The unimportant news thread

[drogulus]

Is it a good idea to start investing in the stock market once this is all over?

     No, do it 10 years ago. Second best is now. Worst is when this is all over, for this after this after this.

     Starting is the hardest. Not only do you have to figure out how to start, you have to decide what you're supposed to buy before you have any direct knowledge, and you don't know what trustworthy advice is.

     

[Ratliff]

Is it a good idea to start investing in the stock market once this is all over?

Once this is all over equities will be overpriced again.

A reasonable strategy is to invest a constant amount of dollars per unit time. Then you automatically buy more shares when the prices are lower.

[drogulus]

Once this is all over equities will be overpriced again.

A reasonable strategy is to invest a constant amount of dollars per unit time. Then you automatically buy more shares when the prices are lower.

     This is a very good idea. It's also the case if you are just putting savings, or some of your savings, into the market and buying when you have enough, like every $2,000 or so, you are doing this automatically without thinking about it. A couple of accounts I started some years back were built that way.

[drogulus]

     No one has ever explained the Nest Egg Principle better than this.

     https://www.youtube.com/v/xdMilnKGJdA&t=39s

[drogulus]

     I went to Business Insider to scope out developments there. There's lots of talk about pitch decks and influencers, but the only reference to cryptocurrency was about scams.

     I Worked Full Time in Crypto for Two Years and Didn't Really Like What I Saw

     I'd like to read an article like "I was a hit man for the mob and I didn't like what I saw".

     

     OK, it was worth it for this.

[drogulus]

     Speaking of obvious scammery, I haven't received a single virus scam email. I wonder who is getting them if it's not me. To put it in perspective I receive about 2-4 spam emails a week on average.

[drogulus]

     The myth of the panicky individual investor

     A surprisingly large percentage of investors do nothing, while many of the rest only are doing something because they don't pause their accumulation strategy at the worst time.

The document I've made the most of above is the Vanguard event study. It should be noted that Vanguard accounts are not representative either — they tend to be stay-the-course investors who don't trade and hold concentrated portfolios. Most other data would likely show more activity, so we can assume that investors may be more active than this Vanguard study suggests. How much more? I don't know.


     Yes, that's what I'd figure.

[drogulus]

     The stock market just had its best 3 day surge since 1931.

     

[JBS]

     The stock market just had its best 3 day surge since 1931.

     

The basic facts have remained the same over the last two weeks.  We know the virus would be bad in several ways, including public health and the economy.  We knew that the politicians would eventually agree to open the money spigots and spend large amounts of money that does not exist*.  So there is as little reason for this surge as there was for the fall.  Yet the markets behaved like they behaved.

My own theory involves day trading and other forms of short horizon investing, which are based not so much on the underlying stock as it is on how investors are acting with the stock.

*Even true by MMT--according to which it will exist once it's spent but not before.

[drogulus]

The basic facts have remained the same over the last two weeks.  We know the virus would be bad in several ways, including public health and the economy.  We knew that the politicians would eventually agree to open the money spigots and spend large amounts of money that does not exist*.  So there is as little reason for this surge as there was for the fall.  Yet the markets behaved like they behaved.

My own theory involves day trading and other forms of short horizon investing, which are based not so much on the underlying stock as it is on how investors are acting with the stock.

*Even true by MMT--according to which it will exist once it's spent but not before.

     It true by everything, not some theory. The theory just explains it better than government getting its own money from the Money Place.

     Yes, the market is cheered that total derangement has not gripped Congress. I think the dumb money is coming in, by which I mean the amateurs who don't panic. The pros tend to get wiped out. Vanguard is reporting just that. Stay the course dummies will come out OK.

[drogulus]

     I'm down 40% off the February high.

     Originally I thought it would take 2 years to get back. Now I don't know as there are too many variables to juggle. Much depends on how ferociously we run out of dollars to have something to go back to.

[André]

Last week I was at 77%, now at 87. Wild fluctuations in a very short time.

[drogulus]

     To console myself for my market losses, I want to buy something. I know, I want to buy a new TV! I have a pretty new one, a good one, but now I want a great one.

     I might have to wait until June for the one I want. In the meantime I'll monitor the videophile sites to see how the testing is coming along.

[MusicTurner]

From today's e-mails:



"Hello! A donation of $1,000,000.00 USD has been made to you by Mr Francois Pinault, kindly send him an email for more details: franois2026@gmail.com


Hola El Sr. Francois Pinault le hizo una donación de $ 1,000,000.00 USD. Envíele un correo electrónico para obtener más detalles: franois2026@gmail.com


Olá! Uma doação de US $ 1.000.000,00 foi feita a você pelo Sr. François Pinault, envie-lhe um e-mail para obter mais detalhes: franois2026@gmail.com"

[ritter]

From today's e-mails:



"Hello! A donation of $1,000,000.00 USD has been made to you by Mr Francois Pinault, kindly send him an email for more details: franois2026@gmail.com


Hola El Sr. Francois Pinault le hizo una donación de $ 1,000,000.00 USD. Envíele un correo electrónico para obtener más detalles: franois2026@gmail.com


Olá! Uma doação de US $ 1.000.000,00 foi feita a você pelo Sr. François Pinault, envie-lhe um e-mail para obter mais detalhes: franois2026@gmail.com"

And there was me thinking I was the only lucky one....

[drogulus]

      Where's my spam? I did get a couple of one ring calls yesterday, which is my roboblocker doing its thing. Is that it?

      On the new TV front, my candidates haven't been released yet and my review site has been shut down by the Quebec government. Maybe they'll be back in action soon.

[JBS]

      Where's my spam? I did get a couple of one ring calls yesterday, which is my roboblocker doing its thing. Is that it?

Same here. Even COVID19 has a silver lining.

[JBS]

Venezuelan patrol boat fires on, then rams, a German cruise ship in international waters.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1265608/naiguata-resolute-venezuela-navy-vessel-sinks-cruise-news-latest-resolute-ship-naiguata

Venezuelan patrol boat then sinks.

[drogulus]

     I got a wonderful spammail today:

Good day,

My name is Warren E. Buffett an American business magnate, investor, and
philanthropist and one of the most successful investors in the world. I
believe strongly in giving while living' I had one idea that never changed in
my mind that you should use your wealth to help people and i have decided to give {USD$2.700.000.00} Two Million Seven Hundred Thousand United Dollars, to randomly selected individuals worldwide. On receipt of this email, you should count yourself as the lucky individual.

Your email address was chosen online while searching at random. Kindly get
back to me at your earliest convenience before i travel to japan for my
treatment, so I know your email address is valid. ( dm8548901@gmail.com
) Email me.

Thank you for accepting our offer, we are indeed grateful You Can Google my
name for more information: Warren Buffet OR You visit my website
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Warren_Buffett

God bless you.

Best Regard

Mr. Warren E. Buffett
(Billionaire investor)

     All right, there's no mention of a virus, so it's not the Platonic form of virus spam. It does mention that Buffet is going to Japan for treatment, so I'll count it anyway.

[steve ridgway]

Thank you for accepting our offer, we are indeed grateful You Can Google my
name for more information: Warren Buffet OR You visit my website
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Warren_Buffett

Ah! I was always suspicious when Wikipedia asked me for money that it was some sort of scam.