Author: Victor A. Canto

Publisher: Financial Times (FT) Press/Pearson Education, Inc. (Upper Saddle, NJ)

ISBN: 0-13-243273-0

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-243273-3

Cocktail Economics is a 300 page, 17 chapter, hardbound book, with a suggested retail price of $24.99 (US).  It is preceded by a Foreword (by John Rutledge of Rutledge Capital), Preface, and Introduction and followed by an Index.

Victor Canto speaks of his early teaching experiences and the book, as the title suggests, represents a very palatable delivery vehicle for teaching economics to the layperson, without the need to draw massive quantities of varying and shifting supply and demand curves on a blackboard, a technique typical and characteristic at the University MBA economics coursework level.  Perhaps economics is not the “dismal science!”  Having taught quite a few sections of both introductory macro- and micro-economics courses, myself, it is possible that I may feel a greater appreciation of his delivery style than most.  I am, however, quite certain that this book will enjoy very broad appeal.           

This book is written for anyone who (1) enjoys trading stocks, options, ETFs (exchange traded funds), mutual funds, bonds, etc., (2) intends to trade securities in the future, or (3) is just interested in the stock and bond (securities) markets.  If you enjoy watching CNBC or Bloomberg, or might characterize yourself as a “business news hound,” as I do, you are very likely to enjoy this book.

His “top-down” approach to investment decision-making is not unlike the reporting that one might see on CNBC, when, for example, Bob Pisani, from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, describes movements of economic resources out of one sector (e.g., technology) and into another (e.g., consumer staples) by money, mutual fund, or hedge fund managers.  What could be a more simple approach to investing…what sectors are likely to benefit from a tax cut, tax increase, or a Federal Reserve rate decrease or increase?  Professor Canto focuses on these macro or fiscal and monetary policy moves and how you might profit from them.  His focus is on asset classes and, therefore, very macro economic, and, while not a “stock picker’s” book, it is likely to prove to be a simple matter for even a relatively unsophisticated investor to apply his approach to identify a target investment vehicle or sector of the economy, only to extend his/her own research to further identify specific firms/stocks for investment.

I enjoyed reading this book and will keep it in my permanent library.  If you trade stocks, bonds, ETFs or mutual funds, you are, also, likely to enjoy this thoughtful book, most probably representing an afternoon read.  The cost is very modest (perhaps less than a single round-trip trade) and it has my highest possible recommendation for investors and would-be investors, alike, at all levels of education.

The above review was contributed by:  Anthony (A.J.) Cataldo II Ph.D  Professor of Accounting, West Chester University. Dr. Cataldo holds a PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , MAc ( University of Arizona)  unofficial minor in Marketing , BSBA  (University of Arizona). He is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant:  Click Here to view Anthony's Reviews