Stocks Bonds Options Futures

This is a must read for all who feel the need to learn about these important investment vehicles. The writing is stellar and easily understood, even on such ideas as futures, hedging, and more difficult concepts like the yield rate curve. Mr. Veale is an excellent writer and deals with the common and uncommon uses of these vehicles. You will understand how to read any kind of quote, from stock to bond to esoteric qoutes like T-Bill spreads and ED futures. I usually sell books like this once I have absorbed the knowledge, however this is a keeper since it will be an important reference for well into the future.

I am making the transition from hard sciences to financial markets. I have started reading many math oriented books on quantitative finance, like the great two volumes by Shreve, but guess what, I still could not understand a Bloomberg article or a report on the radio, all these market terms were a mystery to me. Not anymore. This book did it for me. It requires ZERO financial knowledge and yet it is not for dummies. It is perfect for the level of someone who never had a formal training on what is the definition of a stock, what kind of departments exist inside an investment bank, etc. etc. It is a clear book, I would not call it technical, it reads like a novell, and I can not overstate any more how cleat it is. I definitely recommend it to people who want an introduction on the subject.

I have to point out that I have the first edition of this book (which did not have Veale's name on it). It is absolutely excellent at introducing the basic concepts behind all types of securities and futures investing one may be considering. They cover what stocks, bonds, etc. are, how they are traded, the terminology used by brokers, and even some historical background. I was really impressed at how clear and understandable all the explanations were. This book was written by someone who really understands the concepts and knows how to explain them well. The book does not have a glossary in it, but does have an excellent index, which is really better in many ways.

Great book. Complex concepts are explained clearly and concisely. Examples are abundant and helpful.