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26 March 2008

Crisis time: is it investing nightmare or golden opportunity?

Now the markets are down; virtually everywhere stock markets gone wild and panicked. Some big names in finance crumbled be in Europe or the US.

Some markets are still bleeding while some other are undoubtedly recovering as efforts by the Fed gained momentum. But interestingly, few emerging markets are just moving in different direction. So, a lot of confusion if one to be guided my mere market movements.

On personal level, this begs an important question on the fate of our investment.

Myself, I have lost few hundred dollars from meagre investments in global market since December; each month, my savings in corporate pension plan registered negative returns as low as -8%. But, it has recovered somewhat this month, but this is largely because I changed investment option to a more low risk instruments like global bond and emerging market equities. But the message is clear: no one is immune from this (US led) global meltdown.

Some people say that the situation is an armageddon, or at least a hard lesson to be learned on playing with risks - see
Bing for instance. But, one of my friends, is considering the situation as one in a million opportunity! He is investing like no other day left. He simply reasoned to me that "Warren Buffet is buying stocks when their prices are rock bottom; and now look at him".

I have to agree with such 'wisdom', coming from a determined man with money; and rest my case quietly.

But, what is not clear to me, yet, is what happened to my few hundred bucks losses, will it return to me; will the markets where I am investing rebound?

I guess I will have to wait twenty years or more, just like Buffet does.***

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