Anyone Buying Stocks?

[Palm Guy]

I just finished Michael Lewis's update called "the end" written several months ago, 20 years after "Liar's Poker". He is incredulous that the same games but ramped up on steroids continued until now. Sadly, this unbelievable if not larcenious greed, continued unabated with new ravenous forms of invented burglary to present day.

Well it finally blowed, the BSD's all left town, the goose who laid the golden egg was last seen flying East with the jetstream headed to KL grumbling about T-Bills. Invest in Wall Street?

Bubba, I'll take that as a no. lol.

I haven't read that book but it does sound interesting. And yes, I tend to agree with the whole greed thing! That's what got us into this mess in the first place. In fact. I've heard of talk going around that this whole sub-prime crisis is a manufactured event! Whether it is or not, who knows. I could go really deep and spit off many accusations of conspiracy, but that will take forever to write. One thing that I do see however, is that its becoming more and more apparent that the Fed Reserve (a non govt agency) runs the country! I wont go further on that. lol.

TARP lending itself seems quite odd because the Govt was lending to some banks and corporations that had no chance of paying it back! Sounds familiar doesn't it? Kinda like how the financial institutions were giving away money to people who had no chance of paying off their mortgages! Now its even worse because the people who could pay off their mortgage can't because they lost their job! The whole situation stinks and I hope that we see a recovery soon for the sake of the hard working citizens of the world.

So yes, I see your point Bubba but I'm in the market trading, not investing. Not going greedy of course, just taking a few profits and moving on elsewhere. I do think however, that a pull- back is imminent. How much? I don't really know. But Dow 7800 seems like a good guess...

[Palm Guy]

I just finished Michael Lewis's update called "the end" written several months ago, 20 years after "Liar's Poker". He is incredulous that the same games but ramped up on steroids continued until now. Sadly, this unbelievable if not larcenious greed, continued unabated with new ravenous forms of invented burglary to present day.

Well it finally blowed, the BSD's all left town, the goose who laid the golden egg was last seen flying East with the jetstream headed to KL grumbling about T-Bills. Invest in Wall Street?

Bubba, I'll take that as a no. lol.

I haven't read that book but it does sound interesting. And yes, I tend to agree with the whole greed thing! That's what got us into this mess in the first place. In fact. I've heard of talk going around that this whole sub-prime crisis is a manufactured event! Whether it is or not, who knows. I could go really deep and spit off many accusations of conspiracy, but that will take forever to write. One thing that I do see however, is that its becoming more and more apparent that the Fed Reserve (a non govt agency) runs the country! I wont go further on that. lol.

TARP lending itself seems quite odd because the Govt was lending to some banks and corporations that had no chance of paying it back! Sounds familiar doesn't it? Kinda like how the financial institutions were giving away money to people who had no chance of paying off their mortgages! Now its even worse because the people who could pay off their mortgage can't because they lost their job! The whole situation stinks and I hope that we see a recovery soon for the sake of the hard working citizens of the world.

So yes, I see your point Bubba but I'm in the market trading, not investing. Not going greedy of course, just taking a few profits and moving on elsewhere. I do think however, that a pull- back is imminent. How much? I don't really know. But Dow 7800 seems like a good guess...

[Palm Guy]

Bubba, I'll take that as a no. lol.

I haven't read that book but it does sound interesting. And yes, I tend to agree with the whole greed thing! That's what got us into this mess in the first place. In fact. I've heard of talk going around that this whole sub-prime crisis is a manufactured event! Whether it is or not, who knows. I could go really deep and spit off many accusations of conspiracy, but that will take forever to write. One thing that I do see however, is that its becoming more and more apparent that the Fed Reserve (a non govt agency) runs the country! I wont go further on that. lol.

TARP lending itself seems quite odd because the Govt was lending to some banks and corporations that had no chance of paying it back! Sounds familiar doesn't it? Kinda like how the financial institutions were giving away money to people who had no chance of paying off their mortgages! Now its even worse because the people who could pay off their mortgage can't because they lost their job! The whole situation stinks and I hope that we see a recovery soon for the sake of the hard working citizens of the world.

So yes, I see your point Bubba but I'm in the market trading, not investing. Not going greedy of course, just taking a few profits and moving on elsewhere. I do think however, that a pull- back is imminent. How much? I don't really know. But Dow 7800 seems like a good guess...

[bubba]

Michael, Read Lewis's atricle "the end"in the December 2008 issue of Conde Nast Portfolio. It will show you the nuances of trauch larceny. I have monkeyed around with some day trades but we are riding a slippery slope.

[Alicehunter2000]

Still hanging in there and am up decently at the moment. Rang the register at the right time the last few days and looking to get back into (primarily commodities) when my target prices are hit.

[Urban Rainforest]

The only money I "had" in the stock market was my 401k. I recently took my own advice and withdrew my funds, paid my penalties and have been buying Cycads (mostly blue Encephalartos) steadily since. To me this is a much more sound investment as they typically as seedlings go up 50% to 100% a year and only need water once a week in summer. When the market crashed they simply quit sending out statements so I found their website, got new passwords only to find out that I had lost a full 50% and someone had reinvested me in 2 things that I had never heard of before . There also was a program on 60 minutes recently explaining how they are continually taking fees out of your 401k without notifying you whether the market is up or down . This is the first generation to rely on a 401k as a retirement fund. In order to believe this lie you have to believe that the market will simply keep going up...wait a minute, is'nt that what we thought about housing .

On another brighter note I just got done watching a DVD tonight given to me by a lender friend that goes into detail on how you can pay off your debt and mortgage in as early as 6 to 7 years and create wealth off of your existing paycheck . It was truly lifechanging and I'm pumped . It works 100% of the time if you follow the principles as it is based on mathematics and not on hopes, wishes and dreams . If your a trader and REALLY know what you are doing there is money to be made in the stock market. I'm just not that guy and I'm happy to be out .

Good luck,

Stevo

[Kim]

It's very interesting to me how people can react differently to extreme economic conditions. It seems many decisions are based on emotions, whether anger, fear, or greed. I have learned that every situation, however negative, presents some form of opportunity. As difficult as it is, I try to take the emotion out of the process and just work the numbers in my favor. We can be outraged about the way the meltdown came about, or frightened by the results, but how we feel is not as important to our financial well-being as the actions we take. So yes, I am a firm believer in "buy low-sell high", and with a little objective detachment, this go-round it has been fairly easy to determine what is low and what is high.

[southlatropical]

It's very interesting to me how people can react differently to extreme economic conditions. It seems many decisions are based on emotions, whether anger, fear, or greed. I have learned that every situation, however negative, presents some form of opportunity. As difficult as it is, I try to take the emotion out of the process and just work the numbers in my favor. We can be outraged about the way the meltdown came about, or frightened by the results, but how we feel is not as important to our financial well-being as the actions we take. So yes, I am a firm believer in "buy low-sell high", and with a little objective detachment, this go-round it has been fairly easy to determine what is low and what is high.

Agree with this 100% I was lucky enough to have withdrawn 45% my 401k in the form of a loan back in April of 08. After looking at how much I made over the 5yrs prior I decided to pay off my debts, buy two (used/cheap) badly needed cars, and refinance (at a better rate and shorter term) my mortgage with the loan in expectation that the bubble could not go on forever. Since the fallout I have increased my 401k contributions to 20% of income + 5% employer matching + loan repayment. I bought back all the shares I sold for the 5yr loan in just under a year thanks to the prices falling off a cliff. I owned more shares at the onset of the recent rebound than I did when I took out the loan. And my balance is close to what it was before the loan thanks to the recent surge.

My retirement with the USPS is very low cost (ER is .08) with our options of investment being funds that track the SP500, Wilshire 4500, and MSCI EAFE (Europe, Asia, Far East), Gov treasuries, and corporate bonds. I am now putting most of my contributions in the MSCI EAFE. I think that international stocks will outperform the US over the next year and a half at least. We recently opened a Roth for my wife and it is invested in Vanguards Emerging Markets Fund. In the future we may also buy into Vangaurd's REIT fund if things start looking better for real estate. The fund has been beaten to a pulp by the crisis and the once closed fund is now pretty cheap. I am a firm believer in buying low when everyone else is panicking, and moving some money to a safer place when everyone says the good times will go on forever.

I guess I should mention that I am 32 and the wife is 27. So we can be a little bold with our investments since we are so far off from retirement.

[STPETEDALE]

I must admit I dabbled in stocks for the last 8 months.What a ride!!!! I love TDAMERITRADE(besides the fees)I feel like I have had a crash course in how the markets work.I have been burnt by OPTT,CBI,CNB,RJF. I was greedy with them! I have been blessed with DIN,RTN,MTRX,S,LVS,BAC,AKS,IVN. When a stock is up 500% I do have to pinch myself I'm very tempted to short this market but I will just go with the flow for now.I do have my finger on the trigger for SRS,FAZ. It seems you have to do the opposite of what your gut tells you.I admit I do miss the 3 to 5 hundred point days.I guess the market meltdown was a blessing for me because when some jerk claims to be a financial advisor and you open your statement and you've lost 70% of your saving it is a real wake up call!! GLTA

[Kathryn]

I am kind of out of the market right now Michael. I transferred a large portion of my 401k/IRA mutual funds as the DJIA approached and exceeded 8000. I think we are in for another correction and I will get back in when it approached/passes 7000 again.

For individual stocks, I'm still playing. I've mostly been trading just for the short term, so not too much buying right now since I think we are on a false upswing. I've been lucky with APEI - buying when I think it is at a low point, selling when I think it is high and making about 15% each time. Several others that I've had to hold longer (one to three months) include KFT, AFL, PG, CAT, TAP. I have some VZ that has just stat there, but I've received some good dividends from it. I had a buy order for JPM for 18.50 in mid-March when it was around 19.00 and now it is up to 35.00 - I just missed out on that one.

I have lost about 40% of my 401k value since October 2007, which really hurts, but overall it is still worth way more that the actual dollars I contributed. Luckily I started contributing in the early 90's and saw lots of good years. Many of my selections made 30 to 50% for several years in a row. I was very aggressive in the right years - just lucky timing. Now I am a lot more cautious. I will probably be a little aggressive for the next few years to reap the rebound and then shift to very conservative investments.

[Kathryn]

Isaac - I like Vanguard's emerging market fund. I plan to put some more money into it during the next downturn.

[Kathryn]

Dale - What are Ameritrades's fees? I mostly trade with Fidelity at $8 per trade. I know there are cheaper options, but that's where my 401k and IRA accounts are. I've thought about transferring some money from my individual brokerage account, but I like have the one access point.

[STPETEDALE]

Dale - What are Ameritrades's fees? I mostly trade with Fidelity at $8 per trade. I know there are cheaper options, but that's where my 401k and IRA accounts are. I've thought about transferring some money from my individual brokerage account, but I like have the one access point.

Kathryn, the fees are reasonable $10 per transactioon and a small percentage of your profits.You must have 25k to daytrade. I have been a little disapointed with TDA sometimes the market opens and their site is down and u r not able to trade etc..Over all good service.Some of the cheaper brokers take forever for a buy/sell to go thru etc...I try to stick to local stocks in my area where I know someone that works there or you can tell by the amount of traffic that goes thru there. A local company "AIM' was trading at .25???????? I have a couple freinds that were working 60-70 hours a week and were always busy. I took a chance and made a couple dollars.However, like always, I sell to soon.The stock went up over 500% after I sold. Our newspaper St.Pete Times gives a nice weekly update on all the local stocks in my area.

[Moose]

All I can say is don't move to FL just for the 'no state income tax"...we also have some of the worst public schools in the US (they don;t have enough math books to go around so no one in my daughter's 8th grade class has a book to bring home).Still true No taxes=no services here in a lot of sectors. We are looking at a private high school come next year.