Price/earnings ratios and dividend payout. Yield to maturity and yield to call. Cash-on- cash return and equity build-up. Sound confusing? Stock brokers, bond dealers, and real estate promoters all speak different languages when it comes to extolling the virtues of their investment proposals. This book reduces the jargon to a single magic number or common denominator—a yardstick by which all forms of investment may be directly compared—the Internal Rate of Return or IRR. Now you can invest like a computer whiz— without a computer. Using the simple graphs devised by Larry Rosen from approximately 30,000,000 calculations, you can quickly evaluate any investment proposal in a highly professional and precise manner. Analysis that would take hours, and in some cases days, can be performed accurately in mere seconds of your time. And if you wish to go a step beyond, you can discover the benefits of analysis by marginal IRR, as well as by partitioning the IRR. Whether you use the graphs or recreate the computations from the programming instructions and formulas that are included, this book will take the mystery out of investing and help you make more intelligent investment decisions.

"Here is the first guide to understanding and computing the true costs and values of mortgages, savings accounts, installment loans, annuities, etc."--Jacket subtitle.

First published in 1983, this classic has sold nearly 150,000 copies. It is the informed businessperson's and consumer's guide to the important financial and investing information found in The Wall Street Journal.