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#financialmarket collapse I work in the investment business. For months, I have been bombarded with stories allegedly from the likes of Warren Buffett and Kathie Woods warning of an impending stock market crash. I took these stories with "a grain of salt." I relied on conventional wisdom. I let shares drop with confidence that they would come back in value. Then, I got "a wake-up call" from the Financial Times of London yesterday. The banner article said that we are living through the worst stock market in 50 years. I read another authoritative article warning of a further 50% drop in the stock market. I put Elena and I into very defensive positions.
Stock markets and investments are partially a science and partially an art. Elena sees markets as a wild and unruly mob ruled by panic and emotions. She is partially right. Markets are also very smart. They see when bad times are coming. Conventional wisdom is that fear of inflation and rising US and international interest rates are causing the problem. The problem is deeper. The war in Ukraine has created all sorts of distortions and problems in the world economy. These include high prices for oil, natural gas, and coal. We can add to this high prices for wheat and other grains as well as timber. The list could go on. We also have the potential of the Ukraine war escalating to World War III.
Then there are upcoming elections in Brasil and the US that have the potential for extreme political instability and social unrest. In my humble opinion, we are in the midst of a market collapse. Fortunately, real estate prices have not been affected yet.
My dear readers, please review your retirement funds and other investments. If you don't like what you see, please have a serious talk with your financial advisor and your accountant.
One of our readers is David Chapman. He is an accomplished financial analyst and financial journalist. My nickname for him is:
"The king of troubled stock markets."
His email address is above. Please feel free to contact him!