Coronavirus: The US Was Not Prepared

The United States has not been prepared and has not acted quickly and well. The world has known about the coronavirus for over 3 months yet the United States could not even test one million last week. This is a stark contrast to China, which has brought the virus under control within 3 months and is now helping other countries, while the US cannot solve its own situation.

Ray Dalio Insights (Part I)

Ray Dalio is one of the greatest investors and thinkers of our time. Ray has been sharing some valuable insights on his twitter account and here are a few of the most interesting:

On when to bet (very applicable to traders and investors):

You can significantly improve your track record if you only make the bets that you are most confident will pay off. Knowing when not to bet is as important as knowing what bets are probably worth making.

On not listening to uninformed people:

Make sure they’re fully informed and believable. Find out who is responsible for whatever you are seeking to understand and then ask them. Listening to uninformed people is worse than having no answers at all.

How meditation may help you keep an open mind and a bigger perspective on things:

In thinking about the principles that are helping me and might help you during this challenging time, this is one of them. I practice Transcendental Meditation and believe that it has enhanced my open-mindedness, higher-level perspective, equanimity, and creativity.

These posts will be expanded over the next few days with more interesting principles and topics.

Stock Market’s Gain Under Trump Vanishes

Interesting article in the New York Times about the stock market performance during the Trump presidency. Believe or not, the american stock market is now negative since President Trump took office: Stock Market’s Gain Under Trump Vanishes

But nobody loved it like Mr. Trump. He has tweeted about the stock market at least 131 times since becoming president. He kept a running tally of stock market records — 135 by his last count, on Dec. 19. He personalized the rally, referring to “my stock market gains.”

Social Distancing

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits gives some interesting advice on how to practice quality social distancing on social media:

"You can practice social distancing on social media too. Stay away from people who are infected with negativity, a lack of generosity, an unwillingness to seek truth, etc."

The Coronavirus Crisis Will Be Fatal

Interesting comment made by Peter Schiff on how fatal this virus induced crisis will be for all of us:

"I was against QE, ZIRP, and bailouts in 2008 because I knew that instead of allowing the economy to restructure, those mistakes would exacerbate the structural imbalances that led to the crisis. Since we didn't swallow the medicine then, the #Coronavirus crisis will be fatal now."

Corona Crisis: Many Companies Will Need Bailouts

Jim Rogers commented on the current crisis on RT.com. The legendary investor expects airlines and shipping companies to be bailed out and that we are headed toward the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes:

I told RT earlier that the next time we are going to have a financial problem it’s going to be the worst… it appears we are headed toward the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes. We will know in a few months.

"Companies with big debts are especially vulnerable at this time."

"Companies participating in international trade in particular will have serious problems. Some of them will be bankrupt. Major airlines and shipping companies will probably be bailed out because it would otherwise be embarrassing for the countries."

The Worst Financial Crisis Of Our Lifetimes

Jim said in a recent interview that due to the recent developments with the COVID-19 spreading through the Western world, we are heading to a major financial crisis. Read the complete article here: ‘We’re Headed for the Worst Financial Crisis of Our Lifetimes’ – Jim Rogers