One thing about market falls (crash as the media loves to call it) is that it happens when people least expect it. Funny, even in case of somebody’s death the immediate reaction is one of disbelief – whether the person is 40 or 90 years of age.

Let us see what was said about the Titanic – the unsinkable ship! this is a quote from Titanic: the unsinkable ship…

A modern marvel of construction, the Titanic was the largest and most luxurious passenger vessel of its time. Thought to be unsinkable, the Titanic was equipped with eight watertight compartments on the hull of the boat that would close if water entered them allowing the Titanic to stay afloat. The sheer size and technological advancements present on the Titanic was the main reason why passengers and crew believed the ship to be unsinkable. Many individuals shared the sentiments of the Titanic being unsinkable and there are many different quotes to prove it. One of the most ironic maritime disasters in history, the Titanic met its fate after striking an iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. Although the watertight compartments did help mitigate the amount of water that the ship took on, five of the eight were flooded and caused the weight to be too much for the ship to bear. Many believe that if only four compartments were flooded that the ship would have had no problem sailing back to harbor and preventing the sinking of the Titanic.

Today many people believe that the existence of derivatives, stock exchanges, FED, and very pro-active governments, that the market cannot fall. This is a huge fallacy. Greed, fear, stealth, crime, etc. – are very old. Read the Puranas, and you will know what I mean. Ramayan, Mahabharata etc. are great places to read and understand human emotions. Nothing, repeat, nothing has changed.

look what the experts said:

I never saw a wreck and never have been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster.

Captain Edward Smith in 1907

Overconfidence seems to have dulled the faculties usually so alert.

Senator Smith, on Captain E.J. Smith.

The captain can, by simply moving an electric switch, instantly close the doors throughout, practically making the vessel unsinkable.

Irish News and Belfast Morning News, June 1st, 1911, on the incomplete Titanic.

We believe that the boat is unsinkable.

Philip Franklin, Vice-President of White Star Line, 8-00 a.m., April 15th, 1912.

Amazing is it not? Philip Franklin OBVIOUSLY had a vested interest in saying that – did he not?

Take the present situation – we all knew that Central Banks were giving money free. This free money HAD to create inflation in a) commodiities or b) assets. Since it was not creating in commodities, it had to be in assets. At some stage gold had to appreciate becasue the US $ was being printed without control. The continous upsurge in gold was arrested by the FED selling 16 Billion US $ in one hour. This was not selling gold, it was supporting the US $. The current lull in gold is just the time that it is taking to digest the huge over-eating in one day. By June-July 2020, you could see gold going up again. Or maybe in May itself.

When the captain of Titanic saw the iceberg he is supposed to have said “full steam ahead” – thinking the ship could take on the ice-berg.

We all do that, right?

So what are the learning from the crash..?

1. Be humble – the market keeps telling you something, do not ignore that.
2. ITC, Indigo, Gillette, Nippon amc, – the market is telling you something – don’t say “full steam ahead” based on what you know.
3. Market knows more than us.
4. Donald Trump and Namo lack understanding numbers
5. Politicial leadership will do what looks “sensible”. It need not be smart, but people have to accept it as sensible.
6. Good yield shares can look smarter than growth.
7. Learn, read, think, apply.
8. Test your strategie with small quantities..

remember having fun is important….