Investments

So what actually constitutes an investment? I think its fine while the stock market was on the charge and you consistently saw your portfolio value increasing and you can turn around and say "my investments are up" - but how many of those 'investments' that you bought are now worth significantly less?

Are they still investments if the value is now worth less than what you bought them for?

I guess thats a tough one to answer.

My theory is that it becomes an investment when the PASSIVE (Emphasis here) income that you generate from it provides you with free cash to buy other investments or income streams.

As an example - if I have bought Remgro or PSG or Bidvest shares over the last few years, the share price of these instruments has gone up and down. Let's say that the price of the shares has gone nowhere over the period that I have held them but the dividend yielded from the investment has given me cash to buy more of these shares - then I think this is an investment. (Not sure who agrees or disagrees).

On another issue - over the last few weeks there have been a number of bad jokes made about Iceland and how it has fallen to pieces and is now buried in debt.

A UK banker posted a note on one of the trading boards that read:

The next domino's to fall in order will be

Argentina
Pakistan
Ukraine
Hungary
Serbia

..... scary stuff....