Three articles from the Economist, all on the same subject, but from different perspectives. The markets have been terrible over the past months. To such a point that many companies are savagely reducing their dividends. Tough time for the dividen investor who was expecting GE or Dow Chemicals to continue providing much needed cash in these troubled times. At the same time, with every passing month, investors’ odds are improving. One such example is John Paulson, made a fortune betting against mortgages, and is now starting to look for opportunities in the wreckage.

Morningstar’s advices on how to avoid these three investment mistakes is a good reminder to keep things simple, and come back to basics when we lose our ground. Should you not have done it recently, now is a good time to review your situation following these principles.

I also advise you to check the latest Economist report on entrepreneurship. I found myself coming back to some of Fred Wilson‘s ideas, and it reinforced my belief in this crisis being a boon for entrepreneurship. The trend seems to pick up in the state: Weary of looking for work, some create their own.

Finally, to ease the tension a little, BoingBoing had fun going through Amazon looking for books explaing “Why the Real Estate Boom Won’t Bust” and other silly predictions… All of them still being on Amazon’s shelves !

Times like these call for cautious decisions. The markets are volatile, and don’t really know where they stand. Many people I meet are reconsidering their investments. They don’t want to risk their hard-earned money. Who would blame them?

Yet, as most long term investors well know, the best opportunities arise over uncertain or difficult times. Seth Godin even wrote about the opportunity of a lifetime – Seth writes way better than I ever will – do read these inspired 10 lines !At the end of the day, we should take a step back and ask ourself what we really want to do in such markets.

Many will back-off and will look for safer opportunities. The long term investors will build positions over the next 2 to 3 years and wait for the markets to get back on track. They have time on their side. At the end of the day, they will be the ones who are rewarded for their boldness!

“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful?” – Warren Buffett