Somewhere around the 1980s, people got the notion that lifelong learning was a trend. Adult education classes, which had been around for a hundred years, suddenly bloomed beyond GED tutoring, typing and prenatal parenting classes. Community colleges began to sprout non-traditional student bodies that outnumbered traditional full-time day students by three to one.

It’s post Labor Day and I’m still feeling a nice languor. I happily fiddled around and attempted to organize some old files Monday—nothing too strenuous.  You always hope that past thoughts don’t look too flimsy years later, but I came across one that seems to hold up and look downright timely.

When stocks are beaten down, many investors are tempted to bottom fish for bargains. There is nothing wrong with this. There are major profits to be made in bear markets.

But Lynn Carpenter in Investor’s Daily Edge cautions investors against confusing a low stock price with a bargain: “Potential, not price, is the metric to follow when you’re tempted to bottom fish.”

That’s why insurer American International Group (NYSE:AIG) is a potential bargain and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is not…

Lynn Carpenter at Investor’s Daily Edge says that for every super-smart investor there are several spontaenous and irrational money-chasers. Some of the biggest risk takers are Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF), state-owned funds that hold an estimated $3 trillion in assets worldwide. These funds have little transparency and no clear long-term objectives, but can show investors where money is flowing in the market.

On July 31, Lynn Carpenter in Investor’s Daily Edge explained why gold could drop as low as $750 an ounce. Lynn says much of gold’s downward trajectory is due to supply and demand. But if the metal falls below its support line of $750, its next target could be in the $600 to $620 range…