This seems like a NO BRAINER.......but.....after all......It is a NEW ERA and a NEW NORMAL. Unfortunately even if it is a new era and a new normal.....that does not mean that the prevailing FADS of the moment will ACTUALLY succeed or produce any gains. Why You Should Stop Taking Investment Advice From Social Media https://www.morningstar.com/article...op-taking-investment-advice-from-social-media (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "I am a big fan of social media--I use it to decide which clothes to buy, what food to eat, and even which landmarks to visit on holiday. So, it felt natural to let these online platforms tell me which assets to invest in, too, especially after seeing how much money some people made in January. Unsurprisingly, I have not been alone in starting my investment journey this year. Younger investors have been flocking to investment apps for the first time, with one in 10 generation Zs (those born between 1997 and 2015) starting to invest as a direct result of the GameStop saga. And while I'm technically nearer a millennial than a gen Z, I completely get the appeal. In the past 12 months, 16% of gen Zs have started investing, according to research from F&C Investment Trust. Of those, 62% decided to invest in volatile “Reddit stocks” and 61% were planning to take riskier decisions, making it clear that younger people see social media as an effective tool for financial advice. While it is great that people are seeing the benefits of investing--and technology is doing a good job in democratising financial services--a lot of people are falling into the trap of being overconfident and overly trusting and not doing their own research. And these mistakes could be costly, as our recent research on investment biases found. For example, F&C saw that 49% of gen Zs made money on the GameStop volatility, but 29% lost money and 22% broke even. Lessons Learned Overconfidence is one of the most common behavioral biases among investors, and it is also particularly common in younger generations and the financially vulnerable. This tendency drives people to overly trust their own abilities or a piece of information when making a decision, and it could potentially lead to negative returns or being scammed. Add social media to the mix, and you could be handing scammers your personal information by participating in a simple trend or challenge. But one in four young people in F&C's research said they now realize they should have been more cautious. One in five have realized that a short-term approach is less effective than long-term investing. Even so, the role of social media has only been cemented. More than half of gen Z investors are actively following users who offer investment advice on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter--and that’s without even mentioning the popular forum Reddit. Understanding the Risk Morningstar behavioral economist Sarah Newcomb says speculation is fun and is what attracts a lot of people to investing. “And if you speculate with only money you can afford to lose, events like these can be exciting and sometimes profitable. "But if you are new to investing, don't understand the difference between fundamental value and market price, or you are considering putting money on the line that you need for your present or future security: Stop, breathe, and walk away. No crowd of anonymous Redditors deserves your life savings, period.” And she is right; I am personally grateful for the inception of meme stocks and accessible financial advice--it has given birth to a new generation of investors, and I can think of worse skills to pick up in a pandemic. But if some gurus on TikTok are guaranteeing triple returns on an asset or telling you to choose their portfolios over an index fund, you should probably rethink your options. Not Sure Whether to Invest? We've devised a checklist to help you avoid getting burnt. And if you say yes to any of these, take Newcomb’s advice: Stop, breathe, and walk away. Is someone pressuring you to buy right now? Is your understanding of the stock unclear? Has it already skyrocketed in price? Does it feel like a trip to Vegas? Will you struggle financially if you lose your investment?" MY COMMENT I dont care about "new normal's" or "new era's". If something has not been a trend....or.....a fad......for long enough for there to be a proven record of success......it is not worth doing. As long as I can make a good return...the old fashioned way.....I will simply keep doing that UNTIL such time as the latest/greatest.......thing in investing.....has racked up a PROVEN level of success for at least 10 years....MINIMUM. Even than....if my same old way of doing things.....is producing market average or market beating returns....I see NO reason to change anything at all. As to investing based on Social Media advice.........no way. It is FAIR for someone to find a potential investment through social Media...but....after that you had better do your homework on the fundamentals and ALL other aspects of the company or investment. If you are seeing and hearing about it on social media....odds are.....that it is HIGHLY OVER-PRICED already.
Those who imbibe may wish to "relax" before reading this. I have long standing limit buy orders open about 75% of the time. They fill with surprising regularity. I would say 2 of 10 fill. A stock with low volume will sometimes hit at $10.25, even if it is currently trading at $12, if the order is left open for months. Our portfolio is extremely stable and we generally underperform the market on market upswings and overperform the market during downward pressure. Yesterday morning, during the pre-fed announcement panic, one of our buy orders filled. A couple of hours later, the market enjoyed the nothing burger and was booming. We were up a significant amount. By end of day, more than half of the gain was gone and we had a nice little gain. The point of this post is: Who cares? I have a strategy. I am implementing it with success that we are satisfied with. Our goals have been met. I don't even care, anymore. It's just a clock that will keep ticking if I stop watching it. I enjoy reading and posting but my investment platform is well oiled and running well so I'm not here for investing advice. What I read here does get mixed in with my own thoughts on investing but I could read once a month and have just as much benefit. From the forum perspective, I don't bring a lot. I harp on about finding value, long term hold, and don't try to predict the market but I'm not going to change anyone's perspective on these things so I don't bring a lot of value. At this point, I question the value of Stockaholics for a long term investor, beyond a social network of like minded people. It would seem, that is enough.
The SECONDARY value I might get from this or another site is......awareness of some stock that I have not thought of......so I can than look into it. My PRIMARY reason for being here is.....to document my own thinking....and....by putting it down in print.....hopefully.....focus my thinking. THIRD value of being here....interaction with other investors. NOW.....today......a really nice day. I know that one of my accounts is at an all time high today. I was BIG in the green today.....and....got a BIG beat on the SP500 by 1.23%. MOST holdings were green today....with....AMZN +2.17% and NVDA +4.75%...being the big guns of the day. I DO AGREE with the following from TomB16....in fact....this should be the PROMISED LAND for any investor: "I have a strategy. I am implementing it with success that we are satisfied with. Our goals have been met. I don't even care, anymore. It's just a clock that will keep ticking if I stop watching it."
I understand your view. But some here have similar goals, that are not yet met. The path forward for some here is still long and patience is key. Guidelines, perspectives and different viewpoints are shared which helps in choosing which direction you want to go to reach those goals. Altough for the less experienced, like minded long term investors/lurkers, this place is a goldmine. A Handover of knowledge from the more experienced investors to the less experienced (younger) investors. Knowledge we generally don't get from mainstream media. News events are put in perspective here.
The percentage of my primary brokerage account that is made up of the ten stocks is now at 56.9%. Versus 43.1% of the account being the two Funds. Over the years that is where the account is as of today. This reflects the OUT-PERFORMANCE of the stock side of the account compared to the Fund side of the account........since both sides started at roughly 50/50. Basically this means that I am BEATING the SP500 on the stock side of the account. I am slightly above the SP500 on the fund side since the SP500 Index performs equal to the SP500 and the Contra Fund performs a bit better than the SP500 over the long term.
I will tell you another reason that I post here.....in addition to the reasons above. No...I am NOT trying to educate other people.....or....teach them. I decided a long time ago....having been posting in the same way for about 25+ years......that I would NOT follow the typical posting style. I decided that the ONLY way to post about investing was to give people a continuous record of EVERYTHING that I do. Over a number of years....this is the ONLY way for someone to be able to see how a particular style of investing works out......IN REALITY. The GOOD.....the BAD.....and the UGLY. It is all here for anyone to follow or go back and check. If that ends up helping others or encouraging others to invest......good. If not.....that is ok too.
Friday tomorrow...last market day this week. AND.....in my view it is likely to be a pretty nice day. I think we are in for a day like today for the NASDAQ.......plus......a positive day for the DOW....unlike today. NO big news coming tomorrow and now that we have had a day to digest the BIG NOTHING BURGER........that was the FED.......we are due for a nice rebound from the little bit of a dip that the FED NON-DRAMA caused this week. Stock market news live updates: Stock futures edge higher, Dow shakes off earlier declines https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-june-18-2021-222853998.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Stock futures ticked up Thursday evening after a mixed session earlier, when the Nasdaq ended within striking distance of a record high while the Dow posted a fourth straight session of losses. Technology stocks rallied during Thursday's regular session as Treasury yields fell. Traders piled back into bonds after selling immediately following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and updated projections on Wednesday, which suggested two interest rate hikes could take place by year-end 2023. The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury (^TNX) rose by as much as 10 basis points to 1.59% mid-week before tumbling back to 1.51% on Thursday. The Fed's projections this week suggested a more hawkish tilt to monetary policy than many market participants had anticipated for the coming years, with the Fed signaling it would eventually ease up some of its highly accommodative monetary policy support even with the economy not yet full recovered from the pandemic at present. Thursday's weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected increase in initial unemployment filings, underscoring the still-choppy recovery taking place across the U.S. "The labor market remains constrained by supply shortages that are outstripping demand and preventing a stronger recovery," Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, said in a note Thursday. "However, we expect further strengthening ahead as the economy continues to rebalance." "That was also the message from Fed Chair Powell in his press briefing on Wednesday," Farooqi added. "He expects a strengthening labor market and continued job creation as constraints on supply ease over the summer months and into the fall." Still, a string of hotter-than-expected prints on inflation, as well as myriad anecdotes about supply chain disruptions and rising prices for producers and consumers, has also made the case for some tightening of policy, many pundits noted. Stocks could see some choppiness in the near-term as investors continue to appraise monetary policymakers' next moves. "With the way inflation has been coming in of late, it makes perfect sense that some people giving their dot plots would expect some increases in rates earlier than before," Tim Johnson, BNP Paribas Asset Management head of global multi-sector fixed Income, told Yahoo Finance. "So I'm not surprised, and I think the market has been really complacent and comfortable with the backstop of the Fed for a long time. We're in a transition phase now and there's going to be a little bit of turbulence." Others offered a similar take. “The market thought the Fed was going to be behind the curve when it comes to keeping inflation in check,” Shawn Cruz, TD Ameritrade’s Trader Services senior manager, told Yahoo Finance. “By the Fed at least now acknowledging that there are going to be some inflationary pressures, they are going to have to tighten policy, I the market now has a little bit more faith in the Fed to keep inflation under control." MY COMMENT Lets have a good day tomorrow to end the week. We NEED the SP500 to be up by about .60% or better to end the week positive. GET 'ER DONE.
I mentioned above that we're remodeling the main floor of the house, focusing extra attention on the kitchen. A month or so ago when we started this journey the turnaround time to create and deliver custom cabinets was 6 to 7 weeks. While we were on vacation last week our builder tore out the existing cabinets and then we find out from the cabinet makers that the turnaround time has jumped to 12 to 15 weeks due to labor and lumber shortages. So I did some digging and found Renovation Angel, a non-profit in NJ that pulls old kitchens from luxury homes and then sells the donated kitchens. My builder examined the floor plans of some of these and we found one that will work in our smaller kitchen with just mild modifications. We get all the cabinetry, a Thermador double oven from 2014, a viking gas 6 burner stove, 2 diahwashers which I'll sell, etc. All this plus shipping and another 600 to wrap the cabinets before shipping is $6500, cheaper than what I was going to pay for new cabinets and I don't spend the 1500 I was going to spend on a new stove and oven combo. Will have in less than 2 weeks. I like nice things and we're getting a nice kitchen cheaply and being green while doing it. I'm pretty happy.
I'm here for WXYZ's convenient summaries of articles. I noticed a while ago that we read the same websites so for me WXYZ is my own personal Don Lemon/Tucker Carlson (or whatever flavor of opinion anchor you prefer) telling me what to think.
LOL......when will the IDIOTS in government and the FED learn to keep their mouths shut. Ruined a perfectly good market day today. Dow drops 1% after hawkish Bullard remarks https://www.reuters.com/article/usa...1-after-hawkish-bullard-remarks-idUSL3N2O033A (BOLD is my opinion OR What I consider important content) "The Dow fell 1% on Friday after Federal Reserve official James Bullard said inflation was stronger than anticipated and it would take the central bank several meetings to figure out how to pare back stimulus. The blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 were set for their worst day in a month after Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, said he was among the seven officials who saw rate increases beginning next year to contain inflation. The CBOE volatility index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, spiked to 20.60 points, its highest level since May 21 following his comments. “The commentary has sparked concerns about inflation and people are questioning how transitory it will actually be, with most of the data showing gains in excess of 3% towards the end of this year,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Wall Street’s main indexes were jolted earlier this week after the Fed unexpectedly signaled it could begin tapering its massive stimulus sooner than expected, setting the benchmark S&P 500 on course to snap a three-week winning streak. However, investors returned to heavyweight technology stocks in particular on Thursday, focusing on the Fed’s projection of the economy growing a faster-than-expected 7% this year. Financials and energy sectors fell at least 1.8% each as investors booked profits in the top-performing S&P sectors this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged 0.4% lower, the least among the major indexes. [US/] At 9:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 371.35 points, or 1.10%, at 33,452.10 and the S&P 500 was down 31.41 points, or 0.74%, at 4,190.45. Friday is also “quadruple witching day,” the quarterly simultaneous expiration of U.S. options and futures contracts which bring about increased trading volume at the market close and can feed into market volatility. Transportation finance and logistics company CAI International Inc surged 46.0% after it agreed to a $1.1 billion takeover by Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 3.31-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 2.40-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded seven new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 18 new highs and 23 new lows." MY COMMENT Perhaps the most important job for the FED Chairman should be to get the committee to STFU and get off TV. These people are just out of control....they can not help it.....they are driven to be celebrities and tell everyone what they think. FORTUNATELY....the power of their comments lasts about ONE DAY...and than we move on to other things. I have seen this many times in business, government, teachers in school, all over society during my life......one person or leader.........is DISMAL.......because they dont understand HOW OR WHEN to communicate. They FAIL....and the next person steps in....and....with the exact same situation.....they make the organization WILDLY SUCCESSFUL...simply because they know HOW AND WHEN to communicate. The many good things today.......the Ten Year Yield.....PERVERSELY....is drooping and is at 1.45%....does not sound like an inflation issue to me......apparently investors are NOT demanding higher yields. States continue to re-open. AND....NVIDIA is UP by $28 per share or 3.75% for the day so far. Today........is classic example of a short term market drop that is MEANINGLESS. At least I can NOW ignore the rest of the market day and get started on the weekend early. LOL.....exactly due to this sort of short term "stuff".....I continue to be fully invested for the long term.
The OTHER good news....at least for me locally....this week I noticed that the LOCAL FEAR-MONGERING newspaper has QUIETLY.......with no comment.......stopped running the daily COVID count of ........new cases, hospitalizations and deaths. SO....that is definite progress.
INTERESTINGLY....more and more major companies are wanting their employees to come back into the office. ANOTHER sign of the recovery and re-opening. AND....in my opinion...as a former business owner...a good thing.....especially for the employee....even if they dont think so. Why Wall Street is in such a rush to get workers back to the office https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/18/business/wall-street-return-to-office/index.html Bank of America gives WFH employees a Labor Day deadline to return to the office https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/17/business/bank-of-america-vaccinated-office-return/index.html As offices open back up, not all tech companies are sold on a remote future https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/04/big-tech-office-openings/ MY COMMENT ANYONE that is in management....or trying to move up in a company....or trying to get promoted.....or trying to have a long term job at some employer....MIGHT want to spend some....... if not the majority........ of their time in the actual office. I believe that ANYONE that works remotely is LIMITING their future. I ALSO believe that businesses and companies that allow and encourage remote work by their white collar workers......are SEVERELY harming their business....over the long term. Probably not a real popular view......but......business and business success is NOT a popularity contest. It is a VERY EASY step to go from actual employees to a bunch of contract work-from-home workers. OR....to simply hire work-from-home workers in countries where wages are cheap. OR.....to run a corporation with a group of KEY people in the office.....and have the rest of the workers at home....and....TOTALLY EXPENDABLE........as TECHNOLOGY makes them IRRELEVANT. In the end....people WILL find out that the HUMAN TOUCH and RELATIONSHIPS are critical to work advancement and success.
WELL......since the markets have been TRASHED......for today......I am going to just go out for a nice 80 mile drive to my favorite STEAK HOUSE......in a very small town. An early Fathers Day. LIFE is good....in every way. FINANCIALLY....accounts are at record highs....house equity has nearly DOUBLED in only two years.....retirement income plan is KICKING ASS and on auto-pilot for life. KIDS are doing fine in their lives and careers. AND.....I have 20 shows and one studio session on the calendar between now and the end of the year......with more....being added all the time. THE pandemic is OVER and we are quickly re-opening. Masks are rarely seen or worn around here by business workers or customers. Restaurants and businesses.....locally.....are PACKED. It is......SUMMERTIME.....AND THE LIVIN IS EASY.
Having just looked for the first time.....I will add to the above...... PLUS.....my account loss today is extremely SHALLOW and MINIMAL. IN FACT.......I would think that by the end of the day there is a good chance that MUCH of the current losses....in the averages and individual stocks....... will simply FADE AWAY.
I HATE reverse stock splits. USUALLY...they mean that a business is FAILING. In this case...perhaps....perhaps not. This is certainly a case of a FORMER golden company.....one of....if not THE....greatest American company.....falling on hard times compliments of a TOTAL FAILURE of management and business. I would NOT touch this company with a 100 foot pole. BUT than....I am not a speculator. I used to own them back in the Jack Welch days......I sold all shares when he left the company. General Electric Sets Date for 1-for-8 Reverse Stock Split as Aug. 2 https://www.thestreet.com/investing...split-date-at-august-2?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO "General Electric (GE) - Get Report said Friday it will proceed with its planned one-for-eight stock split on July 30, with shares trading on the adjusted basis as of August 2. GE unveiled the split plans in early May that it said would "reduce the number of shares outstanding "to a number more typical of companies with comparable market capitalization". That followed a 2021 financial update that repeated industrial revenues will grow "organically in the low-single-digit range" while earnings should come in between 15 cents and 25 cents per share. Industrial free-cash flow, GE said, is forecast in the range of $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion. "GE has divested a number of businesses over the last several years-including nearly all of GE Capital-without any corresponding adjustments to reduce our share count," Said CDO Carolina Dybeck. "The reverse stock split will better align GE's number of shares outstanding with companies of our size and scope. It also marks another step in GE's transformation to be a more focused, simpler, stronger high-tech industrial company." General Electric shares were marked 1.5% lower in heavy early market volume Friday to change hands at $12.79 each, a move that trims the stock's year-to-date gain to around 19%. GE posted stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings of 3 cents per share in late April, as revenues jumped 16.6% to $17.1 billion, but held off on boosting its full-year profit forecast amid the ongoing hit to its aviation business from the global coronavirus pandemic. Last month, Citigroup analyst Andrew Kaplowitz pegged a $17 price target on GE, alongside a reinstated 'buy' rating, amid what he said was evidence of improvements across the whole of its business portfolio under CEO Larry' Culp's turnaround plans that could trigger "material upside" in GE shares.
Before the thread moves too far ahead.....duckleberry _fin....mentioned reading some of the same sites that I do. SO......here is a list of my BASIC DAILY sites that I look at: Bloomberg Reuters CNN Business Real Clear Markets Yahoo finance Fox Business CNBC Plus.......I have the TV on in the background.......between...... Fox Business and CNBC. I scan my usual 3-4 newspapers. Etc, etc, etc. That gets me started for the day. I LIKE to know what is going on in the BUSINESS WORLD....even though my daily plan is to.....DO NOTHING.
WOW....that was a GREAT steak. Too bad the markets did not satisfy me as much today. BUT....that is just the way it is.....short term DRAMA. EVERY single stock I hold was RED today....but considering not too bad of a day. The best thing for me....I beat the SP500 by .71%. So over the past two days I have gained back on the SP500 by 1.94% I hate to have that be my BIG positive of the day. BUT....if that is all I got....I will grab onto it and run with it. At least we have a couple of days to cool off and re-group over the weekend. From a long term standpoint......I am really very happy with this year so far.
