Graham's Secret to Happiness
http://www.brickfinancial.com/thethirdpig/archive/2011/08/grahams_secret_to_happiness.html
Posted by Ben Taylor on August 11, 2011 02:00 PM
"I blame myself... for having slipped into an extravagant way of life which I hadn't the temperament or capacity to enjoy. I quickly convinced myself that the true key to material happiness lay in a modest standard of living which could be achieved with little difficulty under almost all economic conditions." - The Memoirs of the Dean of Wall Street
Market
"Financial Turmoil Evokes Comparison to 2008 Crisis" by Nelson D. Schwartz; New York Times
It [now vs. 2008] feels completely different. I don’t think there is a U.S. debt crisis right now, and European debt is not held as broadly as mortgage debt or derivative debt was back in 2008. The prospect of a 2008-like drop in the market is remote. - Larry Kantor, the head of research at Barclays Capital.
"Looking for the bottom" by Buttonwood; The Economist
How does one tell when the markets are cheap?... The best measure is the cyclically-adjusted p/e ratio which averages profits over a decade and pointed to market tops in 1929 and 2000, as well as the early 1980s. According to Professor Shiller, the ratio was 20.7 at the end of last week, whicn makes it around 19.5 after yesterday's fall. That is still above the long-term average of 16.4. The dividend yield is between 2 and 2.5%, on the FT's various measures; even adding 0.5-1% for buy-backs doesn't make that look cheap.
Portfolio:
"Target and the New Frugal " by Michael Shulan; Seeking Alpha
"Target, other retailers deliver solid sales gains" by Thomas Lee; Star Tribune
Life:
"Want to Remember Everything You'll Ever Learn? Surrender to This Algorithm" by Gary Wolf; Wired Magazine
"Is Frugality Dead?" by Robyn Griggs Lawrence; Mother Earth News