My server problem continues but should be resolved soon. I use a local small business to host the login page. Over the years the up-time has been very good and I am confident that they can correct this soon. The main site is hosted by Telus and very seldom ever goes down.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was down 1.1%.
Most of the stocks on our list were down.
This can certainly get depressing. Particularly things like Melcor down 5.3% to $15.30. And Canadian Western Bank down 2.4% to $23.45. And AutoCanada down 6.8% to $26.09. In all three of these cases it is due to fears about what will happen to the Western economy and their earnings given the low oil prices. Meanwhile they are all still reporting profits in their latest quarters. These are not like some of the oil companies that are reporting losses. These are strong companies. I certainly expect these to recover but that does not mean they can’t go lower before that happens. Back in 2009 Melcor and Canadian Western Bank certainly went down more than I expected. I tended to buy on the way down and certainly bought some too early as it turned out. I am doing the same thing this time. I have been around the block a few times seeing strong companies have their share prices pushed down. If one can stomach the volatility it tends to work out quite well over time.
I suspect that many investors are not really that familiar with these companies and they just sell as the price goes down. Long term success in investing tends to require keeping a cool head when the mob panics.