America’s retail investors made record withdrawals from stockmarket mutual funds during July, as shares hit four-year lows, according to data released this week. The sell-off has been followed by a sharp rally, leading some to argue that it signalled the end of the bear market. Is the worst over? AMERICA has its public to thank for the great bull market of the 1990s. It was America’s workers who boosted productivity to historical highs and individual investors, piling into stockmarkets with unprecedented enthusiasm, who drove share prices ever higher. And when the going got tough, small investors did not panic. As...
