>I was in Mexico a few years ago during their economic crisis and believe me it ain't pretty. Whatever happened to that crap about a global economy everyone was talking about until recently? All of a sudden a region with a huge % of the world's population doesn't matter! And the smug bullishness of those jackasses on Wall Street Week also smacks of the lack of appreciation of risk you see at a market top.<
Bruce: A rosy view of the global picture is what had kept me bullish about the market this late in the cycle. I had this vision of people in S. America, Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia buying single family homes, households driving not one but two cars, everyone with a computer, eating MCD burgers, capitalism at its best, an extension of the American dream. This was my rationale for continued 8-10% growth in earnings: great exports of american goods and american co's doing business abroad as purchasing power overseas slowly came at par with that of the US/Europe. This all changed last October, when it was descovered that the Asian story was just based on purchase of all kinds of "junk" using borrowed money, and investing in frequently very corrupt settings. Actually there were people who were aware of all this before October, but in this market beeing too clever too early can hurt you. IMO you have done fine selling. It looks like smart people managing their own money have been selling.
Pancho |
