Tuesday, September 30, 2008

i-TFTD #159: Wall Street Special

i-TFTD #159: Wall Street Special

A special bonus edition of i-TFTD in the midst of the unprecedented financial crisis gripping many countries of the world. Very few dispensers of wisdom appear wise at this juncture but here are a few thoughts, the first one from an unconventional source, and the rest from three people whose unconventional views have depth and longevity.

#159-1. Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create, instead of living off the buying and selling of others.

-Carl Fox (played by Martin Sheen) in the 1987 movie 'Wall Street'

#159-2. I like buying companies that can be run by monkeys - because one day they will be.

-Peter Lynch

OR

You should invest in a business that even a fool can run, because someday a fool will.

-Warren Buffett

#159-3. We humans are naturally gullible — disbelieving requires an extraordinary expenditure of energy. It is a limited resource. I suggest ranking the skepticism by its consequences on our lives.

-Nassim Nicholas Taleb

#159-4. A pin lies in wait for every bubble and when the two eventually meet, a new wave of investors learns some very old lessons.

-Warren Buffett

#159-5. The government-sponsored institution Fannie Mae, when I look at its risks, seems to be sitting on a barrel of dynamite, vulnerable to the slightest hiccup. But... their large staff of scientists deemed these events "unlikely."

-Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in 2006

#159-6. The banking system (betting AGAINST rare events) just lost > 1 Trillion dollars (so far) on a single error, more than was ever earned in the history of banking. Yet bankers kept their previous bonuses and it looks like citizens have to foot the bills. And one Professor Ben Bernanke pronounced right before the blowup that we live in an era of stability and "great moderation" (he is now piloting a plane and we all are passengers on it).

-Nassim Nicholas Taleb

#159-7. Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon.

-Peter Lynch

#159-8. (When you don't have an explanation) it takes a lot of courage to keep silent.

-Nassim Nicholas Taleb

No comments: