In the 1950s, Upjohn Company developed a drug called Minoxidil, which was designed to treat ulcers, among other conditions. It turns out the drug wasn’t very good treating ulcers, but it had an unexpected side effect: hair growth. By the late 1980s, the drug that was designed to treat ulcers and high blood pressure brought us Rogaine®. Certainly not what the Upjohn Company had in mind, but a benefit to society, nonetheless. Unfortunately, side effects (of the medical or economic variety) don’t always have a positive outcome.

Let’s consider the last twenty years of financial and economic history.

I am a sucker for a good statistic. Sports, economic, financial, it doesn’t matter. I love ‘em all. But my favorite statistics are those that get overshadowed and overlooked. For example:

Imagine that someone approaches you with a wild and innovative idea. This idea will surely change life as you know it. Things you once thought were impossible are now probable. This idea will create a safer, more prosperous world. It will improve your standard of living and become indispensable to society. No, this is not the Crypto.com ad claiming that “fortune favors the brave”. And it is not a fad diet. The year is 1882 and this is the pitch for electricity from Thomas Edison’s electric company, Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York.

Idea in brief:

• Financial markets are more predictable than most realize
• Bear markets become bull markets, and pessimism becomes optimism
• The greatest danger is being out of the market