Tuesday, August 9, 2011

When Bears Attack - in Wilderness and on Wall Street



Over the last month, we have witnessed terrifying news about bear attacks in the natural wilderness, and also on Wall Street, proving animal spirits are making our planet more and more dangerous:



 

July 23, 2011:Grizzly bear attacks seven teens in Alaska. Four teenagers while on a backpacking trek through the Alaska wilderness where attacked and seriously injured by a grizzly bear. The organizers of their wilderness trip the National Outdoor Leadership School stated: “this is our 40th year of operation in Alaska. We have not had a bear attack in all of that 40 years".

August 5, 2011: Teenager killed in Norway polar bear attack. A UK teenager was killed and four others were seriously injured by a polar bear while on a youth edition to the arctic in the north of Norway. It was found to be unusual for so many people to get hurt in one attack.
What is going on here? Are these random tragedies or is there something else to observe?  What is clear is even if events are rare or haven't happened in a long time that doesn't make them less probable or less terrible. The other common theme is that "experts" time and time again do not appear prepared to expect the unexpected.

Another example of experts missing the warning signs, is the plunge in the financial markets of the last few days and the possible start of a bear market. Associated Press stated  “The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are both down about 18% since the end of April. The Dow is down 16 percent. .. The last bear market for the S&P 500 ran from October 2007 until March 2009 . The index lost 57 percent of its value..” This looks as if we have now entered the financial habitats of agressive bears and are witnessing the consequences bears can strike any moment, but the “experts” seem always surprised when it happens. Once the damage is done, they try to explain it, but by then it's usually too late whether you are a hiker in the wilderness or an investor in the stockmarkets.

2 comments:

  1. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the transition of this post to that about a bear market! "bears can strike any moment, but the “experts” seem always surprised when it happens." how true this is!

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  2. anyone who calls themselves an expert is automatically setting themselves up for failure. history proves it!

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