Its reminded me of a few things:1. Im not a trader and am glad...

Its reminded me of a few things:

1. Im not a trader and am glad not to be.
2. Debt is and always will be the most important KPI when it comes to determining the safety-security-survival of a business.
3. Even if debt looks good - check the covenants - again and again. This is where the CEOs and CFOs seem most likely to mislead and/or lie - if in doubt, ring them and ask [they still lie though :(]

Given that I have been mislead on 4 companies in my investing history - each time by banking covenants that surprised me - and 3/4 of those have gone under - my big lesson now is point 2 - I will avoid investing in companies with high debt in 2009! Companies with very low to no debt, good ratios and at a reasonable price are on my radar.