Discipline

Feeling good to be back after qualifying as an actuary after years of studying.

For some reason, the air I breathe feels more refreshing...

Enough of this...

Markets have been through a lot of volatility in the past 3 months... However, there is nothing new. It is the same old problem of too much debt.

European countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy etc have spent more than they can afford for decades and now not only they have to live through the consequences but also us...

The recent bailout has temporarily relieve the market from further downward movement but this will not solve the problem but to delay the issue. Government around the world simply don't have the discipline to implement real solutions to the problem but to kick the can down the road once again. It is going to get a lot darker before we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Having said that, recent market sentiment has been overly bearish. Therefore, in the short term we may even be "pleasantly" surprised by a year end rally.

While the stock prices may go up, I will look for signs of divergence such as weak volume response. So far the volume in the market up days does not look so promising.

In my opinion, this is just the beginning of the bear market / economic downturn.

Buckle up... It is going to be hell of a ride.