Bear Market Silver Linings [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] Maybe a bear market — if that’s what we’re headed into — will force Corporate America and Wall Street to make changes that could be easily...Read More
When Rigged Markets Become Unrigged “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” –Abraham Maslow “When asset bubbles predominate, everything looks like a pin.” –Corollary; Ross Kaplan In over 40 years(!) watching the stock market, I’ve conservatively witnessed at least 100 dips of 5% or more (20% corrections are rarer, and...Read More
Can You Say, “Useless Platitudes?” With the usual onslaught of year-end investing articles, I’ve noticed a sub-genre emerging this year. Namely, advisors who claim that the secret to market-beating performance is “avoiding bear markets” (and implicitly, that parking your money with them is the best way to do that). I suppose the corollary would be,...Read More
Stocks at 12 Year Lows4/11/97: S&P 500 = 7432/23/09: S&P 500 = 743 If somehow you decided in 1997 that stocks were just too expensive and have resolutely remained on the sidelines ever since . . . you now have another buying opportunity (assuming you have the money and the stomach). After today’s 3.4% plunge,...Read More
Housing Bear Market Brings OutTwo Kinds of Low Ball OffersAlthough they’re invariably upsetting to Sellers who receive them, not all low ball offers should be summarily dismissed. Especially in a housing bear market, there really are two kinds of low ball offers. The first kind is the stereotypical, “I’d like to steal your home in...Read More
