“The big money is not in the buying and the selling, but the sitting.”
Pioneering early 20th-century US investor Jesse Livermore’s words highlight a crucial trait of successful investing: patience.
The bull market born last October should keep delivering worthy returns, but sporadically. Reaping them requires patience, which can be difficult for some.
I’ve long called the market “The Great Humiliator”, and it is up to its old tricks – shaking out the timid with fruitless US Federal Reserve fretting and scary stories of US debt downgrades, China's weakness and more.
Don’t be fooled – this bull market has legs, and it is crucial you don't get scared of it now.
British-American investor Sir John Templeton famously said: “Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on scepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria.”
Today, scepticism pervades. After extreme bearish sentiment throughout 2022 and early 2023, the American Association of Individual Investors’ weekly sentiment survey has largely tilted more sanguine for three months.
Two thirds of surveyed global fund managers now expect a US “soft landing” – slower growth, but no deep recession.
Yet, doubts around Fitch’s US credit downgrade, a eurozone lending slowdown, consumer debt, Chinese deflation and more are capturing headlines.
Many fear that unexpected US economic resilience means higher interest rates for longer – especially after Fed chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole blathering. Reactions to August’s sharp market swings illustrate all this.
Volatility isn’t a flaw in this bull market. It is a feature of all bull markets, which proverbially climb a “Wall of Worry”.
The myriad fears are all bricks in the wall. Small and unimportant on their own, August’s wiggles are a crucial reminder: Stocks’ climbs aren’t linear.
Since 1926, the S&P 500 endured 34 corrections – sharp, sentiment-driven 10 per cent to 20 per cent drops. The median drop: 13.7 per cent. I count 50 dips of 8 per cent or more – about one every other year.
Some bull markets are often tied to FEAR, or False Evidence Appearing Real. The 2009-2020 bull market had six full-fledged 10 per cent corrections (before dividends), including two early doozies – 2010's 16 per cent jolt and 2011’s 19.4 per cent thumping.
Yet, the 2002-2007 S&P 500 rise had just one. The 1990s bull had three – all within one two-year stretch. There is no pattern – corrections strike at any time for any or no reason. Smaller, herky-jerky plunges, too.
Watch: US Federal Reserve raises rates for 10th consecutive time
I am not predicting that now. Short-term swings defy forecasting. But know they happen.
Bull markets are volatile. Recall the roaring late 1990s? The S&P 500 soared 31 per cent, 26.7 per cent and 19.5 per cent in its last three years. Internet exuberance brought rocket ship gains that many recall as easy money.
Wrong. October 1997’s 10.8 per cent three-week nosedive wasn’t easy. Nor the summer of 1998’s 19.3 per cent swoon. Or that three-month, 12.1 per cent gut punch in the back half of 1999.
Headlines heralded the Russian rouble’s implosion, the Asian financial crisis, Long-Term Capital Management’s bankruptcy and Y2K decimation back then. Easy money? Not quite. Sitting still is hard work.
Ken Fisher is the founder, executive chairman and co-chief investment officer of Fisher Investments, a global investment adviser with $200 billion of assets under management.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
