The Alchemy of Finance: Reading the Mind of the Market

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Critical Praise . . .

"The Alchemy joins Reminiscences of a Stock Operator as a timeless instructional guide of the marketplace." â Paul Tudor Jones from the Foreword

"An extraordinary . . . inside look into the decision-making process of the most successful money manager of our time. Fantastic."â The Wall Street Journal

"A breathtakingly brilliant book. Soros is one of the core of masters . . . who can actually begin to digest the astonishing complexity . . . of the game of finance in recent years."â Esquire

"A seminal investment book . . . it should be read, underlined, and thought about page-by-page, concept-by-idea. . . . He's the best pure investor ever . . . probably the finest analyst of the world in our time." â Barton M. Biggs, Morgan Stanley

George Soros is unquestionably the most powerful and profitable investor in the world today. Dubbed by BusinessWeek as "The Man Who Moves Markets," Soros has made a billion dollars going up against the British pound. Soros is not merely a man of finance, but a thinker to reckon with as well. Now, in The Alchemy of Finance, this extraordinary man reveals the investment strategies that have made him "a superstar among money managers" (The New York Times).

Customer Reviews:

A Journal of Competitive Excellence .......2006-05-17

Essential reading for the practitioner and even more critically required reading for the academically baked student of the markets. From living with frustrating ideas of Utopian equilibrium found in well-stocked university libraries this is a voyage of reading that changes lucidly the thought process into understanding the perpetuity of change in the markets.
It is critical to understand the significant role the size of markets play in the present day world as to how markets are driving the shape of events rather than focusing searching only the events that would drive markets.

Do not expect any recipes of magic that would turn stale ideas into profit machines here though. Instead be ready to be soaked in a process of thought that applies to not just markets but well in anticipating the outcomes of the human struggle for furthering competitive excellence.

Demonstrates Soros' Ledgerdemain .......2005-12-11

Soros is perhaps history's greatest manipulator of markets. His actual quantitative analysis does not stand up to any rigorous testing, nor have his trading techniques withstood anomalous shocks or the simple resistance of pure market forces.

Most, if not all of Soros' great trading coups seem to come from carefully constructed manipulations or runs on markets. Often, his genius has been the interpretation of the desires or intentions of major regulators (Treasury Secretary, Fed Chairman, other central bankers). One suspects this has not been accomplished without cooperation among fund managers and the regulators themselves.

Soros' political and financial pronouncements and policies all seem geared towards generating profits -- he is highly skilled at talking his positions. Lately, though, his dollar short, along with Buffet and others, has been a disaster, suggesting that, absent the unethical cooperation of a Robert Rubin, Soros' crystal ball begins to cloud over. Perhaps that was why he was so anxious to see a Democrat back in office.

His last book, "The Bubble of American Supremacy" was barely literate. He should stick to currency manipultions with his friends around the world, and leave politics and psychiatry to the pros. His theory of "reflexivity" is nothing more than the explanation of markets as subject to mass psychology -- work that others have done better, but perhaps not applied so larcenously.

It is enough to grind billions out of the markets through questionable methods. Why does Mr. Soros feel compelled to be accepted as a genius or some sort of genuine philantropist? His greed seems unlimited in every field. \

All that is solid melts into air.......2005-10-17

The only thing I'd like to add to this discussion is to highlight out tendency to assume that the status quo will continue. It's by exploiting this assumption that has allowed me to make some money in the equity markets. As an example of our tendency, I'd like to offer a quotation from one of the previous reviews of Soros' book (put up in 1999):

Indeed, it is almost embthrassing to read Soros' predictions - that the dollar will depreciate dramatically in the 90s, that Japan will surpass the US as economic leader, that the US economy will succomb to fiscal and trade deficits. Soros' predictions are not just wrong, they are the complete opposite of what actually has occurred.

For 1999 that analysis might have been valid. Now, here we are only 6 years later and the world economy is in much different shape (and closer in keeping with what Soros' predicted): The US economy is weighted down by fiscal and trade deficits that are at historic levels. The dollar is starting to tank and although the Japanese are not surpassing the United States anytime soon, they are recovering finally. What is problematic to me is the tendency to assume that the status quo will continue. Pointing out that it won't is one of the chief benefits of this book.

Had to take a second look.......2005-04-06

Several years ago, I read Soros' description of reflexivity hoping to understand what he thinks about markets. I thought he'd failed miserably, was too much like expecting a good hitter to explain how he connects with the baseball. Easier to do than explain. In finance, that is surely even more true, and is in line with von Neumann's naive definition of complexity: a simple system is easier to describe mathematically than to build: the solar system (even if chaotic), a rocket, and so on. A complex system is easier to build/produce than to explain mathematically: the genetic code, or an egg, e.g.

Having heard Sheri Markose (Uni Essex) talk recently in Galway about the Red Queen and the Liar Strategy (Cretan Liar, Gödel et al), I became much more curious and now expect that Soros might really have something to tell us but we have to figure out what it is. Two of his main ideas are easy to agree with: expect surprises (the essence of complexity), and we can create self-fullfilling prophecies. The interesting question is whether there's anything there about markets that can be mathematized (Sheri produced formalism, but we still need an example). In any case, the book of Soros to read is "The Crisis of Global Capitalism". Therein, he writes in more detail what he thinks. A third main point (about markets or any social phenomena), his big point: our perception of social reality is always wrong, time will show the flaws in any model, but there are good models (models that are locally correct) and bad ones. My work ("Dynamics of Markets") teaches that the good local models ("models") are empirically based: they describe what markets have been doing, but don't include the surprises, the future. Global predictions are always wrong. Dictatorially enforced models like communism, and extremist free market models like globalization via deregulation are good examples of self fullfilling prophecies. A fourth point, also Soros' main point: because our understanding is always imperfect, reality will always produce something (a surprise) that our model doesn't predict. With deregulation, the most recent surprise for American Christian Fundamentalists may be the systematic bankrupting of the US by the neo-con regime that they've elected and support without question.Why? Because they expect that both they and G.W. Bush will spend an eternity together in heaven. The Fundies will have first to become unemployed to see their mistake. With an island mentality, most Americans don't even know, e.g., that whereas gas prices in the US have more than doubled in three years, they've barely changed in Europe. They rise in gas prices in the US is due soley to the systematic devaluation of the dollar by Bush, a fact that both Soros and Buffet have profited from by betting against the dollar.

Written by a convicted criminal & inside trader.......2004-05-21

See Dec. 20th, 2002 on the BBC web site. George Soros was convicted of inside trading in the stock of Societe Generale.

Book Description

Homework Manager provides all quick studies, exercises, and problems from each chapter in a web-based homework administration environment and allows instructors to design their own quizzes, homework assignments, and practice problem sets. HM also provides automatic grading and feedback to both students and instructors.

The algorithmic mode of HM presents students with unique data for each exercise and each attempt, providing an infinite number of assignments with solutions. Consequently, students can work over the same problem structure with different number sets until they master the task. Immediate scoring and feedback option help guide and optimize student learning.

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This new collection, drawn from a wide range of sources and issues, provides full support for university courses in an increasingly popular field of study. Each article is supported by key questions helping students to understand its significance and relationship to real world accounting situations.

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Readings in International Business
Kim Suk H.
Manufacturer: University Press of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0761804986

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Readings in International Business presents a variety of articles that illuminate the brave new world of international business developments. These articles present results of applied research on contemporary issues in international business. The articles were selected from "Multinational Business Review (MBR)", a peer-review journal published twice annually by the College of Business Administration at the University of Detroit-Mercy. The reader will be introduced to the principles essential to an understanding of international business problems and policies that multinational companies utilize to contend with those problems.

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Ready Notes
Ray H Garrison , Eric Noreen , and Peter C. Brewer
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Managerial Accounting

ASIN: 0073203092

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This booklet provides Ready Slide exhibits in a workbook format for efficient note taking.

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Student Lecture Aid
Ray H Garrison , Eric Noreen , and Peter C. Brewer
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Binding: Paperback

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Reading | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Much like the Ready Notes, this booklet offers a hard copy version of all the Teaching Transparencies. Students can annotate the material during the lecture and take notes in the space provided.

Workbook/Study Guide for use with Managerial Accounting

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Workbook/Study Guide for use with Managerial Accounting
Ray H Garrison , Eric Noreen , and Peter C. Brewer
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Reading | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0073203025

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This study aid provides suggestions for studying chapter material, summarizes essential points in each chapter, and tests students’ knowledge using self test questions and exercises.

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Working Papers
Ray H Garrison , Eric Noreen , and Peter C. Brewer
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Managerial Accounting

ASIN: 0073203017

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This study aid contains forms that help students organize their solutions to homework problems.

G7 Best Sellers: what the economic, financial, and political elite are reading.(Recommended readings): An article from: The International Economy

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G7 Best Sellers: what the economic, financial, and political elite are reading.(Recommended readings): An article from: The International Economy
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000MR9ZV6
Release Date: 2007-01-18

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The International Economy, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 1182 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: G7 Best Sellers: what the economic, financial, and political elite are reading.(Recommended readings)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: The International Economy (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Page: 52(2)

Article Type: Recommended readings

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Managerial level, strategic level and TOPCIMA papers: the addition of reading time for papers P1 to P10 is intended to reduce the time pressure on students. ... : An article from: Financial Management (UK)

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Managerial level, strategic level and TOPCIMA papers: the addition of reading time for papers P1 to P10 is intended to reduce the time pressure on students. ... : An article from: Financial Management (UK)
Martin Taylor
Manufacturer: Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
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Binding: Digital

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Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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This digital document is an article from Financial Management (UK), published by Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 843 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Managerial level, strategic level and TOPCIMA papers: the addition of reading time for papers P1 to P10 is intended to reduce the time pressure on students. But this extra 20 minutes must be managed properly, too.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
Author: Martin Taylor
Publication: Financial Management (UK) (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
Page: 47(1)

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Not Quite on the Mark

Useful AND challenging framework

Stop Managing, Start Coaching!: How Performance Coaching Can Enhance Commitment and Improve Productivity
Jerry W. Gilley , and Nathaniel W. Boughton
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
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Binding: Hardcover

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Coaching, Mentoring, and Managing: Breakthrough Strategies to Solve Performance Problems and Build Winning Teams

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In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies (Collins Business Essentials)

ASIN: 0786304561

Book Description

Stop Managing, Start Coaching! highlights the critical skill of performance coaching-demonstrating how managers can balance the roles of trainer, mentor, career coach, and confronter to improve productivity in the workplace. This pioneering guide shows how to: develop a practical and cost-effective human resource strategy and evaluate its effects on performance improvement; reinforce positive work traits through reward strategies; master and practice the art of employee ``self-esteeming''--the next step beyond employee empowerment.

Customer Reviews:

Not Quite on the Mark.......2001-07-10

"Stop Managing, Start Coaching" has some very helpful insights, for example about giving feedback. On the other hand, I felt the authors could have more effectively expressed themselves in terms how coaching and management differ. While the authors suggest that coaching demonstrates more genuine interest and respect for people, they continually identify results of coaching solely in management terms-for example, increased job performance.

I think the authors would have better demonstrated the value of coaching (vs. managing) if they had emphasized that coaching balances the interests of both the coached employee and the employers. Where effective coaching increases the potential, self-actualization, and self esteem of coached people, enhanced performance is one of several by-products of people with increased potential and healthier self esteem. Rather the authors suggest, "Performance coaching is a series of one-on-one exchanges between you and your people. The purpose of each exchange is to help you solve problems, improve performance, or get results." This seems to sound quite similar to traditional command and control management-especially in terms of expressing little of "what's in it for me?" from employee' perspectives.

I think the authors' good ideas would be more evident if presented in a context giving credit to other positive initiatives toward human development. Instead, the authors dismiss the value of research, personality instruments, and leadership profiles and also the value of human resource development efforts. The authors may over generalize management malpractice. While there are many examples of "management malpractice," there are also many conscientious managers trying to do their best for both their companies and their employees. It seems we should be learning from the passion of these conscientious managers and working toward nurturing similar passion in our employees-instead of dismissing these conscientious managers and generalizing them as malpracticing.

While "Stop Managing, Start Coaching" expresses some valuable ideas, I think these effective ideas may be overshadowed lack of respect for and integration into other human development paradigms.

Useful AND challenging framework.......2000-04-10

This book is a useful and challenging framework for how to move from managing to coaching. It starts with an overview of "Contributions to Managerial Malpractice", including skills, attitudes and behaviors. Then they move on to explain the concept they call "Performance Coaching". They review the "Eight Elements of the Performance Coaching Process": 1. Developing a new human resource development philosophy. 2. Modularizing training. 3. Creating transfer of learning strategies.

4. Using human resource development professionals as internal consultants responsible for performance management systems. 5. Enhancing employee relations and creating an ownership attitude. 6. Using managers as performance coaches to do training. 7. Creating self-esteeming employees and teams. 8. Identifying reward strategies that motivate employees, improve their commitment, and get results. They use the "Four Phases of Performance Coaching" as a useful framework. 1. Developing a synergistic relationship with employees 2. Using the four roles of performance coaching 3. Developing self-directed and self-esteeming employees 4. Selecting rewards that build commitment and get results.

I believe the framework is useful, but the implementation will still be a challenge. The nuts and bolts "how-to" is left for the reader to figure out.

Book Description

Pulsars, generally accepted to be rotating neutron stars, are dense, neutron-packed remnants of massive stars that blew apart in supernova explosions. They are typically about 10 kilometers across and spin rapidly, often making several hundred rotations per second. Depending on star mass, gravity compresses the matter in the cores of pulsars up to more than ten times the density of ordinary atomic nuclei, thus providing a high-pressure environment in which numerous particle processes, from hyperon population to quark deconfinement to the formation of Boson condensates, may compete with each other. There are theoretical suggestions of even more "exotic" processes inside pulsars, such as the formation of absolutely stable strange quark matter, a configuration of matter even more stable than the most stable atomic nucleus, ^T56Fe. In the latter event, pulsars would be largely composed of pure quark matter, eventually enveloped in nuclear crust matter. These features combined with the tremendous recent progress in observational radio and x-ray astronomy make pulsars nearly ideal probes for a wide range of physical studies, complementing the quest of the behavior of superdense matter in terrestrial collider experiments. Written by an eminent author, Pulsars as Astrophysical Laboratories for Nuclear and Particle Physics gives a reliable account of the present status of such research, which naturally is to be performed at the interface between nuclear physics, particle physics, and Einstein's theory of relativity.

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