anyone watch the stockmarket?

[curtis rosche]

we are doing a stock market game in class using marketwatch.com . i have done some research on a couple stocks, but i was wondering if there was anyone out there who watches stocks, and has a few stocks that are doing extremly well.
we start the game with $100,000 and we can buy in the margin also. we can only buy stocks that are worth atleast $2 or more.
anything good out there to jump on?
i know google has been going up, along with EDC (ticker symbol, the real name is really long), apple has gone up. there are a few that i have seen jumps in, like priceline, amazon, and travelers, but im not sure if they will continue so i didnt buy those yet.
the game only lasts for 227 more days, so it looks like quick gainers are best.
any tips, or stocks to look for?

[mike holden]

Curtis,
This reminds me of my college days, fun to play with play money.
My only suggestion is to mimic the DJIA by buying weighted amounts of each and balancing as you go. That way you will at least match the market. The easy way to do this would be to invest in a mutual fund that does this, assuming the rules allow mutual funds.
Otherwise, simply taking a copy of the WSJ and throwing a dozen darts at it and buying and holding is as good a strategy as any.
This may be what the good professor is aiming at showing you.
Have fun!
Mike

[Bob Smalser]

Just keep it an academic exercise for a while. Probably a good while.

We have yet to see the impact of all this spending, borrowing, and printing money on long-term interest rates and subsequent inflation....and how all that will impact stocks.

A lot of this is like buying gold. If the gold investment companies have the millions necessary to advertise on TV, you are generally already too late by a long shot.

If you've long-term money to invest with, raw land prices in most areas of the country remain low as do interest rates. Find 5-40 acres of woodland that's currently too far from economical utilities, but has an access easement that allows running utilities. (Not all do.) Then in 20+ years when you are ready to build or sell, your chances of that land ending up in a pricey exurb with utilities present at the end of your access drive are pretty good. You'll have both equity to borrow against and a lot or two to subdivide off to sell to build a house....and selective logging to pay for at least the site development.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

This is no time to be overly enthusiastic about the market

[curtis rosche]

well, since in the 4 weeks we have had the game going, i have made $22000, the market must be doing something slightly good

[Tony Joyce]

There have been several of the well known stocks that have doubled since the end of last year and the first of this one and the present time. GE from July to Sept $10.00 to $17.00 not bad. Be smart and do your own due diligence. Do not listen to analyst, they are generally behind the curve. There are a plethora of sources on the internet for research, many free. Stock trading is only one part of a balanced saving plan.

Stock trading is not as much a gamble as many think. I prefer to think it has "controlled risk" There are many people making good money, trading stocks for a living and I'm talking about average people. Like woodworking it takes education and experience to be successful. I bought "RFMD" on 11/11/08($1.55) and sold it 6/12/09($3.50), "ZLC" on 6/29/09($3.55) and sold 10/20/09($8.30) I didn't throw darts at a list either. I have watched RFMD for years, but I do have certain critera I use to pick stocks. You must be disciplined and remember you control your losses. I know everyone has heard someone say it can't go any lower, - till it hits zero it can go lower. Know when to cut your losses and let the winners run. You don't make any money till you sell a stock, there are no "paper" winners. News moves stock prices, if you don't belive it watch what happens when the FED makes a statement. And most importantly remember don't be greedy. One person I know sells based on what payment they can make this month with the amount of profit they have. All by doing a few hours a week research.



If you've long-term money to invest with, raw land prices in most areas of the country remain low as do interest rates.While I'm not saying don't buy land. You might want to consider looking up this term. "imenit domain"There are numerous stories where local governments have asserted their power and paid less than market value in the name of the common good. Just food for thought.

Sorry for the long post, but I do enjoy this subject and learn more about it everyday.

[Rick Moyer]

Tony, I gotta tell you, I was reading your post and had not scrolled down all the way. I kept seeing a bug every two-three seconds on the bottom of my screen and thought it was a real bug! I didn't realize until I scrolled down further what was going on. Very cute and clever. I like it.

p.s. Any more tips you would like to offer, I would be interested to hear them. I am contemplating trying to do some things in the near future, but don't have much knowledge right now. suggested reading, research tools, etc.???

[John Shuk]

Amazon went nuts today.

[Tony Joyce]

Rick,
I must admit I copied the "bug" from somewhere else. I thought it was on my screen too when I first saw it. I had to have it. Feel free to copy it I did!

I took a stock trading course from a guy who lives in Rocky Mount, NC. He worked two jobs trying to get out of debt he amassed when he was younger, later working his way up in a Bridgestone tire plant. When he retired(as he called it) he was making double his salary in the stock market. He seldom traded on Friday, he would take all day and spend with his two kids. Retirement to him meant he could do the things he wanted to do. He was self taught about the stock market. He enjoyed giving money to people who he felt would appreciate it and attributed his success largely to the giving. I don't recall how old he was but probably late 30's early forty's. He enjoyed teaching others his secrets, and said when it stopped being fun he would quite. When asked why he charged for his seminars he said it was perception of value, if he didn't charge people would think it was not important to be there. If you had money invest to come you would be there. Miss two classes and you were out. Priorities!

We had to drive to Raleigh to take it, about two hours from me. One night a week for six weeks. From 5PM till about 12-1AM. I took the course about three or four times in the span of about a couple of years. Every time I took it I learned something new. He gave us a binder and I took lots of notes also! It was worth every penny of the $500 I spent for the original course(retakes were free) He said he could teach anyone to trade(not the same as investing) as long as you would follow the rules, he said he had already discovered what wouldn't work so he could save us that step! One thing I rembember well was beware of what the market was doing! Don't trade against the market on any one stock. It doesn't matter which direction it's moving you can make money either direction. That was probably the hardest thing to understand, but it did stick because this was right after the internet stock bubble burst. The next thing was we looked for was stocks that move, movement is great. Trade a stock that has average shares traded daily of at least 500M. It's no good to double your money if you can't sell it easily!

The news moves stocks so it must be considered when trading(generally 1day to two weeks). The anchors on the financial channels make a living reporting the news, whether it's relevant or not. His favorite saying was "you don't want to be the little dog, when the big dog cocks his leg" meaning if a stock like Microsoft moved drastically it could affect other stocks that seemed unrelated. A ripple effect if you will.

He explained options in a way no book has made clear to me. They are a very useful tool. The best example is if you have a stock that has moved up nicely and you don't necessarily want to sell it you can sell covered call options and be paid immediately, you sell covered call options a couple of strike prices above the current price. Get this you can do it month after after month! The pitfall is if the stock spikes you will be called out and have to sell your stock at the strike price, imagine that making money above what you had already made on the stock. Of course you should only do this on stocks you don't mind selling. Unfortunately this works best on high priced stocks.

Having control of your own money is very empowering. While I would not recommend this to everyone. It does work for those willing to do the work, if you want to call it that.

I just realized I'm rambling on. Sorry Curtis I wasn't trying to hijack your thread.

[Frank Guerin]

I watch the market every day. Sometimes several hours a day. After awhile it can become your life. Even and if you make money the question is when do you get out? when is enough? How do you cash out without loosing it to taxes that no one else worked, studied, and worried about?
It's always a fun game untill it's your real money.

[Tony Joyce]

Frank,
You probably already understand the market more than you realize. You sell when you have profit you are happy with or when you have made 100%(at least sell the profit part). I know it sounds trite, but don't be greedy. Just think if you're paying taxs you're making money! Not that anyone enjoys it, but it's part of the equation.

[Jim King]

|, 209 [ 12:02 ] 0
The Lima Stock Exchange is the Most Profitable in the World

LivinginPeru.com23 September
Katrina Heimark
The general index of Lima’s Stock Market advanced 132.6% this year, which moved it up to the first place in the world. The stock market grew faster than the respective markets from Brazil (advanced 106.1%), Russia and Indonesia.

According to the ranking issued by the Bloomberg Agency, Lima’s Stock Exchange is the most profitable in the planet. The advances made by the stock market began on the first of January of this year, and as of today, the market continues to grow.

Lima’s Stock Exchange closed yesterday with a 2.07 increase in the general index, which was the fifth consecutive increase. This puts the stock market at a level that had not been seen since July 2 of 2008.

According to Peru21, the inversion of mining companies in Southern Peru accounts for much of the growth in the Peruvian Economy.

[Joe Mioux]

I watch the market every day. Sometimes several hours a day. After awhile it can become your life. .

that brings back memories. I used to be a commodities broker and brokers used to watch Quotron everyday, from 9:15 until 1:15 for ag futures and later for some financials. It is mezmorizing (sp?) and a colossal waste of time for young brokers.

for those concerned about the economy, follow the bond market.

I could say a lot more, but better not.

joe

[Prashun Patel]

It's easy to make money some of the time. For the average person (and by average I mean in LUCK - not SKILL), it's impossible to beat the market. There's no skill to investing - only guts, luck, and patience.

I switched to an asset allocation strategy recently and am sleeping much better than those heady tech days when I was making a killing trading options, but losing just as much and getting ulcers.

Investing in individual stocks has become gambling. The fundamentals of investing have long since been eclipsed by 'technical' forces.

At least that's my 2c.

[Michael O'Sullivan]

He explained options in a way no book has made clear to me. They are a very useful tool. The best example is if you have a stock that has moved up nicely and you don't necessarily want to sell it you can sell put options and be paid immediately, you sell put options a couple of strike prices above the current price. Get this you can do it month after after month! The pitfall is if the stock spikes you will be called out and have to sell your stock at the strike price, imagine that making money above what you had already made on the stock. Of course you should only do this on stocks you don't mind selling. Unfortunately this works best on high priced stocks.

I don't think his explanation was as good as you think, because you are confusing puts and calls;)

[Tony Joyce]

I have corrected my mistake of Improper terminology. In my haste to get my thoughts down I failed to proofread closely. It doesn't mean he was a bad teacher, because I misspoke! I do not at this time trade options or I would have caught the obvious.

[James Stokes]

Buy apple, I have done real well with it over the last few years.