I spent most of this week getting caught up on what I missed while on vacation. Non-existant best describes my online access on the trip, which was weird in a good way. On the rare chance I got a connection, I swear I had faster internet speeds in 1997.
Not having your phone blow up every few minutes with Twitter notifications or email updates is refreshing and relaxing. Thankfully, the world is so vast that we haven’t completely covered it with decent cell reception.
Something everyone must learn about the market (all news topics really) is the media makes all the noise sound important. Yet the real important stuff happens less often than they’d like you to believe. So you really can take some time off and never miss a beat.
So, of course, I didn’t miss much.
People are still arguing about whether index funds hurt the market, how expensive the market is, what asset is now in a “bubble”, when the next market crash will be, and what past crash the next crash will look. They’ve argued about it for the past six years. They’ll argue about it for the next six years…and six years after that…and on…and on…
All of it fills the void of what would be dead air if the media only focused on what’s important. But since we live in an entertainment first world, this is what we have to wade through every day.
So my recommendation is to take a break and unplug every once in a while. Go somewhere you’ve never been, look up, and take it all in.
The market (and noise) will still be here when you get back.
Last Call
- The Transformation of the ‘American Dream’ – R. Shiller
- This Mortgage Lender Ignited the Financial Crisis 10 Years Ago – Basis Point
- The August of our Discontent: Once More Unto the Breach? – C. Asness
- The Market Really is Different This Time – J. Zweig
- Everyone’s a ‘Buy and Hold’ Investor Now. But Can You Stay That Way? – M. Hulbert
- Feels Risky – S. Godin
- 34 Investment Rules to Make You a Better Investor – Arbor Investment Planner
- The Apocalypse is (Always) Nigh – Above the Market
- The Meanest Reversion: BABIP and CAPE – B. Mullooly
- GMO Letter: Why are Stock Market Prices So High? – J. Grantham
- Marks Memo: There They Go Again…Again – H. Marks
- The Crypto Currency Debate: Future of Money or Speculative Hype? – Musings on Markets
- The Excessive History of Microcaps – MicroCapClub
- How America Lost Its Mind – The Atlantic
