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"ONE OF THE SMARTEST INVESTORS ON THE PLANET."--MONEY MAGAZINE

“This book is an essential read for those who wish to understand the modern world of investing.”
—Alan Greenspan

When Markets Collide is a timely alert to the fundamental changes taking place in today's global economic and financial systems--and a call to action for investors who may fall victim to misinterpreting important signals. While some have tended to view asset class mispricings as mere “noise,” this compelling book shows why they are important signals of opportunities and risks that will shape the market for years to come. One of today's most respected names in finance, Mohamed El-Erian puts recent events in their proper context, giving you the tools that can help you interpret the markets, benefit from global economic change, and navigate the risks.

The world economy is in the midst of a series of hand-offs. Global growth is now being heavily influenced by nations that previously had little or no systemic influence. Former debtor nations are building unforeseen wealth and, thus, enjoying unprecedented influence and facing unusual challenges. And new derivative products have changed the behavior of many market segments and players. Yet, despite all these changes, the system's infrastructure is yet to be upgraded to reflect the realities of today's and tomorrow's world. El-Erian investigates the underlying drivers of global change to shed light on how you should:

• Think about the new opportunities and risks
• Construct an appropriately diversified and internationalized portfolio
• Protect your portfolio against new sources of systemic risk
• Best think about the impact of central banks and financial policies around the world

Offering up predictions of future developments, El-Erian directs his focus to help you capitalize on the new financial landscape, while limiting exposure to new risk configurations.

When Markets Collide is a unique collection of books for investors and policy makers around the world. In addition to providing a thorough analysis and clear perspective of recent events, it lays down a detailed map for navigating your way through an otherwise perplexing new economic landscape.

Average Customer Rating:

Thoughtful and forward-looking	Customer Rating:
I think this is an excellent book that makes you think. Mr. El-Erian certainly has a very deep understanding of the current economic and financial environment and is able to convey much of this understanding to his readers. I enjoyed the book very much.

My Worst Investment in a Long Time

Customer Rating:

This book was awful. Part of the problem is that the author couldn't decide who his audience was and, as such, probably bored the pants off finance people and left regular folk scratching their heads at his absurdly opaque writing "style". A couple quick points if you are considering buying this book: 1. It you read the newspaper most days, are reasonably intelligent and realize there is a big world with lotsa money beyond America's shores, this book will give you no new information on "when markets collide". 2. If you have some (I mean A MINIMAL AMOUNT) of investment knowledge, you will be painfully disappointed by the lame chapter on how to profit from future "collisions". Really, the author just lays out a pretty mundane asset allocation plan (which is available for free on any number of websites) and then fills a couple dozen pages with worthless blather. Seriously, that's it. 3. The writing really sucks. Others have commented on this so, rather than gives examples, I'll just reinforce what others have noted: the writing sucks. Whatever happened to editors? 4. If you really want some ideas about investing internationally, try The World is Your Oyster by Jeff Opdyke (2008). Heaven forbid, he writes in plain ole' English and gives a lot of worthwhile advice. If you really want to understand where the world is headed, read Billions of Entrepreneurs, How China and India are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours, by Tarun Khanna (2008). 5. If you really want some ideas about investing in general Peter Lynch's classics are still every bit as instructive (and humorous...and nicely written) and the biography of Warren Buffett, "Buffett", is incredibly instructive. Jeremy Siegel's "Stocks for the Long Run" is also pretty handy, although el-Erian makes some snide comments about it...but never quite gets around to justifying them...hmmm...some petty Harvard - Wharton rivalry? 6. el-Erian's shout-outs to colleagues here and there get more tedious as the book goes on, particularly as he never seems to articulate how the work of these experts is relevant to creating an investment portfolio. Gee, thanks. 7. Let me say it one more time: When Markets Collide is a worthless read.

Probably false back cover reviews

Customer Rating:

This book got my attention after I saw Alan Greenspan had commented on it on the back cover. Surprised at first as he rarely recommends books publicly, I decided to check into it. Sadly, the book was terrible. It is very convoluted and difficult to understand and didn't not present any non-elementary insight. Mohamed's book reminds me of a prof I had in college who would love to use big words but say absolutely nothing. Nothing is new here. Basically Mohamed El-Erian is a Oxford graduate turned PhD who late in his career entered the Investment Management game(he freely admits that). He managed the Harvard University's endowment fund and then recently quit and moved to the bonds management company PIMCO as a Co-CEO (seriously, who still thinks Co-CEO is a good idea). I suspect all of those people on the Back Cover who reviewed his book are his buddies from Harvard or PIMCO and probably everywhere else he works, knows, or pays. Even Alan Greenspan who now consults for PIMCO. I am willing to wager Mr Greenspan never even read his book but got paid a lot of money for "consulting" with PIMCO and now recommends the book of they guy who is paying his salary. Boy, Alan was a good economist. His book was excellent... This book should really be titled "When I wrote a book to impress my Harvard colleagues: Nothing new but noone will know because noone can understand it, sucka"

Good	Customer Rating:
This booke seemed to be a mosthy a discussion of emerging China and its interaction with the ecomonies in the developed countries. I believe that the book has increased my understanding on this subject a lot.

Not worth reading

Customer Rating:

I do not believe that this book is worth buying or reading because of three factors: 1. It contains minimal advice for investors wishing to change their investment strategies. 2. It is written for an audience for professional economists with advanced degrees. 3. The editing of the text is very poor. Each chapter contained multiple references to something "that I will deal with in the next chapter" or "that I covered in previous chapter." A few of these references is understandable, but the text is so poorly written and edited that these references quickly became a distraction and a nuisance. I would strongly advise prospective readers to avoid this book.