It seems like everybody in this thread is saying "No duh, invest in Japan right now!" The assumption is that the market will turn around, and anybody who buys into Japanese companies stands to make a lot of money. If this is the case, then why are the prices going down at all? Are other investors really that ignorant?
Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
51–60 of 137 posts
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
True story, probably experienced by thousands of people. Know someone who was into daytrading stocks and such. He had a home, no mortgage, no debt. Ended up losing the home. Wife left, took the kids. Wife eventually came back with the kids, they live a simple life now in some apartment. Life is not what it was, but they're getting by. If you don't know what you're doing, you can lose everything. When you talk with tr…
The trick to getting rich is trading with other people's money. You win, you get commission. You lose, it's not your money.
You get a wage either way. If the bank profits you get a bonus too even if you lost your customers money. If you screw the bank up the gov bails you out and you still get a bonus.
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Toyota's trading at 21 times earnings on the NYSE... that doesn't seem like a crazy bargain. (Or is there some parallel listing on the Nikkei?)
Toyota is listed on the Nikkei. The thing at the NYSE is called an American Depository Receipt (ADR). Basically, it is a coupon that says "Entitles the bearer to two shares of Toyota common stock in Japan." In principle, the two do not necessarily have to move in lockstep. However, because of the massive size, prominence, and stability of Toyota, one would ordinarily expect them to correlate extraordinarily heavily a…
and of course you can also do regular pairs trading (if they drift farther apart).
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#54Careful. Japan's debt level, when compared to GDP, is higher than US: http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2011/03/sovereig...
and they just lost ~1 trillion ++ worth of infrastructure... I believe they have a 10 year rebuild in front of them. This is assuming that we have hit bottom on the catastrophe over there now and that we can contain the Daiichi plant. It would be very interesting though, if things turn south and some massive takeovers occur in the next 12 months. Imagine companies like Fujitsu, Hitachi or others (my mind is blank) be…
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
True story, probably experienced by thousands of people. Know someone who was into daytrading stocks and such. He had a home, no mortgage, no debt. Ended up losing the home. Wife left, took the kids. Wife eventually came back with the kids, they live a simple life now in some apartment. Life is not what it was, but they're getting by. If you don't know what you're doing, you can lose everything. When you talk with tr…
The trick to getting rich is trading with other people's money. You win, you get commission. You lose, it's not your money.
http://blogmaverick.com/2008/11/13/the-hedge-fund-disconnect...
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#56It seems like everybody in this thread is saying "No duh, invest in Japan right now!" The assumption is that the market will turn around, and anybody who buys into Japanese companies stands to make a lot of money. If this is the case, then why are the prices going down at all? Are other investors really that ignorant?
Exactly. People who make fortunes off these markets are selling. Either they're wrong or posters here are. Guess which option is more likely. I think the LessWrong post Markets are Anti-Inductive explains it well: http://lesswrong.com/lw/yv/markets_are_antiinductive/
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. People who make fortunes off these markets are selling. Either they're wrong or posters here are. Guess which option is more likely. I think the LessWrong post Markets are Anti-Inductive explains it well: http://lesswrong.com/lw/yv/markets_are_antiinductive/
Well, it's recovered about 400 points since this was posted, so the professionals seem to have decided they were deeply into buy territory, too.
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Be careful. Good work ethic doesn't always mean business success. The two are correlated, but that doesn't suggest that tossing money at any Japanese company is the way to go. Still do your due diligence and only invest in solid companies. This is certainly an opportunity, but not a reason to be irresponsible.
Here's a list of companies "from or based in Japan": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_of_Japan Sony, Toyota, Honda, Nintendo, etc. Japanese companies like these that were a great investment a week ago are still a great investment. Only now the stock is less expensive because of a temporary panic. Smart money is buying up all the stock possible for these companies before they can rebound.
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#59Be careful - "John Mauldin: Japan Is a Bug Searching for a Windshield" http://www.fool.com/investing/international/2010/07/22/john-...
He is talking about long term deleveraging in many different countries. His outlook for the US is just as grim.
Re: Bottom just fell out of Nikkei
#60It seems like everybody in this thread is saying "No duh, invest in Japan right now!" The assumption is that the market will turn around, and anybody who buys into Japanese companies stands to make a lot of money. If this is the case, then why are the prices going down at all? Are other investors really that ignorant?
Both buying and selling may be the correct play depending on your current position.