The Common Sense of Money and Investments

by Rukeyser, Merryle Stanley

• ISBN13: 9780471332121
• ISBN10: 0471332127
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-24
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

A timeless classic on all things financial Books of investment advice have been around forever, but few have stood the test of time as well as The Common Sense of Money and Investments. Written by Merryle Stanley Rukeyser in 1924, it offers commonsense insight on everything from how to detect a charlatan to how to select an honest broker. With a charming, straightforward style, this timeless book proves that the best investment advice is eternal. * Foreword by Louis Rukeyser * Covers the period after the dawn of the Liberty Bond and before the Crash

Author Biography

<b>MERRYLE STANLEY RUKEYSER</b> was one of the most respected market observers in America for more than six decades. His rise to prominence as a leading financial journalist began in 1920, when, at the age of 23, he was made Financial Editor of the New York Tribune. After a stint at the New York Evening Journal, he spent more than three decades as a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. Merryle Rukeyser is perhaps best remembered by todays investors for his regular guest appearances on "Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser," during the 1980s.

Table of Contents

PART I. WHY INVEST?--A COMMON SENSE PROBLEM
INTRODUCTION	XV
Lawrence Chamberlain
1. A COMMON SENSE VIEW OF MONEY Introductory: The human significance of finance.	1	(5)
2. WHEN TO ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR Choice between spending and saving; Why invest? Dangers of excessive thrift.	6	(11)
3. LEGITIMATE OBJECTIVES OF THRIFT Human goals for the individual who saves.	17	(7)
4. OUTLETS FOR SURPLUS FUNDS The field of investments: stocks, bonds and tangible property.	24	(14)
5. THE MIND OF THE SMALL INVESTOR Financial aims and purposes of individuals of limited means.	38	(7)
6. THE RADICAL AND HIS BONDS Political theories versus financial expediencies.	45	(4)
PART II. DONT'S FOR INVESTORS--AND A FEW AFFIRMATIONS	49	(133)
7. TESTS OF A SAFE INVESTMENT Footrules by which the worth of a security may be measured.	49	(17)
8. WHY NOT GET RICH QUICK? The lesson of the lotteries and gaming tables.	66	(4)
9. INVESTING WITHOUT RED TAPE Conveniences of preferred stock.	70	(7)
10. INVESTMENT PROGRAMS FOR RICH AND POOR Specific recommendations for the working-man, the business man, the lawyer, the doctor, the minister, and other classes.	77	(41)
11. WHEN TO SWITCH FROM STOCKS TO BONDS How business cycles affect the investor.	118	(5)
12. HOW TO SELECT AN HONEST BROKER Separating the wheat from the chaff.	123	(4)
13. HOW TO DETECT A SECURITY CHARLATAN Characteristics of blue sky promoters.	127	(14)
14. BUCKET SHOPS--AND HOW TO KEEP OUT OF THEM Exposure of the lures of the great pretenders who lurk in the shadow of Wall Street.	141	(14)
15. HIGH FINANCE--AND THE PUBLIC GOOD Services of investment brokers and stock exchanges; how Wall Street does its day's work.	155	(10)
16. HAS THE DAY OF OPPORTUNITIES PASSED? A study of net frontiers and the disappearance of free Land.	165	(5)
17. A FORMULA FOR EFFECTIVE THRIFT Avoidable and accidental factors which frustrate those who would be prudent.	170	(12)
PART III. FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE AS A TOOL	182	(135)
18. SECRETS OF THE FINANCIAL PAGE Facts and fancy; how to keep in touch with developments affecting securities.	182	(19)
19. SOME FALLACIES OF THE INVESTMENT COLUMN The need of speculation; price and yield sometimes a delusive guide to safety.	201	(6)
20. THE STORY BEHIND THE FIGURES IN A FINANCIAL REPORT What to look for in a balance sheet and an income account.	207	(19)
21. SOOTHSAYERS IN WALL STREET A critical survey of the art and science of financial forecasting; why tips are misleading.	226	(18)
22. HALF TRUTH'S ABOUT WALL STREET AFFAIRS Delusions and misconceptions about finance which blur the vision of the layman.	244	(15)
23. BIG BUSINESS FLIRTS WITH VIRTUE Significance of the Better Business Movement.	259	(4)
24. LESSONS FROM THE LIVES OF FIELD MARSHALS OF INDUSTRY Mistakes of success magazines; not all rich men are heroes; nor are they all villains.	263	(5)
25. THE CUSTOMER BUYS THE PLANT Consumer ownership of public utilities as an alternative to municipal ownership.	268	(8)
26. BANKS FOR THE IMPECUNIOUS Loan sharks versus cooperative lenders.	276	(4)
27. "ONE DOLLAR DOWN AND--" Advantage and hazards of the rapidly developing use of the instalment plan.	280	(5)
28. AVOIDING BANKRUPTCY IN THE PANTRY Budgeting: The problem of intelligent and systematic spending.	285	(5)
29. PICKING YOUR EMPLOYER AND YOUR JOB The problem of earning; science of vocational guidance.	290	(8)
30. HOW TO TURN OLD AGE FROM A DEFEAT INTO A TRIUMPH Financing retirement; stepping aside for younger men; permanent dollar a year men.	298	(6)
31. ON THE ALLEGED ROOT OF ALL EVIL Money: Its uses and functions.	304	(10)
32. BOOKS AS STEPPING STONES TO BUSINESS SUCCESS A bibliography of informative volumes.	314	(3)
APPENDIX	317
BIBLIOGRAPHY	317	(3)
GLOSSARY	320	(6)
BOND YIELD FORMULA	326	(1)
BOND INTEREST TABLE	327	(1)
TABLE SHOWING RETURN ON DIVIDEND--PAYING STOCKS	328	(1)
INDEX	329