What You Should Have Learned from the Market Meltdown

It is simple.

9/11/2001 - Market Meltdown.

9/15/2008 - Market Meltdown.

Lesson for You?

When the smiling talking head on TV tells you that you should put your money in the market for the long term, for, say, 30 years and let it stay there - smile, get up and change the channel.

If you see said smiling gentleman on the street, smile, and then punch his lights out.

The market is NOT good for the long term.

The market is NOT good for the short term, either. You will be competing vs computer programs which analyze the stock prices and act within less than a second, while you are stuck reading that Reuters article... they already have traded, and the price has changed.

That is the lesson for today.