"He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak." Michel de Montaigne
If there was a "theme of the week" in the financial world (and here at TFP), it should be, in my humble opinion, that the timeless wisdom of simplicity, moderation, and reason rises above the "noise" of short-term market conditions...
A large portion of my efforts, with regard to this blog, is to promote awareness of self and of the environment around us. I often remind readers that the media creates, reflects, and amplifies the short-term concerns of the investor herd with their "noise" by reporting the happenings of the day in such a way that is designed to provoke your emotions -- the same emotions that cause stress and damage to your investments and, more importantly, your life...
- The loudest noise of the week came from the big selloff on Wall Street.
- Rising above the noise and looking into next year, which will matter the most to you? The economy, housing, employment or the markets: The outlook in 2008.
- As for the economy and markets, the Fed appears to be on the sidelines for a while as the markets are healing.
- Now eyes are on the consumer. Will the "wealth effect" diminish and spoil the spending party?
- Meanwhile, "the party" in China certainly created some noise this week: Chinese oil company, PetroChina, becomes first $1 trillion company.
- Just how much is $1 trillion worth? Using time for perspective: If you were fortunate enough to earn one dollar per second don't expect to reach the "big T" any time soon: At that rate, it would still take you 31,500 years to reach the $1 trillion mark.
- I wonder how Exxon feels about being "second" to Chinese oil? No worries:
Although oil is not an "abundant" resource, life is not a "zero-sum game"-- one, such as Chess, where there can only be one winner. This week, Dr. Brett at TraderFeed shared his interesting perspective on this with his views of scarcity and abundance. - The zero-sum game mentality may be defeated by "becoming nobody" and by keeping investing simple.
- To extend upon those principles, here are some funds "lazy investors" love.
- A significant amount of noise has also been dedicated this week to fallen corporate CEOs. Now that the big banks threw out "the bums," who will replace them?
- Unfortunately, it's much easier to find "stupidity" than it is to replace a high profile CEO. At least we now have the stupid filter to detect rampant online stupidity!
- I believe the performance of Vanguard funds supports and illustrates the long-term success of my recent themes of simplicity, moderation, reason (and low "noise").
Have a nice and "quiet" weekend. Shhh...
TFPAuthor, Kent N. Thune, is the President and founder of Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC (ACI), a 'fee-only' Registered Investment Advisory firm located in Mount Pleasant, SC.
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