adventures in neverland

"look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it." -- billionaire investor warren buffett. i don't want to sound like the weather bureau when there is a storm, or an expert when financial markets are in a tailspin.  so be careful on what you read from here. be smart, call up your stock brokers, your most reliable analysts, read, watch out for any major announcements from policy makers. most of all, listen to your instincts. after all, it is your money, honey. so be safe. always stay ahead of the pack. stop, look and listen (now i sound like the fat traffic policeman who stays hidden all the time until you violate the traffic rules). most importantly, stay calm and fabulous. ****** while stock prices are falling across the board in reaction to the rating cut in the united states, concerns about another recession in major economies and the debt worries in europe, there will always be...

(please read while listening to the bangles' manic monday and culture club's karma chameleon.) after standard & poor's historic but not so surprising move (yes dear, what caught many by surprise was the timing. friday? after the markets have closed? why?) last week to cut the debt rating of the united states of obama by one notch to aa plus from triple a, everyone's now waiting nervously on how the financial markets, particularly in asia, will perform on monday. stock markets in the middle east were hammered on sunday in reaction to friday's rating cut in the united states, the country's first ever downgrade, and asian markets are largely seen to follow when they open today. that will set the tone for europe and the u.s. when they trade later in the day. even before the downgrade, global stock markets had slumped after recent weak u.s. data stoked fears the world's biggest economy may be headed for another recession, dragging down the rest of t...

these are tough times for investors, especially short-term speculators in the stock, currency, bond and commodities markets. and for reporters too covering these markets. i have been there, i have done that and i must stress, i luved it! i luv the days when the market is in frenzy and investors are acting like crazy that even before you can put up a headline, the market is moving again. oh i miss the rush! lately, market movements have been unpredictable that even the most avid watchers are having a hard time forecasting its direction. even on the short term. ******** when the united states of obama was on the verge of defaulting on its debt a few weeks ago, investors were told markets (stocks) and the dollar were falling because of worries that the world's biggest economy might lose its much coveted triple a rating. most analysts and other market watchers assured that once the u.s. hurdled this difficulty, there would be a relief rally. after the debt bill was passed, s...