So CNBS should bring up guests' past on air bombs? I agree 100%. Therefore, when Eric "I love Cisco but couldn't give you one sound reason why" Gustafson was on this a.m., touting all of the fad stocks, Liz C. should've pointed out Eric's Mattel faux pas...he was beating the drum on Mattel big time on Squawk...two days later the thing completely blew up.
Cut Bloch some slack...I saw the interview. His "dumping on the Baby Boomers" most likely stems from the fact that so many of them employ this investment strategy: "I will buy a stock when:
a.) it's gone up 500% in 6 months, or
b.) one of my buddies touts it at the club"
Most people don't have a clue why they own most stocks...heck, most fund managers don't either. If you disagree, justify--using facts and numbers--Cisco's valuation. You can't and neither can the people who own it. Why do they own it? "Uhh, it's gone up a lot each year."
That's what Bloch was referring to. I agree that his bearish stance has made him an easy target, given the gains the mkt has seen, but at least he makes a valid point--that most people don't have a clue about the stuff they own. A rising tide lifts all boats, and as a result, when Joe 6-pack buys a stock on a hot tip (think of the Morgan Stanley commercials, hehe) and it goes up, Joe 6-pack suddenly thinks he's smarter than most market pros. Bloch's reference to the baby boomers is probably quite prescient, as they've never seen a bear market. When the bear comes, a lot of "would-be investment geniuses" are going to find out how truly clueless they really are and will wonder what the heck they were thinking buying stocks that they knew nothing about, sans the 4-letter symbol. |
