Summer Sale: 50% Off The Wall Street Journal For a Limited Time

From time to time we like to highlight relevant financial deals we come across.  It looks like The Wall Street Journal is now having a summer sale with a 50% discount.

The sale applies to all versions: print, digital, or both.  The offer expires on August 7th so definitely take advantage of the savings and lock-in low prices while you can.

Here's the link to the offer: 50% off The Wall Street Journal

Enjoy!

Holiday Gift Ideas For Financial Professionals

Each year we like to highlight relevant gift ideas for investors, traders, and professionals in the financial industry. If you or someone you know loves the markets, then here's some great picks that will arrive in time for the holidays:

Publications

Hedge Fund Wisdom ~ $199: Give someone (or yourself) a 1-year subscription to MarketFolly.com's premium newsletter that examines hedge fund portfolios in-depth.

Wall Street Journal ~ 75% Discount: Save a ton on a subscription to Wall Street's prominent news source.

Barron's ~ 60% Off: More savings on another widely-read financial publication (plus 4 weeks free).


Useful Gadgets

Amazon Kindle with Wi-Fi ~ $139: The new Kindle's e-ink technology doesn't strain your eyes like a monitor & is great for reading e-books. Not to mention, you can even read SEC filings on it! Carry this one device around instead of a ton of books. There is also a Wi-Fi & Free 3G version for $189.

13" Apple Macbook Air: The brand new Macbook Air is their thinnest computer yet & is great for when you're traveling. It also comes in an ultra-portable portable 11-inch model.

Apple iPad: Another great device for on-the-go use with tons of great investing & market-related apps.

Toshiba Portege 13-Inch Laptop ~ $799.99: Another portable option for those who like the Windows operating system.

Apple iPod Touch 32 GB ~ $269.99: Smaller, useful media device for music, movies, & wi-fi web browsing.


Books

If you don't like portable e-readers, you can always go the physical book route as well. Some great market reads we highly recommend:

Top Hedge Fund Investors by Cathleen Rittereiser ~ $35.62: A great book detailing stories, strategies, and advice from top managers.

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden Story of the Financial Crisis by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera ~ $17.50: A very comprehensive look at the crisis from a different angle; highly recommended.

The Art of Short Selling by Kathryn Staley ~ $43.66: Probably THE book authority on short selling as it has been recommended by Third Point's Dan Loeb as well as hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital.

Confidence Game: How Hedge Fund Manager Bill Ackman Called Wall Street's Bluff by Christine Richard ~ $18.45: The title says it all.

Fooling Some of the People All of the Time by David Einhorn ~ $11.21: A new paperback version of the hedge fund manager's popular book with an epilogue containing new story information and an intro by Joel Greenblatt.

The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman ~ $17.16: A fantastic book detailing how John Paulson predicted the housing crisis and profited from shorting subprime.

You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt ~ $10.20: Baupost Group's Seth Klarman actively recommends this book as it details catalyst-based investing such as mergers, spin-offs, and risk arbitrage to exploit market inefficiencies.

For more great book ideas, be sure to check out our comprehensive list of books recommended by hedge fund managers.


DVD/Blu-Ray

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps (DVD) ~ $15.99: The next installment of Gordon Gekko set to be released on DVD for the holidays. You can also pick up the Blu-Ray version here.

Wall Street (DVD) ~ $7.49: "Greed ... is good." The original movie that people still quote to this day. It is also available on Blu-Ray.



That wraps up our holiday gift guide for those who love financial markets. Happy Holidays everyone!

Holiday Wishlist: Gift Ideas For Those In Finance

It's time again for our annual recommendations of gift ideas for those of you involved in the wonderful world of finance. If you're in need of holiday gift ideas for colleagues, clients, bosses, friends, or just yourself, then we've got some items lined up below. Our first recommendation is a 40% discounted ticket to the Value Investing Congress in Pasadena California on May 4th & 5th where you can hear investment ideas from some of the smartest hedge fund managers out there. Here are some more suggestions:


Gadgets:

Amazon Kindle: These 6-inch e-book readers are on fire right now as some hedgies we know can't stop raving about them. Instead of lugging around all those financial reads, just opt for the portable Kindle and have tons of books at your disposal.

Amazon Kindle DX: The same as the Kindle above, except it's 9.7 inches rather than 6.

Apple iPod Touch: Listen to music, watch movies, play games, download apps... you name it.


DVDs / Blu-ray:

Wall Street (Blu-ray): With Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps set to come out next year, brush up on the original storyline and see Gordon Gekko at his finest in high definition.

Wall Street (20th Anniversary DVD): "Greed is good." A nice commemorative edition of the epic movie on finance that is still being quoted to this day.

Boiler Room on Blu-ray and also on DVD: Another one of the movies focused on stock brokers and the finance industry.


Electronics:

Asus Black Netbook: 10.1 inch black netbook with Windows 7. These are great for 'on-the-go.' Enough said.

Dell Adamo Laptop: Dell's new 13.4" sleek laptop that looks unlike anything they've ever made.

Apple MacBook Air: Or if you/they prefer Mac to Windows, here's Apple's 13.3 inch laptop that's highly portable & is ideal for those who travel frequently.

Dell 22" Widescreen Monitor: Dell's UltraSharp monitors are great and are used at hedge funds and trading floors all over. Setup two or three of these badboys together and you've got quite the market command center.


Books:

Too Big Too Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin: In his brand new book, The New York Times Dealbook Editor details the inside story of how Wall Street and Washington fought to save the financial system - and themselves.

Hedge Hunters by Katherine Burton: The Bloomberg author provides us with in-depth profiles on some of the hedge fund masters in the industry.

Bailout Nation by Barry Ritholtz: The popular financial blogger's take on how greed and easy money corrupted Wall Street and shook the world economy.

Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager: One of our favorite reads because it interviews some of the top traders and hedge fund managers in the game.

The Sellout by Charlie Gasparino. In his brand new book, the CNBC reporter tells us how three decades of Wall Street greed and government mismanagement destroyed the global financial system.

Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman: If you can get your hands on a copy we highly recommend reading it because it is THE premier text on risk averse investing.

The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman: Here's your chance to go inside hedge fund Paulson & Co as John Paulson devised and placed his trade against subprime that made him billions.

And as always, there are a ton of other great books out there that we've compiled in our recommended reading lists including picks from Warren Buffett, Dan Loeb of hedge fund Third Point, as well as selections from hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital.


Publications:

Wall Street Journal: For someone who doesn't already have a subscription, you can now pick one up for an 80% discount.

The Economist: A 12 month subscription to one of the best reads left in financial print.


Smartphones:

Practically everyone in the finance industry has a Blackberry in their pocket these days. Here's some of the popular models. The Blackberry Tour (Verizon) is one of their latest smartphones. You can also get the Tour with Sprint. Additionally, the Blackberry Curve Javelin is a big favorite these days. And if you want to go with the larger model in their smartphone lineup then check out the Blackberry Bold (AT&T).

HTC Droid Eris (Verizon): The latest phone with Google's Android system.

Motorola Droid (Verizon): Motorola's hardware combined with Google's software.

Palm Pre (Sprint): Palm's new creation for the smartphone market.


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And that wraps up our list!

Quicken Discounts: Use 'Em Before They Expire

Just a quick heads up that Quicken has a bunch of discounts right now that expire at the end of May, so get 'em while they're hot:

- $30 off Quicken Premier
- Quicken Online for free
- $20 off Quicken Deluxe
- $40 off Home & Business Quicken
- Quicken Rental Property Manager: $50 off

And if you missed it, we also posted up a list of financial publication discounts last week.

Wall Street Journal Discount: 75% Off

We're not sure how much longer this will last, so we wanted to make sure everyone who wants it has taken advantage of it; we sure did. These types of deals are one of the only good things about a recession.

Here's the print edition: 75% Off The Wall Street Journal
And here's both the print & online editions: 75% Off The Wall Street Journal

Free TurboTax Online Federal

So, I know the last thing I want to think about right now is taxes, but this info had to be passed on to our readers. You can now get TurboTax Online Federal edition for free. No joke. Free preparation, Free e-filing, & free printing.

If you want to get a jump on your taxes, this is a good reason to. If you're not ready to do your taxes quite yet, I'd suggest just signing up and coming back to it when you're ready. After all, its free: Free TurboTax Online.

A few months ago, we wrote about getting Free Quicken Online too. The good freebies just keep on rolling in.

$20 Discount on Quicken Products

Just wanted to pass along a discount on Quicken products. From now until January 25th, Quicken is giving a $20 discount. That includes Quicken Deluxe, Quicken Premier, Quicken Home & Business, and Quicken Rental Property Manager. The offer expires in a few weeks so make sure to take advantage of it: Quicken $20 discount.

Also, keep in mind that in addition to that discount on their software, you can also get Free Quicken Online, which we've highlighted on the blog before in our Financial Deals post.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Financial Edition

Last week, we highlighted some Holiday Sales & Deals (Financial Edition) on some bargains for investors and traders. This week, we're turning our focus to a Holiday Wishlist: Financial Edition. With the holidays upon us, we figured it'd be a good idea to toss out some good gift ideas for that savvy investor or trader your know. Or, just for yourself hah.

To the list!

Trading Hardware/Software

• Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22-inch LCD Monitor. If you're in the markets, you can never have enough screen real-estate for charts, 10Q's, streaming quotes... you name it. Samsung are some of the best screens out there and this 22-inch monitor will get the job done for you. Heck, pick up two of them for the dual-screen setup. (Or, if you need even bigger, go with the Samsung 24-inch LCD Monitor). Dual or Tri-screen is the way to go, I'm telling you. I know I'll never go back to just one monitor.
• Asus Eee Netbook for checking up on the market while you're on the road. Full specs: Asus Eee PC 900HA 8.9 inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB Ram, 160 GB Hard Drive, Windows XP Home) Color: Black.
• Apple MacBook Air for those who prefer Apple. Check the markets while travelling with this ultra-lightweight laptop. Full Specs: 13.3 Inch, 1.6 GHz Intel Core2Duo Processor, 2 GB Ram, 80 GB Hard Drive, Color: Silver.
• Blackberry Storm. Keep up with the markets with the new touchscreen Blackberry. Or, if you're not a fan of touchscreens, then go with the all-new Blackberry Bold.
  
• TradingSolutions technical analysis. Advanced technical analysis trading software for all you traders out there.
  

Books

• Amazon's Kindle: Wireless Reading Device. You could buy all the physical books listed below... or you could just buy the Kindle and take all your books with you wirelessly on one device. Kindle has been getting rave reviews and simplifies your investing & trading bookshelf into one simple device that stores all your books.
  
• When Markets Collide by Mohamed El-Erian. This book written by PIMCO head El-Erian discusses the current fundamental changes going on in the global economy and financial markets/systems. Also, this book recently won the Business Book of the Year for 2008.
• Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor by Seth Klarman. This is written by hedge fund manager Seth Klarman, who runs Baupost Group. Definitely a great read that not every investor has on their bookshelf.
• Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager. If you or someone you know wants to learn from some of the best in the markets, then this is the book for you. Top traders and hedge fund managers discuss topics such as discipline, risk management, consistency, and capital preservation among others.
• Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story by David Einhorn. This book gives you an inside perspective as to how hedge fund Greenlight Capital constructs and researches their investment theses and we highly recommend it.
• Confessions of a Street Addict by Jim Cramer. Say what you will about Cramer's antics, but this book gives unique insight into the time at his hedge fund.
• The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. The account of Warren Buffett's life, as written by his hand-selected biographer Alice Schroeder.
  

Newspapers

• The Wall Street Journal for 75% off. This is a great idea because it is on sale and its a good gift for someone constantly around the markets! (Or Wall Street Journal Europe for our European readers).
  
• The same applies for $60 off Investors Business Daily. Great deal and a great gift idea.

Magazines

• Hedge Fund and Investment Technology. 12 month subscription with 12 issues. News and analysis of everything shaping the industry.
• Hedge Fund Manager Magazine: 40 issues over 12 months discussing all the essentials to running a hedge fund.
  
• Hedge Fund Journal. 10 issues over 12 months
  
• The Economist. A 12 month subscription (51 issues) to a great magazine, that's all there is to it.
• Forbes. 26 issues over 12 months. A mainstay financial read.
  

DVDs / Bluray

• Wall Street (20th Anniversary Edition) DVD. "Greed is good." THE movie for anyone involved in the markets. Period. Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, and more.
• Wall Street (on Bluray). Same as above, but in high definition.
• Wall Street Warriors Season 1 (TV Show) DVD. Reality show detailing the lives of various people on Wall Street, including Timothy Sykes.
• Wall Street Warriors Season 2 (TV Show) DVD. Second season of the reality show... this time following new people around the markets.
• Charlie Rose - Crisis on Wall Street DVD (September 2008).
  

Also, if you missed them, make sure to check out our post on Holiday Deals: Financial Edition, and our Investing & Trading Recommended Reading List for some more gift ideas.

Holiday Deals: Financial Edition

Since Black Friday and all the Holiday sales are upon us, we've decided to just highlight a few deals we're seeing on the financial side of things.

1. The Wall Street Journal for 75% off. Includes both the print and online editions. The rough economy has hit advertising budgets, so WSJ and other publications are cranking out the deals.
2. FREE Quicken Online. A great tool for managing all your finances... and best of all its now completely free.
3. $60 off Investors Business Daily. Another good deal on a well-known financial publication. Not to mention, you get 4 bonus weeks free too.
4. Free Stock Trades with Zecco. No joke, 10 free trades a month with Zecco. I use them as one of my brokers and the $50-60 you save in commissions each month adds up quick. That's easily $650+ in savings each year.

Stay tuned next week for when we debut our Holiday Wishlist: Financial Edition, for some gift ideas for that savvy investor/trader you know.... or just for yourself hah.

Some Financial Freebies & Deals

Since we're going into the weekend, just thought I'd post up various freebies and deals I've come across over the past week or two that are finance/market related. Economy sucks right now, so some of these should be beneficial.

• Free Quicken Online - yep, entirely free. (They used to charge $35/yr). Worth checking out for all you savvy personal finance people out there. I wrote about this deal a week or two ago and just wanted to make sure everyone took advantage of it, I know I did.
  
• Free Stock Trades - If you want 10 free trades a month, even for retirement accounts, then check out Zecco. Its great for building core positions over the long-term. If you think about it, 10 trades a month at other brokers would normally cost you $40-70 per month in commissions, so you just saved that money. They recently had no commissions for the entire month of October, which I wrote about here.
  
• Get $100 bonus at ForexClub. Those of you who trade forex or are interested in getting into it, this is a pretty good deal. Just deposit $100 or more into a FXClub account and they give you $100; easy stuff.

Lastly, a few readers have been emailing me wondering what I've been doing with short-term cash in this environment. The crazy market volatility means I've reduced position sizes in the market and have much more cash on hand than I normally would. I've just parked some of that cash safely into FDIC insured online savings accounts. The yields aren't what they used to be (thank you Ben Bernanke), but you can still get some decent rates to park your cash safely in this environment and earn some interest. I've got accounts at both of these places:

• Earn 2.75% APY with ING Direct Online Savings Account. These guys have been around the online savings game for a long time. I've had an account with them forever it seems. Easy interface, no fees, no minimums, and FDIC insurance at ING Direct.
• 3.00% APY with HSBC Direct Online Savings. This is the other online savings account I've got. Slightly higher rate, but I personally like ING's setup a little bit better. The interest difference between the two doesn't add up to a whole lot anyways. But, HSBC Direct is definitely worth a look as they have no fees, no minimums, and FDIC insurance as well.