Synopsis:
The Internet has leveled the financial playing field. In deleteyourbroker.com, popular financial columnist Christopher Byron shows novice and experienced investors alike how to navigate the wealth of financial information now available and zero in on the most important, the most useful, and the most reliable sites. With his trademark wit, irreverence, and a dash of healthy skepticism, he directs readers to valuable resources on the Internet -- from programs that will evaluate the asset allocation in your portfolio to sites that provide detailed information about a stock's past performance, or those that offer vital financial news, such as announcements of upcoming stock splits. deleteyourbroker.com also provides a solid primer on the fundamentals of investing, from the principles of asset allocation to how to analyze a stock and read a balance sheet and other financial documents.It does all this using Internet resources that you can access free or for a nominal charge. With the no-holds-barred approach for which he is known, Byron cuts through the hype surrounding such practices as day-trading, "Bulletin Board" stocks, online IPOs, and other get-rich-quick schemes, showing readers how to tell the difference between valuable information and misleading smoke screens. He illustrates his lessons with plenty of anecdotes from the world of business -- and spares no one. Packed with practical tips and enlivened by Byron's take-no-prisoners analysis, deleteyourbroker.com is the essential guide for anyone thinking of investing online.
Review:
Christopher Byron, a financial writer and columnist for 30 years, says that nothing during that time has leveled the playing field between Wall Street and Main Street like the Internet. In Deleteyourbroker.com, he proposes specific ways for investors--beginning or otherwise--to use this tool to their advantage. In a manner that everyone should find accessible, thanks to Byron's conversational tone and the clear descriptions provided for all concepts and activities, he explores everything from the basics of asset allocation to the nuances of technical versus fundamental analysis. The key, along with the succinct explanations and advice, is his related pointers toward Web sites offering data to average investors that previously was available only to financial professionals. In a chapter called "Earnings: The Holy Grail of Fundamental Analysis," for example, he explains why it may be critical to decide whether a company is over- or under-priced in relation to its peers and future earnings potential. He then shows how to find and use Web sites such as Value Wizard, MoneyCentral, and Global Financial Data to obtain the information to make such determinations. While some of the specific sites may go out of date, Byron's explanations (and suggestions for finding similar information) should prove helpful for years to come. --Howard Rothman
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