At last, a book that explains investment theory and practice in plain English using simple arithmetic! Top Wall Street economist Robert H. Parks, in The Witch Doctor of Wall Street, steers clear of jargon and irrelevant mathematics and offers clear examples that promote quick comprehension of even the most complex financial instruments. He also alerts readers to the dangers that await them if they don't know how Wall Street works.
Insecurity and selfishness pervade the market and too often prevent the honest exchange of information. The Witch Doctor of Wall Street is a no-holds-barred attack on the deception that plagues Wall Street. Parks identifies unconscious deception, outright dishonesty, and the subtle tricks that fall within the boundaries of law. He confronts financial gurus who promise wealth without risk, government officials who mangle theory and policy to produce violent swings in financial markets, and Nobel laureates who develop "Alice in Wonderland" models resting on risk-free returns.
Exposed are the parrots of Wall Street who discuss economic and investment matters without truly understanding what they're saying and the superbly trained professionals who fit data to predetermined conclusions to serve their own interests. Economists, Parks explains, often act like
preachers rather than objective scientists. Clinging to ideological convictions, they're unlikely to give straight answers about market trends.
The Witch Doctor of Wall Street has been endorsed by several noted economists. George Livingston of American Express International Bank calls it "moralistic [and] confrontational. .. but most important a revealing and valuable teacher of economic theory and policy... [The Witch Doctor of Wall Street] at all times makes the complex clear [and] understandable." Dr. Charles P. Kindleberger, acclaimed author of definitive works on financial mania, panics, and crashes, says Parks has "called it right on the market."
Robert H. Parks (Short Hills, NJ) is professor of finance at the Lubin Graduate School of Business at Pace University, New York, NY, and the co-author of Financial Institutions and Markets. As managing director of Robert H. Parks & Associates, Inc., he provides economic and investment research for institutional investors including Alliance Capital, Citibank, General Motors, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
454 pages (Appendices, Glossary, Bibliography, Index) Publication date 30th May, 1996
ISBN 1-57392-018-5
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