The Stock Market and Investing

imidazol97

Charlie: take care of the injured wrist and best of luck with it!

That tornado video is scary. The debris flying represents people's lives being ruined. It was really sad for me when the weather channel people were following the storm and verified that it was indeed a tornado in the area where they projected because they could detect the debris cloud by radar from people's homes and lives being taken. Really sad.

A friend whose PC I used to repair after they got it infected ended up buy one of those Macs that are all-in-one. They love it.

anthonyp

Best Wishes t

cyclone4

Thanks again to ALL of you for the good wishes. You folks are awesome.

cyclone4

One of the most evil human beings in the history of the wold is dead. Bin Laden was killed by the U.S. special forces in Pakistan.

This is also very good news for the stock market.

gagrice

That could also bring down oil prices.

Now don't get too excited and hurt that wrist. We are all keeping you in our prayers that the surgery will be successful.

tagman

Fantastic indeed!

TM

ljflx

Taken/killed on the anniversary of hitler's death. How's that for a coincidence/irony or whatever you want to call it. Plus no deaths of any navy seals and bin laden knew it was the end and went out like a coward with a female used as a human shield. He was surrounded and given the chance to surrender so he knew it was the end and it came in the way of his worst nightmare so he died in great fear. Hopefully we also captured a lot of intelligence at that home. I also hope they just threw the body into the ocean as is, next to a great white shark would be appropriate.

tagman

Taken/killed on the anniversary of hitler's death. How's that for a coincidence/irony or whatever you want to call it

IMO... Bin Laden and Hitler and others similar to them were/are all one in the same.

It's good to see this victory in the ongoing battle against the true enemy of mankind.

TM

tagman

Charlie...

Well... the Dow topped my 12,850 number this morning. Now we can hope it holds and goes much higher by July 4th.

TM

circlew

I did a quick 6 month comp on these 2.

IBM up 18%, AAPL up 13%.

The 1 year comp are dead even gains of ~32% for each.

Just a notation.

Regards,
OW

tagman

Ouch!

Darn... You keep rubbing it in.

You were VERY right about IBM, and I really wish I had bought shares when you first mentioned it here. Hindsight is 20/20.

But... I am as optimistic as ever regarding AAPL... I think this company legitimately deserves a much higher share price, and down the road it will happen, IMO. Apple is, arguably, the single best company in the world, and their best days are yet to come.

TM

circlew

AAPL is terrific and will go higher. No doubt it is one of the best stocks to invest in.

Regards,
OW

ljflx

And back comes Japan:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/business/global/02ricoh.html?scp=1&sq=japanese- %20factories&st=Search

ljflx

On O'reilly's show tonite, Peter King said the crucial pieces of data that got them the couriers name leading to bin Laden's whereabouts and killing were obtained thru waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Farik al Libbi. For all the times I heard from "experts" that someone waterboarded would simply give up false info to stop the waterboarding thereby rendering it useless, never were any of those "experts" smart enough to figure out that we might waterboard more than one terrorist to get confirmation of important information.

Anyway here's a great detailed story from todays NY Times (a long one) on how bin Laden came to be a terrorist and how al Quaeda rose. The Times had excellent add on coverage all day today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/02osama-bin-laden-obituary.html?pagewant- - - - ed=1&sq=an

ljflx

I couldn't agree more but we may have to get medical help for Wall Street pretty soon. I can't remember a company with herculean 93% growth on phenomenal numbers to begin with and insatiable demand for its products trading at a multiple as low as Apple trades at. On top of that the company has a to die for Balance Sheet and cash hoard that will reach a third of its market cap in 12-15 months. The valuation is so low that Apple might as well be a value stock.

gagrice

The valuation is so low that Apple might as well be a value stock.

It could be investors remember the period after Steve Jobs was pushed out. The company floundered without him. That fear has to still be there that with Jobs gone Apple will wither and die.

ljflx

That wouldn't make sense to me now. The company is so different now, with tons of talent and much much greater customer demand and loyalty. I'll also bet you the company is trading at a lower multiple today.

gagrice

What I know about Apple you could fit on the end of a pin. I was just thinking of the past, wondering if people still make Jobs out as a sort of god. Similar to Gates at MS.

circlew

Well, here is an S&P Report from 7/97. I thought they would be bought out then and Steve J. proved otherwise.

Book Value: $9.82/share!!

The shares have retreated considerably over the past year, and since the beginning of January, have remained mostly in a trading range (except for episodes spurred by takeover speculation). Apple has accumulated net losses of more than $1.6 billion over the past 18 months. Apple faces considerable hurdles in redefining its organization to operate profitably at a lower sales base and in stemming customer defections to Windows platforms. While new products appear promising, with Apple's loss of market (and mind) share, its outlook for revenue growth is lackluster, if not bleak. The demands this lower revenue base puts on Apple to reduce costs in order to break even present significant financial risk, although buffered by a $374 million net cash position. We recommend that investors avoid the shares.

Ha Ha!!

Regards,
OW

tagman

As expected, it's official today... Apple's iMac is now upgraded to one of the most powerful and versatile desktop computers ever made. One of these amazing iMacs will likely find itself on my desk later this year, after the new OS is released.

TM

ljflx

Meanwhile amzn is up to an 87 multiple, APPL is under 17. This guy goes too far but at least he gets it.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/apple-become-trillion-dollar-company- -says-altucher-1-124741845.html

2001gs430

TM,

I am so good at calling this stock. This should be my only trade! I think I will load up on QLIK when it hits around $ 25.

2001gs430

How do we get Apple to do a share split?

tagman

I am so good at calling this stock. This should be my only trade! I think I will load up on QLIK when it hits around $ 25.

It's on my watchlist... but aren't you being a bit pessimistic on the stock? Why do you think it will go as low as $25? You know more about this stock than anyone here, but I am not sure it will go that low... and if it doesn't you will miss out on the next advance.

Heck, if it goes down to $25, I'll jump in.

TM

2001gs430

It seems to have a floor at $23 after hitting the highs of 29s. After reaching $32 the other day, I think it will pull back again. I think someone is accummulating QLIK big time, so everytime they make their buys, the price shoots up, otherwise it drifts lower by 20-30%.

tagman

OK... gotcha.

Keep me in the loop, and make sure post if you are about to buy. I will probably join you, and we can run the price up a little higher.

TM

2001gs430

Will do. Right now I am a little worry about what C would do after its reverse split.

gagrice

Is that reverse split on C a done deal? I voted against it. I don't think they consider me a significant player.

2001gs430

I don't know the final outcome. I missed the vote on the issue, but i doubt it would change anything.

kyfdx

It's a done deal.... 10 to 1 reverse... After the split, they plan on paying $0.01/share quarterly dividend..

That's why I'm out...

tagman

Citi will not overwhelm anyone this year, even with its tiny beat over the estimates, but seems to be on track to have a much improved situation for 2012.

The reason I am holding this stock, is the same as before... I believe there is more upside potential over the long-term than downside risk, and the percentage of increase could be significant... in fact, it could be massive.

I'm not about to let it go unless something very serious happens to the company. As before, this stock is about patience. I lost my patience the last time, and even though I made a small profit, I would have hauled in a major amount of $$ if I had waited longer. This time I am not invested that heavily, but I am still going to be patient and wait it out.

TM

tagman

I noticed that ARMH is waaaaay down today... over 8%. I see it as a buying opportunity, and I just bought some ARMH shares. I think there is a very big likelihood that this stock will go higher over the next months, and it makes sense to get it at a very reduced price.

Also, I apologize, but I forgot to mention here that right after I bought BKS last week, it went up and then I immediately sold it... which turned out to be a very good thing, as it went right back down. I am not going to buy it again, as I have lost interest in the stock... there are better stocks to pay attention to.

I did some pruning in the portfolio today, and with the extra cash I bought more AAPL shares today at its low. This stock is stuck in the mud, and I see this as a time to hold and/or accumulate shares. I am now sitting very heavy with AAPL shares, and I certainly hope that it breaks out to the upside sooner than later... but I know that patience is required with this stock.

TM

tagman

Today could be a very exciting day for me in the stock market. I have been preparing to make a very bold and strategic attempt at using a lot of money to see if I can take advantage of a specific stock's upward movement... and then either cash in, or take some of the profit, or let it ride. Of course, the possibility of losing a serious amount of money could exist, but I am hopeful (with prayers, too) that all of this effort will result in a terrific gain today.

I'll give the details later, but now I must be ready for action... I have less than fifteen minutes before the market opens.

Wish me Luck.

TM

2001gs430

sounds exciting, best of luck TM.

tagman

Thanks.

Already done. The excitement was brief. The entire effort was wasted, and there was no net gain or loss.

The whole thing was regarding RENN... the IPO... for the Chinese social network. I applied for IPO shares, but was not "privileged" enough to get any, so I attempted to trade and flip a large quantity of shares during the early trading.

I discovered serious and pathetically inadequate capabilities with the online trading application supplied by my broker's firm. The entire broker's website was not up-to-date on the stock, so it was impossible to know critical trading information. So, I called my broker, and he tried to place my buy and sell instructions, which I was issuing very quickly, while I kept watching the stock's status on the CNBC real-time quote page... and it got too fast and tense for us to successfully continue. We ended up in a misunderstood instruction that required an additional set of buy and sell moves to cause a reversal... and then I placed a set of buy and sell instructions that essentially created a "wash" because the entire process was getting so tense that it was jeopardizing my friendship with my broker.

The experience was NOT what I had expected, and I am very disappointed in the online trading that was so messed up. Also, I am sad that my broker and I went through so much frustration together.

So, I am left wondering why we can't seem to have the same advantages that those "privileged" investors have. Seems very unfair that they could take advantage of the IPO, but I couldn't. And, even when I attempted to trade in a normal way, I was cheated out of essential trading information and limited by the online trading application.



And, to top it off, the whole market sucks right now.

TM

gagrice

The dollar is at a 3 year low. Gold is dropping like a rock. Oil is down. The stock market is way off. What are people buying to hedge their net worth??

tagman

Even though the recent activity sucks, the stock market is still the best place to be, IMHO.

IMO, investors are behaving overly irrational at this time.

TM

ljflx

I once asked the same qustion at a different time in which there was no obvious answer. The answer a buddy of mine gave me: mattresses to put their money under. In truth everything is near highs after the economic demise we had so maybe this is just a breather - as Tag had expected.

cdnpinhead

. . .behaving overly irrational . . .

Interesting turn of phrase.

Irrational would be normal, but overly irrational, not so much.

Either way, I continue to watch your machinations with interest, bordering on awe.

tagman

Well... some now say that large margin buyers of silver are having to sell off nearly all their investments to cover their dramatic and steep losses of the last few days... forcing large sales of perfectly good equities. Hmmm. More market manipulatiin and BS?

I may just get out entirely for a while if the jobs data isn't good enough... long enough to let the dust settle. I don't mind if a stock goes down due to poor earnings and financials, but when great stocks are flying all over the map... or stuck in a rut because of traders that treat the market like it's the Wild West... I have to say my confidence in the market gets seriously eroded... not to mention how much it pisses me off.

TM

tagman

That's cool. You interpretted that precisely as it was intended. I wondered if anyone would pick up on that... and you did.

TM

cyclone4

Hello everyone! Well I had wrist surgery early this afternoon. It went very well. The orthopedic surgeon (hand specialist) put in a plate so that I will be setting off alarms at airport securities. I was definitely concerned about this but I am really pleased about how smoothly things went. My whole left arm is like dead weight right now sine the put a block so that I would not feel any pain for about 20 hours. Then I go on pain killers for several days.

I just saw that the market sort of stunk today, but AAPL is holding it's own. Talk to you guys later when I am more alert. We are heading off to St. Louis tomorrow to meet with our son, his wife and twin girls (flew into St. Louis today) who will be one year old on Friday. We will not only celebrate the twins birthday on May 6th, but my father-in-law will be 87 on the same day.

tagman

Happy Birthday X 3

Good luck at the Apple store. When you get there, check out the elegant and powerful newly upgraded iMac. You will see how their power & price is sooooooo much bang for the buck.

And, take care of that bionic wrist of yours. Really glad the surgery went well Charlie. Oh, and don't be afraid to take as many pain killers as you are allowed... no sense in suffering with pain.

And do NOT mention today's market again! I want to forget about it forever.

TM

tagman

A double dip housing crisis is a terrible thing for America. This is sad news, as is today's jobless claims report.

In the trenches of American households, things are not all that rosy, in spite of fundamental numbers within corporations. This all goes to show that while corporations are improving their balance sheets, too many Americans are not participating. Hopefully tomorrow's report will be better.

I am not going to gamble, given the disturbing information that has already come out today. I am selling most of my stocks today, but I will keep my large stake in AAPL and my managed funds.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) had a very nice report after hours yesterday and resulted in a tremendous gain today, so I am also selling JDSU along with the rest of the bunch.

I am definitely ahead right now, and I don't want to jeapordize that position. I am going put the cash generated by today's sale on the sidelines and wait... and I will pounce back into the market very quickly once the opportunity presents itself again, at any given hour, day, or week.

I also intend to do some bottom fishing, where possible... but too many stocks are too lofty, IMO.

My apologies.

I'm not sure that even Ben Bernanke can fix this mess (although he would be one of our best hopes and is the only one that has done anything so far), and I am definitely not expecting anyone from our wonderful United States Congress to do a damn thing except what they've almost always done... spend like a group of drunken housewives with wallets chock-full of credit cards and no money.

TM

EDIT: I did not sell CSCO, and I would encourage anyone interested to take a good look at the chart for CSCO, and read the latest news. This stock is so incredibly poised for a comeback. In fact, I bought more CSCO.

ljflx

One of the issues for housing is that while banks are eager to lend, they now have stricter guidelines and then real conservative appraisals put even greater limits on the lending. Until enough foreclosures are flushed out of the housing market it will continue to flounder.

Wild market day as oil tumbles, silver cotinues its plummet, now off 25% since last week, and commodities get pressured by a strengthening dollar. Is oil next? Hope so as its way out of line. Great bounce in nasdaq but feels like a selloff day. Hope i'm wrong on that.

gagrice

I did not sell CSCO, and I would encourage anyone interested to take a good look at the chart for CSCO

I did and doubled my shares. I have always liked Cisco and their products. Just a solid place to be in unknown waters.

houdini1

n the trenches of American households, things are not all that rosy, in spite of fundamental numbers within corporations. This all goes to show that while corporations are improving their balance sheets, too many Americans are not participating.

A big reason why some of those balance sheets look so good (at least in the short term) is because of all the people who are no longer on the payroll.

tagman

Wild market day as oil tumbles, silver cotinues its plummet, now off 25% since last week, and commodities get pressured by a strengthening dollar. Is oil next? Hope so as its way out of line. Great bounce in nasdaq but feels like a selloff day. Hope i'm wrong on that.

Selloff day for sure! And, I contributed my share of selling early today, before it got much worse, and I also decided to sell my funds.

Currently, the only equities I hold are AAPL, CSCO, and C... and the vast majority of that is in AAPL.

I still have some bonds because I kept the ones that have very attractive returns (about half the investment in bonds compared to what I originally had, as I sold half of them off about a month or two ago in order to invest in more equities).

I am sitting on a shitpile of cash, and will bottom feed and wait for the right opportunity to get back in the market. I might also day trade a little here and there, if I can find the right situation to do so.

TM

tagman

I did and doubled my shares. I have always liked Cisco and their products. Just a solid place to be in unknown waters.

I am willing to bet that by the end of this year, you and I are going to be VERY glad about CSCO. Could there really be a much better time to buy? A rare opportunity like this is a gift, IMO.

TM

kyfdx

My largest holding was up 2.86% today...

And.. I went to the Reds game.. and they won!

It was a good day!