Fred Mahon: The maths of standing still

It is remarkable how much emphasis is placed on short-term results by investors and (especially) market commentators. The likes of CNBC's Squawk Box love to plaster incendiary headlines across the screen, while reporters bellow at each other about, for example, Apple's latest quarterly sales miss in China or why we are all fools for not owning Bitcoin. I realise that this hyperbole makes for much more popular viewing than a measured run-through of a company's balance sheet and cash flow prospects, but the Squawk Box approach certainly does not help with long-term investment decision maki...