Product Description

Designed and written for active traders who are interested in practical information that can improve their results, Trading Index Options offers tried-and-true techniques without a lot of theory and math. Bittman provides traders with the know-how to evaluate practical situations and manage positions. Among the key features: the basics of index options, including various spreads; how to match strategies with forecasts; alternatives for losing positions; the importance of price behavior and volatility. A windows-based software program that provides multiple option pricing and graphing is included in the package.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #763704 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-31
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 311 pages

From the Back Cover
Leverage Strategies to Make High-Volatility Markets Work For You! Today's volatile markets are ideal for profitable index option trading. Trading Index Options was written for active traders-spectators who need to see every trade from every angle-and contains market-tested strategies from one of today's leading options educators and traders. With ready-to-use, battle-tested information on virtually every page, this amazing book: Explains how toption prices behave, letting you stay focused on market activity. Provides proven techniques to understand risk and limit your exposure.

Shows how to take advantage of index options' unique flexibility. Covers trading psychology-how to think and trade with discipline. Presents strategies from basic to complex-buying, selling, spreads, straddles and more (with case studies to demonstrate each). And because today's fast-moving markets require instant calculations and adjustments, the easy-to-use OP-EVAL3 option pricing and strategy graphing computer program lets you analyze option prices, set profit target, implement trading decisions, and of critical importance, monitor multiple positions simultaneously.

No other trader's program can match its speed and versatility! Short on hard-to-comprehend mathematics and long on tried-and-true tactics and strategies, Trading Index Options is fast becoming the bible for index option mastery.

About the Author
James B. Bittman is a staff instructor at The Options Institute, the education division of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), where he teaches seminars on options to investors in the United States and Europe. He is also on the faculty at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and holds a commodity options membership at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). A successful options trader for more than 15 years, Bittman also wrote the best-selling Options for the Stock Investor.

---

Customer Reviews

Nothing for experienced traders.
I was lead to believe that the book targeted traders who want to trade the index vs stock-options. this is basically a book for beginners who are unfamiliar with spreading, arbitrage etc. The book is based on a software, which in my opinion is not that great. Read Natenberg instead.

Better information in other books
I found Options Essential Concepts and Trading Strategies (edited by CBOE) to be a better book. I agree with one reviewer who stated the book, Trading Index Options, covers beginning options and does not go into enough depth about using index options.

Good Book with Outdated Software
The good news is that this book is very nicely done, providing a useful foundation to beginner and intermediate options traders. I found that I learned quite a lot about the interactions between option pricing and the various factors influencing pricing. The author provides numerous case study examples utilizing the OP-EVAL(TM) software included with the book. A majority of the book contains detailed examples describing how to use the software and interpret the output. The bad news is that the software will not run on current Windows operating systems (Windows 98 or newer). So don't buy the book if you want to try the software on your own. Efforts to contact the author, through the publisher McGraw-Hill, about the possibility of updating the software, have been unsuccessful. Otherwise a good book.

Product Description

Praise for The Index Trading Course

"George and Tom apply their considerable options trading and teaching expertise to the arena of broad-based and sector indices. Index options traders will find the techniques, systems, and strategies invaluable-and so will those who aren't yet index traders, but want to learn to be."
—Larry McMillan, President, McMillan Analysis Corporation author, Profit with Options

"I've known both George and Tom for many years and have seen firsthand how they both can captivate a room with their knowledge of options trading and vibrant personalities. Now they have managed to capture that magic in this easy-to-understand how-to manual on trading index options."
—David Kalt, CEO, optionsXpress Holdings Inc., www.optionsXpress.com

"I traded in the OEX pit for almost twenty years and I can't believe how well George and Tom nailed the core strategies and trading intricacies of index products. Nice job!"
—Tom Sosnoff, CEO, thinkorswim, Inc.

"Education has been a major factor in the explosive growth in the options markets. Once again, Fontanills and Gentile have delivered as leaders in options education with The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook. These books provide a disciplined approach to trading index and ETF options through risk management."
—Christopher Larkin, Vice President, U.S. Retail Brokerage E*TRADE Securities LLC (www.etrade.com/options)

"I found The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook to be filled with useful and practical information on options, ETFs, the market, and trading in general. They explain the unique characteristics of these instruments in understandable terms and should provide a good foundation to those interested in trading index options and options on ETFs. The quizzes and media assignments in the Workbook are wonderful learning tools that help reinforce the information and concepts presented in the main book."
—Debra L. Peters, The Options Institute

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #806631 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

From the Inside Flap
Today's index market offers exciting opportunities to trade and profit from a variety of different instruments, including gold, bonds, the stock market, specific sectors, and industry groups. But if you don't have a firm understanding of this market, lack a strategic plan, or fail to manage risk effectively, there's a good chance that success will elude you.

Over the course of their careers, financial experts George Fontanills and Tom Gentile have helped thousands of traders achieve success in a variety of markets. Now, with The Index Trading Course, Fontanills and Gentile show you how to make the most of your time in this market by going beyond the theoretical aspects of index trading and into the real world—where the serious index trader lives, breathes, and makes money.

Written for those who already have a rudimentary knowledge of options trading, The Index Trading Course begins with a brief history of indexes, and then transitions to a discussion of the widely followed indexes in today's markets. Along the way, Fontanills and Gentile investigate index construction, market trends, and general industry group coverage. Engaging and accessible, this comprehensive guide quickly moves toward trading applications with coverage of index-based products, including exchange traded funds (ETFs), index options, and ETF options. These different securities are paired throughout the remainder of the text with the appropriate trading strategies.

The Index Trading Course also examines many other important index-related topics, such as:

• Specific indicators and systems
• Tracking and trading volatility
• The art of risk management
• Trade adjustments

Once you gain a firm understanding of how to trade the index market, this book will then show you how to pull it all together with discussions of how to find the right broker, set up an account, and perform paper trades to test your strategies.

Successful index trading requires a certain amount of skill and knowledge that is not shared by many. It requires a different set of skills when compared to trading futures, stocks, or stock options. Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, The Index Trading Course will help you understand what indices are, how they are used, and, most importantly, how to make money with them.

To help reinforce the information and concepts presented here, don't forget to pick up The Index Trading Course Workbook, which contains essential learning tools—such as quizzes and media assignments—that correspond directly to this book.

From the Back Cover
Praise for The Index Trading Course

"George and Tom apply their considerable options trading and teaching expertise to the arena of broad-based and sector indices. Index options traders will find the techniques, systems, and strategies invaluable—and so will those who aren't yet index traders, but want to learn to be."
—Larry McMillan, President, McMillan Analysis Corporation author, Profit with Options

"I've known both George and Tom for many years and have seen firsthand how they both can captivate a room with their knowledge of options trading and vibrant personalities. Now they have managed to capture that magic in this easy-to-understand how-to manual on trading index options."
—David Kalt, CEO, optionsXpress Holdings Inc., www.optionsXpress.com

"I traded?in the OEX pit for almost twenty years and I can't believe how well George and Tom nailed the core strategies and trading intricacies of index products. Nice job!"
—Tom Sosnoff, CEO, thinkorswim, Inc.

"Education has been a major factor in the explosive growth in the options markets. Once again, Fontanills and Gentile have delivered as leaders in options education with The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook. These books provide a disciplined approach to trading index and ETF options through risk management."
—Christopher Larkin, Vice President, U.S. Retail Brokerage E*TRADE Securities LLC (www.etrade.com/options)

"I found The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook to be filled with useful and practical information on options, ETFs, the market, and trading in general. They explain the unique characteristics of these instruments in understandable terms and should provide a good foundation to those interested in trading index options and options on ETFs. The quizzes and media assignments in the Workbook are wonderful learning tools that help reinforce the information and concepts presented in the main book."
—Debra L. Peters, The Options Institute

About the Author
GEORGE A. FONTANILLS, who received his MBA from the prestigious Harvard Business School, is a retired hedge fund manager. He is also the founder of Optionetics (www.optionetics.com), the world leader in options education, with offices around the world specializing in teaching high-profit, low-risk, low-stress options trading strategies. Additionally, George's reputation as "the dean of options trading" has led to numerous guest appearances on television and radio shows across the country. He has written and cowritten many books on trading, including Trade Options Online; The Stock Market Course; The Stock Market Course Workbook; The Volatility Course; The Volatility Course Workbook; The Options Course, Second Edition; and The Options Course Workbook, Second Edition, all published by Wiley.

TOM GENTILE is Chief Options Strategist for Optionetics, a money manager, and the founder of Profit Strategies (www.profitstrategies.com), the leader in stock market education. Tom's syndicated radio show has a cult following of listeners from around the world. He is also a contributing writer for numerous publications, including Stocks & Commodities, Fortune, Barron's, and the Wall Street Journal.

---

Customer Reviews

Overly simplistic, feels like a sales pitch
1. The book spends more time covering such intricacies as what a bull market it, how to draw a trend line on a stock and what options are rather than was indices are, how they are built, how they are constructed, how they behave and how the exist in an international context, let alone how they contribute to portfolio dynamics and pitfalls to avoid when dealing with them.
2. Author makes an overt effort to promote his firm, Optionetics, throughout the text and encourages day trading of instruments.

If you're a day trader have fun with this. If you're on Wall Street and need a serious reference this is not worth the money.

The index trading Bible
This course book along with the work book provides the tools you need to be a successful index trading.
Covers every aspect of index trading.

Index Trading Course Review
This is an excellent book for anyone who has an interest in learning about indices, index options, fundamental and technical analysis and what affects the market regarding index options.

Product Description

The first book to introduce all investors­­from aggressive day traders to conservative long-term traders­­to the high-leverage, high-profit world of index trading

Index investments work like an index fund, trade like a stock - and have become Wall Street's hottest new investing phenomenon! Although profit potential and versatility has made day traders flock to this new vehicle, How to Be an Index Investor provides step-by-step instructions on how all investors can immediately use these all-purpose securities for both instant profits and protection against risk.

From basic S&P and NASDAQ indexes to elaborate SPYDERS and WEBS, this book contains detailed explanations of the major index trading securities. Investors searching for more information on the ins and outs of index trading will find:

• Strategies for electronic day trading of the indexes
• Techniques and insights from index-trading stars
• Tips for indexing world markets

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1370345 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 259 pages

Review
"Millions of investors flock to index mutual funds...but these aren't the answer for today's fast-moving investor. The answer is listed index securities--and this is the first book to tell you what you need to know about these little-known tools of the pros." (Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities Magazine )

From the Back Cover
All About the Hot New Investment Tools That Let You Profit from Rising Markets, Limit Downside Risk, and Trade Leading Index Averages as Easily as Stocks.

Top Level Praise for How to Be an Index Investor...

"How to be an Index Investor is very timely for investors and traders pondering the best way to participate in the market; the subject, indexing, is a method whose time has come. This book covers it all, including strategies, in a clear, easy-to-understand way."

­­Lawrence G. Larkin, Senior Vice President, American Stock Exchange.

"World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) were created and function to make it easy for investors and traders to access the major global stock markets. Like the other exchange-traded funds, they are efficient and relatively low cost. This book covers, in detail and in a lively way, these securities. It is a source of valuable information."

­­Paul Mazzilli, Principal/Director of fund Research, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

"Max Isaacman has provided a wealth of information about the advantages of international index investing through World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS). How to Be an Index Investor should provide a helpful investing tool to professional as well as private investors."

­­Michael T. Porter, Managing Director, Salomon Smith Barney.

Today's mutual fund managers will try every trick in the book to beat leading benchmark indexes. Still, more often than not, the indexes consistently come out on top! Millions of investors have flocked to index mutual funds, whose prices change only at the end of the trading day­­but these simply aren't the answer for today's fast-moving, point-and-click investor.

The answer is listed index securities­­and How to Be an Index Investor is the first book to tell you everything you need to know about these little-known, high-leverage tools of the pros. From straight-on domestic index trackers like QQQ (100 largest nonfinancial Nasdaq companies) and DIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks) to SPDRs (which allow you to invest by company size, or in sectors like financial or technology) and WEBs (which focus on individual countries), How to Be an Index Investor will show you:

• Money-saving index security strategies for hedge funds, institutional money managers, and financial planners
• Techniques on shorting the indexes­­for short-term portfolio insurance or profit!
• Strategies to marry out of the money puts with DIA shares to increase your leverage and profit potential
• How WEBs will add global diversification to your portfolio­­with analyses of the makeup and historic performance of each
• A short course on investing fundamentals­­types of orders, behavioral psychology, leading online brokers, and more
• Description of stocks in select sector SPDRs, complete with current-year earnings estimates and P/E multiples
• Index website addresses, plus names, phone numbers, and websites for leading online and broker-assisted stockbrokers

For everyone from thousand-dollar investors to multibillion-dollar institutional portfolio managers, listed index securities provide one-stop diversification, sector-focused portfolios, and easy access to overseas markets. They are, quite simply, the ideal market-based investment.

And now their time has come. How to Be an Index Investor assembles all the information you need in one state-of-the-art resource. Use it to get in on the ground floor of listed index securities and­­whether you are a short-term day trader or a long-term investor­­maximize your leverage and versatility in today's increasingly complex, and exceedingly profitable, stock market.

About the Author

Max Isaacman is a nationally known columnist and financial journalist. He writes for the award-winning newspaper San Francisco Examiner, and has also written for Delta Airlines Sky Magazine, Financial Technology News and Personal Investing News. He is also featured on the Multex, the largest on-line research source. Over a career that has spanned 30 years, Isaacman was a representative of Montgomery Securities, a partner of Cowen and Company, a Vice President of Lehman Brothers, and a member of the President's Club at Merrill Lynch. He is currently President of MDI Research, his investor relations and research firm, located in San Francisco.

---

Customer Reviews

My Understanding and Confidence Increased with Each Chapter
I bought this book because of my confusion with index funds after reading different advertisements from newspapers and websites. The result of my learnings are three limit orders I just placed for different sector funds.

This book is written objectively without a slant towards a specific product. Also, written for the inexperienced as well as the professional trader. It provided some real insights as to how trading is accomplished (in plain English).

The bing "WOW" was seeing how I was being penalized as long term investor in mutual funds because of the annual tax distribution. Also, the majority of funds do not beat the S&P500 index!! Why invest in them when these new investment resources are available?

Highly recommend this book to all levels of investors.

Valuable tool for participating in global markets
I found this book to be of great value as I have been an investor in the stock market for years but am always looking for better strategies to enhance my portfolio. Index strategies are relatively new and I am glad someone has finally written something about them. This book offers an overview and educates you on how to participate in global markets fluctuations. It provides the definitions of various indexes and their relationships to the underlying markets they represent. I will utilize this book as my dictionary and reference guide when I see a trend in an area I want to invest in, but don't want to buy an individual stock because of the risk involved with owning just one stock of a sector. Indexes offer a "mutual fund" type investment and are as easy to buy as a normal stock. This book offers me a good guide and explanation of the different indexes available.

My Understanding and Confidence Increased with Each Chapter
I bought this book because of my confusion with index funds after reading different advertisements from newspapers and websites. The result of my learnings are three limit orders I just placed for different sector funds.

This book is written objectively without a slant towards a specific product. Also, written for the inexperienced as well as the professional trader. It provided some real insights as to how trading is accomplished (in plain English).

The bing "WOW" was seeing how I was being penalized as long term investor in mutual funds because of the annual tax distribution. Also, the majority of funds do not beat the S&P500 index!! Why invest in them when these new investment resources are available?

Highly recommend this book to all levels of investors.

Product Description

Important insights into effective option strategies

In The Complete Guide to Option Strategies, top-performing commodity trading advisor Michael Mullaney explains how to successfully employ a variety of option strategies, from the most risky--selling naked puts and calls--to more conservative strategies using covered positions. The author covers everything from options on stocks, exchange-traded funds, stock indexes, and stock index futures to essential information on risk management, option "Greeks," and order placement. The book provides numerous tables and graphs to benefit beginning and experienced traders. Written by a CTA who has successfully employed various options strategies to generate market-beating returns, The Complete Guide to Option Strategies will be an important addition to any trader's library.

Michael D. Mullaney (Jacksonville, FL) is a high-ranking commodity trading advisor who specializes in option selling strategies.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #704282 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.00" h x 7.10" w x 10.00" l, 2.51 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 556 pages

From the Inside Flap
In The Complete Guide to Option Strategies, author Mike Mullaney, an options expert, shares his insights in what is destined to become a classic among serious option traders. This comprehensive and informative guide covers hundreds of option strategies and is filled with in-depth insights and practical advice. It starts with the basics, moves up the educational ladder to the intermediate level, and then progresses to an advanced level. Mullaney describes the best limited-risk option-buying strategies and details how writing options can help you place the odds of success on your side. It provides you with the tools necessary to expand your horizons by profitably trading options on stocks, ETFs, indexes, and stock index futures.

The Complete Guide to Option Strategies is written in clear and straightforward language and is filled with examples, tables, and graphs. This guide provides step-by-step analyses so traders can understand even the most complex strategies.

Divided into five comprehensive parts, this reliable resource touches upon many topics:

Part One: Learning the Fundamentals covers getting ready to trade, option fundamentals, what determines an option's price, buying versus selling, understanding spread terminology, and the "Greeks"

Part Two: The Four Basic Option Strategies covers the core fundamental strategies of a long call, long put, short call, and short put

Part Three: Spread Strategies covers the vertical spread, iron condor, unbalanced spread, straddle and strangle, butterfly, condor, calendar, diagonal, covered call, combination, collar, and covered combination

Part Four: Comparing Underlying Instruments compares and contrasts trading options on stocks, ETFs, indexes, and stock index futures

Part Five: Advanced Topics covers volatility, exercise and assignment, risk management, margin, placing an order, and tax rules

Three Appendices illustrate many of the strategies covered throughout this book and present them according to whether the strategies are primarily bullish, bearish, profit inside a trading range or profit outside a trading range. A Glossary with approximately 200 definitions is included as a reference tool.

While you can read this book from cover to cover, you can also use it as a reference for specific strategies and solutions. And if you are already familiar with some of the basic concepts covered, you can simply skip chapters and go directly to the information you need. For every level of trader, The Complete Guide to Option Strategies will serve as an invaluable educational tool and an enduring reference to the options markets.

From the Back Cover
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO OPTION STRATEGIES

The Complete Guide to Option Strategies shows you how options can be used to prosper under many market conditions, take advantage of time decay, and limit risk. This comprehensive guide describes numerous risk management techniques in a manner that makes them accessible even to non-professionals.

Author Mike Mullaney shows that you do not have to work for a large Wall Street brokerage firm or trade on the floor of an exchange to understand options. This is a must-own book if you are serious about trading options.

No investment strategy is risk-free, but the risk-reward profile of options can be attractive if you understand how to properly employ them. There are many opportunities for today's trader to benefit from the power of options, and The Complete Guide to Option Strategies will show you how.

The traditional buy and hold strategy only profits if the underlying investment moves in one direction: higher. While that strategy worked for years, many traders and investors are looking to find new ways to increase their returns, improve chances of success, and manage risk. Using options wisely can be a way to do just that. As you learn about options, you should be able to identify strategies that you like the best, in view of your profit objectives and risk profile.

About the Author
Michael D. Mullaney has traded equity and futures options utilizing a broad range of strategies and instruments, including options on stocks, stock and bond ETFs, indexes, and stock index futures. Mullaney executes option buying and selling strategies but concentrates most of his efforts on writing far out-of-the-money options by using strategies that can profit in rising, declining, and sideways markets. Mullaney is a principal of a commodity trading advisor and a certified public accountant. He has been interviewed on national business radio, featured by national trading magazines, was formerly a partner at KPMG, vice president of a corporate tax department, instructor for a law school course, contributor to a book on taxation, and author of six articles on merger and acquisition issues. He can be contacted at mmullaney@miminvestments.com.

---

Customer Reviews

Not bad, but better options:
The book was definitely informative, and they understand most strategies, but I've had more success following online services Option Monster and OptionSpreadStrategies. This option strategies book concentrated a little too much on ETF strategies and Index Futures. I think there are more opportunities in equity options. But hey, the information you get from this book definitely can't hurt.

Very complete
This a great full spectrum book on the subject of options, from the greeks and using options on equities, etf`s and indexes!. It has good examples of all the strategies with illustrations and tells you the negatives and positives of each one with final thoughts. There is also a nice chapter on risk management, and lots of helpful commentary throughout the book. Better than the McMillan options books and easier to read and understand.

A must get.
This book is very good. I'm glad I bought it. Shows many strategies to limit your losses and how to cash out and stay in the game.

Product Description

Praise for Stock Index Futures & Options "Everything you wanted to know about global stock indexes in one place." —Tom Basso CEO, Trendstat Capital Management "With twenty years of professional experience behind her, Susan Abbott Gidel is the perfect person to present this intricate overview of today’s futures and options markets. Included is everything a beginner needs to know to understand the world of derivatives." —Robert R. Prechter Jr. President, Elliott Wave International

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1524876 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 254 pages

Review
"With 20 years of professional experience behind her, Susan Abbott Gidel is the perfect person to present this intricate overview of today's futures and options markets. Included is everything a beginner needs to know to understand the world of derivatives."--(Robert R. Prechter, Jr., President, Elliot Wave International)

"Everything you wanted to know about global stock indexes in one place."--(Tom Basso CEO, Trendstat Capital Management)

"With 20 years of professional experience behind her, Susan Abbott Gidel is the perfect person to present this intricate overview of today's futures and options markets. Included is everything a beginner needs to know to understand the world of derivatives."--(Robert R. Prechter, Jr., President, Elliot Wave International)

"Everything you wanted to know about global stock indexes in one place."--(Tom Basso CEO, Trendstat Capital Management)

From the Inside Flap
Like so many other areas of the market, stock indexes—the compilations of many stocks such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average—have traditionally been out of reach for the individual investor and small trader. But thanks to the recent creation of E-mini S&P 500 and Dow futures and options contracts, private investors and professional traders can now join the major players actively trading the most popular broad markets. Financial writer Susan Abbott Gidel provides a comprehensive overview of everything traders and investors need to know about the different types of stock indexes and how they are traded. Included here are all the essentials, with complete details on using stock index futures and options—including pricing, technical analysis, market indicators, circuit breakers, index expirations, and more. You’ll learn how to formulate sound strategies that are tailored to individual trading philosophies, from minimizing risk by spreading one contract against another and diversifying stock holdings to capitalizing on the "January Effect" to make gains on rising small-cap stocks. You’ll also see which individual stocks are the most influential in each index. Susan Gidel explains how the index you are trading is designed, calculated, and targeted for a particular type of investor. She focuses on broad-based stock indexes, including the NYSE Composite and Standard & Poor’s 500 in the United States as well as a host of pan-European indexes and those representing stock markets in eleven North American, Asian, and European countries. Other U.S. markets she focuses on include large-, mid-, and small-cap indexes such as the DJIA and Russell 2000; and style and sector indexes, including the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500 Growth and Value indexes, and the Internet Stock Index. She highlights more than forty accessible indexes available today on twenty U.S. and foreign exchanges, including the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, Eurex, and the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. Stock Index Futures & Options provides you with the professional know-how and critical overview both individual investors and professional traders need to break into trading stock indexes on every major stock market in the world.

From the Back Cover
Praise for Stock Index Futures & Options "Everything you wanted to know about global stock indexes in one place." —Tom Basso CEO, Trendstat Capital Management "With twenty years of professional experience behind her, Susan Abbott Gidel is the perfect person to present this intricate overview of today’s futures and options markets. Included is everything a beginner needs to know to understand the world of derivatives." —Robert R. Prechter Jr. President, Elliott Wave International

---

Customer Reviews

Sub-title a bit misleading
While the book contains much detailed information about the history, regulatory environment and composition of the world's index futures, it does not provide much practical information about the "ins & outs of trading" these contracts.

Everything need to know about stock indexes worldwide!
Whether you think a CAC is the sound your cat makes when coughing up a hairball or a stock index in France, if you're a new investor or an experienced trader this book is an excellent reference to stock indexes worldwide. Susan Abbott Gidel starts with a brief history of the index and futures markets. Followed by an explanation of what makes the market move, definition of the market "players", and strategies for investing in stock indexes and index futures.

The worldwide market indexes are summarized by region. Each index is individually defined in very readable layman's terms. Gidel explains what equities make up each index, how each one is calculated and how the index and index futures are traded. The book has a glossary and index that easily guide the reader through it's wealth of information making it easy to find an index comprised of stocks that suit your investment need.

I enjoyed the book and plan on making it a permanent part of my financial library. Consider this book an investment. Think of it as an essential tool for understanding equities markets and diversifying your portfolio. It is a reference you'll find yourself going back to again and again.