Mid-December



A Beginner's Guide to Charting Financial Markets
A Practical Introduction to Technical Analysis for Investors by Michael Kahn
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The nuts and bolts of chart analysis. Publication Mid-December

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4. Gerald Ratner: The Rise and Fall ... and Rise Again
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In 1991 Gerald Ratner was booked to make what should have been an everyday speech at the Institute of Directors. It should have been, but when the words "total cr*p" come out of his mouth in connection with a decanter and glasses set sold by his company, H. Samuel, it all turned out slightly different. Here, in Gerald Ratner's own words, is the full story of what lead him to that point at the IoD, the horror of what happened in the immediate aftermath, the fallout and the spectacular comeback. This is the first time Gerald Ratner has given his side of the story. And what a story it is.

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5. Another new thriller: Nick Louth's Bite
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Nick Louth writes regular columns for the Financial Times, Investors Chronicle and MSN Money website. He is the creator of 'Funny Money: The Investment Diary of Bernard Jones' which is both a successful book and weekly IC column. Now, by contrast, he has written Bite - a fast-moving thriller based not in the world of high finance, but about pharmaceutical companies and tropical diseases. Erica Stroud-Jones, a brilliant young British scientist, has found a revolutionary way to beat a deadly tropical disease. Millions of lives could be saved, a Nobel Prize beckons. Tomorrow she is due to present her secret research to a scientific conference.
But Erica vanishes during the night....

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Definition of the Week
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SHORT SQUEEZE


Situation in which investors who are short want to repurchase their equities or contracts, in the face of higher prices. As they do so, the price rises forcing others who are short to buy the stock, in turn raising the price.

Taken from Harriman's Financial Dictionary edited by Simon Briscoe and Jane Fuller
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