“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito” - Dalai Lama

You might have heard us occasionally mention that we look at page 6 for investment clues; not looking at the headlines with as much scrutiny. Not that we are not paying attention to the headlines but in most cases if it’s in the headlines, it’s in the price, at least when it comes to markets.

You have probably not heard the name Mohamed Bouazizi before and his significance in the fifth largest market correction back in August 2011 but his story was a great lesson. Mohamed Bouazizi was a food vendor in Tunisia, struggling to feed his family. The corruption and government rules were making the struggle even more difficult and in December 2010, Bouazizi decided to make the ultimate statement by lighting himself on fire in the town square. The story of his death was a page 6 story that eventually altered the path of headlines. Word of Bouazizi’s plight caused others in Tunisia to protest, President Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. News of his fleeing sent ripples through other Middle Eastern countries. Protests happened in Algeria, Yemen and Jordan sparking changes to their systems. In Egypt, protests brought on the resignation and trial of President Mubarak who was found guilty of negligence for failing to halt the killing of peaceful protesters. He was sentenced to life in prison but was acquitted in 2017.

The situation in Egypt spilled over to Libya and Bahrain causing oil prices to spike to $103 in North America and about $118 in Europe. The run up in oil prices was a contributing factor to the slower than anticipated recovery after the housing crisis. The supply/demand equation kept oil prices relatively high throughout 2011 and to a very large extent, this can be attributed back to Mohamed Bouazizi.

We do not look at every page 6 article and chase a scenario but we do pay attention as these events unfold. We are always trying to be better and Bouazizi’s story is an example of how we work to pay attention to things that can have profound impacts on how we manage money. These events tend to reach a tipping point where they can become even more profound, we don’t catch them all but we are certainly doing our best to pay attention.