Recent market turmoil reminds me 6 years ago: Enron, WorldCom and Tyco scandals are all in the news. Even blue chip names like GE and Xerox have some corporate governance problems. GE gave excessive benifits to retired chairman Jack Welch, the benifits including Manhantan condo, free corporate jets, season tickets to Yankee baseball games etc. Xerox had to re-state its financial statements (I remember got this news from Chinese newspaper when I was in Shanghai, summer 2002). It seems the corporate bean counters can not get the numbers right. That’s when I started to invest in the US stock market (sharebuilder), although in very small amount.
Shortly after we got Sabane Oxly Act, which targets the corporate internal control and financial reporting (GAPP). I remember in dot com days all the internet companies used “pro formula” (non GAPP) to tell the fairy tales to the investors. April 2003, US invaded Iraq. The US stock market bottomed there, and took off until the recent sub prime debacle.
When will the current bear market bottom? I don’t know. But one thing I know is the market go down, and goes up…all the time, as said by famous fund manager Peter Lynch (Lynch’s take on market, mp3, 5 mins)