It's extremely readable and funny and covers most of the situations in real life where you can apply economic concepts to understand why something is the way it is.
Understanding why countries and economies grow (and why some grow faster than others!) doesn't always fall under the "economics" umbrella but is really useful for informing policy (and a useful reminder these days, when both US presidential candidates rail against trade agreements). "From Poverty to Prosperity" lays out a very readable and convincing argument for how countries have grown and become rich. https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-Prosperity-Intangible-Liabili...
For finance I very much enjoyed The Intelligent Investor, which also (apparently) inspired Warren Buffett's investing philosophy. https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Inves...
Off the top of my head, I would add:
* "The Way to Wealth," by Benjamin Franklin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0918222885 (also available online for free; it's in the public domain) -- no-nonsense practical advice from a super-successful individual
* Warren Buffett's Letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html (also available organized by topic, in a bound book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611637589 which some will find much easier to read)
* "The Intelligent Investor," by Benjamin Graham (specifically the chapters titled "The Investor and Market Fluctuations" and "Margin of Safety"): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060555661
* "Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion," by Robert Cialdini: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688128165
Also:
* "Devil Take the Hindmost," by Edward Chancellor: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452281806
* "A Short History of Financial Euphoria," by John Kenneth Galbraith: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140238565
* "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," by Charles Mackay: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1586635581
Any good Economics Text book will do: like Principles of Economics/ Principles of Microeconomics, Gregory Mankiw
You can also try, although, personally I have not taken these:
https://www.coursera.org/course/microecon
https://www.coursera.org/learn/principles-of-macroeconomics
> FT and all the stats that CNBC shows me
For Investment valuation and Corporate Finance Damodaran is one of the best sources:
http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/
Visit his blog, read his books. He has online classes as well
Also you can try, (I've not taken this course): https://www.coursera.org/learn/financial-markets
For Value Investing, Benjamin Graham is a classic:
http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Invest...
> For Technical Analysis and Futures Trading though, there are tonnes of books. May be you can start with these:
http://www.amazon.com/Technical-Analysis-Financial-Markets-C...
http://www.amazon.com/Options-Futures-Other-Derivatives-Edit...
And lastly,
> combine my CS background with Finance and do something interesting in it
And by "done well" I do not mean predicting ups and downs, but having a diversified portfolio (investing everything in one company is not a good idea, does not matter how promising or established it looks), which is doable with all the investment funds out there that ask for a very low minimum investment.
Check these books:
http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Invest...
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/...
To get a better idea of these two approaches: Read Ben Graham's book: http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Invest...
and Read Philip Fisher's book: http://www.amazon.com/Common-Stocks-Uncommon-Profits-Writing...
Both are good reads.
1. From The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham: "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative."
http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Invest...
2. From Mr. Buffett on the Stock Market: "The definition is simple but often forgotten: investing is laying out money now to get more money back in the future -- more money in real terms, after taking inflation into account."
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/...
I found this edition helpful in that regard: http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Invest...
Each of Graham's chapters is followed by another chapter of interpretation/reflection on his advice in a modern context.
Its not an online course, but it's a great book! It has a lot of information in it, can be dry, but I'm really enjoying going through it so far. Warren Buffet has quoted it in his shareholder letters and other talks.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Inves...
Also check out Warren Buffets shareholder letters, they are packed with great insights into investing.