It's great to see that you've finally worked out that there are different risk profiles for different companies madamswer. I see things haven't really worked for WOW, despite your recommendations that it was a solid company compared to MSB.
They're totally different companies, at a totally different stage of development yet you liked to compare them and the so called risks? Blimey that was interesting!
Further, and as we can see, paying a premium for WOW hasn't exactly worked out for investors. I pointed this would likely happen and it has. They vastly miscalculated. Same for another blue chip, BHP, there are many more. As for CBA the risks are yet to fully emerge, but credit is not going to be as easy to get as it once was, check what the sudden decline in borrowing for investment properties will do to their bottom line, as is the coming pressure on jobs. Despite being propped up by a lot of money from China, residential real estate is not going to remain static. In Perth and Darwin we are seeing retracing...this will continue. No investment is entirely risk free, but somehow people become convinced that if they part with vast amounts of cash, they are more guaranteed of a return. It's astonishingly shortsighted.
The market is complex and interactive and macroeconomic factors as as critical, and overlooked, a factor as any. Which is why working through a decent, recession-proof sector is a very good start. Then you look at the science, remember how reluctant you were to look at that?, and the company set-up generally, the background of those involved, the intellectual property, the market, etc etc. I'm sure there is a book out on that...no. Not really. You have to use commonsense as well as vision. Slicing and dicing balance sheets will only get you so far, and usually it means a false sense of security or overblown fear. IMO.
(20min delay)