By Frank Lin

April 23, 2019

For the first quarter of 2019, the reporting has just begun - all we can say is: So far so good. Well, in general.  The market responds well to the first few company reports and, for the past few days, all major US market indexes, Dow Jones, NASDAQ, S&P 500... have  beaten or reached record highs. The US Dollar is increasingly strong against world major currencies.  So looks like that market watchers and players clearly see the financial fundamentals getting healthier than ever before, and makes me (almost) think of the time of Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Yet we should always keep in mind that our world is so full of uncertainty and turmoils.  The US-China trade war, albeit going well as we are daily briefed, is still going on till the end of May or early June, and could be further prolonged.  And we must be warned that even if the US and China reach a deal, trade and other frictions will be an on-going matter.  Then there are all these regional, racial and religious conflicts and fights that we hear daily on the news.  Terrorism is still hiding in disguise and hate waiting and looking for vulnerable preys where civilization is triumphant.  And then we see the darkness of politics could sometimes lurch an upper hand on justice and human values...  All these could affect the market in a way sometimes so significant beyond our wildest imagination! They are the potential forces in front of which the market would seem so fragile.

For businesses running in the current environment, we need to be fully braced up even in good times. Make and keep your business as healthy as possible.  Focus on your goal and faithfully execute your plans, short term and long term.  So when you will have taken advantage of the current bull market to beef up your business,  you can go head-on against any head wind, a long long way.