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You Got Screwed!: Why Wall Street Tanked and How You Can Prosper
You've been screwed.
You've been bludgeoned, skewered, crushed, mutilated by the stock market. Every day you read about another corporate loans to CEOs that didn't have to be repaid, accounting "irregularities," profits that never existed. You think the stock market must have been rigged. And you're right.
You were betrayed by the stock promotion machine -- the mutual fund managers, the brokers, analysts, strategists, and stock gurus who brainwashed you into buying and holding and believing that stocks, like parents, always come through and bail you out in the end.
So now what do you do? Where do you put your money? You can't just leave it in the bank or stuff it under the mattress.
For fourteen years Jim Cramer ran a hedge fund that compounded money at a rate of 24 percent annually after fees, and then he got out at the end of 2000. He knows that there are ways to make money, smart ways that don't require you to own stocks blindly. There are other investments that won't send you to the poorhouse.
This book will tell you what went wrong, who the bad guys were, and what you have to do to restore your financial health. You can't just close your eyes. Ignoring Wall Street isn't the answer. Cash alone isn't the answer. This book has the answers.
You've been bludgeoned, skewered, crushed, mutilated by the stock market. Every day you read about another corporate loans to CEOs that didn't have to be repaid, accounting "irregularities," profits that never existed. You think the stock market must have been rigged. And you're right.
You were betrayed by the stock promotion machine -- the mutual fund managers, the brokers, analysts, strategists, and stock gurus who brainwashed you into buying and holding and believing that stocks, like parents, always come through and bail you out in the end.
So now what do you do? Where do you put your money? You can't just leave it in the bank or stuff it under the mattress.
For fourteen years Jim Cramer ran a hedge fund that compounded money at a rate of 24 percent annually after fees, and then he got out at the end of 2000. He knows that there are ways to make money, smart ways that don't require you to own stocks blindly. There are other investments that won't send you to the poorhouse.
This book will tell you what went wrong, who the bad guys were, and what you have to do to restore your financial health. You can't just close your eyes. Ignoring Wall Street isn't the answer. Cash alone isn't the answer. This book has the answers.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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114 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 31, 2024
WRITTEN IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE "DOT.COM BUBBLE" CRASH
James "Jim" J. Cramer (born 1955) is a former hedge fund manager, the host of CNBC's Mad Money, and also the author of best-selling books such as 'Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even,' 'Confessions of a Street Addict,' 'Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich,' etc.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2002 book, "This book is meant... as an epitaph to... cynical reassurances and pseudo-scientific claptrap... that have separated you so viciously and silently from your money... The charlatans wrote their assurances of ever-higher stock prices when the market skyrocketed daily. Now that it has nosedived, their illogic seems deceitful if not downright larcenous... I will recommend to you a steady, solid day to make things back that can't be corrupted by the cavalier forces that coalesced into the current brutal bear market for stocks." (Pg. 4, 6)
He observes, "It turns out that a dollar of revenue at WorldCom was worth no more than a dollar of revenue anywhere else, after all! It was all done with accounting mirrors." (Pg. 21) He suggests, "The collapse of Enron will be the chapter in the history book that explains how crony capitalism spun out of control in the United States at the turn of the twenty-first century. Oh, and as in so many other corporate scandals, not a single dime was ever recovered and returned to its rightful owners, you." (Pg. 33)
He asserts, "... soon the dominoes were falling. Then we realized that so much of what passed as 'better than expected' earnings was invented for the simple reason that higher stock prices allowed executives to exercise their options and sell stocks at prices that the stocks would never have reached if everyone hadn't embraced the ridiculous 'better than expected' standard. The joke was on us. The money stolen, trillions upon trillions of it, now sat in the hands of the very few who had been clever enough to rig the system." (Pg. 61)
He summarizes, "the pump-and-dump fix was in for most of the top executives of America. There weren't a few bad apples but whole orchards full of them. And there was no one standing in the way before the executives pumped their stocks, exercised calls, and dumped their stock... And the government was so swamped it didn't even bother to check this stuff. In fact, the government... hasn't brought a single case of pump-and-dump against one of these multihundred-million-dollar schemes." (Pg. 69)
He states, "A few firms had it right and created real separation between the analysts and corporate finance to keep analysts independent, but the vast majority didn't, which is why their research can never be trusted again by any thinking person." (Pg. 83) He ends the book with the argument, "Why bother to listen to me rather than journalists who have recommended portfolios in magazines and on television and in newspapers? I am not just a journalist; I am a retired pro who wants nothing more than to get you a fair shake in your investments..." (Pg. 116-117)
Cramer's hyperbolic, manic style (which is expressed more on TV, than in this book) may be an "acquired taste" for some, but his book is always engagingly written.
James "Jim" J. Cramer (born 1955) is a former hedge fund manager, the host of CNBC's Mad Money, and also the author of best-selling books such as 'Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even,' 'Confessions of a Street Addict,' 'Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich,' etc.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2002 book, "This book is meant... as an epitaph to... cynical reassurances and pseudo-scientific claptrap... that have separated you so viciously and silently from your money... The charlatans wrote their assurances of ever-higher stock prices when the market skyrocketed daily. Now that it has nosedived, their illogic seems deceitful if not downright larcenous... I will recommend to you a steady, solid day to make things back that can't be corrupted by the cavalier forces that coalesced into the current brutal bear market for stocks." (Pg. 4, 6)
He observes, "It turns out that a dollar of revenue at WorldCom was worth no more than a dollar of revenue anywhere else, after all! It was all done with accounting mirrors." (Pg. 21) He suggests, "The collapse of Enron will be the chapter in the history book that explains how crony capitalism spun out of control in the United States at the turn of the twenty-first century. Oh, and as in so many other corporate scandals, not a single dime was ever recovered and returned to its rightful owners, you." (Pg. 33)
He asserts, "... soon the dominoes were falling. Then we realized that so much of what passed as 'better than expected' earnings was invented for the simple reason that higher stock prices allowed executives to exercise their options and sell stocks at prices that the stocks would never have reached if everyone hadn't embraced the ridiculous 'better than expected' standard. The joke was on us. The money stolen, trillions upon trillions of it, now sat in the hands of the very few who had been clever enough to rig the system." (Pg. 61)
He summarizes, "the pump-and-dump fix was in for most of the top executives of America. There weren't a few bad apples but whole orchards full of them. And there was no one standing in the way before the executives pumped their stocks, exercised calls, and dumped their stock... And the government was so swamped it didn't even bother to check this stuff. In fact, the government... hasn't brought a single case of pump-and-dump against one of these multihundred-million-dollar schemes." (Pg. 69)
He states, "A few firms had it right and created real separation between the analysts and corporate finance to keep analysts independent, but the vast majority didn't, which is why their research can never be trusted again by any thinking person." (Pg. 83) He ends the book with the argument, "Why bother to listen to me rather than journalists who have recommended portfolios in magazines and on television and in newspapers? I am not just a journalist; I am a retired pro who wants nothing more than to get you a fair shake in your investments..." (Pg. 116-117)
Cramer's hyperbolic, manic style (which is expressed more on TV, than in this book) may be an "acquired taste" for some, but his book is always engagingly written.
July 30, 2017
This is a short, easy read in which Cramer describes in detail what happened in 2000, when the Worldcom and Enron companies were caught in scandals that sent the NASDAQ from a high of over 6,000 points down to under 2,000 in a two-year period. The book explains fully what the accountants and management in those companies did and how they got caught, and why so many people lost so much money from it while a few made millions. But that was 17 years ago and it is not why I bought the book. The book also provides some advice on how to look for companies that might be doing the same thing even today and explains how to protect yourself from scandals that might affect so much of the market. I was not disappointed with the information provided here, but I have already read Cramer's book 'Real Money' and it provides the same information and goes much deeper in explaining the principals.
If you're looking for a history lesson on the companies that crushed the NASDAQ at the turn of the century, then this is a great book for you. If you want a good book on how to evaluate a company and make smart investment decisions, then I recommend you start with Cramer's 'Real Money' and follow that with another of his books, 'Get Rich Carefully.' I would consider this book a primer for those.
If you're looking for a history lesson on the companies that crushed the NASDAQ at the turn of the century, then this is a great book for you. If you want a good book on how to evaluate a company and make smart investment decisions, then I recommend you start with Cramer's 'Real Money' and follow that with another of his books, 'Get Rich Carefully.' I would consider this book a primer for those.
June 30, 2018
I have read all of Jim’s books but did not know about this one. It is short and is centered on the dot com bust and the business failures that surrounded that time frame. As always it is entertaining and educational at the same time. It has some areas that are still relevant today and makes you think of your investments in a positive light that can make you money.
March 6, 2022
This is a short book and I read it at the end of 2009. The book focuses on the stock market decline in 2000. It was a big bubble with companies at really high valuations that ended up with a large decline. If you want a short and good book about that time, this is what I would recommend.
December 28, 2010
Average. Prefer Confessions of a Street Addict by same author.
September 24, 2024
There are other Cramer books that say the same thing but in longer form. If you want to learn about Enron or dot com bubble read something more I'm depth.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews