“There is no ratio or number you are aiming to find – no price-to-earnings ratio hurdles or growth rates or anything like that. Instead, you’re looking for scenarios or circumstances in which things are happening that could make you some money,” he advises. These are often outside-the-box opportunities that mainstream investors would never consider because they lack the attributes that these investors latch on to, adds Mayer.

There are two markets for stocks, he explains in the opening chapter. “Stock market prices, as quoted in newspapers and online sites, prevail in one market. And that market is tethered to another market normally made up of private and well-informed buyers and sellers.”

The book is about ‘playing an arbitrage between these two markets,’ that is, ‘buying public companies when they appear undervalued versus private market values.’ The difficulty, however, is that private market values are not always easily obtainable, concedes Mayer.

Some of the immediate takeaways in a chapter titled ‘The dealmaker’s toolbox’ include: ‘Think about the whole business, not just the stock price,’ ‘think about cash flow, not earnings,’ and ‘think about asset values.’

With tools like these, you will be ‘less interested in price-earnings ratios, moving averages, and other simple numbers,’ promises Mayer. “You won’t worry about daily changes in stock prices. This investing stuff is actually a lot of fun. You don’t have to rush it. It’s like a great big puzzle you can assemble at your leisure.”

Right read for those who want to mine value.

The strategies and tactics that people use for selling ideas in Hollywood work in the rest of the business world, writes Stephanie Palmer in ‘Good in a Room’ ( www.currencybooks.com ). The title phrase is a Hollywood term referring to creative people who excel at pitching in high-stakes meetings, she explains. “During my time as a studio executive at MGM, I had over three thousand pitch meetings where writers, directors, stars, and producers would try to persuade me to buy their ideas.”

Unfortunately, most writers, like most people, do not have a comprehensive strategy to deliver a great performance, Palmer rues.

Whether you’re a screenwriter, a journalist with an idea for a story, an entrepreneur with a business plan, an inventor with a blueprint, or a manager with an innovative solution, if you want other people to invest their time, energy and money in your idea, you face an uphill battle, the author cautions.

Useful lessons that will come in handy when you enter the room.

Don’t mix up strategies

Irrespective of the lower figures quoted by Government sources, inflation in the economy can be safely estimated at around 10 per cent, says A. Besant C. Raj in ‘Managing Your Investments’ ( www.everonn.com ). If savings are not deployed at least at the rate of inflation, we will lose our purchasing power, he argues.

Aim also at earning an additional return, to help the savings grow, reasons Raj. For, ‘intelligent investing’ demands that you create a nest egg for yourself and your family when you retire. Investments made in the past should ensure that when the investor is not in a position to earn any more through a job, vocation or business, he will have something to fall back on for life’s necessities, the author guides.

Among the many tips in the book is the suggestion that for those without inherited wealth, the first requirement is adequate insurance.

Raj counsels those who invest in the stock markets not to mix up strategies, that is, ‘trying to be a day trader sometimes, a periodic trader on occasions and also a long term investor.’ Such a potpourri of investing can end up with average results or in loss, he warns. “This is so because the skills and expertise required for these three operations are quite different from one another.”

Good starter material.

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