We recently stated that this is a “Bear Market.” So what does that mean?
It’s not all that scary, at least not once the market really settles into bear territory. In fact, it can be a great time of opportunity for many investors, particularly away from stocks. It’s worth spending a moment contemplating what a bear market is and why it’s important.
A new year means a new start. Resolutions are made and we all hope to be better people. it’s also a time for predictions, which shrewd people can write in a way to not look bad in another 363 days. It’s not just about making them vague and easily attained, no – a good prediction can be an excuse for not being a better person.
That’s my way of saying that we can expect a lot of ugly in 2019, but we shouldn’t let that get us down. here’s what I see happening in the year ahead. Bookmark this and make fun of me if you want.
Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you don’t mind a special request on a Tuesday.
Barataria has been coming to you every single Monday, Wednesday, and Friday without a single miss for almost 12 years now. That’s 156 times a year, and about 120,000 words annually. I hope that at least a few of them were enlightening.
I would very much appreciate it if you would be so kind as to donate just a small amount to help me in a time of need. How much? Whatever you think this is worth, but let’s start with one dime per post, or $15.60 for the year. Naturally, more would be appreciated.
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What more can be said about 2018? It came with a bonus day, a leftover Monday that is fitting for a year that doesn’t seem to want to end.
It’s been a year of chaos and struggle, and probably a few corners are being turned in history. It may well be that historians will one day mark this as the year that the American Century, which started with World War I, finally came to a close.
Whatever the case, it really can’t end quickly enough.
Good decision making comes from experience, and experience comes from bad decision making. This has been one Hell of a year, but what did we learn?
If you are shivering and exhausted after being blasted by a firehose of news and information, you are far from alone. That’s the nature of our world, and generally you have two choices: do your best to take it all in and make sense of it, or unplug and have a good life.
But like Buddha’s choice between hedonism and asceticism, either choice has to leave you wondering: isn’t there a third, middle way? And there is. It’s about planning and learning, about enjoying the here and now without a lot of noise but staying on top, perhaps even above, the world.
If we have learned one thing from this year I would hope that it is that a series of reactions is never a substitute for an actual strategy.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 