Magic Numbers: The 33 Key Ratios That Every Investor Should Know - Hardcover

Temple, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471479241 ISBN 13: 9780471479246

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2001

Synopsis

Quickly and accurately calculate key investment ratios
Written by a leading finance expert, this book offers simple explanations on how to calculate and interpret key financial ratios. This information is essential for the accurate assessment of a company′s financial condition and the true value of its shares. This book is packed with many worked examples from actual company reports and readers will also find many online reference sources–including company Web sites and free software offers. Plus, this book features a supporting Web site at www.magicnumbersbook.com. Magic Numbers is essential reading for individual investors and non–financial executives.

About this title

About the Author

PETER TEMPLE was born in the North of England. He is a graduate in economics and statistics from the University of Wales, and is a Fellow of the UK Securities Institute. After an 18–year career as an investment analyst in fund management and investment banking, he turned to full time writing in 1988 as a freelance financial journalist and author.

His articles cover a wide variety of investing topics, and appear regularly in the Financial Times, Investors Chronicle, Shares, International Fund Investment, and in a number of other publications and financial web sites. In addition to Magic Numbers, John Wiley has published several of his other books, including Hedge Funds – The Courtesans of Capitalism, Private Equity and The New Online Investor.

From the Back Cover

"Magic Numbers goes straight to the bottom line – it′s a terrific reference for all disciplined investors." ––Mario J Gabelli, Chairman, Gabelli Asset Management Inc.

"A concise compendium of the core tools for financial analysis, some modern, most timeless. The various ratios are brought to life with a series of real world examples. Peter Temple′s book provides a valuable resource for financial analysis, for both the professional investor and the private investor seeking a greater understanding of risk and reward in financial markets." ––Desmond Supple, Head of Research, Asia Barclays Capital

"A clear and concise manual for any budding investor. It will help avoid many of the pitfalls of investing. Each step is clearly laid out with examples and explanations of both the pros and cons of each ratio. Lesson 34 ought to state ′knowledge and practice equals few mistakes.′" ––Markus Rosgen, Chief Asian Strategist, ING Barings Asia

"Magic Numbers has an elegant way of presenting and explaining commonly used financial ratios and numbers derived from company statements and accounts. The exposition is careful and clear. It should serve as a very useful compendium and a quick reference for the serious financial market investor." ––Lim Kian Guan, Professor of Finance, Singapore Management University

From the Inside Flap

There is no magic formula for making money. But hidden inside the financial statements of all companies is a wealth of information.

To preserve and grow your precious capital, you need to be able to dissect a company before you invest. You need to find those companies that have hidden value and – just as important – learn to avoid those flashing ′danger′ signs.

Peter Temple is a highly experienced investment analyst, a down–to–earth financial journalist, and a successful private investor. In this book he:
∗ explains the investment jargon you read in the financial pages
∗ tells you in plain language how to calculate financial ratios – those all important ′magic numbers′
∗ gives clear worked examples of them from the accounts of real companies including Yahoo!, McDonald′s, NTT DoCoMo, and BP
∗ shares with you his 30 years′ experience of how to interpret the numbers
Magic Numbers is the essential guide to making objective judgements about companies and their shares. If you don′t want to see your money cut in half or vanish altogether, we strongly recommend you read this book.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471479241
• ISBN 13: 9780471479246
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 232