When I was in grade school, I distinctly remember a field trip to visit a high-flying local company called Prime Computer. At the time, in the 1980s, Prime was a Fortune 500 company with a popular line of minicomputers and a runaway stock. But today, Prime is long gone and barely remembered. [...]
Bear Market Field Guide, Part VI
On April 14, 1988, Captain Paul Rinn was the commanding officer of the USS Samuel B. Roberts when it struck a mine in the Persian Gulf. The resulting explosion tore a 21-foot hole in the side of the frigate. Almost immediately, the ship began taking on water, and multiple fires broke out. Naval [...]
Bear Market Field Guide, Part V
In his most recent annual report, Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett described an event that occurred at a Berkshire subsidiary last year: Late one night, a fire spilled over from a neighboring business, resulting in significant damage to the Berkshire facility, forcing it to shut down. [...]
Bear Market Field Guide, Part IV
A little while back, I described how Bill Gates used to take time out from his job running Microsoft to seclude himself for “Think Weeks.” For better or worse, many of us today are finding ourselves stuck inside, with more time on our hands than usual. If you are growing weary of the endless news [...]
Bear Market Field Guide, Part III
In the wake of the stock market’s recent 25% decline, investors are faced with three alternatives. The first two are fairly straightforward, but the third is worth some discussion. 1. The first option is perhaps the easiest—to do nothing. If you fit into one of the following two categories, you [...]