A case of bovine intervention: How to guard investors' money without scaring off the herd

Offering sage advice till the cows come home

clock • 3 min read

Have you ever found yourself standing in a field surrounded by cows? I learned that it is a situation made more stressful when accompanied by two children and a partner who do not share your philosophy of bovine encounters.

Just as my wife started reading our last rites, an apparition appeared - in the form of a jovial dairy farmer. He explained that the cows were curious, that we should stand our ground and that as they drew closer, one of them would scare the herd into submission. Sure enough, one twitched and they all beat a hasty retreat. This experience stuck with me as a lesson in the behaviour of crowds. The ebullient young cows egged each other on, until for no good reason they all decided to leg it. The current euphoria in financial markets looks increasingly driven by animal spirits. The ...

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