Many investors are experiencing the real downside of stockmarkets for the first time. Suddenly they’re no longer placid, happy holiday resorts where riches gently roll to shore simply by waiting. A volcano has erupted and everyone is running around with their hair on fire stealing each other’s coconuts and hoarding pineapples.
Of course, paradise always had a lurking dark underside and even an unexpected eruption will eventually lead to vigorous green shoots appearing in the fertile volcanic ash. However, people don’t really think rationally about these things – their behaviour is dictated by how confident they feel and right now certainty is not available. Well, things will get better, but we have a ways to go yet.
