The 2024 letter: Trust talking heads at your own peril

Buffett makes his disdain for financial pundits clear: after all, if someone truly knew which stock would go up tomorrow, letting other people know about it would, in his words, be like “finding gold and then handing a map to the neighbours showing its location”.

He also cautions that when the markets are highly active, “whatever foolishness can be marketed will be vigorously marketed — not by everyone but always by someone”.

So sure, go ahead and watch some finance news, but don’t take everything you hear too seriously. It’s on you, the investor, to recognise snake-oil salesmen for what they are. Caveat emptor.