Saturday, February 13, 2010

Financial News: Worse than Useless!

I first thought I'd title this article Financial News: For Entertainment Only, but then as I thought more about it, I concluded that for most investors, watching or listening to financial news is probably not that entertaining, and more likely is detrimental to their investment success.  If the news is pessimistic, it probably will cause you to worry about your investments, and worst of all, change your rational investment strategy.  If the news is optimistic, it may cause you to be somewhat greedy, and again, change your rational investment strategy (in a different way of course).  As Warren Buffet said, as an investor, you're better off being fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful; here's the exact quote from his 2004 letter to stockholders"Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful."

Friday, February 5, 2010

Stocks, Bonds, Markets

This article is a primer on stocks, bonds and their respective markets.  It's not necessary to understand all of this material to be a successful investor; this is intended for people who are interested in building up their knowledge of the fundamentals of investing.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq

If you read or listen to financial news, you can't avoid hearing how many points the Dow gained or lost today.  You also may hear how many points the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained or lost.  For a number of reasons, you should ignore these reports entirely (I do), and I'll explain why if you continue reading.