Positive signs…

and opportunities.

Warren Buffett

If Warren Buffett is buying stocks, does that mean that we should, too? He’s a smart investor, and obviously sees an opportunity. That people like him are coming back into the market to gather bargain priced stocks is a good sign. There needs to be market stability, of course, but hopefully investors will be prudent. As has been seen in this past week’s market gyrations, there’s a lot of uncertainty, which has caused major, heart-wrenching volatility. P/E ratios are now lower than they should be, a far cry from the bull market where ridiculous premiums were being paid.

Global market reforms

The leaders of most industrialized countries have finally come to grips with the need for a coordinated regulation of financial markets. Although this should have been done a long time ago, a positive outcome of the meltdown has been a realization by major (and minor) governments that proper regulation is required. Hopefully it will be done correctly.

Which leads me to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

It’s been suggested that one or both of these institutions should be the global regulator of markets. An interesting concept, but history has shown that both of these agencies, like many UN-affiliated programs, are rife with politics. They have been easily manipulated in the past, though they have good track records overall. If there is going to be an international regulator, perhaps a new agency, specifically chartered for the task, would be a better choice.