Beating the Business Cycle: How to Predict and Profit from Turning Points in the Economy

This book gives guidelines on when to buy a car, home, invest in stocks, etc... Its a good handbook for such major decisions at home. It gives a long-term view, and not the quick and dirty ways to make money. And the best part is that they focus in various sectors so you can have an overall idea of the economy's performance or even real estate if that's all you are interested in!I recommend it highly! Puts such major personal decisions in perspective.

What an excellent book. It is clear and consise and extremely well written for such tough and complex topics. The authors have done a fantastic job in making the area of cyclical forecasting fasinating. If you are an investor or someone trying to understand what is happening in an economy that seems to be inconsistent with its previous behavior, this book is worth reading.

The word of ¡°economy¡± has been the same as ¡°boring¡± for me.However, I had to change my biased thought after I read this book.First of all, there are no mathematical figures or formulas, which are usual in other economics books. Instead, the book explains about the economy and its dynamics with lots of charts, which are much easier to understand.Second of all, the book tells how to benefit from knowing the business cycle, not only for policy makers or investors but also for Deli owner or myself as an individual. I think that this is the best part of the book that actually gives something valuable to the readers.Finally, I felt that the business cycle theory could be applied to our lives. That is, there are nothing unchanged. Life is the same. The key is to know when it is going to change, and the book lets you know the turning point.

well...i pre ordered this book and was happy to get it. i have to say first off that i've listened to mr. achuthan and mr. banerji on bloomberg radio several times, that's why i bought this. they have a very good way of explaining things which for me means in a non buisness speak. i work in real estate so im interested in the economy but not economics, if you know what i mean. that said, this book (which i have not yet read through) does several things well in the two chapters i have read. chapter one: it give an historical overview to the theroy that the two authors espouse. i like that since i don't have the business background.chapter eight: i really like the idea of the "economic dashboard" (this is what was discussed on the radio and in this chapter). in a nutshell it provides a way for me to understand the economic indicators and apply them to my business and also assist my clients by being able to determine pricing AND stay ahead of the curve.i'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book, and reccomend it to anyone interested in better understanding how to assess what you see and hear in all the business reports out there.

Lakshman Achuthan and Anirvan Banerji have been answering questions about the business cycles and the Economic Cycle Research Institute's (ECRI) leading indicators for many years at their discussion forum I moderate at Suite101.com. [http://www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/investing/37993/1855-1858#message_2]I can vouch that they called for the 2001 recession before it occurred on CNBC as well as on our very forum. They also correctly called for a slow turn in the economy which is what we have seen. Their most recent accurate prediction was for muted and delayed job growth. Many skeptics called Lakshman and Anirvan of the ECRI crazy for predicting jobs returning. Their skeptics said ECRI was wrong, that nobody can accurately predict the economy and we would fall back into a recession. Sure enough, we have now had several months of good job growth and the economy has continued to improve, at a moderate pace, just as predicted by the gentlemen from ECRI. Just today in answer to a question about a potential real estate bubble they posted:"The Leading Home Price Index (LHPI) is part of the "economic dashboard" that we present in "Beating the Business Cycle." The latest readings show the LHPI holding up quite well. The implication is that the home prices are not about to collapse. In fact, they're more likely to continue to edge up."Any book that gives you insight into their "black magic" is a must read for investors as well as anyone who makes decisions based on the future direction of the economy including those contemplating a home purchase!Kirk LindstromEditor "Investing - Personal Finance" at Suite101.com