When disaster strikes !!!
The world has become a pretty dangerous place, whether you stay in the stock markets or come out of it. Some recent natural disasters like the Mumbai deluge, the US hurricanes and the latest earthquake in Pakistan and India are vindications of the same. And in a similar tone as equity experts who forecast a correction after every market rise, there have emerged astrologers who are predicting more of nature's fury to spell its wrath on the world in times to come.
While life is thrown into chaos and disorder by natural disasters, when it comes to stock markets, the human nature in itself is responsible for creating situations where everything else falls out of place. People speculate, giving in to the temptations that rising markets bring along. People do not do their research well, giving in to the noise abound that indicates ever-higher levels for stocks. And what happens finally? When things go wrong, the blame generally falls on the markets, as if the onus lies on them (markets) and not on the participants who have characterised indiscipline in lure of 'hot' stocks and 'handsome' returns. Hot and handsome, hmmm!
Well, human life has gone cheap of late. But money wasn't and will never be cheap. It only gets expensive by the minute. It is at least too expensive to be splurged on speculation. Rather, some can be donated towards relief work in the ill-effected regions of the world. So, play it safe! Never let destruction (of wealth) strike you when you are unprepared.
cheers,
nkpanjiyar