How To Avoid Speculation In Shares And The Forex
In the vocabulary of investment, “speculation” is a nasty word.
It suggests gambling, insecurity, long shots, luck, and similar improprieties. For old campaigners it stirs up memories of the 1929 unpleasantness, as damp weather tweaks the rheumatic joint. And, worst of all, it seems synonymous with money lost. For every speculator who pulls a coup, we hear, there are 99 who live to rue their recklessness, to bemoan the hard-earned dollars foolishly and irretrievably cast down the drain.
The New York Stock Exchange labors long and hard to encourage a sober, sensible attitude in investors. Conscientious brokers steer their customers away from situations bearing a speculative tinge. The literature of investment inveighs against empty-headed avarice, blind faith, and other vagrant impulses that lead the innocent into ill-starred ventures.
If fear breeds caution, all well and good. For speculation can be extremely hazardous, particularly for the new investor, which means in most cases the person who can least afford it. And certainly speculation, as it involves cheap, shadowy gold-mining or...