Focus On Absolutes, Not Relatives

As the global markets slip into a spectacular collapse, comparisons to the financial crisis of 2008 were inevitable. It was with a feeling of déjà vu that many investors went to bed by 2 a.m., after having watched the Dow fall by more than four per cent points and then were up just a few hours later to see the Nikkei open about four per cent down. It was just like the bad old days of September 2008. Or not. There are two ways one can react to having lived through some great disaster. Either, you can stay permanently scared, going into a panic every time the conditions resemble the original disaster. Or, as a bona fide survivor of the original you can be wiser and more confident of faci

This article was originally published on August 10, 2011.