Warren Buffett: "Bad News is an Investor's Best Friend"

In these times of turmoil it might be a good time to reflect on some poignant words from one of the world's greatest investors. Warren Buffett writes, “During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent.” He goes on to say, "Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend."

To quote more of Buffett's words of wisdom:

"Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky's advice: 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.''

"I don't like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I'll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: 'Put your mouth where your money was.' Today my money and my mouth both say equities."

Wise words if you have the money of course....

Ranking World Banking

As banks around the world rush to guarantee depositor’s funds just how risky are banks? A survey recently conducted by the World Economic Forum shows the following top five ranking countries with regard to safe and sound banking systems:

1. Canada
2. Sweden
3. Luxembourg
4. Australia
5. Denmark

New Zealand comes in at number eight while the USA comes in at number 40 (behind Chile and Namibia) and just behind Germany at number 39. Britain once ranked in the top five but now only makes 44.

Source http://www.weforum.org/GCR0809_Browser