Louis Rukeyser (1933–2006)

Louis Rukeyser's voice has that hint of smirky erudition that any 1990's era Wall Street Week viewer became accustomed to as he leads the listener confidently through the economic thickets of the '20s, '30s and '40s that Keynes and his fellow economists lived and worked through. Neo-Classical economists came into their own with the increasingly mathematical models of the equilibrium theory developed by Leon Walras [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walras], and simplified by his pupil Vilfredo Pareto [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilfredo_Pareto]. John Maynark Keynes, a British economist, challenged the neo-Classical establishment due to his experience with England's decade-long 10% unemployement by stressing a less mathematical but practical approach to governmental assistance to the economy. Subsequently, the Neo-Classical Synthesis Keynesians melded the two sets of theories for American economic use, while the Post-Keynesians brought back the original ideas of Keynes which had not yet fully made it across the Atlantic. The Neo-Classical equilibrists believed that the market economy would, in the long run, bring the ecomony back to full employment. Keynes said that "in the long run, we are all dead".… (mer)

History of Financial Advice Collection. How to Make Money in Wall Street emerged from Rukesyer’s long-running and ground-breaking TV series Wall Street Week, which was aired every Friday night and became a popular ritual with the domestic investor, who Rukesyer calls “The Little Man” in this book. The programme had an established format, an interview with a leading economist or financier (and everyone appeared on it: Galbraith, Friedman, Samuelson, Greenspan, Engel, Porter, Loeb) followed by a series of stock tips. The programme’s investment advice focused on individual stocks and paid attention to the ongoing debates between fundamental and chartist investment strategies. Rukesyer’s book follows this format, comparing technical and fundamental analysis, although it spends less time on identifying individual stocks. In addition it also offers more general practical advice for stock market investment, on choosing a broker, understanding the difference between a variety of bonds and stocks, and the benefits of mutual funds. How to Make Money in Wall Street also stresses the cultivation of the investing subject, viewing investing as an “internal adventure” and a “testing ground” for the self.… (mer)