Praise For PANDERER TO POWER

“We all owe a great debt to Fred Sheehan. Fred demolishes the myth of Alan Greenspan’s omniscience, while revealing the dangerous credulity of those who set him on a pedestal above the rest of us. Panderer to Power will be invaluable in making the case for how we might preserve our solvency and our system.”
Seth A. Klarman, president, Baupost Group, L.L.C.

“Many have written about the man who used to be called ‘Maestro.’ But none has done so with such clarity of perception as Frederick Sheehan. Between the covers of this timely and important book, the former Fed chairman stands revealed as America’s own Wizard of Oz.”
James Grant, editor, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer

“The Fed, Greenspan’s Fed, not only supplied the whiskey for the party, it led the charge for irresponsible behavior by essentially telling people ‘don’t worry, be happy.’ A thorough, in-depth look at the man who wrought so much damage on so many, this brilliant effort by Fred Sheehan is a major step in setting the record straight on this era.”
Bill Fleckenstein, president, Fleckenstein Capital and co-author, Greenspan’s Bubbles

“Fred Sheehan vividly shows in his excellent and long overdue account, the devastating monetary policies the Fed has pursued under Mr. Greenspan, which have been continued by Mr. Bernanke. After reading Panderer to Power, you will have no respect for the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, politicians, and Wall Street.”
Marc Faber, editor, Gloom, Doom and Boom Report

"An important part of Sheehan's book is Greenspan’s role in expanding this country’s monetary base far behind our means.”
--Boston Business Journal, November 2009

"This well written, though obviously polemic, text documents the issues as he sees them. When read in conjunction with Greenspan’s own biography, a picture emerges of a complex, obviously smart man who may have been promoted to a position beyond his competence, but was expert at covering up and obfuscation."
--Troy Media, November 2009

About the Book:

Alan Greenspan’s 18-year stint as head of the Federal Reserve Bank witnessed some of the most massive upward redistributions of wealth in our nation’s history. It’s now clear that his policies contributed greatly to the transformation of Wall Street from an engine that financed American business to a business-destroying machine—and that Greenspan abetted the hollowing out of the U.S. economy by giving Wall Street and Washington everything they could possibly want.

To take the full measure of Greenspan’s culpability, we need to look beyond the disgraced public persona and see him within the broader sweep of his life and times. In Panderer to Power, author Frederick J. Sheehan delivers the first in-depth, critical biography of the man who, for nearly two decades, served as the world’s most powerful banker.

Beginning with Greenspan’s formative years as a Depression-era kid from New York City, Sheehan traces his subject’s progress from his days touring America as a reed man with the Henry Jerome Orchestra in the 1940s through his emergence as one of America’s first celebrity economists to his ascent through the ranks of power in D.C.

What emerges is a searing portrait of a shameless media hound who ferociously promoted his image as a straight-laced numbers cruncher, a Machiavelli whose political skills far surpassed his skills as an economist.

Drawing upon a vast array of original sources, the author leaves little room for doubt: either the “economic genius of our time” was oblivious to the hazards of his irresponsible policy decisions or he knew full well what he was doing, but chose, as he had throughout his career, to put self-interest above the public good.

The essential guide for managers and professionals dealing with difficult workplace conversations

Surviving Dreaded Conversations gives managers all they need to get through those difficult, face-to-face conversations we all encounter in our office. Whether it’s firing an employee, asking for a raise or delivering bad financial news to a client or staff, expert author Donna Flagg shows readers how to stop putting off these uncomfortable conversations and start successfully facing them head-on. Filled with tips, strategies, exercises, and easy-to-memorize scripts for effective preparation, Surviving Dreaded Conversations is packed with practical advice to help professionals get through the rough spots in the workplace.

"Sloan's easy and informative writing makes for a thoroughly worthwhile update."--BARRON’S

"A useful corrective to the view of short selling as 'unpatriotic' or uniquely anti-social."--John Plender, Financial Times, November 16, 2009

"I liked this book. It was short and to the point and very well researched. As we are living in an era of history repeating itself, Mr. Sloan depicts the negative market psychology that has transcended Wall Street since the birth of our nation."
--Ted Stamas, Instablog, November 2009

On the 90th anniversary of the Crash of 1929, we find ourselves peering backwards through a virtual looking-glass to a time when global markets were in free fall, and venerable financial institutions were in tatters. Yet, here in the present, these same patterns seem to repeat, causing cable newsers, Congressmen, and commoners alike to scream the same refrain, "Blame the short sellers!"

Certainly, short sellers make convenient villains; for one thing, they win only when others lose. But in Don't Blame the Shorts, Bob Sloan taps into a 200-year-old American debate to convincingly and emphatically argue that short selling is not what ails our equities trading markets, but what keeps them honest. To Sloan, short sellers’ objectives are simple: find overvalued securities and bet against overconfident investors. It's an approach that uncovered widespread fraud at Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth, and other failed outfits long before regulators ever set foot in the door.

Taking the long view of history, Sloan unearths the deep roots of the conflict over speculative investing and its role in our economy. It's a debate that oftentimes puts titans of American history and finance on opposite sides of the divide: Jefferson and Hamilton, over the fundamental nature of America's economic systems; a century later, J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller, the brother of John D. Rockefeller, who was thought to be part of a cabal of short sellers that brought the country to its financial knees. Further, Sloan reintroduces us to the likes of Ferdinand Pecora, the federal prosecutor whose investigations in the early 1930s revealed a wide range of abusive practices of banks, and led to the creation of vital legislation, including the Glass-Steagal Act.

Don't Blame the Shorts is an eye-opening account that overturns conventional wisdom about short selling, and the vital systemic (and symbolic) role it plays in making financial markets less opaque, more accountable, and, therefore, stronger.

Author Profile

Bob Sloan is the managing partner of S3 partners, LLC, which he founded in 2003. Prior to S3 Partners, Sloan was a managing director, and the global head of prime brokerage and equity finance and a member of both the Securities Division Operating Committee and the Product Managers Committee of Credit Suisse First Boston. In 1998, he founded and was chairman of the CSFB/Tremont Index Co. From 1989 to 1996, he worked at Lehman Brothers in the equity derivatives and central funding unit.

“Clearly written, well organized, and practical, we predict this will quickly become the ‘standard’ Enneagram coaching book for years to come.”
Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, bestselling authors of Personality Types and The Wisdom of the Enneagram

Create powerful growth programs tailor-made for each employee!

Whether you’re a coach, manager, or mentor, the Enneagram System is a highly effective tool for creating self-aware employees that are easy to manage.

Enneagram expert Ginger Lapid-Bogda explains how to use the system’s nine number types to pinpoint each person’s style, tap into his or her strengths, and design customized growth programs for each one.

Cross-cultural and proven to be highly accurate, the Enneagram is the ideal tool for creating employees that:

• Communicate clearly
• Work more productively
• Collaborate effectively
• Make decisions with confidence
• Take personal responsibility
• Become better leaders

Lapid-Bogda reveals which specific coaching techniques are the most effective based on individual style and provides a clear process for the three types of coaching: short-term, crisis, and long-term.

Enneagram development time is shorter than in other programs, and results are clearer and longer-lasting. With Bringing Out the Best in Everyone You Coach, you have everything you need ensure that every employee exceeds his or her goals on a regular basis and contributes valuable talent to the entire business organization.

As an active trader in today’s market, you are faced with unprecedented challenges. Dramatic price swings in equity, debt, and currency have made it tougher than ever to manage and trade risk. But with great risk, of course, comes great opportunity— and Advanced Options Trading delivers a detailed system for successfully trading options in a highly volatile and unpredictable global market.

Noted options educator and owner of his own brokerage house, Kevin M. Kraus explains the best practices for using options to capture premium, reduce equity purchase prices, manage the costs of buying options, and control portfolio risk—critical skills for finding steady profits in our ever-shifting economic landscape. He offers a close examination of the nature of volatility and what it means for investors, whether they’re just getting started or are veterans of the options market.

Advanced Options Trading covers:

• The critical nature of forward-looking implied volatility
• Ways to level the volatility playing field with options
• Techniques for adding value to a portfolio while managing risk
• The functions of price hedging— and how to do it effectively
• Interest rate options and which factors drive debt markets
• Options analysis techniques

Options are among the most valuable tools for hedging and risk management, and they also function as profitable investment vehicles, allowing you to make bearish trades through radical market shifts.

Advanced Options Trading provides a solid foundation on the options market, along with the necessary skills for trading and managing risk in today’s constantly expanding and contracting market.