Benjamin Graham asks the reader to imagine that he is one of the two owners of a business, along with a partner called Mr. Market. The partner frequently offers to sell his share of the business or to buy the reader’s share. This partner is what today would be called manic-depressive, with his estimate of the business’s value going from very pessimistic to wildly optimistic. The reader is always free to decline the partner’s offer, since he will soon come back with an entirely different offer.
On 8 July 2015:
- The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 5.90 per cent, or 219.93 points, to 3,507.19.
- The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks China’s second exchange, dropped 2.50 per cent, or 48.38 points, to 1,884.45.
- Hong Kong equities plunged 5.84 per cent to their lowest close since early January.
Since peaking in early June at 5,166 points — its highest value in seven years — the Shanghai Composite Index has taken a precipitous fall, losing 29 percent of its value in less than two months.
A peek at the world markets showed many in the red for the month of June and YTD 2015. (read here)
Ah yes Hello, was wondering where Mr Market went.
“If you can follow only one bit of data, follow the earnings — assuming the company in question has earnings. I subscribe to the crusty notion that sooner or later earnings make or break an investment in equities. What the stock price does today, tomorrow, or next week is only a distraction.” Peter Lynch
Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion.
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Job
“My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror.” Warren Buffett
A Pen Quotes 