"It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. When I have clarified and exhausted a subject, then I turn away from it, in order to go into darkness again. The never-satisfied man is so strange; if he has completed a structure, then it is not in order to dwell in it peacefully, but in order to begin another." - Carl Friedrich Gauss
If you are interested in additional information about Financial Markets and/or Economics, I have compiled a list of books, movies, and other resources that may be of interest. Note: while I recommend many of the items on this list, a few were recommended to me by others and I have not viewed all of them so this list is not an endorsement of any particular resource.
Movies
The Big Short (2015) - Fascinating and engaging overview of the 2008 Financial Crisis
Moneyball (2012) - At first glance, it is a sports movie, not a finance movie. But the main lesson is from economics: to succeed in any endeavor, you need to optimize your resources given a budget constraint!
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Wall Street (1987)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Margin Call (2011)
Trading Places (1983)
Floored (2009)
Barbarians at the Gate (1993)
Books about the history of finance and/or particularly important historical episodes
The Big Short (Michael Lewis) - Fascinating and engaging overview of the 2008 Financial Crisis
Liars Poker (Michael Lewis) - THE classic book about working on Wall Street. A must for anyone interested in a career on Wall Street.
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco ( Bryan Burrough and John Helyar) - An amazing and interesting overview of the LBO buyout of RJR Nabisco. A must read for anyone interested in investment banking or a career in corporate finance
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk ( Peter L. Bernstein) - A fascinating history of financial markets. If you have taken my Investments course, parts of the book will look familiar. This book discusses many of the topics from my class in greater detail.
The Ascent of Money (Niall Ferguson)
Manias, Panics, and Crashes (Robert Aliber and Charles Kindleberger)
This Time Is Different (Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff)
A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Burton Malkiel)
Books that will help you learn to think like an economist
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (Michael Lewis) - Super entertaining and informative. To succeed in any endeavor, you need to optimize your resources given a budget constraint!
Freakonomics (Steven Levitt) - A fun read that helps you see the tradeoffs in all aspects of life
The Armchair Economist (Steven Landsburg) - Another fun read that helps you see the tradeoffs in all aspects of life
Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell) - Often, the obvious answer is the wrong answer when it comes to economic policies. This book shows you why. If you are interested in policy making, you must read this book
Thinking Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)
The Rational Optimist (Matt Ridly)
Doing Good Better (William MacAskill) - If you want to make a difference in the world, read this book. It explains how to apply econ/finance lessons to maximize your impact on the world!
Excellent Video Lectures on Finance Topics
Amazing video explaining derivatives pricing (Black-Scholes-Merton)
Interview with George Eccles about a bank run in 1930s Salt Lake City
Engaging Video about Regulatory Capture
Books with general information about finance and economics (Note: these are a harder read, but very valuable)
The WSJ Guide to Understanding Money and Investing - Relatively short guide that can help you learn the basic terminology and background information on most finance topics
The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing (Benjamin Graham) - An incredibly long book, but arguably the most important investing book of all time. Warren Buffet called it "By far the best book on investing ever written"
Security Analysis ( Benjamin Graham and David Dodd) - Another long book that is highly rated.
Damodaran on Valuation: Security Analysis for Investment and Corporate Finance (Aswath Damodaran) - If you are interested in valuation, this is the book. I also highly recommend the extensive resources, videos, and cases on his website (https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/home.htm)
Other Resources
I read Matt Levine’s Money Stuff newsletter everyone morning. You can subscribe for free here: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-stuff
Non-finance books everyone should read
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (Steven Pinker) - Not a Finance or Econ book. But if you think the world has never been worse, think again. While there are short term fluctuations, in the long term it is very clear that our qualify of life is getting better over time (much like the stock market fluctuates in the short-term, but goes up in the long-term!).
Also, watch this short TED video by Steven Pinker for strong evidence that life is, on average, getting better
The Rational Optimist (Matt Ridley) - Similar to Better Angles of Our Nature (mentioned above) except more general. Pessimists always dominate the press coverage, but in general, every aspect of living standards shows the same trend: things are getting better! This is an amazing and important book.
A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson) - One of the most fascinating books every written. A history of how we know what we know
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Yuval Noah Harari) - Not a Finance or Econ book. But it changed my understanding of human behavior (so there are important econ lessons here)
Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey) - For anyone who loves southern Utah or wilderness
Being Peace (Thich Nhat Hanh) - Just read it. One of the most illuminating and important books ever written
Also, a video that can help you gain perspective on your role in the universe: "209 Seconds that will make you question your entire existence"
Bloomberg Terminal
Many professionals on Wall Street use Bloomberg Terminals to gather and analyze data. Students at the University of Utah can practice using Bloomberg terminals in the basement of the SFEBB (take the elevator to the basement, and the terminal is in the hallway to your left). While the Bloomberg Terminal is an amazing resource, it can take practice to learn to use it. Bloomberg offers a free online course to get "certified" in using the Bloomberg Terminal. See: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/expertise/students/#get-bloomberg-certified
The Bloomberg course usually has a fee, but you can access it for free if you follow these steps:
Bloomberg_Certification_Courses_Step-by-Step_Instructions_Fall_2023.pdf
Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC), also known as Bloomberg Certification, is a self-paced e-learning course that provides a visual introduction to financial markets and the core functionality of the Bloomberg terminal. It takes ~8 hours to complete and progress is saved automatically. After finishing BMC, Bloomberg provides a "Certificate of Completion".
Modules Required for Certificate:
Economic Indicators (~1 hour): The primacy of GDP; monitoring GDP; forecasting GDP.
Currencies (~1 hour): Currency market mechanics; currency valuation; central banks and currencies; currency risk.
Fixed Income (~3 hours): The roots of the bond market, bond valuation drivers; central bankers and interest rates; the yield curve and why it matters; movements in the yield curve.
Equities (~3 hours): Introducing the stock market; the nature of equities; equity research; absolute valuation; relative valuation.
For more information on the Bloomberg certification process, see: https://guides.nyu.edu/bloombergguide/bloomberg-certification
Finally, some advice
Scott Galloway summarizes the research on happiness - Watch this video over and over until you understand everything he says
“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.” ― Thomas Sowell
Whenever possible criticize people in private, but praise them in public
When you lead, your job is to create more leaders, not more followers
Speak confidently as if you are right, but listen carefully as if you are wrong
"There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs." ― Thomas Sowell
Your growth as a human being can be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have
The best way to get an answer on the internet is to post an answer that is obviously wrong (a.ka. Cunningham's Law)
Everyone’s true character is revealed by how they treat people who can do nothing for them
Accidents are often not accidents, but the result of predictable negligence. Develop habits that make accidents less likely. Don’t leave items where you are likely to forget them, don’t leave a door unlocked when you can lock it now, etc.
If your predictions on one subject can be used to forecast your predictions on another subject, you may be a demagogue.
And lastly, don't be afraid to say "I don't know." In the words of Edward Abbey: "To the intelligent man or woman, life appears infinitely mysterious. But the stupid have an answer for every question."