When investing in a market where asset trading is ongoing, persistent, and prices are constantly fluctuating, the most important factor is the perception and attitude toward “time.” Here, time refers to a defined “period,” a concept that encompasses the “past,” “present,” and “future.” Knowing the future can make us wealthy. All we know is the “past,” but in reality, even the past is often not fully understood. That is, we must admit we lack complete knowledge about the past, present, or future. In this state, we must conduct business and invest. The attitude toward business and investing is to focus on judging the “trend” by applying the concepts of differential and integral calculus simultaneously. Differential weather (e.g., morning and afternoon of a day) is easy to predict, but long-term future weather cannot be forecasted even by supercomputers. However, by accumulating knowledge of the past and analyzing it integrally, it is possible to predict the trend of the distant future to...
Many people in our society invest in bonds. Perhaps you, reading this article, have invested in bonds at least once and are still investing now. Bank deposits are a form of bonds, just not labeled as ‘bonds.’ When you deposit your money in a bank, the money isn’t considered bank money. Interest is paid because the money isn’t withdrawn immediately. When you withdraw your deposited money, the bank must return the principal plus interest. This is essentially a bond. However, the only reason this differs from bonds as an investment asset is that these bank deposits are not traded on the market. If bank deposits were traded publicly, the interest rate would be evaluated in comparison with other deposits, even if the principal remains unchanged. Valuation reflects opportunity cost. This is the transaction value of bonds. When goods or assets are traded in the market, their value is re-evaluated. The core of value is comparison, and the tool for valuation is opportunity cost. That’s why CEOs...