Observations from my Frame of Reference

  As of February 2026, I’ve been investing for just seven years. I’m not an investment expert—just someone driven by curiosity and personal interest. Situation around the world Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the world has been at war for four years now. It’s six years if we consider COVID, which was no short of a war. The US president, Mr. Donald Trump claimed he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, stating that he had stopped seven (or eight) wars. The Venezuelan president had been kidnapped by the US. President Trump last month demanded Greenland to be handed over to the US and threatened to send the US military in case Denmark did not comply. So much for peace. All these conflicts have started in the last 4 years. As I am writing this piece, another war has started, twenty four hours ago. The US and Israel carried out attacks on Iran and Iran has struck back at US bases in the middle east. In a situation like this, it’s not hard to imagine a third world war or the use of a nuclear...

The Great Depression was a severe economic downturn of the modern world started in 1929 in the United State of America. It lasted till the late 1930s and affected many countries in the world.  "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana   Today as we stand on the edge of an economic recession induced by Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is worth looking back on the causes and effects of the longest, deepest and most widespread depression of the industrial world. What Caused the Great Depression?  The great depression started with the stock market crash of October 1929. The 1920s, after the end of the first World War, was a period of prosperity for America. The economy expanded rapidly and the nation's total wealth almost doubled. This induced a great optimism in the outlook of investors and the stock prices soared. Wall Street saw one of the greatest bull runs in history, S&P 500 saw a 500% rise from the low at 6.4...