Hi JimJoe,
I am a small investor who has not fled the market. 'Small' is the operative word here. I have been in it for a long time. But never totally.
I save myself a lot of aggravation by paying absolutely no attention to what the media says. The 24/7 demand for information, no matter how worthless, has created a gaping maw that the networks scramble to fill with whatever they can grab. The Power of Babble....that's all it is.
And as far as the market's response to the media goes, more often than not it makes absolutely no sense. I have seen the market behave like a self-absorbed, hideously greedy
by sending a stock price higher immediately after an announcement of job cuts. It is that knee-jerk response to the bottom line rather than to the big picture. I do not like to see that happen. I find it ugly, weird, and sad when it does. I tend to look at the big picture. But it happens.
As far as stock-picking goes, I know I don't really know. But I also know that nobody else really knows either. I have to understand what I buy, and I have to feel like I like it enough to want to keep it for a while, a long while usually. I do not have any formulas. My guess is that the market might take a little dip sometime this fall, and if it does, I am all set to go shopping again. Just a little shopping. But i will buy boring stuff you can bet. (And please remember....I do not know anything.)
And now, it is time for one of my shameless confessions........
Even though I am here self-righteously proclaiming that I pay no attention to the media now, I must confess that a very long time ago, I had a little crush on Louis Rukeyser. I was young. He was not. But I glued myself to his television show. He never yelled like a lunatic. He never got a wild-horse look in his eyes. He had a wonderful voice and he made me feel like I could really get into this stock market thing.
When I read this thread start, I admit that I thought about Lou and started feeling a little nostalgic and so I looked him up. I found this little video from a long time ago. But for me, the discussion there still makes a lot of sense. You are invited to join me for a look-back at Lou. If you scroll down through the article, you will find a video of Louis Rukeyser talking with Peter Lynch and also another guy who has some really interesting things to say. (Gotta love the hair.)
http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/...ouis-rukeyser/
Boomer