The World's Best Book Summaries
What is economic freedom? Why is freedom important when improving underdeveloped economies? Many economies focus on establishing a utilitarian market to benefit everyone in their country, but people are left with little to no economic choices. In Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen says that free markets allow people to make their own choices and create a freer society. Keep reading to learn why economic freedom is important for a country’s development.
Do you want to learn about investing but aren’t sure where to start? What are the best investing resources to learn from? Investing can be a daunting subject. There are so many investing gurus pitching their advice and “winning formulas” on the web. Their advice is varied and often contradictory. No wonder, many wannabe investors are at a loss. If you feel like you don’t even know where to start, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve scoured the web for the best resources to learn investing including books, blogs, and podcasts. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means,
Who is Brad Katsuyama? What part did Katsuyama play in exposing Wall Street for using high-frequency trading? In Flash Boys, author Michael Lewis writes about how Brad Katsuyama, a Canadian trader with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), led an investigation into the unethical practices of high-frequency trading (HFT). Katsuyama further found that Wall Street’s firms and banks were using HFT to exploit regular investors. Continue reading to learn more about Brad Katsuyama’s investigation and his solution to fighting against HFT.
Who is Navinder Singh Sarao? Did he really cause the 2010 Wall Street flash crash? Navinder Singh Sarao is a self-taught financial trader who was accused of triggering a major 2010 flash crash. The event saw U.S. markets briefly plummet in value, but Michael Lewis, the author of Flash Boys, doesn’t think Sarao is largely to blame for the event. Read more for Lewis’s take on why the flash crash happened and why U.S. courts believed it was because of Navinder Singh Sarao.
How does asset diversification work? Why is it important when you’re investing in stocks? Asset diversification means spreading your assets around in a portfolio to reduce losses. Tony Robbins describes this practice in his book Money: Master the Game, in which he gives tips on how to properly diversify your assets so you don’t risk all of your stocks plummeting. For more information on the diversification of assets, keep reading.
What is the Securities and Exchange Commission? How did they contribute to making high-frequency trading easier? The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s primary purpose is to prevent market manipulation. However, when the stock market transitioned into a technological stage, they were forced to change their stock market regulations with it. Unfortunately, these regulations made it easier for high-frequency (HF) traders to exercise their power over responsible investors. Here’s how the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulations ended up backfiring on them and who stepped up to fix their problems, as explained in Michael Lewis’s book, Flash Boys.
What is a flash crash? Why did Wall Street experience a flash crash in 2010? A flash crash is when the stock market experiences a dramatic and unexpected drop in prices followed by a quick recovery. Wall Street experienced a flash crash in 2010, which Michael Lewis, author of Flash Boys, believes was caused by high-frequency trading (HFT) methods, but others believe one man was behind it. In this article, we’ll explore the 2010 flash crash, and how Wall Street fell victim to it.
What are stock market order types? Why are they so easily manipulated? On the stock market, the most common order types are market orders, limit orders, and stop-loss orders. In Flash Boys, Michael Lewis says that because of the illegal practice of high-frequency trading, investors have found new and complicated ways to create order types for their own financial gain. Learn the basics of stock market order types and how they’re being used in illegal ways.
What is portfolio allocation? Do you need a basic guide to learn how to allocate your assets? To allocate your assets means to build a portfolio of investments that you’ve spread out into different categories. You split your assets into these categories based on how important they are to you and how much money you want to make. Let’s look at how Tony Robbins describes portfolio allocation in his book Money: Master the Game, along with how to divide your money sensibly.
How does front-running stocks work? Why is the practice of front-running prohibited in the financial market? If you’re front-running stocks, you’re technically manipulating the market into giving you private or insider information. In Flash Boys, Michael Lewis goes into depth on the concept to educate readers on why it’s a dishonorable way of trading stocks. Here’s Lewis’s easy-to-understand breakdown of front-running stocks, including three versions of the practice that high-frequency (HF) firms and investors use.