Initial thoughts on October 27 ...
10) Bears Beat Cicadas! -- Cicadas take 17 years to achieve glory, but the
bears have only had to wait 10 years.
9) New Era, Old Rules -- We may be in a new economic era, but
price/earnings ratios on the general stock market have never been able to stay
above 25. They didn't this time, either.
8) The Test Is Afoot -- The most common line among portfolio managers
trailing the S&P 500 has been, "Wait until a bear market. That's when active
management pays off." Now's the time, folks.
7) If It Glitters, It Must Not Be Gold -- Just when does gold hedge a
portfolio, anyway? U.S. stocks have been terrible for the past three days and
gold ... has been worse.
6) Repeal The Slaughter Rule -- Can anyone explain what those stockmarket
collars accomplish? They're like the slaughter rules in Little League
baseball ... only the losers have to resume the game tomorrow.
5) Be Currency For Halloween! -- There's nothing that spooks the market
more. The October 1987 crash, remember, was also sparked by dollars worries
-- only it was the United States', not Hong Kong's.
4) Moving In Rhythm -- The argument for international diversification
would be a lot stronger if all world markets didn't move together (read: down)
when crises strike.
3) Four-Letter Words Are Good -- At least if the word is "bond." ...
High-quality bonds haven't earned much respect recently, but when the panic
hit they came through. They did in October 1987, as well.
2) Don't Bet Against Buffett -- OK, we already knew this, but if the
rumors that Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett recently bought long-
term bonds are true, then he's even smarter than his more-fervent admirers
believe.
1) Money Tree Discovered! -- A simple prescription a) Buy the S&P 500 on
leverage 361 days per year; b) Short the heck out of it every Monday in
October; c) Get rich. You heard it here first. |
