10 wasted minutes

Article Excerpt

Economics questions are everywhere these days. Do we face a double-dip recession? Is the economy headed for the proverbial “seven lean years”? Should Obama launch another stimulus package? This brings to mind a famous quote from Peter Lynch, world champion mutual-fund manager of the 1980s and 1990s: “If you spend a dozen minutes a year worrying about the economy, you’ve wasted 10 minutes.” Lynch’s point is heresy to economists, but gospel to successful investors. Most economic stats have a weak link at best with the stock market. A surprising economic statistic can make the market slump or jump, but another surprise can reverse that move the next day. Economic turning points have an impact on the market. But nobody can consistently predict them. That’s also true of key economic factors like interest rates, oil and gold prices. Brokers like to focus on economic news and predictions, since they are plentiful and they change every day. Each new stat or forecast can support a change in…