One of the oldest and most common truths of the financial markets is that price goes up in a staircase but comes down in an elevator. The yen trade this Monday was just the latest example of this time worn phenomena. It is also the reason why the majority of market players be they investors or traders always lose money. Everyone panics and sells bottoms or worse doesn’t panic and holds on until the bitter end. That why success in the financial markets is always 90% process rather 10% analysis. If you are an investor the single best long term strategy that you can follow is to dollar cost average a diversified basket of assets every single month and then rebalance once a year. It is also the strategy that almost no one follows properly. Mainly because it is so boring, bloodless and rote and furthermore will very often will force you to buy what looks like a sure loser and sell what appears to be an inevitable winner.