So which stocks will be positively affected after Covid-19 ?

[dennis thompson]

So does anyone think there will be some stocks positively affected by Covid-19?
Two come to mind:
-Zoom- which is a teleconferencing application currently used by many
-Teladoc-which is a medical application used to examine and talk to patients remotely
Both are pretty popular right now but will they continue to be popular after Covid-19?
I know, I know, stick with index funds/ETFs, but this is much more interesting, if not more profitable.
Thoughts/suggestions?

[Jim Becker]

There undoubtedly will be some real winners, but as you state, things can and will change after we get through this current situation. That said, my personal feeling is that Telemedicine is getting a good boost that will not prove it's worth and cost effectiveness which may make it a more acceptable practice once things return to normal. A lot of that will depend upon the for profit insurance industry, unfortunately.... As to Zoom, they have an interesting history. There's a good article on CNN.com about them and how the founder's goal when he left Cisco's WebEx team was to actually address end-users' concerns about usability, etc. They have done pretty well around that, although there are a few security things that need addressed. But I think they were do fine, even if things contract a bit after the current situation. What will potentially benefit them is that more employers and educators will be more comfortable with remote work/learning than were previously. This has been a cultural problem in business for a long time...trust me, I was selling collaboration solutions to government and business prior to retirement, and the biggest barrier was not technology.

That all said...I'm sticking to the funds my money is in. I don't have the time or interest in doing the work required to deal in individual securities.

[Bill Dufour]

Clorox is not doing anything special.
Blue apron home meal kit company went up 75% then 125% the next day. Then it dropped back to the before numbers.
I suspect the toilet paper makers stock will drop as soon as everyone has a years supply on hand and stop buying for a year.
Bil lD

[Rod Sheridan]

Funeral home stocks......Rod

[Bill Dufour]

Costco sells caskets and urns, online only. I assume one at a time, not in a family pack. they have done this for several years.
Bil lD

[Rod Sheridan]

Costco sells caskets and urns, online only. I assume one at a time, not in a family pack. they have done this for several years.
Bil lD

“Not in family packs”

Gee Bill, thanks for the dark humour, it made me laugh.

Keep well.....Rod

[Stan Calow]

There's a site called MarketWatch that's suggesting Pepsico, Johnson& Johnson and Proctor & Gamble. No doubt our Senators have already bought them up.

[Mark Blatter]

There's a site called MarketWatch that's suggesting Pepsico, Johnson& Johnson and Proctor & Gamble. No doubt our Senators have already bought them up.


I bought a fair bit of Pepsi so I was fully ready for the zombie apocalypse.

[Jim Becker]

Do zombies like sugary drinks? :D

[Bruce Wrenn]

Funeral Homes. Seems most are now owned by investment groups.

[julian abram]

Forget trying to pick winner stocks, odds are against you. Just invest in index mutual funds and ride the market average. You will sleep better and have better returns if you are a long term investor.:)

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Julian, I’m not exactly sure of your credentials in the financial advisory area, but there are many very smart investors here (and I’m not including myself) who pick individual stocks/bonds etc. who regularly beat the overall averages, without the “benefit” of mutual fund managers and highly commissioned sales persons.

[Devon Prescott]

I take Julian's advice in the best possible way - it's what my friends often say to me. I think investing, like any aspect of our daily lives, has a strong case to be made for outsourcing to experts (as with cooking, yard care, furniture making).

As for this current situation I have two thoughts a short term and a longer term (I do my own investing both stocks and funds):
1. Silver is crazy undervalued right now, in my opinion. This is due to a complex set of circumstances ranging from Silver's traditional role hedging inflation to some fallout (April 1, 2020 forced sell dates) from the silver market manipulation case of a certain European bank. The difference between the "spot" price of silver and what I can buy a physical ounce in my town is over %100 and has been for some time. The April 1 deadline passing today, I see only upward pressure on silver for the short term (I mean weeks, not years). I think that after the 2016 Deutsche bank case other bad actors will be unlikely to manipulate silver again any time soon. These rigged markets and naked silver short selling tactics kept a lid on silver for 15 years or more that should not have been there.

2. Ford. I missed the opportunity to buy Ford for under $2 back in 2009 and it has troubled my sleep more than once (to Julian's point). I think a similar opportunity exists today (I have not yet jumped into this pool). You are betting on a future - if the US .gov has a "some things are too big to fail" mindset the big 3 autos are surely in that category. This would be a longer-term play obviously - masks are not going to be highly profitable once the cost of re-tooling is factored. Masks are the right thing to do, and I like it when companies do the right thing.

I'm a small time player with AUM that would fit in a nice overnight bag but I often beat the markets, especially in times like these when the Trading Algorithms were not coded to deal with a pandemic. This whole situation is a disaster with an end-date. That known ending (in a few months) combined with our rich global information environment could make for a whip-fast recovery. Plus, right or wrong the POTUS likes the markets and the markets love him.

[Edwin Santos]

Julian, I’m not exactly sure of your credentials in the financial advisory area, but there are many very smart investors here (and I’m not including myself) who pick individual stocks/bonds etc. who regularly beat the overall averages, without the “benefit” of mutual fund managers and highly commissioned sales persons.

Aaron,
I too have no idea what Julian's credentials are, but his advice pretty much mirrors what Warren Buffett tells people to do and Warren's credentials are beyond question.
Being able to be a good enough stock picker to consistently beat the market averages is a rare talent, meaning the average person cannot do it consistently. Therefore I am in Julian's camp that thinks it dangerous to advise others to enter the game of individual stock/bond picking, especially in this day and age of efficient markets and algorithmic trading.
For those that are willing and able to consistently pick winners, consider yourselves gifted, talented, smart, lucky or all of the above.

Also, I don't think Julian is necessarily saying go hire a commissioned salesperson. There are any number of trading platforms that will let you buy index funds and mutual funds at relatively expense ratios. I think Schwab does a great job of making a non-commissioned person available on a walk-in basis for those that need help getting started.

[Roger Feeley]

hmm... Hard to pick winners but maybe losers? The real question is how our collective behavior might change over the long term.

Take movies. My wife and I haven't gone to a movie in the theater since this started. Will we go back? maybe. But I bet we lean more to the upscale theaters with the bigger seats and rows farther apart. Theaters were already having a hard time competing against streaming services and such. So that would mean to sell AMC short and buy home theater stuff.

Or cruise travel. Will people ever look at cruise ships the same. We always knew they were petri dishes. So short Carnival

What about travel in general? Will we finally stop traveling by air and support medium distance travel by rail? I love traveling by train and loath traveling by air. Business 101 is, "You can't depend on the loyalty of a customer base that actively hates you." That pretty much describes the airlines. Will this be the final straw or will airlines figure out a way to freshen the air in the planes so maybe we don't all get sick? If not, short the airlines and buy railroad and auto stocks.

[Bill Dufour]

FYI:Schwab has closed their physical locations. So you have to call or do it all online.
I believe the math of individual trading has changed now that big outfits, like Schwab, offer no fee stock trades.
There is not really any cost to do day trading with no commissions to pay. I sold over 9,000$ worth of stock several months ago before all this started. Total fees were 17 cents. Not exactly sure why it cost so much?
I have sold most of my stocks and ETF's so sitting on the sidelines waiting. It gives me a weird perspective. I want the market to go up so I get back in a see my stocks go up but... I feel good when it goes down because that means I did the right thing by cashing out.
Bil lD

[julian abram]

Julian, I’m not exactly sure of your credentials in the financial advisory area, but there are many very smart investors here (and I’m not including myself) who pick individual stocks/bonds etc. who regularly beat the overall averages, without the “benefit” of mutual fund managers and highly commissioned sales persons.

Aaron, yes I'm sure there are many savvy stock investors here who are quite successful picking winner stocks and bonds. But I think in terms of the average everyday investors who would not have the time or interest to adequately analyze the financials of 10-12 companies each week, hoping to pick a portfolio of winners. I'm afraid the average investor buys stock on the recommendation of Marketwatch, Jim Cramer, etc. with no personal research into the companies he is buying. This is akin to picking your winners off the tip sheet at the racetrack. Instead of having an investment strategy it more like gambling. Certainly folks can successfully use different investing strategies. There are many investors who have been successful with the mutual fund strategy that I have suggested. Perhaps you have heard of Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard, second largest investment company in the US. True to Vanguard investing, I have never used a "highly" commissioned sales person and only invest in low cost index funds. I have no financial credentials to give advice, my thoughts are given freely and in the spirit of sharing my investing experiences with this community. I have been investing for over 40 years and spent early years chasing the hot stocks and the hot mutual funds. Sometimes successful but many times taking a bath. My wife and I have never been high income earners but I'm very satisfied with the nice portfolio we have accumulated over years by investing a proper asset allocation in stock and bond mutual funds. My days of chasing the hot stocks are over. I learned early I was not smart enough, nor had the time to pick and follow them. My challenge was not so much when to buy a company's beaten down stock but at what point do you sell. I sleep much better not making constant buy and sell decisions.

Addeum: My thoughts are only shared in the view of long term investing, 5 years or more. If you are a day trader, short term less than a year investor, God bless you, that is a totally different ballgame more akin to the racetrack strategy. My best wishes for your success.

[Michael Drew]

There are some incredible bargains to be had right now, if you can stomach the uncertainty. Boeing, and all airlines. Coca-cola is another. Microsoft. All oil producers. These are all industries / companies that will come back after the dust settles. Does anyone actually thing air travel is a thing of the past? Who's going to build the planes?

For my 401K/retirement accounts, I do as Julian suggests and invest in low cost Vanguard index funds. I also invest in stocks a bit with a cash account that is separate from my nest egg money. I do not chase stocks though, and focus of solid companies that make good product that I personally have faith in, and I buy long too. But for this once in a lifetime event, there are true opportunities to be had - but only if you have the cash, and it won't kill you to loose it all.

[Edwin Santos]

There are some incredible bargains to be had right now, if you can stomach the uncertainty. Boeing, and all airlines. Coca-cola is another. Microsoft. All oil producers. These are all industries / companies that will come back after the dust settles. Does anyone actually thing air travel is a thing of the past? Who's going to build the planes?


I think the concern with some companies, especially the airlines, is what would happen to the stockholders if they ultimately end up going through bankruptcy. This is what happened to GM in 2009, and yes, the Federal Government took an equity stake, but only in the reorganized GM. Anyone who bought GM on the dip in 2008 thinking we will always need cars ultimately lost everything. There's a case that something similar could happen with the airlines, and it's very possible with Boeing too. Then again maybe it won't happen.

Yes, for companies that are strong enough to survive no matter what, like Microsoft, Apple, and others with bulletproof balance sheets, bankruptcy is much more remote possibility.

At least the broad index funds spread the money across the entire fund class, so there is diversification risk. But buyer beware that even the bargains have risk.
Edwin

[julian abram]

I have no problem with folks using 5-10% of their portofilo playing with individual stocks. Heck, with the proper mind set it is fun and entertaining as long as you are not playing with rent and grocery money. There are some tremdous bargins out there right now in several sectors. Yeah, it's tempting even for me as a strict mutual fund investor. I think the challenge in picking is knowing how long this economy will be shut down. No body knows. Some of these companies that are soild and great bargins in a 3 month shut down but will be bankrupt if it turns into a 6-9 month shutdown. If you play the game you just have to roll dice because we cannot print enough money to save them all.
I've always had mixed feelings about the government stepping into the private sector saving companies. I remember years ago when we saved Harley Davidson and then Chrylser. Was that really necessary? More recently we saved GM. Now Boeing and perhaps some airlines. Althought I do think we have a national security interest with Boeing & airlines remaining solvent.
I'm beginning to question the security of many bond funds that I have considered "safe" over the years. Many of these funds hold 40-50% corporate bonds with many of the holdings rated BBB. If this economy shutdown continues for more the 2-3 months, many corporate bond holdings will be downgraded to junk ratings.
There is a lot of upside opportunity in this market but along with it comes a lot of landmines as well. Be safe.

[dennis thompson]

So does anyone think there will be some stocks positively affected by Covid-19?
Two come to mind:
-Zoom- which is a teleconferencing application currently used by many
-Teladoc-which is a medical application used to examine and talk to patients remotely
Both are pretty popular right now but will they continue to be popular after Covid-19?
I know, I know, stick with index funds/ETFs, but this is much more interesting, if not more profitable.
Thoughts/suggestions?

So when I started this thread I mentioned that two stocks I thought would do well were Zoom, it's down 15% and Teladoc, it's down 3%. So clearly if you want to make money in the market all you have to do is sell my recommendations short☺

[Jim Becker]

Dennis, Zoom was zooming...and then there were the concerns about security in certain scenarios. Folks and organizations whose needs require greater security for their meetings are now migrating to other platforms now that the rush to "do something" has calmed down. It's not surprising to me at all and it's likely this would have happened anyway as companies found that their actual needs were better served by other specific products that are more tailored but maybe required more lead time to get involved with. I bet some of the companies and government agencies that were dragging their feet on full adoption of the solutions I was selling prior to retirement were kicking themselves recently. They were taking their time because they felt their people wouldn't or couldn't adapt to the virtual environment. Clearly they were wrong!

I don't know much about Teledoc. I do know that the medical practice I work with is using FaceTime for consultation for any patient that has Apple ecosystem. It costs them nothing to do so other than having a few practice-owned devices available. My PA said that certain aspects of HIPAA had to be relaxed for regular medical practices to use video for patient consultation. The limitation for Telemedicine is at the far endpoint...what does the client have available for both the physical endpoint and for connectivity. Much of the US does not have the Internet infrastructure to actually support even simple video...

[Edwin Santos]

I don't know much about Teledoc. I do know that the medical practice I work with is using FaceTime for consultation for any patient that has Apple ecosystem. It costs them nothing to do so other than having a few practice-owned devices available. My PA said that certain aspects of HIPAA had to be relaxed for regular medical practices to use video for patient consultation. The limitation for Telemedicine is at the far endpoint...what does the client have available for both the physical endpoint and for connectivity. Much of the US does not have the Internet infrastructure to actually support even simple video...

Hi Jim,
Teledoc isn't a communication platform like FaceTime or Zoom that would be vended to providers like your doctor. Teledoc is the service provider, with a national footprint. Mostly doctors and extenders (PA and FNP) I think. I think it's a fairly extensive subcontracted network of providers they have assembled. The void they're trying to fill is the need in the middle of the night, weekend, when you're doc is not available or you can't get an appointment. Some of the large insurers use them as a network provider and even push patients toward them by reducing copays because the cost to the plan is usually less. There are pros and cons. If a person prefers the small town high touch experience of the doc or office they've always known, maybe telemedicine is not a fit, but for those folks looking to solve a routine problem, like needing a scrip for a sinus infection or something like that.

As to the connectivity limitations, I couldn't say if that's a limiter. Not sure if the video occurs through their app, like WhatsApp can do. If they haven't figured that out, then I'd say Teledoc has problems. I would hope they've also solved HIPAA compliance. I've never used them as a patient, but I notice they've gotten some prime time mention at the WH press conferences where telemedicine has been brought up.

[Jim Becker]

They may still benefit here, Edwin, since Insurance carriers are quickly becoming more flexible about using Telemedicine, which historically has a higher cost than "regular" providers. Patients, however, will have to be comfortable with using a different provider if they use, say...Teledoc...rather than their normal PCP. It's not just about technology...it's about relationships. If I have a choice between my PA, Dan, using FaceTime or phone or using Teledoc...I'm going to pick Dan every time because he knows me and more importantly, I know him.

[Edwin Santos]

They may still benefit here, Edwin, since Insurance carriers are quickly becoming more flexible about using Telemedicine, which historically has a higher cost than "regular" providers. Patients, however, will have to be comfortable with using a different provider if they use, say...Teledoc...rather than their normal PCP. It's not just about technology...it's about relationships. If I have a choice between my PA, Dan, using FaceTime or phone or using Teledoc...I'm going to pick Dan every time because he knows me and more importantly, I know him.

I don't blame you one bit Jim, I'd probably pick Dan too.
On a broader market basis though, what I think we'll start seeing is Telemedicine being a lower cost alternative because the docs don't have the office overhead. Most of their infrastructure is virtual. So they contract with the insurance company at a lower rate than Dan can. And then the insurance company will start "gently" influencing us over to Teledoc by designing the plan in such a way that our co-pays are lower or zero with Teledoc, or the coverage doesn't require meeting a deductible for full coverage.

It's not a total substitution because there will always be times when we need to be seen physically by a doc, and there are times when the problem is more complicated than can be resolved remotely, but the theory is that a high % of needs can be met this way. I think there are also advantages to telemedicine for the elderly and disabled to not have to physically travel for care, not to mention inclement weather. And then there's the 24/7 access.
It's like everything, there are advantages and disadvantages both ways, but I think we'll be seeing more and more telemedicine in the future.
That is until machine learning and AI replace both Dan and Telemedicine!

[Devon Prescott]

I picked Silver because the ETFs are more accessible than gold (SLV for example) and the silver to gold ratio is out of historical norm hugely in favor of a silver increase.

Precious metals are no brainer in a real crisis because they have ability to resist both inflation and deflation (the two hobgoblins of disaster economies). What is going on right now is so interesting because the US seems like the 3rd economy hit with this and we may be the first open market to recover. Later this summer its entirely possible that the US economy will fly up while the rest of the world gets hit hard (or is near the apogee of thier curves). The Chinese economy is recovering first, of course, but China is mind-field for outside investment because of the government there. I would not be surprised to see the US go from the worst to the best markets in a few weeks time.

If you are OK investing global I have some love for Japanese stocks right now. The Japanese just masked up and continued business as usual.

I know that investing in precious metals seems very old-school to some of you. But I submit that this last week I:

1. Went to town only once for supplies and groceries.
2. Planted a garden.
3. Cooked a lot of my grandmother's depression era recipes.

So I may be turning into my grandparents after all. They DID survive the great depression and somehow raise families while doing it.

[Edwin Santos]

I picked Silver because the ETFs are more accessible than gold (SLV for example) and the silver to gold ratio is out of historical norm hugely in favor of a silver increase.

Precious metals are no brainer in a real crisis because they have ability to resist both inflation and deflation (the two hobgoblins of disaster economies).

Quick question for you - I get why precious metals would be good to hold in a period of inflation, but how do you figure precious metals will resist deflation?

After all, in a deflationary environment, dollars are becoming more valuable in real terms (opposite of inflation), and since precious metals are denominated in dollars, usually they would be suffering a value decline relatively speaking. I would think bonds would be the better asset class to hold in a deflation because the dollars you receive in coupon payments are increasing in value hence yield should decline to reflect this. At the moment we're seeing historic yield decline.

[Devon Prescott]

I don't have a quick answer.

Deflation in a laboratory would hurt gold and silver where there is an infinite supply of money. In the real world, at least in my investing lifetime periods of deflation have been accompanied by shortage of 'available money' - sometimes in a big way. In this environment metals (gold more so than silver) seem to hold value well - its not going to set the world on fire but it has proved to do well for me. In the great recession (when everything seemed to be down like now) gold dipped but rallied well ahead of the general market. This was not a great performance overall in a recession. Silver was being manipulated that whole time (we now know) by a few odd characters some of whom have come under legal penalty for crimes.

However, in a disaster of global proportions (like today) I will bet on the precious metals any time. They have intrinsic value as a physical item (more than I can say for some of the stock certificates I have paid good money for). In Disaster Deflation the value of a metal that can be held will likely offset deflationary trends - a fund with an "association" to the metal is an easy way to trade without taking pallets of bars into your warehouse. This is my hypothesis and I hope it never gets tested.

I define the difference between a Disaster and Recession as follows: In a Rescission people wonder if they will have a job next month, in a Disaster people wonder if they will eat tomorrow. Silver and Gold should go down in a recession but not down as much and they should come up faster at the end. Its a place to hide money in a world where bonds have proven to be less than ideal. In big growth markets you can't beat dividend producing stocks. This summer I plan to exit metal and buy those on they way up.

Two barometers that I have used for years on silver are:
A. The spot price of a metal vs the on-the-street price. More than a few dollars difference and you need to pay attention. At $15.30 USD Silver today I can't buy a coin for $20. I don't think I could buy a quantity for $23, in fact. This tells me something fishy is going on with silver. That spot price is junk in my book (I'm not saying fraud, but in Oklahoma the REAL value of horse is what you can sell it for today). I think the spot price will creep up to the street price or vise versa.
B. The ratio of Silver to Gold. Governments used to set this ratio (15:1 or thereabouts) now the market decides. 50:1 is what I think of a mean. At 5:1 I would look at the price of Gold to buy it. At 100:1 I would look at the price of Silver to buy it. I think this ratio is over 112:1 right now.

I think a lot of poorly written trading algorithms dumped a lot of silver at $11 last month because they were never coded for a full-on Depression (what coder was alive in the 1920s?). So a lot of people now want to buy that back - silver is a great hedge against inflation and with the US government printing money and giving it to everyone inflation is likely to occur in a big way in the days ahead. I see the high street price plus the pandemic as good indicators that silver has real value. Add in all the mines getting shut down right now due to outbreak and logistic challenges.

I think silver is up over %10 since I suggested it and I am assuming that it has another %10 to go.

[Devon Prescott]

I would think bonds would be the better asset class to hold in a deflation because the dollars you receive in coupon payments are increasing in value hence yield should decline to reflect this. At the moment we're seeing historic yield decline.

Bonds are EXACTLY what I was taught to use in deflation - you are spot on. But I simply don't (or almost never do) use them. I got my eyebrows burned on bonds many years ago and I diverged from the conservative investing cannon afterward. I find the liquidity of cash too temping and the metals ETFs let me get in and out quickly (not multiple times a day, but weekly).

[dennis thompson]

I was on another website devoted to investing and much the same discussion was taking place: buy this, sell that, wait until the crisis is over, invest now there are bargains out there, use puts, use calls, all very confusing until it was all nicely summarized, until the crisis is over : " nobody knows nothin" and I include myself in the "nobody"

[Devon Prescott]

Dennis,

I think you are right on the nose. No one KNOWS what is going to happen in the long or short term (no one who on earth anyway). I will confess that investing gives me some illusion of control and keeps me from being bitter when things turn down (I am the only one I can blame). Some people have a very different outlook and I would never try to dissuade them.

I would encourage everyone who has a sunny patch of lawn to put in a garden this year. If we bounce back it will be fresh vegetables to enjoy and share. If this turns worse you may have a meal or two without having to pay or leave home.

[dennis thompson]

I thought I'd update this thread. I bought Zoom at the end of March for $150/share. It immediately proceeded to go to $113 in a week or two, since then it has gone back to $150 despite some bad publicity about security. Go figure!

[Ron Citerone]

Aaron, yes I'm sure there are many savvy stock investors here who are quite successful picking winner stocks and bonds. But I think in terms of the average everyday investors who would not have the time or interest to adequately analyze the financials of 10-12 companies each week, hoping to pick a portfolio of winners. I'm afraid the average investor buys stock on the recommendation of Marketwatch, Jim Cramer, etc. with no personal research into the companies he is buying. This is akin to picking your winners off the tip sheet at the racetrack. Instead of having an investment strategy it more like gambling. Certainly folks can successfully use different investing strategies. There are many investors who have been successful with the mutual fund strategy that I have suggested. Perhaps you have heard of Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard, second largest investment company in the US. True to Vanguard investing, I have never used a "highly" commissioned sales person and only invest in low cost index funds. I have no financial credentials to give advice, my thoughts are given freely and in the spirit of sharing my investing experiences with this community. I have been investing for over 40 years and spent early years chasing the hot stocks and the hot mutual funds. Sometimes successful but many times taking a bath. My wife and I have never been high income earners but I'm very satisfied with the nice portfolio we have accumulated over years by investing a proper asset allocation in stock and bond mutual funds. My days of chasing the hot stocks are over. I learned early I was not smart enough, nor had the time to pick and follow them. My challenge was not so much when to buy a company's beaten down stock but at what point do you sell. I sleep much better not making constant buy and sell decisions.

Addeum: My thoughts are only shared in the view of long term investing, 5 years or more. If you are a day trader, short term less than a year investor, God bless you, that is a totally different ballgame more akin to the racetrack strategy. My best wishes for your success.
Agree completely, and there is a lot of data to back what you posted. Jack Bogle is a true hero IMO!

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Please don’t get me wrong. I agree that not everyone is suited to buying individual stocks, and totally agree that for safety, an index fund is a great product. In fact, I’m buying 2 index funds as Bar Mitzvah presents for my eldest twin grandsons.
My only point was that, like all advice, any blanket statement is subject to the proviso “In my opinion.......”.
I’ve had a number of breathtaking losses in individual stocks, and some stunning successes. But, I’m semi retired, and I find the pursuit of a greater nest egg for my older age a technical challenge.
l also am not advocating that “individual stocks are the only way”. It’s just that looking at the holdings of index funds, and seeing how they perform is just as daunting a task as picking stocks. Both require a lot of effort, unless you have a financial advisor, in which case the fee structure rears it’s ugly head.
Whatever the choice, it’s yours.

[Roger Feeley]

I’m going to predict that face masks will be common for the foreseeable future. At the very least they will be well tolerated. This would be bad news for Big Brother. Any company marketing mass facial recognition would have a problem. If I don’t want to be scanned, I wear a mask and no one will be suspicious. This is already a problem for the racial profilers. They see a black guy in a mask and think gang member.

[Michael Drew]

I suspect Abbott Laboratories will move up. I'm actually a bit surprised it has not taken off yet.

[Bill Dufour]

A month in and Clorox has not really moved. Tesla is starting to go up after tanking . They have shut down production so that means they are not losing as much money as when they were open. They have never made a profit so stopping production reduces costs.
They were the classic business model of they lost money on every sale but made up for it with volume.
Bil lD

[Edwin Santos]

Tesla is starting to go up after tanking . They have shut down production so that means they are not losing as much money as when they were open. They have never made a profit so stopping production reduces costs.
They were the classic business model of they lost money on every sale but made up for it with volume.
Bil lD

Maybe check your facts. Tesla was profitable for four of the past six reported quarters. This is one of the reasons their stock has run up so much in the past 6 months.

[Bill Dufour]

I say you have to make profit in a year to count as being a real business.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/29/21113987/tesla-q4-2019-earnings-results-profit-revenue-model-3

[Devon Prescott]

If anyone followed me into Silver I am getting out now; offered as a PSA. I think the strength of the USD is going to curb the silver climb. There may be some more money in silver but for now, I'm taking my profits to help offset my losses in everything else.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

Take your profit right now. It's gone up to $174 a few minutes ago.

[Edwin Santos]

Take your profit right now. It's gone up to $174 a few minutes ago.

Out of curiosity, are you guys talking about an ETF or miner or something else? Spot price for silver is like $16.75. What went up to $174?

[Alan Caro]

dennis thompson,

Probably the tragic, inevitable bankruptcy of small businesses will increase business towards online sales. There have been a number of articles the last couple of days to the effect; "Will Jeff Bezos become the World's first Trillionaire", citing 2026 as the possible date. Every business would do well to create an online presence. Note the early demise of J.C. Penny and J. Crew and those companies already had been tshifting to online sales.

Another side effect of the lockdowns and social distancing is the number of people that are working from home. This effect is likely to have some staying power too. Twitter has more or less is announced that in the future, all employees may work from home permanently. The implications are towards increased and more powerful home computer hardware purchases, so workstation manufacturers will do well. It's anecdotal, but as I've been shopping for a new video card, a Quadro RTX 4000, it appears that there are suddenly there are no used ones for sale and the prices of used ones have gone up substantially. There must be a lot of new home-bound Solidworks engineers. And then there is as you mentioned, the communication aspect with Skype, Zoom et al is doing well and that may be partly maintained, but may mean that it will peak and then drop. The sudden rush to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and etc. will be temporary. I've had Netflix a couple of times and I'm clearly not in their target demographic- I run out of interest very quickly, although a few of their in-house productions have been terrific. Loved, for example, "The Highwaymen" and their release of "The Irishman".

With energy, oil futures can only go up, but the very near-time shift to electric vehicles may moderate that. I think Volvo is planning to stop production of gas-powered cars as of 2022 or 3. Even Porsche is making an all-electric, 4-door sedan, the Taycan and that is quietly faster than Lamborghinis for $100,000 less and with a two door bonus. As the charging infrastructure increases, the companies in on high volume all-electric early and successfully will be good bets, but the high cost of the development and plant conversion may moderate that as an investment. There is also the prospect of the long-promised driverless cars and that could cause some sudden shifts, no pun intended.

In the financial market, the number of potential foreclosures and loan defaults do not make that an attractive realm.

Another, more encompassing idea is the notion that wealth inequality between rich and poor is likely to increase, meaning that either simple commodities and services that everyone must have, meaning things that are cheaply produced by the millions or the rarefied high-end, bespoke and custom will be good bets.

The virus in combination with the inevitable political back and forth up through the election I predict will send the market in wild swings every other day.

The old adage that in chaos there is opportunity has been true, but "opportunity" can be more dangerous than a direct and obvious threat. RE: the aforementioned term, "wild swings every other day".

I for one am not doing any gambling,..

Alan

[dennis thompson]

So to show I do eat my own cooking, I'll post this update on my original post. I bought Zoom at $150.50 and it is now at $174.83, I bought Teladoc at $163.72 and it is now at $184.23.:) In both cases the stocks have been pretty volatile.
Note that, had these stocks gone down, I NEVER would have updated this post:rolleyes:

I did hear an Angel investor make a fairly compelling case that "work at home" had been growing slowly and that the Covid 19 virus has pushed us much more quickly into this process. If you think about it, there are many benefits to the business, particularly in savings on Real estate/rents, they can hire from any where in the world, etc, and the worker at home saves on commuting (I used to drive 86 miles a day to work, so car depreciation, gas , maintenance, tolls will go down dramatically).
To be honest, I'm retired, but I still think I'd rather go into an office, maybe work at home one or two days a week, just a gut feel, not a scientific analysis.
As to Teladoc, I hear ads all the time ,here in New Jersey, about a tela medicine "visit" for $20 and free for people on Medicare.

I plan to keep these stocks, while they are both highly valued, I'm thinking maybe they'd be acquired by one of the bigger companies, (Hey Apple, are you listening?)
Of course, if they should the go down, you'll never hear from me again.

[Devon Prescott]

Out of curiosity, are you guys talking about an ETF or miner or something else? Spot price for silver is like $16.75. What went up to $174?


I was in SLV an ETF. I planned to sell at 15.80 but reading the tea leaves (stronger dollar, sluggish metals in general) I got out "early". I don't know about 174 - I would be having someone post for me if silver got that high yesterday. SLV lags spot silver is a fairly interesting pattern over time if you like that sort of thing...

Note: I don't really think SLV (or any metal ETF) can be a long term strategy over time (decades) for me. When a fund says in its own prospectus that it is intended to lose value over time - you should take that to heart. However, the sheer volatility of an ETF in a situation like we had in March when the AI traders were dim and slow makes for a short-term ladder for a small parasite like me.

Now, if you have 50,000 shares of SLV ETF you can work with a "qualified purchaser" to take physical delivery. This is what sort of ties SLV to silver. In the last 2 months this would be very exciting if one bought SLV at the low 11s (I did that), owed 50k shares (I did not) and then took delivery now. You would be exploiting big increase in the EFT, the difference between SLV and spot, and the large (And very alarming from my standpoint) difference between Spot and Street prices.

Rant warning: I get why ETFs lag Spot prices, no complaints. But we have had HUGE delta between Spot and Street for MONTHS now. Go to any major metal site that ships you silver and see what they have "in stock" and what it costs. Some are "out of stock" and say they can't get physical silver (clue #1). Others are charging 11 to 13 USD over Spot silver (clue #2). Read stores online about folks trying to take delivery of gold, silver, and platinum in the last few months (clue #3). This is not something I have seen in many decades investing - Some gravity that is not visible in the light of day is involved in these artificially low spot prices.