Fisher: European Fears Overblown

In his latest Forbes column, Kenneth Fisher says that fears about Europe’s debt problems are overblown, and that credit ratings agencies have only added to the hype.

“It’s simply astounding, after all we’ve seen in recent decades, that anyone pays attention to credit ratings put out by the officially sanctioned rating agencies,” Fisher writes. “Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s compound investors’ worst sins, including the tendency to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Noting that Greece’s interest payments were more than twice what they are now back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Fisher says investors shouldn’t give in to fear. “Panics pass. This one will, too,” he says. “Stop thinking about short-term market jitters and more about long-term investing.”

Fisher also offers a handful of stock picks, including firms from the entertainment, oil services, and utilities industries. To read his full column, click here.