Despite widespread corruption, a rubber stamping congress and populist political leaders, the Philippines continues to be considered a “serious nation” on the fast-track to economic prosperity. Our finances remain strong to a point where our sovereign debts have been classified as “investment-grade” for nearly a decade – an undeniable validation of the strength of the economy.
Gambling is a venture without calculation; speculation is a venture with calculation. Dickson G. Watts
Being a self-professed speculator in the junior mining space for the past forty-odd years, I used to include that quote in every client letter and in every research piece as a means of reminding readers that the art of speculation involves weighing many different but converging data points. That quote was the brainchild of Dickson G. Watts, an exceedingly successful speculator from the late 1800s and former president of the New York Cotton Exchange, whose book Speculation as a Fine Art and Thoughts on Life is a must-read for anyone involved in the financial markets.