Baseball is not a “zero-sum” game. When Alex Rodriguez hits a grand slam, as he did on opening day, it does not mean that 4 runs are taken away from the opposing team.

Similarly, investing is not a “zero-sum” game either. The enormous gains in the stock of Exxon over the past few years, detailed here earlier this week, did not come at the expense of BP shareholders, or Royal Dutch Shell.
For those interested in the world of investments, yesterday’s WSJ/OpinionJournal.com site has a brief column by Jonathan Clements, detailing his choice of the five best books on investing. The list, and the books themselves, are well worth the time and money.