Tag Archives Stock market

Stocks, like other commodities, trade based on supply and demand except, unlike many commodities, both supply and demand are elastic. If there is a short canola crop more can’t be made until the following year, regardless of demand. But if there is high demand for stocks — voilà. Wall Street makes more by accepting more […] Read more

Market action early in the new year is vindicating much of what I have written over the years, as numerous new concept and speculative stocks decline. This is normal market behaviour but has been devastating to many market participants, especially speculators who thought they were investors. Let’s look at the process of new company formation […] Read more

No children were insulted in the writing of this article. In fact, our youngest gave me the subtitle, and is the lead character in the story. (Read Part 1, here) As they were growing up, our kids were learning how to allocate scarce resources from their allowance and sports refereeing earnings between immediate gratification (a […] Read more

“But the most absurd and preposterous of all, and which showed more completely than any other, the utter madness of the people, was one, started by an unknown adventurer entitled ‘Company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.'” The above quote is by Charles Mackay from a […] Read more

Differentiating between investments and speculations is more nuanced than distinguishing investments from expenses. Speculations are often inappropriately referred to as investments with the main similarity being both are purchased with the intent of profiting. The allure of speculations is their potential for quick and dramatic profit, but quick and dramatic losses are more probable. Let’s […] Read more