Kenneth Fisher Forbes Article: Give 'Em The Finger

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Jan 06, 2012
Ken Fisher is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Fisher Investments. He has written a column for Forbes for 27 years. This is his article from January 3: Buy good stocks that have been impaled by the euro-zone-fueled hysteria of 2011.

I’m recently back from three weeks traveling in Europe. The trip has given me better perspective on the market’s current obsession—the troubled euro zone. To put it bluntly, I say, give ’em the finger—the Italian Finger, that is.

What am I talking about? I am ­talking about a 36-foot sculpture on display in front of the stock exchange building in Milan, Italy.

It was created by legendary Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan and erected in the autumn of 2010, long before Occupy Wall Street hit downtown New York. It was originally intended to be a temporary, one-week exhibit, but it has been sitting in this plaza ever since.

I took refuge underneath the big finger during a rain shower. People who see it debate its meaning. To me it is a defiant symbol that says capitalism and markets will prevail.

Italy and Spain are in the headlines a lot today. People worry that they will default on their sovereign debts. Don’t count on it.

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