prolog

| Part 1 | The First Step to Investing: Why Start, What to Buy, and How to Buy

Chapter 1: Why Not Investing Makes You Poor
Why does the value of money decrease?
A decline in the value of money means an increase in the value of assets.
How is money created and released?
The flow of money ultimately goes to where productivity is high.
Why Investing in Individual Companies Is Difficult
Buy All Companies: The Power of Index ETFs
Let's make sure and safe profits

Chapter 2: Finding good stocks is easy.
But timing is everything
How to find really good stocks
Timing is everything, even for good stocks.

Chapter 3 How can stock prices be calculated?
Let's only look at companies with stable performance.
The stock price formula is simple: earnings × multiple.
Multiples, the Core of Fair Value Analysis
Finding low and high points with a normal distribution

Chapter 4: Multiple Analysis
Step One: Let's Gather the Data Ourself
Creating a baseline using the mean and standard deviation
How to interpret whether a multiple is cheap or expensive
The core of multiple analysis summarized at a glance

Chapter 5: Performance Forecasts
S&P 500 Index Performance Estimation Formula
A Specific Method for Forecasting Performance: The FOMC Dot Plot
Things to keep in mind when applying this to real-world investments

Chapter 6: Key Summary of the First Steps to Investing

| Part 2 | Timing Through the Economic Cycle

Chapter 1 What is an economic cycle?
Three forces that drive the cycle: monetary policy, fiscal policy, and prices.

Chapter 2: From Recession to Recovery: The Beginning of a Major Bull Market
Why is a recession an opportunity?
Characteristics of a recovery: Liquidity surges, and the power of money trumps performance.
Practical Strategy: How to Use High-Yield Bonds, Gold, and Long-Term Interest Rates
Signals of a Recession: Falling High-Yield Bond Yields
Late recession → Confirmation of entry: Gold price rise
Late recession → recovery signal: falling gold prices, rising government bond yields.
Will the recovery phase lead to expansion or slowdown?
Key Takeaways: Investment Principles for Transitioning from Recession to Recovery

Chapter 3: From Recovery to Expansion: Performance Trends and Adjustments
Why is inflation a key variable?
Characteristics of an expansionary period: Performance and corporate growth drive the market.
Practical Strategy: How to Read Expansion Periods in Interest Rates and Gold Prices
Key Takeaway: Understanding Why Adjustments Occur Even in Good Performance

Chapter 4: After the Expansion: A Time of Growing Uncertainty
Why should we analyze the causes of rising interest rates?
Characteristics of the Late Expansion: The Illusion of Price Stability
Practical Strategy: Check Inflation Expectations
Key Takeaways: Investment Principles in an Age of Uncertainty

Chapter 5: The Slowdown: A Recession or a Recovery?
Why is market interpretation more important than the correct answer?
Characteristics of a slowdown: Even the same indicators have different interpretations.
Practical Strategy: A Comprehensive Interpretation of Interest Rates, Exchange Rates, and Asset Prices
Key Takeaway: The Power of Reading the Market's Mind

Chapter 6: Key Investment Points by Economic Cycle

| Part 3 | Macro Interpretation by Asset

Chapter 1: What do short-term interest rates (2-year U.S. Treasury bonds) tell us?
What is the difference between the base rate and bond yields?
A Key Framework for Interpreting Short-Term Interest Rates: Growth and Inflation
Reading the 2-Year Treasury Bond Yield Through Growth and Inflation
Key Takeaways: Understanding Monetary Policy for Deeper Interpretation

Chapter 2: Long-Term Interest Rates (10-Year U.S. Treasury Bonds): Long-Term Economic Expectations
Factors that determine the 10-year yield: The DKW (D'Amico, Kim, Wei) model
Long-term interest rate movements based on historical events
Reading the 10-Year Treasury Yield Through Growth, Inflation, and Premium

Chapter 3 Exchange Rates: A Mirror of Global Fund Flows
Why should I look at the exchange rate?
How to interpret exchange rates and practical examples
Reading the Asset Market through Interest Rate-Exchange Rate Combinations

Chapter 4 Gold: An Indicator of Inflation and Anxiety
Why are gold prices rising?
Gold Price Interpretation Methods and Practical Examples
Gold Prices Understanding Inflation and Safe Asset Preference

Chapter 5: Coins: Inflation and Risk-on Asset Preference Indicators
Why are coin prices rising?
How to interpret coin prices and real-world examples
Coin prices reflect inflation and risk appetite.

Chapter 6: Five Asset Price Signals, Comprehensive Reading
Five Assets Every Investor Must Know
Interpreting the price movements of each asset
Differences in interpretation shape real-world investment strategies.

Chapter 7: The Power of Five Asset Price Interpretations

| Part 4 | Macro Tools for Practical Investing

Chapter 1: How to Read Interest Rate Outlook Using Interest Rates, Inflation, and Employment
Nonfarm Payrolls Index: What's the Right Level?
Consumer Price Index and Expected Inflation

Chapter 2: Reading Interest Rate Forecasts Using CME FedWatch

Chapter 3: Stock Investment Strategies Using the Fear and Greed Index and the VIX Index
Finding Buy and Sell Zones with the Fear and Greed Index
Valuing with standard deviation
Using the VIX Index to Determine Split Buying Ranges

Chapter 4: How to Check 10-Year Treasury Bond Yields Using the DKW Model
Data download and processing
Divide components into components and evaluate their value

Chapter 5: Macro Tools for Immediate Use in Real Life

Epilogue

★ Stock Price Formula: Performance × Multiple, a Simple Truth Followed by Institutions and Foreigners ★
★ Key indicators and buy/sell decision principles for each phase of recession → recovery → expansion → slowdown ★
★ Reading the Market's Mindset with Five Signals: Short-Term Interest Rates, Long-Term Interest Rates, Exchange Rates, Gold, and Coins ★

More important than finding good stocks is knowing when to buy and sell.
"Stock Code" is a must-read for individual investors who worry more about "When should I buy and sell?" than "What should I buy?"

This book is for ETF and stock investors.
People who have difficulty judging whether the current situation is overvalued or undervalued,
People who have been confused by the different market reactions to the same news,
It is especially useful for those who want to connect macro signals such as interest rates, exchange rates, gold, and coins to real-world investments.

Readers can directly calculate the low and high points using the PER average and standard deviation and set the buying and selling reference points.
Additionally, you will learn specifically about which indicators to look at to identify turning points by dividing the business cycle (recession → recovery → expansion → slowdown) into sub-phases (such as early and late recessions), and what strategies to adopt at each stage.

By interpreting the movements of interest rates, exchange rates, gold, and coins based on actual data from 1960 to 2020, we understand the characteristics of asset markets and even explain macro tools used by institutions, such as FedWatch, VIX, and DKW, so that individual investors can use them as well.
This allows you to interpret the market and establish trading standards based on data and routines, rather than vague feelings.

“There are many theories, but few books teach the principles of buying and selling.”

While many books are theoretical, "Stock Code" stands out by offering a hands-on routine, from data downloading to processing to interpretation to trading decisions.
If you want to establish investment criteria based on data and principles rather than vague feelings, this book will be the best guide.