The Stock Market and Investing

circlew

http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/05/12/10-companies-vanquished-earnings-season/

Nice article on earnings seaeson.

cyclone4

circlew said:

http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/05/12/10-companies-vanquished-earnings-season/

Nice article on earnings seaeson.

I've said it here multiple times. Buy "good" stocks on any substantial sell-off.

houdini1

Tough, but interesting day.

carnaught

Roller coaster today...hold on. Don't sell.

fintail

I've got another 25-30 years before I'd be cashing out. Let it ride.

slorenzen

fintail said:

I've got another 25-30 years before I'd be cashing out. Let it ride.

Yeah, well, I don't...

circlew

I'll bet it comes back by the end of the year. Reinvested dividends just got a discount!

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/stock-market-turmoil-dow-futures-spike-500-points-after-sell-n415381

houdini1

Here is a question for you guys. I use Scottrade, and any time the trading gets really heavy, like today and yesterday, it is impossible to place an order on-line. The trading platform is simply overwhelmed and becomes inoperative. Lucky for me, today I did not need or want to make a trade, but if I had, I would have been out of luck. For the last 45 minutes or so, I could not even refresh my browser to see what was happening to my stocks. Very aggravating.

If you use an on-line broker, I would appreciate hearing what your experience has been on these busy days.

fintail

This won't last forever. Older investors are supposed to be more risk averse, right?

A lot of near-retirement age people here hit the real estate jackpot in a way that will never be possible again (not to mention a historical run up in other investment vehicles), so although I don't want to say I have no sympathy, I might not have very sad feelings for those locals, anyway.

I can't wait to see what the automated service I use says I lost in the past week. Last week I lost a cheap car.

slorenzen said:

fintail said:

I've got another 25-30 years before I'd be cashing out. Let it ride.

Yeah, well, I don't...

laurasdada

Tagman, wherever you are: Vacationed in LA last week. Spent a gorgeous day on Broad Beach in Malibu, watching the kids learn to surf. Looked at the shore front homes, looked to the hills trying to figure out which was your abode... Couple of friendly dogs roamed the beach, one kept trying to hop on the surf boards as they came to shore. Or would grab the ankle strap and start dragging it. So nice and helpful.

Toured UCLA with my son, Angels game, Trombone Shorty at the Hollywood Bowl, improv troupe in Topanga Canyon, watched the taping of a mid-season replacement sitcom at Universal Studios and my nieces 4th birthday party, combined with lovely (but dry, although a brief bit of rain Tuesday) weather makes me want to move there! But, pesky job here and cost of living (free lodging with family when I visit; combined with my new, much lower net worth!) in CA is the reality that keeps me a happy New Englander!

houdini1

laurasdada said:

Tagman, wherever you are: Vacationed in LA last week. Spent a gorgeous day on Broad Beach in Malibu, watching the kids learn to surf. Looked at the shore front homes, looked to the hills trying to figure out which was your abode... Couple of friendly dogs roamed the beach, one kept trying to hop on the surf boards as they came to shore. Or would grab the ankle strap and start dragging it. So nice and helpful.

Toured UCLA with my son, Angels game, Trombone Shorty at the Hollywood Bowl, improv troupe in Topanga Canyon, watched the taping of a mid-season replacement sitcom at Universal Studios and my nieces 4th birthday party, combined with lovely (but dry, although a brief bit of rain Tuesday) weather makes me want to move there! But, pesky job here and cost of living (free lodging with family when I visit; combined with my new, much lower net worth!) in CA is the reality that keeps me a happy New Englander!

Nice post LD ! Most of those who criticized tagman don't seem to post much anymore. It would be nice to hear from tag.

cdnpinhead

houdini1 said:

Most of those who criticized tagman don't seem to post much anymore.

I would submit that no one posts much anymore.

houdini1

cdnpinhead said:

houdini1 said:

Most of those who criticized tagman don't seem to post much anymore.

I would submit that no one posts much anymore.

That's true. Tagman, like him or not, pretty much kept things going.

laurasdada

And, Mr. Stock Market is no longer my friend! But, like the weather in New England, just wait a minute...

cyclone4

cdnpinhead said:

houdini1 said:

Most of those who criticized tagman don't seem to post much anymore.

I would submit that no one posts much anymore.

Hello everyone! From time to time, I have been checking to see if there is any activity here, but there has been very little. Sometimes it's dead for several months. So, I have been basically ignoring the site. I wish that Len would chime in once in a while.

I am still bullish on the stock market. This correction over the past month was needed. China was the excuse. It causes pain but one needs to have patience. "Patience As., patience", cried the Master to the donkey. My Apple stock has been acting pretty crappy the past couple months, but I will hold it until I die. I love everything about Apple. I even bought an Apple Watch. In time, this will become a big money maker for Apple. Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Pay will also be important contributors going forward.

laurasdada

Apple pie is a winner, too... Got a company iPhone, bought a (refurbished) iPod Nano over tax free weekend. So, I'm slowly being assimilated...

Hope all is well with y'all!

tlong

laurasdada said:

Apple pie is a winner, too... Got a company iPhone, bought a (refurbished) iPod Nano over tax free weekend. So, I'm slowly being assimilated...

Hope all is well with y'all!

I still have some Apple stock I bought in 2005 - it is up about 12x right now! Unfortunately I cashed out of about 90% of the original investment years ago, which is a darn shame...

cyclone4

Guys, I have some very sad news to report. Our great friend, Len, on this forum for years, has passed away. He and I would converse frequently over the years about the market, politics, cosmology, cars, etc., etc. The last conversation we had was back in early April by email. I sent him several emails since then and he did not respond. For a while, I thought that he had no interest in doing so any more. But I begged him on a couple emails the past month or so to please let me know if he is okay. Today, I went to his Facebook page and right on top there was a single post by someone with the message, "RIP Len". I was more than stunned.

I replied to the guy that has that message and he sent me Len's obituary. Len kept the fact that he was very seriously ill, very private. I never knew he had a deadly disease (bone marrow cancer). I will miss him very much. All I can say now is this: May his memory be eternal. Here is his obituary.

http://legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?pid=174652564

houdini1

Thank you for sharing that information. I could tell from Len's posts that he was absolutely brilliant. I am sure that he enjoyed a very fulfilling life and I know that his family and friends will miss him terribly. I am certain that he is now in a very, very, nice place.

I would have liked to read his obit, but unfortunately, I could not open it.

cyclone4

houdini1 said:

Thank you for sharing that information. I could tell from Len's posts that he was absolutely brilliant. I am sure that he enjoyed a very fulfilling life and I know that his family and friends will miss him terribly. I am certain that he is now in a very, very, nice place.

I would have liked to read his obit, but unfortunately, I could not open it.

I totally agree. He certainly was brilliant in a lot of topics. And, he is definitely in a much better place now. He and I even discussed near death experiences and we believed that quantum mechanics is somehow involved in our consciousness living forever.

Try this link: legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?pid=174652564

carnaught

cyclone4 said:

houdini1 said:

Thank you for sharing that information. I could tell from Len's posts that he was absolutely brilliant. I am sure that he enjoyed a very fulfilling life and I know that his family and friends will miss him terribly. I am certain that he is now in a very, very, nice place.

I would have liked to read his obit, but unfortunately, I could not open it.

I totally agree. He certainly was brilliant in a lot of topics. And, he is definitely in a much better place now. He and I even discussed near death experiences and we believed that quantum mechanics is somehow involved in our consciousness living forever.

Try this link: legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?pid=174652564

Thanks for letting us know. I wondered why we hadn't heard from him. Even though I never got to know him, except from these (impersonal) forums, I feel the loss. He passed on the anniversary date of my dad's passing.

May he RIP.

houdini1

The link worked the second time you posted it. Thank you very much.

circlew

He was practically a neighbor of mine here in NJ. I will miss him and I believe his time here made a huge difference. God bless his family.

cdnpinhead

I often wonder what happened to people who stop posting. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date. Sorry to hear the news.

cyclone4

circlew said:

He was practically a neighbor of mine here in NJ. I will miss him and I believe his time here made a huge difference. God bless his family.

I can't begin to tell you folks how depressed I am about Len's passing. He became a good friend through the old Luxury Car Forum. We discussed many topics mostly through emails, but we did talk on the phone a few times. I feel blessed that I got to know Len over the past 10 years or so. He had incredible knowledge and insight on various topics.

The one thing that boggles my mind is that he never once confided in me that he had a very serious illness. I believe he did not want people to worry about him. I did get a sense over the past few years that he may have something more serious than he was admitting. If you guys recall, he said he had Type 2 Diabetes about 3-4 years ago. There were stretches of time when Len would disappear for a couple months or more. Now I know why with chemo, etc. I was hoping that this was one of those stretches but I have been getting very concerned when I begged him on a couple emails to respond to me that he was okay and he never responded since April. I feel like I lost a brother.

circlew

He was among the best posters on Edmund's forums and was extremely sharing. We are all better for knowing him by his word.

God Speed, Len!

carnaught

Anyone know, is GAGRICE still around? I haven't seen a post from him in years?

houdini1

Gagrice is alive and well over on the " what would it take for you to buy a diesel" forum. He is a huge diesel advocate and posts there about every day. Currently drives a diesel Touareg and loves it.

laurasdada

RIP Len. A life very well lived.

gagrice

carnaught said:

Anyone know, is GAGRICE still around? I haven't seen a post from him in years?

I am mostly on the diesel, garden and road trip threads. I cashed out of the market in 2012 thinking I knew what I was doing. Just dipping in a bit lately. Still into real estate and first mortgages.
Thank you for asking.

Also sad to hear of Len's passing. A true gentleman on the forum.

tlong

Does anybody know what happend to Lemko?

fintail

Lemko is around, he pops in on the classic car threads now and then.

tlong said:

Does anybody know what happend to Lemko?

houdini1

I was on a winning run for a couple of months, but for the last 2 weeks, when the market goes down my stocks go down and when the market goes up my stocks still go down. I always thought that was against the law !! Anyway this is just a bump to keep us going. Hope everyone is doing well.

houdini1

Good day at the market. Hope all you guys hit a home run today !!

cdnpinhead

YTD for my mix of equities, bonds & money markets has yielded 0.45% vs. 6.6% last year. At least it's positive.

gagrice

I bought VLKAY on a whim after the VW Dieselgate at $23.36 per share. Two+ months later it is up $7. Should go back up to $50 when the dust settles. Only thing in my portfolio that is up over the last 3 months.

houdini1

I hope no one got hurt too bad yesterday. I got dinged, but turning the "Globalists" on their heads was worth it imo.

circlew

The EU is destined to break apart. This is the beginning of the end. It's time for to pay the piper accross the pond!

Interest rates will stay low in the USA for a long time IMHO.

houdini1

Agreed. My municipal bond fund did great Friday.

circlew

Here are rates going into July.

houdini1

The yield goes down when the value of the bonds go up !

kyfdx

Anyone have a good dividend stock recommendation?

gagrice

kyfdx said:

Anyone have a good dividend stock recommendation?

My financial adviser recommended BKN. He has it in his portfolio. It is mostly tax free municipal investments. I have not bought any yet. Waiting to see if the price comes down.

http://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BKN/financials

houdini1

kyfdx said:

Anyone have a good dividend stock recommendation?

I think municipal bonds (tax free) are your best bet, maybe a fund or etf. I know everyone pushes dividend stocks but they are not for me. Something just seems wrong when you get a dividend, then price of the stock goes down to offset the dividend. In effect, you are getting your own money back, and then you have to pay taxes on it again.

BKN does look pretty good. Mostly tax free, fairly safe, and close to 5% return.

kyfdx

Bonds have been great this year. But, if interest rates start going up, you still have downside risk, just like stocks. Our overall tax bite is pretty low, so not sure I want to go with municipals, but that does look like a good ETF.

It's not an ETF, but I've been looking at PONDX. Which is a PIMCO fixed income mutual fund.

Dividend stocks? I like to buy stocks that are out of favor, but show a long history of returning dividends to stockholders. Ford (F) is my latest purchase. 4.37% dividend.

Also, Valero (VLO). More distribution and refining, rather than exploration/drilling, so seems unfairly beaten down. 4.73% dividend.

Looking for a buying opportunity on MET. Around $40 would be good.

berri

Lots really depends on your projected holding period and if it is money you may need on shorter notice.

kyfdx

berri said:

Lots really depends on your projected holding period and if it is money you may need on shorter notice.

That's true.. much more so with individual bonds. If you ladder your portfolio and hold everything to maturity, then the ups and downs mean nothing.

But, in an ETF, there is a fund manager trading in and out of the bonds. A shareholder could be taking losses without selling their stake. (same for a buy and hold investor in a stock mutual fund)

gagrice

My wife has a Jackson product that sends her a check each month. It is a guaranteed 5% of the value each year. Never to go below the initial investment. The death benefit is also guaranteed. It was a $300k initial investment. It is now paying on $330k, which it will never go below. However the cash out is down around $250k. Seems like the monthly comes out of principal a lot, which is not taxable. Is it safe? I have no idea. She has had it about 8 years now. It is very confusing for our CPA as they do not break down interest dividends vs capital disbursements.

kyfdx

gagrice said:

My wife has a Jackson product that sends her a check each month. It is a guaranteed 5% of the value each year. Never to go below the initial investment. The death benefit is also guaranteed. It was a $300k initial investment. It is now paying on $330k, which it will never go below. However the cash out is down around $250k. Seems like the monthly comes out of principal a lot, which is not taxable. Is it safe? I have no idea. She has had it about 8 years now. It is very confusing for our CPA as they do not break down interest dividends vs capital disbursements.

Seems like an annuity or life insurance product of some type. I try to avoid investments that generate big commissions for someone.

Though, once you commit, it's sometimes better to just stick with it.

gagrice

My wife feels strongly about protecting the principal for the heirs. It is her deceased husbands trust money. So she has stayed with his financial adviser group. Not easy finding steady income investment that is protected. Of course annuities are only as secure as the Insurance company that sells them. Our best income investments are 1st deeds of trust mortgages. She is carrying the paper at 7% on a ranch she owned and sold. I don't expect that to default as they owe less than half on it.