A straightforward plan for managing your investment portfolio.

Canto calls his brand of investment theory “cocktail economics” because it is conversational and filled with entertaining anecdotes. But there is no mistaking the seriousness of his intent–to generate above-average returns on your investments. His plan “specifically is concerned with the big picture, with the broad macro worldwide forces that act on all investments”–based on the principle that for every economic action there is a predictable market reaction, and that investments can be timed to the swings in asset classes. It is no mystery that assets–be they small caps, large caps, value or growth stocks, international or domestic shares, bonds or T-bills–react to economic shocks and trends (for example, monetary-policy changes, shifts in inflation and GDP growth) in ways that can be inferred. Using a combination of class benchmarks, macroeconomic forecasting and passive/aggressive strategies, Canto generates specific, reliable investment suggestions–for instance, that inelastic industries respond to positive economic shocks with below-average employment increases and above-average profit gains.

A sound and intelligible blueprint for investment. --Kirkus Business & Personal Finance Newsletter (May 2007) 

 Read Cocktail Economics. It educates and entertains (there is no shortage of anecdotes and real-world examples) while offering simple-to-follow instructions on how to do better than the average investor. It’s also an excellent primer on how to argue like a supply-sider — which is not a bad thing if you like winning arguments.

--Larry Kudlow, NRO’s Economics Editor, is host of CNBC’s Kudlow & Company and author of the daily web blog, Kudlow’s Money Politic$ (7/2007)