Dont Fight The Fed (04 Jan 2006) One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't fight the Fed". For the long term investors this has resulted in greater profits. When the Federal Reserve Board hikes interest rates look out and when the do it 3 times in a row it is called "3 jumps and a stumble". We have just gone through the stumble and it has been costly.
Downdraft (04 Jan 2006) For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual funds lose 40%, 50% and more of their value. This does not seem right since the fund is supposed to be managed by a professional. How can this "professional" do such a bad job? More than half of the funds this year will not out perform the S&P500 index which closed down about 10%.
Duck (04 Jan 2006) Duck! No I don't mean a quack, quack. I meant get down, look out for a huge blob of brown stuff is heading your way.
Duct Tape (04 Jan 2006) Did you run out to buy that duct tape yet? Don't forget the plastic sheeting, bottles of water, canned food and a couple of books to read. What are you waiting for? I know - things to get better so you can resume your normal life style.
Box Of Chocolates (04 Jan 2006) Ever have one of those sample boxes of candy? Each little piece is beautifully wrapped in colorful foil or decorated with an interesting design. Taste just one. So good! One more. And another. Before you know it the box is empty. Nothing left.
Bull or Bear? (04 Jan 2006) Cat or dog? Maybe Zebra. Shucks, I don't know, but my broker keeps telling me it is a bull and to buy this and that. It looks like he is right - for a change. I remember he said the same thing in 1999 and 2000 and I ended up losing most of my money. But it looks good right now.
Buy and Hold Investment Philosophy (04 Jan 2006) Wall Street has been preaching the doctrine of Buy and Hold forever. The worst part about it is the small investor (and some big ones) actually believe it. Brokers and financial planners believe it, but when you show them they can get a better return by timing the market they just say, "It can't be done". They are either lazy or stupid.
Buy Low - Sell High (04 Jan 2006) Now where have I heard that before? I know. It was my broker.
Buying Mutual Funds (04 Jan 2006) It looks like the market is ready to start up again so it is time to buy mutual funds, but you only want to invest your money in funds that go up. First, you don't want to start with a loss so be sure to purchase no-load mutual funds. There is no need to ever pay commissions as there are several thousand funds that have no commission whatsoever for either buying or selling.
Buying New Issues (04 Jan 2006) Has your broker been calling you recently with the "great opportunity" to get in on a new Initial Public Offering? With friends like that you don't need any enemies.
Investment Capital Gains (04 Jan 2006) Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late last year while the market was doing its skyrocket thing? Last year it was hard to lose money. This year it has been easy.
Cash (04 Jan 2006) How many people went to a cash position this week? There is no question that this market has scared the bajebers out of many investors, me included. Fortunately, I started going to cash some time ago, but I did give back a substantial amount of my profit.
Catnip of the Stock Market (04 Jan 2006) I have watched my cat play with a bag of catnip. At first he is having fun and slowly he becomes drunk with pleasure and then finally he becomes so tipsy he falls over to sleep it off. The pleasure part is great, but I am not sure if he awakes without a hangover.
Chart Reading (04 Jan 2006) As an investor you will want to check out any equity before you buy it. Many investors go to Morningstar that is one of the largest providers of mutual fund information in the world. It is assumed that their information is correct. After all that is what you are paying for.
China Syndrome (04 Jan 2006) There has been great condemnation recently because China has been selling its goods on the world market at prices below what other countries, especially the U.S., can produce. It has been called exporting deflation.
Dont Buy Stocks based on P/E Ratio alone (04 Jan 2006) Why you should use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator and why you should never buy or sell based solely on the P/E ratio.
Bottoms Ups (04 Jan 2006) If you have talked to a stock broker or financial planner in the last few days I will bet they all agree that there are some great bargains out there and now is the time to start buying in anticipation that the market will go back up. You will also find agreement from the talking heads on CNBC and those talk radio station stock mavens. No one says sell. It looks like bottom pickers heaven.
