Investing today may well be harder than it has been at any time in our three decades of existence.

Typically, we make money when we buy things. We count the profits later, but we know we have captured them when we buy the bargain.

Why should the immediate opportunity set be the only one considered, when tomorrow's may well be considerably more fertile than today's?

Ratings agencies are highly conflicted, unimaginative dupes. They are blissfully unaware of adverse selection and moral hazard. Investors should never trust them.

You must buy on the way down. There is far more volume on the way down than on the way back up, and far less competition among buyers. It is almost always better to be too early than too late, but you must be prepared for price markdowns on what you buy.

One must understand the importance of an endless drive to get information and seek value.

There is an old saying, "How did you go bankrupt?" And the answer is, "Gradually, and then suddenly." The impending fiscal crisis in the United States will make its appearance in the same way.