TREND WATCHING：Don't be Fooled by the Next Investment Fad, Mania, or Bubble (风风雨雨看投资)

CNBC anchor Insana (The Message of the Markets) has chronicled past investment fads and bubbles to provide lessons to prospective and current investors. He asserts that it's "not enough to study, observe and comment on financial folly." Investment fads will continue to happen, and by using historical information investors may recognize the signs of an impending bubble. The author devotes most of the chapters to describing the fads and bubbles that have occurred over the years, such as the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s, the feverish interest in plank road companies in the 1840s and 1850s, the surge in closed country funds in the late 1980s, and the bull market of the 1990s. The chapters "Trendwatching" and "Endwatching" offer advice on how to identify a mania while it is happening and describe the effects on the investor and the stock market when a bubble bursts. The last chapter contains questions and answers for analyzing the possibility of a future "hard asset" bubble. While well written and offering valid suggestions, this work is better as an historical read than for its predictive value. Recommended for public and corporate libraries.
　　Stacey Marien, American Univ., Washington DC
　　Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

In his new book, bestselling author and CNBC anchor Insana explores the irrational exuberances of the stock market--the boom-and-bust cycles that end up costing investors so much money. He shows investors how best to identify and profit from these bubbles--before history repeats itself and the bubble bursts.

From Publishers Weekly

Insana has worked as a CNBC anchor throughout the stock market's boom and bust, sharing the good and bad news. But who knew the avuncular personality was such a history wonk? Insana's latest is a breezy overview of investment bubbles through the ages. Thankfully, the author has a skill for boiling down complex events-e.g., currency crises in Asia or the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management-into digestible nuggets. He apparently developed this talent from his television experiences, where he often has 30 seconds to talk about such mind-bending topics as Enron's off-the-books partnerships. Insana's not in the business of predicting bubbles, though, although he does hint that real estate may be in trouble. Rather, this is primarily a history book, and a timely one at that. Perhaps the best proof that Insana knows what he's talking about? He never left his plum CNBC anchor job during the dot-com bubble, even when it was considered old-fashioned to be collecting a paycheck.

From Library Journal

CNBC anchor Insana (The Message of the Markets) has chronicled past investment fads and bubbles to provide lessons to prospective and current investors. He asserts that it's "not enough to study, observe and comment on financial folly." Investment fads will continue to happen, and by using historical information investors may recognize the signs of an impending bubble. The author devotes most of the chapters to describing the fads and bubbles that have occurred over the years, such as the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s, the feverish interest in plank road companies in the 1840s and 1850s, the surge in closed country funds in the late 1980s, and the bull market of the 1990s. The chapters "Trendwatching" and "Endwatching" offer advice on how to identify a mania while it is happening and describe the effects on the investor and the stock market when a bubble bursts. The last chapter contains questions and answers for analyzing the possibility of a future "hard asset" bubble. While well written and offering valid suggestions, this work is better as an historical read than for its predictive value. Recommended for public and corporate libraries.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Stacey Marien, American Univ., Washington DC

Book Dimension
Height (mm) 235 Width (mm) 160

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 "It's Never Different This Time
2 What Is a Bubble?
3 Past as Prologue
4 Tiny Bubbles
5 The Biggest Bubble of Them A
6 TrendWatching
7 EndWatching
8 Bubble or Just Plain Trouble
9 Future Shock
Endnotes
Index