Resources

“Life like the markets offers the greatest rewards to those willing to assume risk. Assuming risk brings uncertainty, anxiety and occasional loss.  But it also brings out the best in us.” (Victor Niederhoffer, Practical Speculation)

Managing money and understanding risk is a personal quest that requires lots of reading, research, and intellectual curiosity.  With the proliferation of the internet and all the public financial data, we have access to an enormous amount of information.  This can be, both, good and bad.  Good because information flow is not just held by a few players but even regular people can access most of the same data.  But this is also bad because this enormous amount of information forces us to be extremely selective in the allocation of our information gathering time.   

I am frequently asked where I get my information and how do I stay in tune with the market.  With that said, I have decided to use this forum to discuss my resources.  The following is a brief synopsis of newspapers, media outlets, websites, books and people that I subscribe to and observe on a regular basis. 

Newspapers/Journals/Magazines

Wall Street Journal – I know lots of people prefer the online edition of the WSJ but I still like reading the paper version that I get every morning.  This is “hands down” the most important publication for any student of the capital markets.  I highly recommend this publication - this is a "must have." 

New York Times – The NYT is a paper that does a good job scooping business stories and do the best job of constructing executive bios and/or bringing to light the drama normally held behind closed doors.  They have some very good, behind the scene sources.  At a minimum, I would recommend reading their Sunday edition.

Barrons – A great weekend read that is issued on Saturdays.  The front cover is usually reserved for a stock piece that they are normally featuring for bullish reasons.  Notice that if they are bullish on a stock (as they usually are) and it is featured on their front page, then more times than not, the stock moves higher on Monday.  Your question probably is: can you buy the stock on this?  Maybe.  But by the time you place the order the stock already has the premium priced in to it and “you show up late to party.”  Also, beware of permabull Alan Abelson who will make you think the world is coming to an end.

Foreign Affairs – Issued six times a year is filled with well-written short stories that give a very insightful look into international economic and political matters.  Recently, they discussed the Hugo Chavez and his lunatic control of his country’s resources which might be a reason why we such wild swings in the crude oil market.  Geopolitical issues and public policy play a large part in market sentiment therefore I strongly recommend this publication as well.

FP (Foreign Policy) - Also issued six times a year and has some great reads as they relate to global macro conditions. 

Bloomberg’s Markets Magazine – Monthly magazine that discusses the state of the capital markets with an emphasis on writing pieces on current money managers and the happenings at Wall Street bulge bracket investment firms. This is probably my favorite magazine to read.  

If you have even more time be sure to look into Institutional Investor magazine and their affiliate publication, Alpha magazine. 

Media Outlets

CNBC and Bloomberg remain the front runners for real-time news media. 

CNBC does the best job when it comes to discussing real time stock stories.  They have some great personalities that are really in the know: David Faber and Charlie Gasparino.  When these guys talk, I listen.  I have also recently become a fan of the show “Fast Money” that is shown on CNBC every afternoon.  It helps me to spark new ideas in the investment brainstorming process.

Bloomberg on the other hand is strong when discussing issues that revolve around macro conditions and commodities.  The station and their personalities aren’t as sexy as the CNBC platform but they give you more data and “real” analysis with far less sensationalism.

More to come soon…

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@SpanishPopTart Ana, thanks for following up with us! We're so glad that we were a part of your big day and made things easy for you.

Ana Sophiá Castro (@SpanishPopTart) 05,05,2016

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Fitch puts Noble Group on negative watch http://on.ft.com/26ZvI2N

Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) 06,05,2016

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RT @edmundtadros: .@NeilChenoweth reveals truth abt the $6m sale of sensitive NZ waterfront land #panamapapers http://www.afr.com/news/politics/world/the-panama-papers-behind-mossack-fonsecas-secret-new-zealand-deals-20160506-gonstp http…

Edmund Tadros (@edmundtadros) 06,05,2016

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How the EU clampdown will reshape e-cigarette marketing http://bit.ly/1O21DJH by @simongwynn https://t.co/5iNXn2rDP9

Simon Gwynn (@simongwynn) 06,05,2016