Posted on 01/24/2013 10:54:52 AM PST by blam
FORMER GOLDMAN BANKER: I Miss The Great Recession Already
Michael, Bankers Anonymous
January 24, 2013
I’m just going to come out and say it, ok? I miss the Great Recession already.
I miss it for two reasons: first as an investor and second as a human.
The Investment Side of the Great Recession
As an investor, the Great Recession represented the good times, now past.[1]
Recessions – or at least their financial unfolding via changes in asset prices – cause not only wealth destruction, but also wealth creation. For investors[2] in particular, a recession is often necessary in order to deploy capital at attractive prices.
Warren Buffett famously gets irritated about the lack of investment opportunities in his annual Berkshire Hathaway letters during boom times, like his 1999 letter[3] and 2007 letter,[4] because prices of public securities outpace intrinsic value. Conversely, he gets very busy and active buying companies when prices drop and other investors flee. Recessions for Buffett, as well as for many investors, represent the best time to accumulate wealth. Which is why he famously says:
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”
Another famous value investor, Shelby Collum Davis,[5] said more pointedly:
“You make most of your money in a bear market. You just don’t know it at the time.”
If you believe Buffett and Davis, as I do, then you too will think wistfully of the Great Recession because, as an investor, the good times are in the past. Now, with US equity indexes up over 100% from their March 2009 lows, investing consists of purchasing expensive assets and hoping they get more expensive. Which has a lot more to do with gambling than it does with investing.
The Human Side of the Great Recession
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
"It is noteworthy that so many analysts correctly comprehend the ‘quality’ of the present socio-economic model – that its spectacular failure is baked in the cake – but (repeatedly) misapprehend the ‘quantity,’ that is, when the failure will occur. We are discouraged from recognising this particular elephant in the room (and some others); but now – almost a half a decade into the GFC – it really is time to broach the subject."
About the time an AR15 drops back down in the $700.00 range...
"In addition to the some 150 semi-automatic rifles, handguns and shotguns on the list, the bill aims to reduce magazine capacities nationwide to 10 rounds or less."
"While the new legislation would not force Americans to turn in guns they own that are on the ban list, it would require registration in a national database, which includes a background check even if you already own the gun."
"Owners of banned firearms would also need to submit photo identification and a fingerprint for the national registry."
MOLON LAVE!
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