Episode 389: The Business Model Matters in Economics

We had a reasonably boring week in the markets (as of press time, which is after the market open on Friday, the Dow is modestly down on the week but no up or down day this week was particularly significant), but it was somewhat less boring in economic news.

What I want to do today is look at the variety of economic news circulating and apply a market perspective to it.  My view is very simple as to the dangers around most conventional methods of receiving that news and most conventional methods of applying that news to investment practices: The news itself is prone to sensationalism, and the application of the news is prone to over-reactionism.

Put differently, the incentive structure behind how most people receive their news is flawed (and in this case, I am talking about economic news, but my statements here are true in all forms of news).  And the incentive structure in how investment applications are delivered is substantially flawed, not to mention divorced from personal financial reality.

I unpack all of that this week, and do a look at the current news, and provide wise investment applications for you - within our framework - where the incentives are right, the temperature is moderate, the perspective is sober, and the culture is fiduciary.

Links mentioned in this episode: DividendCafe.com TheBahnsenGroup.com