Valuing Dutchman update week 16 2024

Should we worry?

Should we worry?

Who would have thought five years ago that we would face a pandemic that paralyzed the entire world, followed by a war in Europe and a new conflict in Gaza with the potential to expand to Iran? Personally, I had only considered the possibility of a war in Gaza. In that region, it seems like there has been a war as far back as I can remember.

Today, with the threat between Israel and Iran, we are all worried. Both parties claim they do not want escalation, but meanwhile, they are sending drones to each other. How long will it take before this powder keg explodes, I wonder.

As for whether we should worry, I don't have an answer. I'm not an expert in this field, and even experts can be quite off the mark (as with Putin). If you are worried, hedges like gold and oil are an option. Maybe you pay an insurance premium, maybe it yields a lot. I only mention this because I have seen it happen in the past, although it's not within my area of expertise or something I apply myself.

What I can do is look for interesting investments (I'll present a new company next week) that are at the perfect intersection of financial strength, quality, and attractive valuation. I'll just keep doing that, regardless of the worries and potential disasters. After all, we're talking about nuclear powers.

Suppose it comes to a new world war or nuclear weapons are used, then good or bad investments are the least of our worries. So we must remain optimistic and take advantage of the lower prices that are offered to us.

Update

Every week (except during holidays and when there is no news), I report on the stocks from our selection. Especially during periods when companies publish their figures, it can be quite extensive. However, I always try to focus on the most important matters.

This week: