Talk Is Cheap; Stocks Aren't

Bennet Sedacca  Oct 27, 2008 2:40 pm

Talk Is Cheap; Stocks Aren't
 
In unprecedentedly volatile market, minimizing risk is essential.
 

 
Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got your disease

"Welcome to the Jungle," Guns N Roses


Last December, I wrote a piece about what I expected for the financial markets in 2008. I usually have a fairly strong opinion, but I really didn’t know what to say about the future. I still believe that using historical precedent as a road-map for these unprecedented times is a big mistake.

Instead, I firmly believe that what follows an unprecedented buildup of debt plus the creation of esoteric financial instruments plus poor lending habits would lead to an unwinding of heretofore unimaginable proportions - and historians and investors will look back at the unwinding of the most dangerous financial experiment of all time and use this as a guide in the future.

Welcome to the financial jungle, a place where we have only a vague idea of what can happen. It seems we have now entered a period where survival is key, and we can only hope to emerge with most of our capital intact. Only thereafter can we pounce.

I feel for those who have lost capital while reaching for opportunity, but I continue to believe that losing opportunity is better than losing capital - and I've been positioning client assets accordingly. 

Despite the fact that tens of trillions of dollars of financial assets have evaporated this year, I continue to search the jungle for ways to profit.
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Comments (12) See All Comments »
10-27-2008, 5:44 pm
Ten year average reported earnings are about $55. This is very reasonable. With treasuries yielding under 4%, isn't it reasonable to use 15 as a multiple? Maybe multiples compress but it is unlikely with treasuries yielding so little. What w
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10-28-2008, 12:03 am
The article did not account for the societal changes - clearly as we leave the industrial economy behind and return to a hunter-gatherer society, the S&P looks severly overpriced (needs to go down to 7-8... not PE mind you, 7 or 8 in price). Alr
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10-28-2008, 12:45 pm

What would it take for bulls to believe that valuations of stocks, in this enivironment, are nonsensical?

What is the value of a boat in the desert? What is the value of a bottle of water to a drowning man? What is the value of
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10-28-2008, 2:34 pm
Hear! Hear!
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10-28-2008, 9:44 pm
sold to you. bennet.
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