"Profit from the Panic" by Adam Khoo & Others

I know my friends, Gary, Ju and Lays, will take digs at me for the long interim since my last review. But what the heck, the drought has got to stop sometime and today's it. This book is not fiction as you can tell. It actually straddles between the genres of self-help and financial guidance. Anyhow, it talks about how any recession, especially a big one, offers an opportunity for us to literally profit from the panic.

His premise, which is copiously backed up by 50 years of economic data, is that when things are at their worst, its time to pay serious attention to picking up stocks that are oversold but are fundamentally sound and viable. Of course, one needs to do the usual due diligence, such as knowing what the company does, whether it has comparative advantage and if its seriously under-valued. And of course, we need to at least know how markets work, how to find market bottoms and tops, and which sectors generally outperform the market in a recovery etc.

I find it an easy read, notwithstanding all the charts and analyses. In fact, anyone with some knowledge of basic economics and the stock market can dive in and be educated fairly quickly. In fact, I've been paying heed and putting to work some of the things I've learnt. And although I've always known that there's a way to comprehend and make the market work for you, I used to trade and invest on rumours and hear says. Now, I make sure I do the necessary homework before I go in. Not that there's much to play with cos I didn't divest on the way down last year, but I can at least start recouping some of the losses.

On the whole, I give this book a 3.8 out of 5 for its easy read and applicability. Go ahead and try if you don't believe me ; )