I2,
"Wasn't the market essentially flat for about 15 years before this bull (i.e., 1968 to 1982)?"
You are correct. I can't speak for '68 through '72, as my first investment experiences only go back to '72, but that period was a total 180 degrees from the kind of market we've enjoyed in the past seven or eight years. Right now, a rising tide raises all ships. People whose investment experience only goes back 7 or eight years are prone to thinking they are Peter Lynch reincarnated. That's scary. '72--'82 was a stock picker's market. The overall market performance sucked, but there were major scores to be made, if you did your homework and got into the right stocks. My first two stocks I ever bought were McDonalds (at $8) and Dunlop Holdings Ltd (at $ 1 1/8--the tire and golf & tennis co). Sold Dunlop six months later at a 44% profit. Held MCD for a couple of years and sold it around $40. Took the Dunlop money and bought a company called GD Searle. Read about their new aspartame patent in my research/due dilly. Looked neat--at the time everyone was freaked out over Saccharin causing cancer in rats. Aspartame was having troubles getting FDA approval, but I decided to take a shot. Bot the stock at $14. Aspartame, as you may know, got approved and its trade name is NutraSweet. Sold Searle a few years later @ $56. Was forever after hooked on stocks, thought I was a Wall Street wizard (I was only 12 years old at the time). Got my come-uppance though--my folks' broker introduced me to the wonderful world of options (gag). After a few shots with options, I found out that I was indeed mortal--a very humbling experience. My point in all of this is that, even though the market was lousy, there were scores to make if you placed your bets wisely and did your homework.
"Aside from his market expertise, I just enjoy listening to him as a radio personality. Have you ever really listened to his radio style? It's great!"
I will admit that, although I have serious reservations about BB's advice on using (or in this case, NOT using) brokers, I do listen to his show when I can. His advice and observations are educational, even for brokers. You can never have enough information, nor can you ever learn "too much," especially when it comes to the stock market. That's why I listen. I just bite my tongue when he goes on one of those shark attack sermons :).
Gary
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