Bear market not all bad news

Despite current bear market concerns, valuations are beginning to look more attractive and investors that spread their risk should consider taking advantage of market weakness

The current crisis in equity markets shows many of the hallmarks of a bear market that is approaching its bottom. After six months of 2002, a year the consensus saw as ushering in a period of recovery after two consecutive negative years, most western equity indices have suffered declines of at least 10%. Signs of a US economic recovery are not being translated into improving business optimism. Indeed, the issue has become one of dwindling investor confidence as a range of negatives, from repeated profit warnings to accounting scandals, threaten to undermine the credibility of the corpor...