By: musicwhiz On hindsight, it would have been extremely obvious to a casual observer and a reasonable person that the market would turn bearish this year. That is the problem in general with predictions - they are usually extremely accurate only by looking at history ! However, this post is not to lambast people who attempt to time market cycles (some do get it fairly accurate but are often unable to repeat the "stellar" performance); but rather, it is a post to illustrate how one should take full advantage of a bear market to look for bargains. I read, with some amusement no doubt, the views of various experts who were asked their opinions on the current market condition. There were varied opinions (as usual) ranging from the optimistic (the bear will only last 12 months and the market is also bottomed out) to the wildly pessimistic (we will get "buried" under a pile of earnings downgrades). It was all very amusing seeing people try to predict the market and to second-guess the economic environment and how long the current sub-prime crisis will last. The fact is that no one knows, yet everyone has an opinion and tries to make an "educated guess", in the process trying to sound intelligent and that they know exactly what's going on. I am not shooting down the opinions of famed investors; it's just that sometimes they should just admit they haven't a clue as to when this will end - I think that sounds more honest! Read more...