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The Stock Market and Investing

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Comments

  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    I thought C Corps are taxed on retained earnings in the form of Accumulated Earnings Tax? But there is probably a loop hole out of that tax too.

    As far as I know it is purely on income but it's reall S-corps and LLC's that are at issue anyway.

    Interesting microcosm here in NY of what is real income in cash vs what Obama thinks and says. The guy who caught Jeter's 3,000 hit (which was a HR of course) naively gave it right to him during the game. With that he may have lost as much as $250K in value of what the ball is worth (one estimate that I doubt is $1mln). The Yankees gave him 4 tickets in championship seats for the rest of this season on through the world series, if they get there, as a reward for turning the ball in plus some jerseys, bats and balls signed by Jeter. I d'ont know the cost of those seats but my bet is the guy just gained about $40K of taxable income for which he has no cash and now has a tax liabilty. It would be classy for Jeter or the Yankees to cover that or write him a $100K check but who knows if that will happen. Anyway this guy will now have to borrow to pay a tax liability as he has no money for this based on what I have read. This is the exact problem with small business. They report income or high income but the part that goes to debt payments is of course non-deductible. So adding higher taxes, and most small business are S-corps anyway, simply adds a cost to the business and perhaps even a job loss especially if those higher taxes impact lifestyle. Certainly it kills off hiring and this is what Obama doesn't get.
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    I understand what your saying. I was commenting on the C-Corp issue in regards to corporations like Apple having excessive cash on hand.

    We've kind of gone through a similar thing with corporate relocations. The company helps us with expenses related to the move then we have to pay income tax on what the IRS believes is excessive and thus taxable.
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    I just went through a very wierd and upsetting market experience. This sounds unbelievable but its true. I made a number of trades today in some ETFs that are supposed to reflect the market index. On an obvious up day today, I invested in an ETF that relected the Nasdaq performance. I bought it at the open so it started out just fine. Then, I noticed it wasn't moving in a pattern similar to the index. So, I sold off a little of it, and the very SECOND I sold some of my shares, the fund dove down in price for while and was slow to recover. Shortly afterwads, the Nasdaq started to really take off, and I thought I would buy some more of the ETF. Well, the SECOND I bought some more shares, the fund again reversed itself, even though the Nasdaq was going up!. After the Nasdaq hit a high, I decided I would short the index, as I expected some traders would take profits. So, I bought an ETF that shorts the Nasdaq, and as the Nasdaq started going down, and the second I made the purchase the fund again reversed itself, even though the Nasdaq was still declining. Then, I decided to do a little test, and I bough BOTH of the funds simultaneously... in other words the ETF that supposedly mirrors the Nasdaq's gains, and the ETF that supposedly mirrors the Nasdaq's declines. Guess what? They BOTH went down at the same time!! So, there can be no doubt that some of these funds are rigged. I lost a few thousand dollars today learning this lesson, and I know it could have been worse, but I am furious over this. Today was the kind of day I should have easily made some nice gains, but instead I got sucker punched.

    The performance fo the index ETFs do NOT closely mirror the index, and I have no doube that there is some fine print somewhere that allows for the fund to be somewhat different than the index. Those differences in the funds price and the index must be calculated by computers that are programmed to manipulate the funds share price to suck as much money out of investors as possible.

    Let my misfortune be a warning to the rest of you. :(

    TM
  • anthonypanthonyp Member Posts: 1,860
    Sorry for your experience.........Remember the components of the etf trade during the day, and those who have an accurate model have privy to the nav , where as the fund shares trade in relation to demand or lack if it....It`s a bit complicated, but you can get the hang of it if you don`t give up......and yes it is rigged, but YOUR timing can compensate, and when you get with the rhythm you`l be happy....Tony
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    My nose was bleeding after I read your post!!

    Seriously, I am lucky I live near a Hospital in case I wanted to trade like the one and only TM!

    It's like Kasparo vs. Beep Blue! I wonder how much of the market is running on IBM equipment? :sick:

    Regards,
    OW
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    Tony's post is probably right, in that the timing is the secret. I noticed that the timing of the ups and downs was definitely different than the index itself, and the fund did reflect the general trend, (which I think Tony would suggest is what I would have been better off working with) but clearly it did NOT mirror the index, and it did NOT follow the ups and downs in real-time, which is what I was trying to do. Strangely, it DID respond to EVERY purchase with a real-time knee-jerk negative result that was perfectly in response to the purchase. I could see it happen in teal time, and I tested it quite a few times, and it ALWAYS landed a sucker punch, without fail. How bizarre. I could actually see my trade on the volume bar, and then I could see the negative price move in response. EVERY purchase into the fund that I made resulted in an immediate and noticeable price decline in the value of the shares, without exception! :surprise:

    Deep Blue? I believe it. I have no doubt that there are serious computers with special algorithms that are in place to precisely and effectively suck every last fraction of every cent out of every opportunity.

    There should be a warning... "Do NOT try this at home... Serious injury may result". LOL.

    Oh well... :sick:

    TM
  • cyclone4cyclone4 Member Posts: 2,302
    TM,

    You must have "b...s of steel" for you to try out some of these exotic trades :D . There is no way I would mess around with this crap. I stick to the basics and lose that way instead :) .
  • anthonypanthonyp Member Posts: 1,860
    Speak of the Devil---The commodity trader :) tony ps that is the one that take the Balls
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    You must have "b...s of steel" for you to try out some of these exotic trades . There is no way I would mess around with this crap. I stick to the basics and lose that way instead

    Probably not balls of steel, but more like a simple lack of common sense. :blush:

    Well, time to pick myself back up and brush off the dust. Tonight I would like to put together a small portfolio of stocks that I believe WILL go up over a reasonable period of time, And, if I can get them figured out, I will purchase them tomorrow.

    Probably best that I lick my wounds for a little while before venturing back to the day trading.

    I really need to find a good mix of stocks that should be solid gainers over the next 6 months.

    Let me hear the best choices from everyone here. Tonight.

    I know AAPL is high on the list, but let me hear a few more that you guys are convinced are going to go up. Perhaps QCOM, IBM, or NFLX?

    Please mention some tonight if you can. I really want to learn everyone's thoughts on what are the BEST solid investments at this point in time.

    TM
  • houdini1houdini1 Member Posts: 8,351
    For the rest of this year, and other than AAPL, here are my 3 picks:

    AMT...BIDU...GMCR

    GOOD LUCK !!

    2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460

  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Bernanke says gold not cash. I guess that's a good thing if our cash becomes worthless. Better get a wheelbarrow. We may need it to haul enough worthless dollars to buy a loaf of bread. Remember the US Dollar is only as good as people believe it is. When people lose faith in the dollar, they will not exchange it for goods and services. Printing more as this administration continues to do will at the very least make the few dollars we have worth less. It can happen, check your German history from the 1920s.

    image
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    WOW! Check this article out!!

    I wish I had seen this article prior to what happened to me with the ETFs today! :surprise:

    Could ETFs blow up the market?

    And this CNBC video "Can an ETF Collapse?" is incredible and revealing!! SHOCKING!! :surprise:

    "Can an ETF Collapse?"

    TM
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Thanks for the links. I really did not understand ETFs enough to consider them for my portfolio. Now I am sure I don't want to get involved with them.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    You must have "b...s of steel" for you to try out some of these exotic trades

    Ditto. Tag - that whole story is incredible. Is there anyone you can call on this.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    Great choices IMO. Where are you on Netflix?

    One question I have for the goup are what are your strategies for the overall market if the debt ciling issue continues on without solution. Unless this gets done in some form early enough I think it's a done deal that we'll get global market panic and reduced asset prices.

    Lastly on Obama - I think this is a President that thinks his experience represent the whole. He went into Obama Care simply, IMO, because he had bad experience in the health care system. And now I think the reason why he looks at the tax increase as very affordable to the public in that tax class is the case because he can afford it. We can't have a President acting on his own sample size as the cause to do things and in my mind I d'ont think the man has a clue about the financials of small business.

    BTW - on the fan that caught the ball Jeter hit for #3,000 both Modell's and Miller High Life have stepped in and will not only pay the tax liability but pay off his student loans. That of course introduces a new tax problem but hopefully they made him whole or close to it. He (I beleive his name is Chris Lopez) will also get a MLB card named after him by Topps.
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    One question I have for the goup are what are your strategies for the overall market if the debt ciling issue continues on without solution. Unless this gets done in some form early enough I think it's a done deal that we'll get global market panic and reduced asset prices.

    I have already decided. I have created a small portfolio of 16 stocks. They will only represent around 20% of my total account value until I see a significant improvement in the United States economy, and an end to the political wrangling... which may be never.

    I think it's important to be invested in equities, but I am going to explore fixed securities and put the majority of my account into relatively safe investments. I am very tired of the market roller-coaster, and when I am honest with myself, I must admit that I do not have confidence in our leaders.

    TM
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    Houdini,

    I'm now on the BIDU train with 500 shares.
  • houdini1houdini1 Member Posts: 8,351
    edited July 2011
    Well it is a tough market today but BIDU has a huge potential. Hope you bought on the dip. I got in back in June at $119.49.

    2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460

  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    Anyone here own GOOG? They just reported blowout earnings, and the aftermarket trading has its share price up over 10%... at this point.

    Funny thing, I had put Google into my portfolio this morning, but then I changed my mind, because I recalled some talking head mentioning that Google is over-priced and their revenues are going to decline. Gotta wonder where his brain is located... or mine for giving him any credibility.

    Anyway, hope someone here owns Google shares. Would that be you, Len? And you got a lot of it back when it was much cheaper? ;)

    TM
  • cyclone4cyclone4 Member Posts: 2,302
    I bought some DD (Dupont) a few weeks ago. I like that Company.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    I'm in at $141.60. Low for the day was 139.03 I think, but it rallied strongly to $145.70 the last I checked on the Google news. Funny I seriously thought about buying Google instead becasue I thought they'd have a strong quarter. What happened with GOOG may well happen with AAPL.

    Interesting perspective by Cramer tonight on the debt ceiling. He makes the strong argument of why would you sell out of the strong Balance Sheets of corporations because of a weak immature government that can't compromise on simple things and who of course has a weak as hell Balance Sheet. It's bond positions that are really at risk. Logical argument but I've seen panic overcome logic too often.

    Edit: Here's a link to Cramer.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/43756436?__source=yahoo%7Cheadline%7Cquote%7Ctext%7C&par=- yahoo
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    D'ont own GOOG but see my other post as I also almost bought it today. Are you talking about the guy that was on CNBC saying Google is on the verge of becoming Microsoft?? If so that no-brain influenced me too! Anyway the shorts got annihilated on the GOOG earnings news.

    BTW - the closing down of the 405 made it onto the local news broadcasts here in NYC.
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    BTW - the closing down of the 405 made it onto the local news broadcasts here in NYC.

    CARMAGEDDON!! :sick:

    BTW, I also saw the Cramer show, and yes, he made some sense, but not entirely. I say that because he jumped on the Google story to prove his point, yet when a viewer called in and asked him about a financial company that had great fundamentals, Cramer told him to ignore the fundamentals and stay away from the stock because its a financial. I agree with him to not buy into financials right now, yet it contradicts his earlier point.

    Cramer also said he hates tech right now, yet he was talking up Google AFTER Google reported those earnings. I NEVER heard him suggesting Google before this took place. I did, however, hear him say he hates tech numerous times.

    I've said this before... that I like Jim Cramer, and I think he is really smart, but there are some serious contradictions now and then.

    It always gives me a chuckle when he suggets to hold onto stocks during times of "pain", and he says "no pain, no gain"... yet he also suggests that it is irresponsible to be in stocks when it is known that they are not going to do well. Let's take "tech" for example. Should viewers be out of tech or in tech? He gives two mixed messages. One message is to hang in there, and another is that he hates tech and doesn't recommend it, yet there was the Google story and he talks up AAPL now and then.

    He says to wait for pullbacks, yet if a viewer's money is already tied up in the market invested in stocks that Cramer has recommended, where's he gonna get a bunch more money to invest when there's a pullback? That's always the biggest joke as I see it. If someone is mostly invested in the market, and the market starts to decline, how can they invest in the pullback unless they weren't mostly invested in the market to begin with? In other words, they are already caught in the decline, unless they had a lot of cash laying around, and that might have cost them more by NOT being in the market when it was doing well. I mean, did he ever tell all his veiwers to sell out of financials, or tech stocks, for example? He recommends that viewers don't buy certain sectors, yet they already own them from his prior recommendations. So what are they supposed to do? It's weird. Where would they suddenly get the cash to buy in August, for example? Do you see the problem here? They would have to sell out of a lot of equities, and he is less clear about selling that many stocks, with exception of telling a viewer to sell a particular stock during the "lightning round". He is clearer about buying, and clearer about holding on.

    As smart as he is, Cramer really contradicts himself now and then, and sends mixed messages.

    TM
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    edited July 2011
    Return of the Gold Standard as world order unravels

    As the twin pillars of international monetary system threaten to come tumbling down in unison, gold has reclaimed its ancient status as the anchor of stability. The spot price surged to an all-time high of $1,594 an ounce in London, lifting silver to $39 in its train.


    Are World Currencies about to collapse???
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,419
    Brings out the herd mentality in scaredy-cat "investors" too. Maybe Beck will be shilling gold on TV again. Reminds me of the real estate run-up...are PMs now in 2005 or are we approaching 2006?

    The problem with a new gold based currency is, what will it be? Sad (for the globalist "capitalist" "free market" lovers) to say, the dollar is still more stable than the German-dependent Euro or slavery and corruption based-Yuan.
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    Our "leaders" are an embarrassment. They are failures. They have demonstrated to the world just how screwed up they are, and how far out-of-whack our economy is, due to their pathetic incompetence. If I had the opportunity, I would smack nearly every one of them, and then fire them... especially Obama. It is beyond my belief that he would stubbornly and stupidly insist on a tax hike at this moment in history. His timing is sickening, just like the way he wasted so much time on Obama-care when he first took office. There were, and are, more important priorities.

    Bunch of idiots.

    TM
  • anthonypanthonyp Member Posts: 1,860
    You are exactly right, and even leaning over backwards to soften the blow.......If you had followed him from the beginning, what he did was say start with a half million or million---whatever---then when the money was invested, as you observe, he would make another deposit at the end of the year, or when it suited him, that way building his portfolio up......He had just one portfolio, and when he lost a fair amount of money, he decided to change strategies, and he called it his wife`s portfolio, as she use to be in the same business, and was a savvy lady...He then went to the charitable trust.....I personally paid for a year, and then because of just what you observed --dropped out..Tony

    Tony
  • houdini1houdini1 Member Posts: 8,351
    I could not agree more. He just keeps getting worse and worse and I am sure that he will be gone next year. Jimmy Carter on steroids indeed.

    2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460

  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    As the twin pillars of international monetary system threaten to come tumbling down in unison, gold has reclaimed its ancient status as the anchor of stability. The spot price surged to an all-time high of $1,594 an ounce in London, lifting silver to $39 in its train.

    Yeah - but the problem here is that gold is priced in the very currency it would seek to replace. How do you price gold? the fact that the question can't be answered is pretty much proof to me that gold is not a real currency though I understand all the currency arguments. So I d'ont see it happening. If you adjust for the deflation of the dollar gold isn't very high at all. The dollar is down 20% in the past 3 years while gold is up about 60% so if you net it out gold is not up as much as you'd believe and how is that net position vs other asset net positions vis a vis the dollar. Plus some of the gold price is attributable to world conficts.
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    If you adjust for the deflation of the dollar gold isn't very high at all. The dollar is down 20% in the past 3 years while gold is up about 60% so if you net it out gold is not up as much as you'd believe and how is that net position vs other asset net positions vis a vis the dollar.

    True, if you would have invested a bunch of dollars in gold in 1980, you'd still be waiting to get back to even. You would have done much better investing it in the S&P 500.
  • cyclone4cyclone4 Member Posts: 2,302
    edited July 2011
    As smart as he is, Cramer really contradicts himself now and then, and sends mixed messages.

    I am in total agreement with you. I also like Cramer, but you are absolutely correct about his contradictions. I wish he would come out and say "I blew it", but now here is the way I see it" once in a while. He does not like to admit that he was wrong. Who does? :D

    Btw, I have not been posting much here lately. I have been very busy trading corn on an impending "dome of doom". That is a hot high pressure system aloft over the Midwest. It looks like it may have some staying power. Thus, with extremely tight corn supplies and corn entering the critical pollination phase next week and through the end of July, there have been some good opportunities this past week.

    I have also gotten back to a comfortable long position on AAPL the past 10 days or so. I am pretty certain that AAPL will have another great quarterly report Tuesday after the market closes. I also believe that the second half of this year and going into 2012 will be even better for the Company. And, to think of what I did about 3 weeks ago! That was pure lunacy :sick: .
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    Just like the Leaders of GM and Edmunds asking for $1.00 gas tax. These guys are CEO's?

    Can't they figure out that if they made cars more efficient regardless of the choices, people would flock to the efficiency? Take a look at the pickup truck inventory at the moment.

    You do not to add a gas tax that would completely kill the lifeless recovery we are experiencing.

    Regards,
    OW
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Gold is less of a risk than the dollar. If you look at the price of gold when we went off the gold standard it promptly went up to about $200 per oz. That $200 would buy in 1975 what today would cost $850. So at the current price of $1590 you would have beat inflation by a very good margin. Or the devaluation of the dollar over that period of time. Most of our gold coins were bought in the mid 1990s when gold dipped back down to around $275. I sold some of the ones less than an oz when the price hit $1000. I had no idea it would ever go to $1500. It is speculative as is just about everything on earth. It does have intrinsic value that no paper money has ever had. Paper money is only worth what someone is willing to give you for it. In the case of the dollar it is less and less every day. I just noticed today. Many bread loaves are down to 20 oz. Still the same $2-$3 per loaf.
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    And, to think of what I did about 3 weeks ago! That was pure lunacy

    Well, I was right there riding shotgun with you much of that time. To think that we could have held onto a whole lot of AAPL shares around $320 +/- and let it pass us by feels pretty bad. My current AAPL position is anemic, and hardly worth talking about. I really blew it on AAPL.

    This market has got me totally baffled and spooked. I can't wrap my head around it at all. I think I must have died and been sent to stock market hell.

    Missed AAPL, missed GOOG, missed IBM, missed NFLX, missed GMCR, missed CMG, missed AZO. :surprise: :cry:

    And, got a nasty ETF [non-permissible content removed] whooping. :blush:

    What's next? :sick:

    TM
  • anthonypanthonyp Member Posts: 1,860
    The hardest thing in the world is `change`....It leads to wonderful opportunities , and `green pastures`, but there is nothing easy about it.....Tony
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    Strange, but I haven't been on track since April 29, when I listened to my broker and I didn't get out of the market. It's like my entire script got shredded and I don't know my next line, and I can't seem to improvise. I am thinking the best thing to do is wait until August... but won't all the bargains be gone by then? That's a loaded question, because what's a bargain at this point?... when everything seems so lofty except for the likes of Bank of America and Cisco?

    Is this market as tricky as I think it is? Or is it me?

    TM
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    edited July 2011
    I think you said it well in a previous post. We are on a ship without a rudder. We have a President that does not understand anything about economics. Here is just one example of how poorly he is leading US. He cannot remember what he believed a short 5 years ago. He may have been right then. Which makes him dead wrong now. Uncertainty at the helm has this country and the financial markets in disarray.

    “The fact that we’re here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign — is a sign of leadership failure. Leadership means the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.”~ Senator Barack Obama, 2006

    PS
    The Democrats have raised the debt limit 6 times since 2007.
    PPS
    The Democrats have raised the debt ceiling $5.329 Trillion since taking control of Congress in 2007.
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    With all due respect, listen to your heart and forget your head. You are a true leader but from what I can see you might react too quickly by over thinking the investments you decide on. Trading is one thing but choose your long term (AAPL, Ford bank stocks) and stick with them. Then you can trade the % you think will ride with the current market trend up or down.

    Don't forget IBM!!! ;)

    Just MHO.

    Regards,
    OW
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,419
    Sounds like a failure on both sides of the aisle to control spending. We didn't get in this position because of one clown alone.

    Something like 4 debt ceiling raises under Dubya, right? All while undergoing a (false) "boom".
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    "“The fact that we’re here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign — is a sign of leadership failure. Leadership means the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership"

    I hope every Repub house and senate member goes to the podium and repeats that paragraph on C-span, over and over again...this Pres makes any other look competent, including Carter, Fillmore, Buchanan, and a few from outside like Lenin, Stalin, and Mussolini... :shades:
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    "Something like 4 debt ceiling raises under Dubya, right? All while undergoing a (false) "boom"."..we do seem to get our share of false booms over time...Clinton had the dot com boom which removed about, what, 5 trillion in wealth after the Nasdaq crash...that was the only reason Clinton could raise taxes, IMO, and still have a "growing" economy, because the dot com craze was so unique, as many factors came together...folks with computers, the internet itself, CNBC, day trading, the dot com stocks all theoretcially created so much "wealth" that no one cared about taxes because every day a new dot com shot from $1 to $100 just because squawk boc said it was a good stock because now you could buy tampons over the internet and save 3 cents over a brick and mortar store...

    It all worked to look like everyone had millions in their 401K, until they didn't and it stopped working...except those few who actually sold those fraud stocks before the crash...for those few who bought at $1 and actually SOLD at $100, they had REAL MONEY based on a fraudulent stock, but few sold because they thought trees would grow to the sky...

    I wonder how well Clinton's tax increases would have gone over if he tried to do it 3 months AFTER the dot com crash...crash started in March 2000...
  • dieselonedieselone Member Posts: 5,729
    Clinton (Congress or whatever) actually lowered the tax rate on capital gains from 28% to 20% in 1997 I believe.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    I agree. Tag, you are in and out of whole positions too often, IMO, of course. I have no right to tell anyone how to trade or spend money so this is just opinion based from all of your in and out posts. You loved AAPL, said you had to have patience but actually ignored your own advice. I had no doubt it would go back to the 340's (we exchanged posts about this and I even mentioned reclaiming an all time high in one post) and now Google has spooked investors to raise it another 15-20 dollars. The bell weathers like AAPL will always rise, provided they didn't run up too high on IPO and years after valuation as Google did. AAPL is practically back to its all time high after a drop that never made sense. Still the market is not in love with AAPL as its multiple practically puts it in value class trading. It is so earnings dependent which is why I'll never understand why they d'ont give rosier outlooks when reporting earnings. It's the momentum stocks that are very spooky and need to be jumped in and out of in whole positions. As for the market and financials in particular, who in his right mind would have ever thought GS would be traded at book value, that Chase, on a great earnings report would be dismissed, that Bank of America would be at almost half of book value or that Morgan Stanley would be at 70% of book value. Nothing can move banks now, despite great earnings reports, and I have to think the debt ceiling has something to do with it. They should jump as soon as it's agreed to but again who knows for sure.

    BTW - except for AAPL I also missed all those stocks.
  • circlewcirclew Member Posts: 8,666
    Agreed. We have leaders that do not lead, both parties.

    Regards,
    OW
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    Circlew is right. And so are you, given that you agree with him. No doubt about it.

    I intend to commit a reasonable percentage of the account to genuine long-term (leave it alone), and then leave a portion of it available to trade short term. That should prove more likely to obtain better results.

    Thanks to you and Circlew for your posts. They are exactly what I needed to point me in the right direction. You gentlemen are terrific, and I appreciate you.

    The biggest problem I am having is trying to decide just which stocks to use as primary building blocks right now. Some seem ridiculously lofty and others are looking like they are flatliners (stuck going sideways). I used to appraoch it with a diversified sector perspective, trying to find the best stocks in each sector. What do you think?

    TM
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Those two seem to be big winners at the open of the market this week. The DOW is down and AAPL is up nicely. Gold went over $1600 at the open in London. I cannot imagine what a gold crown will cost now? Hope this slide does not last all week.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    edited July 2011
    The DOW is down and AAPL is up nicely.

    The earnings report of Google has scared the hell out of people re Apple making a repeat performance in about 26 hours. That and the fact that it's a great flight to safety stock. If we were weeks away fom Apple earnings I have no doubt Apple would be down 1-2% today. At the same time if you look at it right it trades at a discount to what you pay because you are buying back so much cash per share. This stock, if valued properly should probably be at $550. But Wall street is much more scared of it and not having a proper position at earnings time than it is of being in love with it. How else do you explain such a low valuation and a fall toward $300 a few weeks ago. And as for Wall street knowing how to price things a year from now at this very moment how do you explain a big fall on Google on the day it blows everything away minutes after a close.

    I gotta tell you I'm besides myself on banks and financials. Everyone is pricing another armageddon into them with just about every one of them worldwide under book value. But earnings reported by Chase and Citi were very good so far and I'm having a hard time buying into the media. If the rules of buying low and selling high are right than banks are a great value right now unless you think the whole market is headed back to an economic collapse and a 7K Dow. But corporate earnings clearly show that not to be the case. I think the media has everyone so spooked that folks are just selling financials in panic in evey way including thru mutual funds redemption. I can already see nothing but positive reports on CNBC in the future with analyst after analyst saying banks got too low, fundamentals supported higher prices and hence a correction to the upside from abysmal lows. This script is getting too repetitive.
  • houdini1houdini1 Member Posts: 8,351
    I am hanging on to my BAC even though it is getting to be somewhat painful. Obviously I believe it will take off soon, maybe if a debt limit deal is made.

    2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460

  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    edited July 2011
    Well... I own AAPL, but not a whole lot... 0nly 100 shares.

    I increased the level of stocks this morning, and I WILL hold them long-term.

    I will trade short-term seperately from these.

    As a result, I purchased and own C (it actually looks attractive to me), and I am going ultra-long on this stock. I will NOT sell it until it provides me a gain. I don't have a ton, however, only a tiny 375 shares, so I'm perfectly fine with waiting forever.

    I now think Ford is looking attractive again, and bought some more... and I also own IBM and bought more, and bought GOOG this morning because I believe it will go even higher, and so far it is doing just that.

    Total stocks in the portfolio is 20... one of which is GLD (SPDR GOLD), which I have fortunately owned for a little while now, and it is doing great, but I do not own a lot.

    Overall I do not own a lot of any single stock, and my total equities investment is only $175K at this time. I will slowly build upon this, but I think I want to set myself a limit... maybe somewhere around $350K - $500K for the long-term portion, but I haven't decided that yet.

    I have done NOTHING regarding day-trading today, and I think I am going to give that a rest for a while, unless something comes along that begs to be day-traded.

    I think once this budget BS is behind us, the media will find something else to focus on that they will report will cause of end of the world. However, in spite of the media, I think Wall Street will be ready for a genuine rally before too long. IMO, a small one in August, but I am still expecting November to be the very big rally that we are all waiting for.

    Either way, the media will be incapable of properly reporting the news, so it will make some up instead. ;)

    TM
  • tagmantagman Member Posts: 8,441
    WOW! :surprise:

    Very impressive. Now what? Does AAPL go even higher?

    My plan is to buy more, hopefully on a dip... IF there is one, because the way this stock is on fire, I doubt that there will be much of a dip before it runs out of steam.

    Charlie... you sure can pick 'em. I must salute you, sir.

    TM
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