The author of this blog when he lived with cannibals in Irian Jaya (Western Papua New Guinea). How this picture came to be is a long, long story told over several beers. I urge readers to think of these skulls as representing investors who did NOT read the proxies and financial footnotes of the companies they bought. Be careful and always think for yourself. Please! A moment of silence for the many who did not survive. More on cannibals here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/cannibals.html.
Bernanke’s money printing is certainly having his intended effect in the stock market today. The joys and inevitable sorrows of manipulation. Eventually, the Fed will have to stop having its foot on the monetary gas pedal. This blog has been updating you on the 8% to 9% money growth and you are all aware of the current negative real interest rates ( a war on savers).
Irrational Behavior
Don’t forget to improve by signing up for A Beginner’s Guide to Irrational Behavior (Dan Ariely). “In this course we will learn about some of the many ways in which people behave in less than rational ways, and how we might overcome these problems.” https://www.coursera.org/course/behavioralecon
A Special Situation
A Leveraged Stub Stock Remember to do your own work and if you invest, size your position accordingly in a company that could either pay down debt and turnaround or be crushed by debt. The author of the blog below addresses many of the issues that need to be thought about. One key is to look carefully at maintenance capital expenditures (“MCX”) because if management skimps on MCX to pay down debt, then the company really is in liquidation and the asset values may not be there to support the turnaround. You can learn as much about investing/companies that you analyze and pass on as the ones you invest in. You just need to keep track of your omissions and see if your thought process was correct. I bet you 10 to 1 that not 1 in 100 professional money managers do that on a systematic basis. What a chance to learn, but you have to be diligent.
http://reminiscencesofastockblogger.com/2012/12/29/a-very-leveraged-bet-on-trucking-yrc-worldwide/
Other Good Investing Blogs
Review 2012: http://www.oldschoolvalue.com/blog/
http://brooklyninvestor.blogspot.com/
http://gannonandhoangoninvesting.com/
http://valueandopportunity.com/2012/12/21/my-22-investments-for-2013/
If you find interesting articles on investing don’t hesitate to alert me.
Fundamentals of the Austrian Business Cycle (Banking and ABCT)
Book:Money Sound and Unsound by Salerno
fractional-reserve-banking-and-the-fed_salerno
Debate about the efficacy of the Austrian Business Cycle
This debate is somewhat similar to the debate of efficient market theory. How can entrepreneurs be fooled time and time again by the Fed’s market manipulations that consistently lead to booms and busts. What about rationality?
fractional-reserve-banking-and-the-fed_salerno
Discarding the Wheat While Saving the Wheat
Reply to Discarding the Wheat by Block
Why the Austrians are Wrong about Depressions
What is Wrong with ABCT_Caplan
Why Entrepreneurs are caught in ABCT
Comment on Why Austrians Are Wrong About Depressions
ABCT in light of Modern Macroeconomics by Garrison
Third Avenue Fund Letter: TAVF Oct 2012 Year End