Product Description
Chapters: Insider Trading, Slush Fund, Underground Economy, Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera, Chiasso Financial Smuggling Case, Guardia Di Finanza, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Integrity in Mobile Phone Financial Services. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 71. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities (e.g. bonds or stock options) by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company. In most countries, trading by corporate insiders such as officers, key employees, directors, and large shareholders may be legal, if this trading is done in a way that does not take advantage of non-public information. However, the term is frequently used to refer to a practice in which an insider or a related party trades based on material non-public information obtained during the performance of the insider's duties at the corporation, or otherwise in breach of a fiduciary or other relationship of trust and confidence or where the non-public information was misappropriated from the company. In the United States and several other jurisdictions, trading conducted by corporate officers, key employees, directors, or significant shareholders (in the U.S., defined as beneficial owners of ten percent or more of the firm's equity securities) must be reported to the regulator or publicly disclosed, usually within a few business days of the trade. Many investors follow the summaries of these insider trades in the hope that mimicking these trades will be profitable. While "legal" insider trading cannot be based on material non-public information, some investors believe corporate...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=15368 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Winans writes like a dream" -"Reads like a novel"
This is the true story of how R. Foster Winans, a well-regarded columnist for The Wall Street Journal allowed himself to become corrupted by a Svengali-like, Gatsby-ish stock broker in the heady days of the early 1980s. His is the same storyline used a year later by Oliver Stone in his original film "Wall Street," starring Michael Douglas as an Ivan Boesky standin and Bud Fox as the young, ambitious sycophant. The broker in Winans case, Peter Brant, proved to be the character that makes this story vibrate with authenticity, an attractive, mysterious, driven young man who, like Gatsby, drifted cooly out of nowhere and bought a palace on Long Island sound. Winans and Brant were indicted. Winans fought his case on technical grounds all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court with the backing of First Amendment and Wall Street interest groups. He lost and served nine months in a federal minimum security prison. Reviewers, most of them journalists, often criticized Winans for what he did, which was leak advance word of his columns to the stockbroker for a share of trading profits, but they raved about his honesty in telling his story and his skill at story-telling. A few examples: "Candid and engrossing." Time Magazine -- "This guy can write. Winans can make you feel what is happening better than most fiction writers I�ve read." Pittsburgh Press. --"The book is wonderfully crafted. It is engrossing." Dallas Morning News --"This is fast-paced, well written. Riveting." Publishers Weekly -- "The guy can write." Kirkus Reviews -- "Winans is a talented writer." USA Today -- "A captivating book...combination morality play, spy thriller and journalism primer." Chicago Sun Times -- "Tightly written, dramatic. A compelling book." New York Daily News -- "An ambitiously crafted narrative." LA Times -- "Gripping. He writes well. This book moves. The reader gets involved." San Diego Union -- "Superbly crafted. Rich in detail and written in a compelling narrative style, it reads like a popular novel." Business Week -- "Winans ... writes like a dream." Washington Times -- "This is an immensely readable chronicle." Christian Science Monitor. ... Read more

Product Description
How do local drug markets impact on their 'host' communities? This report, based on the largest British study of drug-dealing to date, draws on work in three areas where drug dealing is prevalent, and assesses the financial, social, environmental and cultural impact of local drug markets on the communities in which they operate. It documents the views of community members about the market and its impact, whilst exploring the career paths and motivations that lead people into drug dealing, together with the social and demographic differences between dealers, users and others in the community. The authors consider the extent to which drug dealers are predatory outsiders who 'prey on' the local community, suggesting that local drug markets are often integrated - to greater or lesser extent - in the licit and illicit economies of drprived areas. "Understanding Drug Selling in Communities" highlights the complex nature of drug dealing and its effect on local communities.It outlines a range of possible enforcement measures and will be of interest to a range of practitioners concerned with communities, drug prevention and rehabilitation as well as local authorities, the police and probation service. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation (i.e., a business entity having a separate legal personality from the natural persons that manage its activities), or by individuals that may be identified with a corporation or other business entity . Note that some forms of corporate corruption may not actually be criminal if they are not specifically illegal under a given system of laws. For example, some jurisdictions allow insider trading. ... Read more

Product Description
A look at the crimes of Dennis Levine describes how the Wall Street man who made deals for Milken and took calls for Ivan fell from grace--a fall that preceded the demise of his former bosses. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I was Tricked!
Mr. Levine casts himself as a somewhat honorable person in this book. When forced by the SEC to implicate others in insider trading he states he was emotionally devastated but grudgingly complied. He claims his attorney, in 30 years of practice, never witnessed a defendant become so emotional with betraying his work associates.

Hold the presses.

On page 311 of "Den of Thieves" another perspective emerges: "Despite his claims to Wilkis that he'd never cooperate, Levine seemed eager to ensare his fellow conspirators."

This is just one example of Levine's revisionist history. Instead of reading this book, read "Den of Thieves."

Interesting Read, But Highly Biased
I read this book before reading "Den of Thieves".I would really love to know what has happened to the author since publication.I found the book very interesting even though I found the author unrepentant and heavily biased in his interpretation of actual events (read "Den of Thieves").Seems as though Levine wrote the book to mainly make amends to his wife and to convince readers of his own importance.However, I do tend to believe Levine's descriptions of the behind-the-scenes investment world.

Better Books Out There
What happens when someone with the ego the size of New York gets a book contract? Read this book and find out.This guy is amassing, the book details out his make and break it life in Wall Street and is more of an additional way for him to continue pumping up his ego. There are promises of his wheeling and dealing details and how he was one of the majors in the Junk Bond and M & A scene of he 80's, but once you read the book it seams more like he was always looking in the window at the real players.Sure he was a crook, but not the top level, more of an upper middle management kind of guy.Overall the book does not really give you much new info, it really is just a description of this arrogant fat cat that wanted the world to treat him like a king.I would suggest you not be an enabler to his egomania and move past this book.If you are interested in this topic then I would suggest you also read "Den of Thieves" and "Predator's Ball", both of which cover the 80's M&A and Junk Bond world. To get a better understanding of KKR, I would suggest "Masters of Debit".They are much better books then this one. ... Read more

Product Description
Den of Thieves broke one story. Barbarians at the Gate another. Now, prepare for the unvarnished truth-from the ultimate Wall Street insider, Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" columnist Gene Marcial. He smashes The Street's code of silence to bring the book buying public the biggest inside information and trading shocker of all. He names big names on every page-from George Soros and Henry Kravis to Carl Icahn-and makes revelation that'll redden a lot of Wall Street faces. In the process, hundreds of The Street's deepest, darkest secrets are uncovered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

This is why I'm not a day trader.
Fortunately I read this book before dot com fever took over the world, and although I have participated in buying into a few IPOs I've done so wisely thanks to Marcial. If more people understood what appears to be commonsense on Wall Street, there would be fewer investors willing to callthemselves Fools with pride.

In time, this book and others like it willbecome the lingua franca of a sobered investing public. These days it seemslike only a sober few know. I'm glad I do.

Not so secrets of the Street
The thesis of this book appears to be that Wall Street insiders have the ability to cheat and use it. His examples virtually always used anonymous people.I am a bond I-banker so little in here really surprised me and inmany ways it became boring.An avid stock investor with no financeexperience may find it titillating where I did not.

I read the bookhoping for interesting stories.There were a few like the female who hadno problems using whatever tools were necessary. Otherwise, it wasrelatively bland.There are many other books on this subject moreinteresting.

A decent book for any person interested in the Street world
It is quite clear that the author had some first-hand experiences with people portrayed in his book. He (author) presents a clear picture of inner workings of the big and small Wall Street people. I can not say that he is biased in any sense; he just presents the truth. It may hurt, but that is the reality people experience every day. One can not simply close his/her eyes. The market is calling...

An extensive deposition of the true Wall Street
The author supports his point by giving multiple examples of illigal activities on the Street. The book is full of references to big and small names that keep the markets going. It presents an idea that only the fitties will survive the run. It clearly follows and correlates what the Street has been known for, making big money in the least amount of time. I think that many people of diverse professions will enjoy this book.

"The Best Of The Best"
This is without a doubt the best book Ihave ever read in regards to the innerworkings of the Stock Markets.I have read it 3 times and have found it tobe one of those rare books that you wish would never end. Without any question this book should be required reading for anyone that is interesting in becoming an active investor, or would like to know the real inside story of the Markets. ... Read more

Product Description
There is money to be made listening in to lunch-time business conversations...

Two friends and business school colleagues ride out the recession working for a popular downtown Toronto restaurant, the Tobacco Road. Their economic prospects fall well short of personal aspirations, until they begin eavesdropping on the business lunch gossip of the captains of Canadian industry.
Speculating on this information proves so profitable that it attracts the attention of the Ontario Securities Commission, who suspect them of insider trading.
Trapped in a modern day indenture to the Crown, their journey becomes a high octane, suspense filled business thriller. Each twist and turn hurls them into conflict with increasingly dangerous elements of the financial underworld. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Is Bassett another Stieg Larsson in the making?
A fast paced, exciting thriller that I couldn't put down until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it is brilliantly written, has some business mixed in with plenty of action. I can't wait for the sequel

Fast paced and exciting thriller
From the start, this book grabs your attention and you are immersed in the business and investment world and journey with the main characters to varied places such as mining towns, cities and offices of law agencies. The characters are well defined and the book is easy to read, fast paced and highly enjoyable. I won't spoil the plot but do yourself a favour and buy this book. It's a keeper.

A fun and engaging read
I have just finished reading this first book - Capital Gains - by author VT Bassett, and found it to be a thoroughly fun and engaging read.Full of intrigue and suspense, with a colorful storyline. Would recommend it to anyone seeking to be well-entertained forfew hours. Couldn't put it down. ... Read more

Product Description
Boardroom Conspiracies is a Wall Street murder mystery and an exciting courtroom drama of greed. The author guides you through the trial from a front row seat in a New York City courtroom. Issues from today's headlines: insider trading and corporate greed, form the sinews of this exciting combination of courtroom drama and thrilling murder mystery. Allegations of malfeasance by former corporate directors during a shareholders civil trial vie with tales of murder and infidelity in this modern day Philadelphia tale of greed and retribution. Corporate directors are accused not only of civil crimes; but of the, seemingly, related murder of the board chairman. Was he was murdered on board a cruise ship? Was he murdered to prevent him from making a deal with authorities at the expense of his colleagues? Or, were there more intimate and personal influences at work/ A diverse jury deliberates. Each member weighs the evidence, bringing their unique perspectives to the deliberations. The author leads you through this tale of intrigue and murder to an exciting resolution of of the legal drama and a surprising solution to the murder mystery. ... Read more

Product Description
Silvia Rodney was the niece of The Spider. When Warwick first joined the supercriminal's band, he had made a pretense of paying a great deal of attention to her—it gave him an excuse for visiting so much at the mansion on American Boulevard where The Spider had his home and headquarters. This acquaintance had developed into love with a speed that was truly amazing. John Warwick, a man of society, hunter of big game, world roamer in days gone by, the man many women had sought for husband and could not capture, had fallen in love with the sweet, unassuming girl—and had been forced through circumstances to hold his tongue.For from Silvia Rodney had been kept the knowledge of her uncle's true character. She had been taught to believe that he was the representative of a certain European power, and that he was working in the interests of humanity.John Warwick was too honest to speak to her of love without telling her that he was a criminal of a sort—and The Spider had forbidden him doing that. He knew that Silvia Rodney returned his love, and was wondering why he did not ask her to become his wife.Warwick had been a ruined man when he had joined The Spider's band. But, because of his excellent work, he had gathered a small fortune again; and The Spider, by way of reward, also had engineered a campaign on the Stock Exchange that had netted Warwick almost a quarter of a million dollars.Warwick was all right financially now, yet he remained true to The Spider, not through fear of what might happen to him if he left the supercriminal's band, but out of gratitude to The Spider for his help.There were times when John Warwick wished that he might marry Silvia Rodney and cease his nefarious work. It had not been so very nefarious at that. The Spider and his followers committed thefts, but generally on the side of right. Ill-gotten gains were what they generally took from their victims; and now and then The Spider contracted to obtain and return something that had been procured by improper means from its rightful owner. There were worse criminals than The Spider and his people, but nevertheless, what they did was outside the law. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

I like the way he thinks
I'm turning into quite a fan of Leo Katz. I was so impressed by his _Bad Acts and Guilty Minds_ that I picked this one up almost at once. And it's just as good.

This time around, Katz's plan is to deal with what he calls "three related mysteries": the moral problem of "avoision" (i.e., what counts as morally bad evasion and what merely as legitimate avoidance); the moral nature of e.g. blackmail and insider trading (i.e., what, if anything, justifies our all but universal moral intuitions that these and other similar acts are genuinely wrong); and the problem of "undeserved glory" (and what's wrong with appropriating someone else's fame).

I won't try to spell out Katz's examples and arguments under each of these headings, for I could not do so if I tried: his discussions are very well organized, but they pass from one subtopic to another with such rapidity and ease that I would have a hard time deciding just what to select. In general I shall say only that even where I disagree with him (as I sometimes do), his lively and provocative analysis is a sheer joy to read.

His most prominent theme is also one of which I heartily approve. There are some lawyers, philosophers, and especially economists who think it is possible to be both a libertarian and a utilitarian. Katz forcefully disagrees (as do I). And one purpose of this volume is to hammer that point home.

Himself apparently a libertarian, Katz argues repeatedly and at length that libertarianism requires a deontological foundation; utilitarianism is simply inadequate in every respect. Along the way he also mounts a striking _deontological_ defense of the role of the attorney (in helping clients to avoid malignant moral outrages by "capitalizing on the deontological properties of legal rules," p. 131; you'll have to read the book to find out just what this means). And in one brief passage that one could wish were longer, he follows Amartya Sen to a striking conclusion: libertarianism is _also_ incompatible with complete freedom of contract. As in his earlier book, Katz's own outlook seems to be a sort of self-critical intuitionism along the lines of Judith Jarvis Thomson (whose "trolley problem" also gets a further workout here).

I wrote in my review of Katz's previous book that it was all but unique. I am happy to say that isn't entirely so; this book is a lot like it. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Fischer Peters is a successful Boston software executive whose Ivy League education, high income and thoughtful way of life create a happy illusion of security and control. Yet all his advantages can’t shield him from the perils awaiting when he returns from his family’s annual summer vacation.His reunion with a troubled childhood friend for an evening of drinks after decades apart sets in motion a chain of events leading to an insider trading investigation, the likely ruin of his career and marriage and, ultimately, a life-and-death battle of wits and courage with a pair of rogue soldiers in a local biker gang.

... Read more

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Cecilia Walker, B.Sc. in computer science, MBA, intelligent, ambitious, an expert in karate, the token female in a London firm of stockbrokers, her successful trading raising the jealousy of her male colleagues. Heeding a rumor that Sanvino will lose their largest airline supply contract, she advises her major Italian client to offload the shares, only to discover a day later that on the contrary Sanvino has gained another even more lucrative contract. As a result, its shares rise twenty percent. Her advice deprived her client of a two million-pound capital gain. Has she been misled deliberately or was she simply the butt of a malicious joke? She is fired from her job, accused of illegal share trading and arrested. When a mafioso, sent by the Italian client, threatens to harm her little stepsisters unless she refunds the client, she uses her computer science and karate skills in daring stratagems to discover the real culprit. ... Read more

Product Description

The first complete, expert guide to securities and investment fraud

Filled with expert guidance for detection and prevention of all kinds of securities fraud and investment misconduct, Securities Fraud helps you identify red flags of fraud and offers practical ways to detect and prevent it. Written by a Wall Street professional with three decades of experience spanning the most critical period of our financial marketsThis book challenges classic fraud theories, describing how to dismantle information silos that permit fraudsters to conceal their activities.

• Begins with an overview of the evolution of securities regulation and the impact of securities fraud
• Offers real cases and examples which illustrate recurring themes and red flags
• Provides the first guide of its kind to offer a complete look at the various kinds of securities fraud and investment misconduct

Securities Fraud is the essential guide you need for a bird's-eye view of fraud that may be taking place even now within your own organization and with your portfolio. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the true story of a top Wall Street player who chronicles his own transformation from a straight arrow believer in the markets, to a jaded critic who reveals how the insiders' game is really played. Dan Reingold was one of the top analysts on Wall Street. Specializing in telecom companies like WorldCom and Qwest, Reingold believed in Wall Street, and was a part of it. But in this insiders memoir, Reingold describes how his enthusiasm gradually gave way to disgust when he saw how deeply corrupt Wall Street really was. Because big investors had the advantage of inside information, which companies shared with more accommodating analysts, Reingold saw how a straight arrow like himself was doomed to fail. Reingold is like an incredulous minister who mistakenly finds himself in a whore house. He struggles with temptation: for example, his employer, Credit Suisse First Boston, wants him to sign a contract that would give him huge incentives in return for essentially selling out his clients. He seethes with resentment at being continually trumped by his nemesis, Jack Grubman, who was viewed as a superstar and only later, fined and thrown out of the industry.Ultimately, Reingold comes to terms with the corrupted, insiders' game that was his profession. In the tradition of "Liar's Poker", this is a lively, insider's account of how things really work on Wall Street that will teach even Eliot Spitzer a few things. To complete his tale, Reingold even sat through the 2005 trial of one of the most spectacular losers of the 1990s, fallen WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers, who Reingold knew in his heyday. This is a very personal story, and a warts-and-all look at the investing business that is extremely relevant in today's post-scandal world. It is co-written with his niece, Jennifer Reingold, a talented Fast Company senior writer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Interesting but not as good as title would suggest
I enjoyed this book, but as a trader it contained little I didnt already know so not much of a "confession" for me. However if your a stranger to Wall Street you might find it more interesting than I did.

Inside the wall
Dan Reingold did a fantastic job on this book by giving us a glimpse of the day to day activity inside the wall street.To those of us investors who are not privilege to obtain those sizzling information, it is humbling feeling.It looks to me that before we can invest on stocks, a lot of powerful and rich people would always have beaten us to it, and leave us with some crumbs to play with.

Reality Check
This is an excellent book, very well written and reading as very honest and truthful. The only reasons that I did not give it 5* are: first, the title overdramatises the contents - there are no major ill-deeds to confess; and second he does not analyse his own attitude to what he was being paid - he is quite happy to follow the herd and ratchet up his payfrom current employers hugely by asking them to match the (serious) offers he gets from other firms.

Those two points aside, all the rest is compliments. I have spent 35 years myself in fund management or investment banking and I did not find any statement which rang falsely with me.The book is very readable, with quite a lot of detail but that is the nature of the subject, and absolutely no mental arithmetic or algebra is needed to read or understand it. Actually, his firms do not seem to have behaved badly about the role of analysts - unlike his bete noire Jack Grubman.

Definitely commended to those who either are interested in the detail of the telecom / dot.com bubble and burst, or who want to know and feel what it is really like to try and succeed at being a top-rated analyst in a major sector in a major firm.

Telecom analyst with No Inside Information is better title
Not a confessional but a career recount of a telecom analyst who denies having inside information and who had limited participation in transactions and little or no solo face time with infamous execs.Books by employees that witnessed first hand the financial wrongdoing, who knew the execs involved or by journalists who uncover shocking facts are more compelling reads.

The story is that before Regulation FD, when insider information was less regulated he was paid big bucks to be a telecom analyst and does nothing to rectify bad behavior. He focuses on his raises and on another analyst, the Moby Dick character. Nothing, not even telecom analysis or his firm secrets is "uncovered" ,The real shocker is how the title can breed such a banal non-story.

Great insight into Wall Street...
It was an interesting read.I have to say I became more than a little disillusioned.To hear that the great fund managers of the 80s and 90s had an extremely unfair advantage in that they received critical information before the masses.To think I gobbled up their books and naively thought they were looking out for me.
Nice perspective.
... Read more

Product Description

A number-one bestseller from coast to coast, Den of Thieves tells, in masterfully reported detail, the full story of the insider-trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street, the men who pulled it off, and the chase that finally brought them to justice. Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the biggest names on Wall Street -- Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine -- created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions, until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.

Based on secret grand jury transcripts, interviews, and actual trading records, and containing explosive new revelations about Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky written especially for this paperback edition, Den of Thieves weaves all the facts into an unforgettable narrative -- a portrait of human nature, big business, and crime of unparalleled proportions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (95)

Incredible story told with remarkable detail
Until reading Den of Thieves, Liar's Poker was my personal favorite when it came to Wall Street books.Stewart's account of Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, and Martin Siegel, among others, is incredibly detailed and wonderfully laid out.Learning the backgrounds of almost every character in the book helps the reader better understand each person and how they got themselves into this mess.While I do believe Stewart has plenty of quotes in the book that are hard to believe are truly 100% accurate quotes, and he definitely throws in a bit of his own politics by knocking down the "Raegan-era economics" whenever possible, he did an excellent job writing a complete story for what was a very complex insider trading scheme.

Excellent!Very informative!
A detailed and fascinating review of Wall Street during the Merger's and Acquisitions craze.A very entertaining read!

True story about Insurance industry
This is a TRUE story about the rip off that Prudential did to the American public.
This was prior to the scandal about Worldcom, etc.Although some of it is a bit dull and dry, stay with it.I know I did.And, it was mind blowing to learn how men in power can manipulate, lie, cheat, deceive all in the name of MONEY.
Like you, I had always believe that Prudential was a sterling company with a valuable honest reputation.I guess it did at one time until this man became CEO.
It is Greed beyond belief and a huge eye-opener.But, you will need to be the judge upon reading it.

Not a very truthful protrayal of Milken
I just reread this book now that I have 14-more years of financial world experience.I enjoyed the first half which primarily deals with the financiers and their transactions, but the second half gets bogged down following the regulators who seem hell-bent on making big arrests of powerful people and advancing their fame and careers more than they care for the actual rule of law.

Most of the financiers introduced are truly repugnant characters, in particular guys like Dennis Levine, Marty Siegel, and Richard Freeman.Levine comes across as a conniving weasel who was basically inept at arbitrage and was able to hide this fact from the ignorant (not everyone) by cheating.Siegel was portrayed as a smug crook who turned crybaby as soon as he had to take his medicine.I can't decide if I disliked Levine or Siegel more.Freeman is the most interesting.He seems clearly guilty of insider trading, and pretty much escaped severe prosecution thanks to his benefactors (Robert Rubin) at Goldman Sachs, along with most of his personal wealth.

While Stewart does some exceptional research, it is also clear that he is engaging in a lot of speculation.The most obvious example is the numerous recounted conversations between all the characters, which is of questionable accuracy and few of which are verifiable beyond what the author was able to extract from a large group of people whose honesty is suspect.This includes all the attorneys, corporate chieftains, and in my opinion it especially includes all the government agents and prosecutors.

There is a lot of myth surrounding Milken, and unfortunately most of it is inaccurate.For one, Milken has always been very guarded of his privacy.Its easy to assume he is this way because he has something to hide, which is a poor argument many people love to put forward these days.For the most part Milken has shunned interviews and has made a best effort to not get involved with the press.

Most of his closest associates remained loyal to him, and he was essentially fingered by the lying criminal Boesky for an accounting irregularity involving $5.3 million in commissions, which is hardly a master-mind criminal gain considering the multitrillion dollar scope of Drexel's operation.By fingering Milken Boesky, who clearly was guilty of insider trading, got off with a mere 3-year sentence and was able to retain some $25+ million at the expense of the people he hurt. To support Boesky's claim, agents entered the home of a young female employee and basically got her to admit guilt through coercion (fear) for something she probably did not actually understand.Unlike Boesky, Milken was never convicted of insider trading, nor was there any clear evidence that he had engaged in it.In fact, Judge Kimba Wood conceded that 4 out of the 5 convictions had zero negative economic impact, however Stewart clearly allows his personal opinions to vilify Milken and paint him out as some genius criminal.So in hindsight, the sum negative economic impact of what Milken was charged for was actually less than $320,000.Considering his operation was trading roughly $1 billion per day, there is clearly an unfair bias present throughout the book.

Milken is arguably the most brilliant financier of our age, and having financed some 3,200 companies, it is unlikely anyone will outperform him anytime soon (if ever).He was largely responsible for economic improvement in the US in the 1980's.He has always been a strong proponent of sound capital structures and responsible use of leverage.Companies that were suffering from inept managers were easy targets for takeover and restructures using Drexel financing.Beyond just junk bonds, Milken employed a vast range of financing methods that provided essential capital, which allowed companies to grow, hire, and prosper.Once it became evident that the Milken tap was shutting down (1987-1991), the market responded negatively as would be expected.

There was much to be gained from Milken's downfall. Drexel's success certainly created a lot of ill will among the old and established Wall Street banks.Since Drexel via Milken was the dominant financier, the destruction of Drexel and the ruin of Milken sent their multibillion dollar financing into the hands of the very competitors who clearly stood to gain.Stewart conveniently ignores this whole side of the equation, which is not fair.It is a good example of the many biases that plague this book.Then we also have the likes of Rudy Giuliani behind the prosecution, and here Stewart tries to argue that Giuliani had such noble intentions and cared so much about the rule of law as opposed to his making a big name for himself and advancing his public career (all this just before he successfully ran for NYC Mayor).

If you are really interested in Milken, the book is worth reading so long as you understand that a lot of the information that is presented as hard and irrefutable fact is actually rather questionable, especially in hindsight.Reading the book for the second time, it felt dated and given that it was released fairly shortly after all the events concluded, is clearly guilty of hype and sensationalism.

Brilliant
Great book on the insider trading scandal and its leading characters. The parallels to the current insider trading scandal are clear, as is the corruption sneaking in on otherwise decent and intelligent people ("relax, everybody does it"). Very interesting description of the political process leading to Milken's deal with the state prosecutors office. Very well written. ... Read more