A colleague, an American professor of strategic management, knew the basics of Hinduism but found the tradition baffling: too many gods, no central text, contradictory practices, and more. So I tried explaining it — not all of Hinduism, just enough to show its shape — in a language she understood: strategy. Firms operate at three […]
Stock Market: A Plain-English Introduction Part 3: Temperament and Strategy
Parts 1 (read here) and 2 (read here) painted a somewhat daunting picture: stocks are complex, markets are emotional, and professionals often have significant advantages over ordinary investors. Nonetheless, there is an encouraging answer for us, one that requires neither financial expertise nor constant attention. In this final post, we’ll work through a blueprint for […]
Stock Market: A Plain-English Introduction Part 2: People, Psychology, and Price
In Part 1 (read here), we covered what stocks are, how companies and shareholders benefit from them, and why earnings drive stock prices. In this post, we’ll shift from the business itself to the people buying and selling it, and examine how psychology drives the market from day to day. A company’s business changes little […]