A message from my co-blogger The Accumulator, followed by the rest of the week’s good reads.

Hi old friend,

This is it. The one we’ve been talking about for years. Our biggest test yet. You and I were there in 2008 of course, but we didn’t have so much skin in the game.

This time is different. It’s different because it’s now.

No history book inflicted pain but now we hold an oblong portal onto the world’s misery and we can’t tear our eyes away.

We might as well clip a giant billboard to our nose that relentlessly flashes: CATASTROPHE.

So I guess you know what I’m going to say, but we both need to hear it anyway.

We only have to do one thing.

Do not sell.

DO NOT SELL.

DO NOT FUCKING SELL.

That’s how serious this is. We do not swear. Or use capitals.

Let’s forget the well-meaning charts and stats for once. We’ve seen this movie before. Only we weren’t in it that time.

This can still be a movie, just a bad dream in a few years from now. The losses aren’t real. They aren’t real until you sell. Until you lock them in. Then the damage is done. Then you’ll wear that scar for life.

Keep your hand away from the nuclear button and in a few years all this will be one of those savage bites out of a short-term chart. Then a fairground dip on a medium chart. Then a wonder-what-that-was squiggle on a long-term chart.

Looking back, those didn’t hurt us because we weren’t there. Looking forward they only hurt us if we sell.

I tell you this… I’m not going to be yet another cautionary tale. Another ‘weak hand’ that folded under pressure. A bear market victim that couldn’t take it.

The best have already told us what to do.

What are the catchy quotes?

“Buy low, sell high.”

“Be greedy when others are fearful.”

It’s hard to hear great advice when your heart is pounding in your ears.

So until my head is back in charge of my gut, I’ll settle for this:

Do not sell.

The Accumulator

From Monevator

Hang on in there if you’re a long-term investor – The Investor via Twitter

Investing in the face of disaster – Monevator

From the archive-ator: Who isn’t buying the market right now? – Monevator

News

Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view you can click to read the piece without being a paid subscriber. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing if you read them a lot!¹

Pandemic policies: Rishi Sunak’s first Budget and a cut in the base rate [Search result]– FT

Oh yes, the was a Budget this week. The key points… – BBC

…and what it means for you – ThisIsMoney

British Airways is in a battle for ‘survival’ due to impact of coronavirus – ThisIsMoney

Second patient cured of HIV, say doctors – BBC

Shell-shocked? This is the fastest bear market in history – The Irrelevant Investor

Coronavirus corner

I was slow to appreciate why ‘flattening the curve’ of virus cases is so important, but this simple dotted line makes it clear – New York Times

Coronavirus: Why you must act now – Tomas Pueyo via Medium

Cancel everything – The Atlantic

UK government’s coronavirus advice and why it gave it – Guardian

Seven science-based strategies to cope with coronavirus anxiety – The Conversation

Saga suspends all cruises, due to the threat to over-70s – ThisIsMoney

Super-rich jet off to their disaster bunkers – Guardian

Products and services

Top savings accounts go up in smoke after rate cut – ThisIsMoney

Could you get money back in minutes from your student loan overpayments? – ThisIsMoney

RateSetter will pay you £20 [and me a cash bonus] within 30 days of you putting in your first £10 – RateSetter

Is the higher Junior ISA allowance just a perk for the wealthy? – Guardian

NS&I Savings rates could fall to a new low – Money Observer

Wooden homes for sale [Gallery] – Guardian

Comment and opinion

Hello darkness my old friend – Josh Brown

The worst day of our investment lives – Of Dollars and Data

Warren Buffett’s thoughts on the crash [Video] – via YouTube

Victory is inevitable – The Escape Artist

COVID-19 and bonds: No time to die – Finimus

Asset allocation re-visited – DIY Investor

Animal Spirits Emergency Podcast [Podcast, heart on sleeve…] – AWOCS

How will the coronavirus affect your finances? – Get Rich Slowly

So, now it’s a bear market – Bason Asset Management

Prison of my own making – Indeedably

The Stay Rich portfolio – Meb Faber

Naughty corner: Active antics

Market meltdowns – Fred Wilson

Assessing the oil shock – Klement on Investing

Hunting for dividends in the Goldilocks zone [PDF] – UK Value Investor

Switching out of shares in a battered market [Search result] – FT

An extreme level of equity market fear… – Horan Capital Advisors

Kindle book bargains

How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis [Like no other book in the genre] – £1.99 on Kindle

One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch – £0.99 on Kindle

RESET: How to Restart Your Life and Get F.U. Money by Dave Sawyer – £0.99 on Kindle

How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back by Sally Helgesen – £0.99 on Kindle

Off our beat

The 1990s tech boss who lost more than a billion: What happened next? – BBC

And finally…

As skilled members of a disease-fighting team, you and the other players work together to keep the world safe from outbreaks and epidemics. Only through teamwork will you have a chance to find a cure.
– Pandemic: The Board Game [Great fun, recommended]

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1. Note some articles can only be accessed through the search results if you’re using PC/desktop view (from mobile/tablet view they bring up the firewall/subscription page). To circumvent, switch your mobile browser to use the desktop view. On Chrome for Android: press the menu button followed by “Request Desktop Site”.