Description
Many investors, including some with substantial portfolios, have only the sketchiest idea of how the stock market works. The reason, say Lynch and Rothchild, is that the basics of investing – the fundamentals of our economic system and what they have to do with the stock market – aren’t taught in school. At a time when individuals have to make important decisions about saving for college and 401(k) retirement funds, this failure to provide a basic education in investing can have tragic consequences. In Learn to Earn, Lynch and Rothchild explain in a style accessible to anyone who is high-school age or older how to read a stock table in the daily newspaper, how to understand a company annual report, and why everyone should pay attention to the stock market. They explain not only how to invest, but also how to think like an investor. Peter Lynch managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990 when it was one of the most successful mutual-funds of all time. He then became a vice chairman at Fidelity and more recently has become a prominent philanthropist particularly active in the Boston area. His books include One Up on Wall Street, Beating the Street, and Learn to Earn (all written with John Rothchild). John Rothchild was formerly a financial columnist for Time and Fortune magazines. Contents PREFACE INTRODUCTION The Companies Around Us ONE A Short History of Capitalism TWO The Basics of Investing THREE The Lives of a Company FOUR The Invisible Hands APPENDIX ONE Stockpicking Tools APPENDIX TWO Reading the Numbers — How to Decipher a Balance Sheet INDEX
