I need advice about the stock market

[gmart74]

Ok so In the last couple months I bought Ford, which went down within 20 minutes of me buying it. I then sold it 2 days later and it went up within 3 hours. I then bought BQI at noon yesterday and it immediately dropped 10% followed by another 10% today. So my question is:

1. Should I completely pull out of the market and never invest again since I am obviously a moron of epic proportions? or.....

2. Should I contact companies and extort money out of them to NOT buy their stock considering I have the black hand of death for any stock I choose to buy.

 

[Ark-Tider]

I am going to mark this thread because I'm about to make a prediction that will be good for me if it comes true and a disaster if it doesn't. Below are the two stocks I am going after.

XTO (XTO): Oil & Gas Extraction. Rumor has it that EnCana will scoop them up.
November 17th: $32.86

EnCana (ECA): Oil & Gas Extraction. One of the best managed companies in the world. Canadian Company that has just started tapping natural resources in Canada. Also has major operations in the U.S. and abroad.
November 17th: $40.92

 

[wardaddy]

If you're trying to make a quick buck right now you need to know what to do and when to do it. You have to day trade basically. As I've stated in a previous post, if you want to survive this recession you need to buy high yield %, dividend paying stocks such as Kinder Morgan, McDonalds, and Google. You will have ups and downs but ultimately in 5 years your money will have been well spent. But if you want to play with fire, open an account on Thinkorswim.com with $3500 so that you can short sell ($3500 is the minimum for a margin account). Right now you can short the big 3 in the ground but you have to watch everyday and be able to get out quickly. Everyone in the market is scared right now and as soon as they make profits they take em' (sell off and the stock goes down). Also look at some of the ETF's. I've made a ton on SDK. I've shorted LVS and made great profits but sell it each day because for no apparent reason people will go long and it may jump 15% in one day and then the next fall 15%. Also on election day I went long on ESLR (Evergreen Solar) as everyone had conceded that Obama would win. It went up nearly 25% that day and I sold before the end of trading. I'm glad I did because everyone took profits the next day.

Also, on VSE (virtual stock exchange) you can take play money and see what you can do. You can short sell or go long.

 

[dayhiker]

I had a thread a while back asking for long term suggestions. This was just before the DOW took a nosedive. I think I promptly lost about 50% of what I bought. I wish I'd waited 1 month to make the exact same purchases, but hey, stuff happens. I wish I had a little more to drop in the market right now. I'm more worried about having cash on hand to cover payroll come June or so.

 

[Bamaro]

Well, the common statement about the market is that is much closer to the bottom than it is to the top. A lot depends on what happens to Detroit. If GM files CH 11, the above statement will not be true. FWIW, I have been buying GE. As it goes down, I buy again. At its current price, it is paying about 7% in dividends although that dividend rate is not guaranteed and may could be lowered. They have stated that they are keeping the 2008 dividend through 2009.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3faIbr1knsU&refer=home
Be prepared with whatever you buy to take a temporary loss.

 

[bamacon]

This is a great time to buy for the long term, but unless you really know your stuff the quick bucks, like mentioned earlier, are probably few and far between.

 

[TexasBama]

With the market swinging 5+% daily, I'd question being in the market at all. But if you must, buy long on bulwarks like P&G. Or better yet, buy on insider information.

 

[rizolltizide]

If you're trying to make a quick buck right now you need to know what to do and when to do it. You have to day trade basically. As I've stated in a previous post, if you want to survive this recession you need to buy high yield %, dividend paying stocks such as Kinder Morgan, McDonalds, and Google. You will have ups and downs but ultimately in 5 years your money will have been well spent. But if you want to play with fire, open an account on Thinkorswim.com with $3500 so that you can short sell ($3500 is the minimum for a margin account). Right now you can short the big 3 in the ground but you have to watch everyday and be able to get out quickly. Everyone in the market is scared right now and as soon as they make profits they take em' (sell off and the stock goes down). Also look at some of the ETF's. I've made a ton on SDK. I've shorted LVS and made great profits but sell it each day because for no apparent reason people will go long and it may jump 15% in one day and then the next fall 15%. Also on election day I went long on ESLR (Evergreen Solar) as everyone had conceded that Obama would win. It went up nearly 25% that day and I sold before the end of trading. I'm glad I did because everyone took profits the next day.

Also, on VSE (virtual stock exchange) you can take play money and see what you can do. You can short sell or go long.

Tell me again how big Google's dividend is.

 

[elmwood]

Buy long term and hang on....it will be a long and rough ride! Buy and hold is not dead with prices like these!

 

[Crimson Speed]

Tell me again how big Google's dividend is.

Yep, I would like to rake in some of Google's dividend money; let me know when to buy in.

 

[bamacon]

Advice? Don't go anywhere near the roof.

 

[Crimson Speed]

Last week, a well know market columnist (I won't mention names) stated that 2008 has been the second-worst year for the market in more than one hundred eighty years, second only to 1931. That was two years after the crash began in 1929.

He further said that 1929 was the year that the dumb money (ordinary investors) lost everything. Then, 1930 brought down the "smart money" investors. Finally, in 1931 the "really smart money" investors lost theirs.

History has limited value, other than to remind us that anything can happen. Objectively, studied investors do take heed of what has happened in the past year and plan accordingly. Since October, 2007, American households have lost over 20 trillion dollars in wealth. It took several years to create this economic mess and I don't believe for a minute that it will be corrected in only one or two years.

I hope I am not stepping on any toes, but please note that investment counselors and brokers get paid to keep us in the game. If we pull out, they lose their source of income. I painfully learned that lesson in 2002. In March of this year, I personally started talking with my broker about changing things. He resisted, so I only made a partial move. Since then, we repeated this process (I'm pushed for change and he resisted)three more times by September. After running the numbers, these moves saved me from losing another 20 percent of my principal. My broker is not exactly thrilled with me right now, but I reminded him, it is my money. As painful as it has been, this market is not done hurting people. I know I made the right decision and it is much easier to sleep at night. When things stabilize, I will move back into the market.

Age has a large impact on personal investment choices. Anyone within five years of retirement should be in safety. For you guys with at least ten years before retiring, you have plenty of time to recover these loses.

 

[crimson fan man]

To be honest I sweat bullets thinking if I left my sons college money in the stock market any longer then I did. I took it out when He graduated high school. If I have waited to now to take it out He would not be able to go to the school of His choice. Timing is everything.

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

which way the stock market goes in the intermediate and long term has much to do with the concept of peak oil and where we are in relation to it.

 

[Crimson Speed]

There are so many different factors that are impacting the market's performance. Oil prices are one of the positives, even though it may be difficult to recognize with recent market retreats. If Oil had remained at $146, the market would probably be suffering even more.

One thing is certain. This market will remain lethargic until the financial sector stabilizes. We are not close yet; the banks are still in a tail spin.

I have thought for several months that the Dow would bottom just above the 7,000 level. My theory was that it would flounder around, gradually sinking to that level over a period of 18 to 24 months. The problem is that it is sinking so fast that the momentum is clearly pointing to more downside. Now it appears it could go even lower than 7,000. There will be more rallys and retreats; just enought to keep people sucked in before suffering more pain.

There is no investor confidence in this market.

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

which way the stock market goes in the intermediate and long term has much to do with the concept of peak oil and where we are in relation to it.

peak oil has to do with the fact that there will be a point in time when the production of oil is at its greatest. afterwards production begins to decline.

What is peak oil?
Peak oil is the simplest label for the problem of energy resource depletion, or more specifically, the peak in global oil production. Oil is a finite, non-renewable resource, one that has powered phenomenal economic and population growth over the last century and a half. The rate of oil 'production', meaning extraction and refining (currently about 84 million barrels/day), has grown almost every year of the last century. Once we have used up about half of the original reserves, oil production becomes ever more likely stop growing and begin a terminal decline, hence 'peak'. The peak in oil production does not signify 'running out of oil', but it does mean the end of cheap oil, as we switch from a buyers' to a sellers' market. For economies leveraged on ever increasing quantities of cheap oil, the consequences may be dire. Without significant successful cultural reform, severe economic and social consequences seem inevitable.

[URL]http://www.energybulletin.net/primer[/URL]

this means that when the price of oil begins to skyrocket as production begins to fall, then there will be businesses, that once did well when energy was cheap, will be unprofitable at high prices. the global economy will then decline. that point in time is termed 'post-peak' or 'energy descent.'

 

[wardaddy]

Yep, I would like to rake in some of Google's dividend money; let me know when to buy in.

My big goof on the Google dividend. If you're a big believer in diversification I would buy Google along with the dividend paying stocks. But, personally I think diversification in this century is a flawed tactic. When the market turns bull again, and it will (who knows when), then it may be smart to diversify. I don't own Google. Right now I am daytrading as I mentioned in my previous post. There's a ton of money to be made in this market if you know what to do.

 

[BAMAFAN IN NY]

Ok so In the last couple months I bought Ford, which went down within 20 minutes of me buying it. I then sold it 2 days later and it went up within 3 hours. I then bought BQI at noon yesterday and it immediately dropped 10% followed by another 10% today. So my question is:

1. Should I completely pull out of the market and never invest again since I am obviously a moron of epic proportions? or.....

2. Should I contact companies and extort money out of them to NOT buy their stock considering I have the black hand of death for any stock I choose to buy.

Let me ask you a question... Lets say you buy Ford at 4 dollars a share.. The next day it drops to 2 dollars. If its a good buy at 4, isnt it an even better buy at 2? Why not buy more at that point.. then your average cost drops to 3, so you own it cheaper than you originally did.. rather than selling it? Buy high and sell low... thats backwards

 

[Bamaro]

Let me ask you a question... Lets say you buy Ford at 4 dollars a share.. The next day it drops to 2 dollars. If its a good buy at 4, isnt it an even better buy at 2? Why not buy more at that point.. then your average cost drops to 3, so you own it cheaper than you originally did.. rather than selling it? Buy high and sell low... thats backwards

Good point unless you are catching a falling knife.

 

[rizolltizide]

Good point unless you are catching a falling knife.

Yep, you always get cut.

Another way of looking at it is the money you just added is already at a loss. 50% in that example. I think it is much wiser to admit you were wrong and walk away, but that goes against human nature and is much harder to do than say. I want to own stocks that are going up--not down. Admit you were wrong and book the loss.