>I, as an investor, own part of a
corporation. I hope I will profit from my investment, but I must realize there are risks
associated with owning a business<
Alright Larry, so you own this tiny meaningless fraction of a business. In some case (YHOO) people are willing to pay upwards of 75 dollars a share, for a part of the business that makes NO money. So even though a company exists, of which they can say they own a fractional part, they really own nothing. How is that not gambling? And not just gambling on one thing, mind you, but speculating on the health of the company, the strength of the economy, the stability of the global economy, and on and on. Even a company that is making money, take AOL, is only making 19 cents a share, yet people are willing to pay a hundred and nineteen DOLLARS a share for it. Those people are gambling that somehow, someday (and just when will that day come) AOL will be able to grow itself at such a rate that someday it can justify this crazy valuation.
It is the nature of people caught up in manias to get upset with those who point out the irrational qualities of the situation.
And the gaming tables are not "purely" a matter of luck. Clearly you do not understand the card games that flourish in Vegas, where a mathematically gifted card counter, with a good understanding of statistics can make a decent living. And what about horse racing, where handicapping is everything? There is a pursuit where luck certainly isn't everything. Granted you don't "own" anything, but I would argue that with most overvalued companies you don't really own anything either. And as you know crime syndicates have realized what a lucrative business the market is, and have moved in to fleece investors. What does that tell you? |
