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| Duoluo just bet with me that if i can make someone (C**** W**) to go on a trip with me , HE will buy me a SGD 250 gift for Xmas next year. My deadline is 31st DEc 2009. I will try hard to win this bet . | | |
| Below is the encouraging post by Warren Buffett for all who has an interest in the stock market.
This is the text of an opinion piece written by Warren Buffett and published in the New York Times on Friday, October 17, 2008:
Buy American. I am.
By Warren E. Buffett
The
financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its
problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the
leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment
will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to
be scary.
So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my
personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing
but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my
Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.)
If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon
be 100 percent in United States equities.
Why?
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.
And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned
investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly
leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But
fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound
companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings
hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting
new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Let me be clear
on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock
market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher
or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is
that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before
either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
A
little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on
July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until
Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the
market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days
of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in
Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well
before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to
buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In
short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice
of America’s future at a marked-down price.
Over the long term,
the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United
States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive
military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and
financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a
disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
You
might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money
during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some
investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt
comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made
them queasy.
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel
comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term
asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in
value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts
to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and
therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.
Equities
will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by
a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting
they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for
the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I
skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”
I
don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I
have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless,
I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank
building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.”
Today my money and my mouth both say equities.
Warren E. Buffett is the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company. | | |
| 2008 is indeed a year of trials and tribulations for me. Been hearing lots of complaints and sobbing from folks around me. To begin with , the equity market have plunged 30% from the start of the year. No choice but to hold a long term and view , but then again , how long is long ?
Work have been a roller coaster ride. Being in the sales team, you realized that if you can get 1 win out of 10 attempts, you are one lucky chap. My point is that i see myself putting in tremendous effort but the outcome or rewards seems mild in comparison for the effort we put in. Sometimes, I wish i can just make do with an admin job as a easy way out in this hectic competitive corporate world.
Been trying to plan a short holiday without much success. Will get to it asap. Till then.... | | |
| Time flies with the end of the year coming in exactly one week time !
Key Events in this year for LS
1. Melbourne Trip
2. Taipei/Hong Kong Tour
3. New Job at S
A lot of changes and still trying to cope with changes in both my social and professional life. In terms of resolution , there are those that are certainly not achieved in 2007 and will be brought over to the next year. Looking forward to more exciting events in 2008 !
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| A big thanks to all who come to attend the dinner on my birthday despite your individual busy schedules. 
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