Keeping Volatility in Perspective  by  C. Thomas Howard, Ph.D.;
and Craig T. Callahan, DBA  C. Thomas Howard, Ph.D., is CEO and
director of research at  AthenaInvest Advisors, LLC. Craig T.
Callahan, DBA, is president of  ICON Advisors, Inc.  Imagine
yourself en route to Paris, France, on a long awaited vacation
when you hear this announcement:  "This is your captain
speaking. I want to apologize for the air turbulence for which
I've turned on the fasten seatbelt sign and asked the flight
attendants to discontinue cabin service. Pilots at other
altitudes have also reported bumpy air, so I've decided to land
the plane in Omaha in order to avoid the turbulence rather than
continue to our original destination of Paris. I hope you are
able to find comfortable accommodations after we land in Omaha."
What a disappointment! Omaha, with all due respect to Warren
Buffett, seems a poor substitute for Paris. Even though bumpy
flights are unpleasant and sometimes even scary, a pilot
choosing to land to avoid air turbule