From Marc Faber

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"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense." Gertrude Stein

For intelligent investors to read, watch, listen to and surf all the business news that is now available is simply impossible. We must be extremely selective in the allocation of our information-gathering time. In addition, it is not only important what we see but how and when and what we do with the information we collect. My memory looks like a filter with large holes; I take notes and file articles; I always read with a pair of scissors in my hand. I have files on a very wide range of subjects, such as capitalism, globalization, poverty, economic history, psychology, sports, smuggling, economic geography, fraud, the Wall Street industry, dubious practices, mutual funds, art, collectibles, countries, industries, forecasts by market gurus, plagues, commodities, economists, prostitution, brokerage reports, big lies, the IMF, business failures, the World Bank, economic sophistry and literally hundreds more.

I also think that, given my poor memory, it is important for me to file the collected information myself. First of all, it forces me to really read everything in order to know which file something belongs in, and if I file it myself, I may actually manage to find it again. I photocopy articles that I find particularly informative and put a copy of each in many different files, which increases the odds of finding the desired information again.

In general it is quite useless to read something without taking notes or filing it. Ninety-five percent of what we read in today's paper will be forgotten tomorrow morning. (Do you remember what you read in yesterday's paper?)

How should you read? If you have an important meeting at 10 a.m., I doubt that you can or should do serious reading just before rushing to that meeting. Also, if you are continually interrupted by telephone calls and colleagues barging into your office, your ability to concentrate will be significantly curtailed. Demanding articles and reports ought to be taken home or read in peace on a train or plane. I read with a glass of whiskey to boost my spirit, usually between midnight and 4 in the morning, after dinner and a nap.

I read just about anything that comes across my desk, but most of it very superficially. In the morning I focus on the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune. I think that the three are fabulous papers, each for different reasons. The Wall Street Journal I read for its coverage of the U.S. economy, its outstanding editorials and articles about the lives and economic conditions of ordinary people in America. Personally, I don't know any other country in the world with such a great paper on domestic economic issues.

For international news I regard the Financial Times as the best source of information. From time to time it also publishes extremely well-researched and thought-provoking articles on a very wide variety of subjects and regularly produces detailed country or regional reports. The International Herald Tribune I love for its outstanding coverage of geopolitics and, it being associated with the Washington Post and the New York Times, for its sharp editorials. I also read it for its sport coverage. I may add that both the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune have great weekend editions, as does the New York Times.

Naturally, I also read magazines and the one I enjoy the most after Forbes Global and Forbes, of course for social sciences is the Economist. The other publication I read with delight is the Spectator, a right-wing British publication that does not mince words. Its contributors are of extremely high caliber; they write in a somewhat difficult English but always manage to bring a different perspective and also, therefore, a controversial view into focus.

I also read a large number of brokerage reports and investment newsletters as well as books. The two books I recently reread, which I just love for their excellent insights into financial markets, are "Psychology and the Stock Market" by David Dreman, (AMACON, New York 1977), and Manias, Panics, and Crashes (third edition, John Wiley, USA, 1996) by the, in my opinion, best financial market historian, the late Charles Kindleberger. Both books are great reads, especially in the context of the NASDAQ's recent collapse.

But remember: The mental digestion and interpretation of what we read is the most important part of acquiring knowledge. That is why I suggested earlier that you read demanding articles and reports only when your mind is completely at peace and best of all with some nice wine or whiskey.

Remember this, too: Don't read only for the sake of acquiring money and knowledge; read also for the beauty of the language and for the pleasure that a well-written report or book can give you.