Investments

[bolobaby]

Earnings seasons is in full swing. As is usual, this may create some changes in my portfolio. I'm always looking for new investment ideas to research, so I figured I might start a thread for TBR members to share potential investments.

I'm most excited about Ocwen (OCN) right now. I spotted this one at $1.53. Looks like they might go over $2.00 tomorrow given their earnings release today.

I also bought General Dynamics (GD) recently. Although a lot of defense stocks are waaay up recently, I figure that Obama has been gutting the military. GD has not enjoyed the same kind of ride as, say, Lockheed Martin or Raytheon, so I'm hoping it is a late bloomer.

Some other stocks I'm currently holding:

TREE - I recently decreased my position significantly here after taking some profits. The action on this stock is crazy. I'm not sure where earnings will take this stock, so my position is modest now. Either way, I've locked in some profits here.

KPTI and QURE - Two biotechs. I split the amount I would normally invest in a single stock between these two. Biotech can be risky, but - fundamentally - I think one of these will pan out. KPTI announced some promising findings today which gave me a nice 4.21% return for the day.

DOW - I've been holding this one for a while and it's been paying off. Good price action, plus dividends. I'll continue to hold until I have to make a decision on which spinoff I have to buy from the mega-merger with DuPont.

IRBT - I was very pleased with their earnings call. I simply had to have a robotics play in my portfolio, and IRBT has filled the void. (We personally own a Roomba 980 and love it, too.) Robotics is barely scratching the surface of its potential right now as an industry, so finding the right play here will be tricky. It could be Apple or Alphabet that ends up owning the market. We'll see.

ENS - I'm waiting for the graphene battery breakthrough. I doubt Enersys will be the company to pull it off, but we are a power hungry society. Power storage has a place in my portfolio and the sub-1 PEG ratio has kept me in this stock for a little while. I may sell soon. We'll see.

CTRL - One of my losers. I'm down here but can't bring myself to sell this stock. Home automation WILL be a "thing" in the future. Every sci-fi movie has houses that are voice controlled and intelligent. Moreover, at this price, I'm thinking *someone* has to buy this company. Good PEG ratio, hardly any debt, and a high short percentage for a potential squeeze. They really need some solid management to get their margins in order. (Oh - and the company that should buy them is IRBT!)

DDD - Another one of my losers. 3D printing is an amazing technology, though. Right now, my kids and I are 3D printing a full-sized BB8 as a summer project. Someday, this technology may represent something straight out of Neil Stephenson's "The Diamond Age." Regardless, I've gotten killed on this stock. Lots of shake-up with management recently, though. Short interest has recently declined on 3D stocks. Maybe the only direction for this stock is up, now.

ZNGA - This is not a stock I'd usually own. I don't really like many of the numbers that come with this stock. Still, I've made money with it, albeit not a lot. So why did I buy it? Primarily because it is sitting on $857MM in cash and no debt. It has to do *something* with that money, right? I'm taking a chance. I wouldn't recommend anyone else get into this one unless you are confident with your investment. I'd put a hard trailing stop on this one because God knows...

Silver - Physical silver. It's up nearly 30% from where I bought it, so it's doing my whole portfolio good. Is it peaking? Well, as a hedge, silver is a good bet. It has more industrial uses than gold. It's helped my portfolio on many a day when everything else is down. Not sure I will keep changing my position on this one. Price is volatile, but it's more of an insurance policy than anything else.

What about you? Do you have any companies I should look at?

[bolobaby]

Uh... disclaimer: do not trade in stocks without doing your own research. The post above is not meant as investment advice. Trade at your own risk. Yadda yadda yadda.

[bolobaby]

25 reads and not one pick? C'mon investors - it's a tough market to pick winners given the fact that the Dow is up over 18k. Everything looks overbought. What do you think is not?

[Free Vulcan]

I don't like being in the markets for more than 2 or 3 hours, but then that's the game with options.

[Bigun]

I don't like being in the markets for more than 2 or 3 hours, but then that's the game with options.

I've been messing around with TVIX on a very short term basis lately with some good success but would not recommend this to anyone who doesn't know EXACTLY what he is doing.

[Free Vulcan]

I've been messing around with TVIX on a very short term basis lately with some good success but would not recommend this to anyone who doesn't know EXACTLY what he is doing.

Trade the SPY's myself. VIX always interested me, trading the options on that, but I agree you need to know your stuff. Not sure I'm up for that one yet.

[bolobaby]

I've been messing around with TVIX on a very short term basis lately with some good success but would not recommend this to anyone who doesn't know EXACTLY what he is doing.

Yowzer. Looks dangerous:

YTD Return   -65.18%
3y Average Return   -80.88%
5y Average Return   -83.48%

[Bigun]

Yowzer. Looks dangerous:

YTD Return   -65.18%
3y Average Return   -80.88%
5y Average Return   -83.48%

VERY! My exposure there is very small for that very reason.

As I said messing around with it isn't for the average investor but they do it anyway.

[ABX]

I've been messing around with TVIX on a very short term basis lately with some good success but would not recommend this to anyone who doesn't know EXACTLY what he is doing.

You must be riding patterns. I used to do that a lot on penny stocks and made a nice sum. I've changed my approach now and go for unnecessarily beat down stocks and ride their loss out of the storm.

[bolobaby]

TREE and OCN are doing a fine job of propping my entire portfolio today. I'm surprised we've settled at only ~+10% on OCN. If you actually read into TREE's earnings re: mortgage, it should spell good news for OCN. Love to see it go closer to ~+20% where it was earlier today.

[Bigun]

You must be riding patterns. I used to do that a lot on penny stocks and made a nice sum. I've changed my approach now and go for unnecessarily beat down stocks and ride their loss out of the storm.

Yep! 

I ALWAYS look for value in the markets.  In the past I have bought stocks that were selling at a price below the net assets value of the company.

[bolobaby]

You must be riding patterns. I used to do that a lot on penny stocks and made a nice sum. I've changed my approach now and go for unnecessarily beat down stocks and ride their loss out of the storm.

I like stocks that have taken an unnecessary beat down, especially when they have zero debt and huge sums of capital. At that point, every dollar they make goes into an already substantial war chest.

Speaking of stocks taking the beat down, I'm now giving serious look to getting into Ford (F) due to today's price action. The biggest thing that gives me pause is the fact that they want to expand fleet sales, which may help revenue, but will play havoc with margins.

If it dropped anywhere near 11.75 today, I'd buy in a heartbeat for a quick 10%. I don't think it is going to get there, so I have to think carefully if I want in at $12.50. I think I do.

EDIT: I'll hold off. Let's see if it goes to 11.75 over the next week. GM has better underlying numbers, so if I was going to pull the trigger today, it would probably be better with GM since they are experiencing a sympathetic hit of 4%.

[bolobaby]

For the record, I did pull the trigger on GM, but only at half my normal buy amount. Nonetheless, it posted a 0.79% gain for the day from where I bought it.

Sigh - if only I could make 0.79% gain every day on all my stocks. That would be something like a 700% gain for a trading year.

[bolobaby]

OK - last time I'll post portfolio activity here unless some folks chime in that they are interested. (Mighty quiet. Was hoping for some good dialogue on investments.  )

Nonetheless, I did put a half-sized stake down on Stratasys (SSYS) today. Why? Well, I was thinking about buying more DDD to cost average down my losses there, based on the belief that it will go up a bit from here. Instead, I looked over SSYS and think they have the more attractive growth prospects, cash reserve, and path to profitability.

So, I'm cost-averaging the sector, I hope. :-)

In at 20.97/share.

I have a feeling one of these two companies will get bought in the next 12-18 months.

[ABX]

Yep! 

I ALWAYS look for value in the markets.  In the past I have bought stocks that were selling at a price below the net assets value of the company.

Right now I'm sitting on AAPL, BCS, & IHRT as some that have been beaten down unnecessarily. AAPL is up about 6% since I bought, BCS 17%, IHRT 21%, and that's just the past month or so. Not a whole lot of gain compared to when I was riding penny stocks but I am choosing some with less downside risk. I was buying and pattern playing a lot with BMIX and AGCZ, I could get 200% moves in one day easily, and play that 3-4 times per month, but then they started dying down on activity. I noticed that penny stocks really don't get the volume they used to. I'm not too aggressive. If I sat on it all day, I could probably not work, but I make enough that I can dump back into retirement and not worry about the downside risk too much.

My best move ever wasn't my biggest percent move but just good timing, but I bought a LOT of Ford when all the automakers crashed and it went to around .90- but they said they wouldn't take a bailout. I cashed out at about $6 and paid for most of my house.

[Bigun]

OK - last time I'll post portfolio activity here unless some folks chime in that they are interested. (Mighty quiet. Was hoping for some good dialogue on investments.  )

Nonetheless, I did put a half-sized stake down on Stratasys (SSYS) today. Why? Well, I was thinking about buying more DDD to cost average down my losses there, based on the belief that it will go up a bit from here. Instead, I looked over SSYS and think they have the more attractive growth prospects, cash reserve, and path to profitability.

So, I'm cost-averaging the sector, I hope. :-)

In at 20.97/share.

I have a feeling one of these two companies will get bought in the next 12-18 months.

I have no problem talking about these things in general terms but not at all comfortable with telling anyone exactly what I'm doing  or why I'm  doing it.

To me that's like asking a fisherman to tell you where he caught those fish. 

[bolobaby]

I have no problem talking about these things in general terms but not at all comfortable with telling anyone exactly what I'm doing  or why I'm  doing it.

To me that's like asking a fisherman to tell you where he caught those fish. 

That is an unusual philosophy when it comes to investing since generating interest in your investments usually results in upward price pressure.

I'm not posting stocks to "pump and dump," just start dialogue, but talking about good investments is typically only *good* for the investment.

[bolobaby]

Right now I'm sitting on AAPL, BCS, & IHRT as some that have been beaten down unnecessarily. AAPL is up about 6% since I bought, BCS 17%, IHRT 21%, and that's just the past month or so. Not a whole lot of gain compared to when I was riding penny stocks but I am choosing some with less downside risk. I was buying and pattern playing a lot with BMIX and AGCZ, I could get 200% moves in one day easily, and play that 3-4 times per month, but then they started dying down on activity. I noticed that penny stocks really don't get the volume they used to. I'm not too aggressive. If I sat on it all day, I could probably not work, but I make enough that I can dump back into retirement and not worry about the downside risk too much.

My best move ever wasn't my biggest percent move but just good timing, but I bought a LOT of Ford when all the automakers crashed and it went to around .90- but they said they wouldn't take a bailout. I cashed out at about $6 and paid for most of my house.

My plan was to buy AAPL if it went sub-90. I think it got close, but I never pulled the trigger. Naturally, I wish I had, but the SIZE of AAPL made me hesitate. I figured I might see better gains elsewhere.

I *just* looked at BCS the other day! I might take another look.

IHRT looks like a timing play. Volume is so low, you could manipulate the price yourself.

[bolobaby]

I got some excellent advice from a very wise man that I worked with years ago.  He said....buy 3 or 4 solid oil co's, put it in dividend reinvestment and leave it alone.  Energy isn't going anywhere.  He had purchased Phillips Petroleum, Mobil, and Burlington Resources.  This was back in the late 70's.  He put in around 30k in each.  When he died a few years back the stock was worth millions and the dividends were huge.

Of course some of those stocks merged, were bought out, etc....but it goes to show that good solid companies will continue to do well. 

Did I take this advice....of course not...lolololololol.

I did purchase some FFIN, which is a local bank, but is one of the most solid banks in the country...certainly worth looking into.

The general rule is that if you take 30k and put it in any reasonable investment that earns near double digit returns, you will have a million-plus 40 years later.

The DOW has had an average return of 9.6% over the past 40 years. That would be a million if you invested the 30k in an index fund.

If you're young, you should always squirrel away some money instead of buying the fancy car. Let it ride and retire in comfort later. The problem is, most people don't have 40 years of patience!

[ABX]

My plan was to buy AAPL if it went sub-90. I think it got close, but I never pulled the trigger. Naturally, I wish I had, but the SIZE of AAPL made me hesitate. I figured I might see better gains elsewhere.

I *just* looked at BCS the other day! I might take another look.

IHRT looks like a timing play. Volume is so low, you could manipulate the price yourself.

BCS got hit hard with Brexit but they have a lot of liquid capital and have some solid financials. There is no reason a major bank like that with their margins should be that low. It was all psychological with fear over Brexit.

[Chieftain]

Buy low.  Sell high.

That is all.

 

[Bigun]

That is an unusual philosophy when it comes to investing since generating interest in your investments usually results in upward price pressure.

I'm not posting stocks to "pump and dump," just start dialogue, but talking about good investments is typically only *good* for the investment.

Perhaps that is so but the fact is that I have a few more winters on me than most of you and have a strategy tailored to my specific needs at this point in my life makes me very leary of talking about it in public in any great detail.

[bolobaby]

Perhaps that is so but the fact is that I have a few more winters on me than most of you and have a strategy tailored to my specific needs at this point in my life makes me very leary of talking about it in public in any great detail.

OK - suit yourself.

[bolobaby]

Buy low.  Sell high.

That is all.

 

Living up to your site title! :-)

[Idiot]

Buy low.  Sell high.

That is all.

 

I usually buy at a pretty good price.  It's the selling that usually gets me into trouble.  Like they say....never marry a stock...it doesn't even know who you are.

[bolobaby]

OK - last time I'll post portfolio activity here unless some folks chime in that they are interested. (Mighty quiet. Was hoping for some good dialogue on investments.  )

Nonetheless, I did put a half-sized stake down on Stratasys (SSYS) today. Why? Well, I was thinking about buying more DDD to cost average down my losses there, based on the belief that it will go up a bit from here. Instead, I looked over SSYS and think they have the more attractive growth prospects, cash reserve, and path to profitability.

So, I'm cost-averaging the sector, I hope. :-)

In at 20.97/share.

I have a feeling one of these two companies will get bought in the next 12-18 months.

Hrm, well, my initial instinct was probably the better one. DDD is up 19% today, or about 8% from the day I bought SSYS due to several down days for DDD between now and then. SSYS is up 6% today sympathetically, but actually DOWN from my buy price of 20.97. The question is whether or not SSYS will post an earnings surprise like DDD today, resulting in a similar jump tomorrow!

Both of these are intended to be a hold position for at least a quarter, but we'll see...

[austingirl]

Gilead -biotech that has a cure for HepC and has been decimated. On an earnings beat, slight revenue miss, and lowered guidance went down over 10%. I have done several swing trades that made money, but I am holding now with a loss. This is an interesting stock that has a history of deep declines. Wall Street wants an acquisition and it is now being punished. Rumors of a merger with Bristol-Meyers. Anyone else trade this?

[bolobaby]

Gilead -biotech that has a cure for HepC and has been decimated. On an earnings beat, slight revenue miss, and lowered guidance went down over 10%. I have done several swing trades that made money, but I am holding now with a loss. This is an interesting stock that has a history of deep declines. Wall Street wants an acquisition and it is now being punished. Rumors of a merger with Bristol-Meyers. Anyone else trade this?

Holy crap - good call. I'm adding this to my watch list and will buy as soon as one of my current holdings hits its stop-loss price.

This stock has some very nice properties that usually attract me to buy. For example...

* Reasonable P/E
* *Amazing* margins
* Good returns
* More cash than debt

...and it even has a dividend to boot. (Not top notch dividend, but good enough.)

It's been hit recently and growth looks to be slowing, if not outright contracting, but the have the working capital to buy a smaller unit to fuel growth.

Thanks for this one! I had two stocks on my watchlist - AVP and XONE - that were supposed to be my "next buys" but both put on significant gains in the past week, making me want to look for a stock that hadn't realized a nice gain yet. I think you are right - Gilead looks like a good pick.

I may hit a stop tomorrow with a couple of earnings (I'm worried about CTRL), so I could be in soon!

[austingirl]

Be cautious. This stock is hated by Wall Street. This morning CNBC says that the stock will not pop unless they do an acquisition. Gilead also has very good HIV drugs and a pipeline. So much speculation on their buyout targets- possibly a small oncology biotech with CAR-T drugs in development. There has been a recent setback in clinical trail for this treatment. Good luck.

I also bought Micron and have a loss but I am not selling. They aren't going anywhere. They recently adopted a poison pill so there is much talk about hostile takeover. This stock was a big winner until about 18 months ago. It should eventually recover or be taken over. The world need chips and they have a new technology coming soon.

[bolobaby]

Be cautious. This stock is hated by Wall Street. This morning CNBC says that the stock will not pop unless they do an acquisition. Gilead also has very good HIV drugs and a pipeline. So much speculation on their buyout targets- possibly a small oncology biotech with CAR-T drugs in development. There has been a recent setback in clinical trail for this treatment. Good luck.

I also bought Micron and have a loss but I am not selling. They aren't going anywhere. They recently adopted a poison pill so there is much talk about hostile takeover. This stock was a big winner until about 18 months ago. It should eventually recover or be taken over. The world need chips and they have a new technology coming soon.

Agreed that Gilead needs an acquisition, but they have the working capital to pull off a nice one.

Micron - hm. Margins and returns are rough on this one. Would've been great to buy back in May. It could still have legs given prior price action. Short interest is kind of high here.

I have QCOM on my watchlist in the semiconductor arena. I think I like the numbers there better than MU.

[austingirl]

Agreed that there are semis doing a lot better than MU. I am stubbornly holding on for the recovery or buyout- maybe in vain.

[austingirl]

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3995726-micron-makes-muney?auth_param=h0apu:1bq6pba:08f0b97a3e24f1781c45b3f8e9d9783c&uprof=45#alt2

This gives me hope. ^-^

[MajorClay]

Don't ask me, I bought into silver on the way down.  Have an average buying price of about 30.  Oh well.   I don't have any dry powder to average it out either.  My son is starting college this fall.  Man is it expensive. I do not have enough savings set aside to pay for all four years.  He will have to get grants, loans and scholarships to pay the rest.

[austingirl]

BMY got smacked today on news that a trial of one of their drugs was not successful for another usage- probably overreaction. I did a very quick little scalp for $300.00 profit. It still has a very high PE ratio. I will be watching on Monday.

[bolobaby]

BMY got smacked today on news that a trial of one of their drugs was not successful for another usage- probably overreaction. I did a very quick little scalp for $300.00 profit. It still has a very high PE ratio. I will be watching on Monday.

Great article on Gilead:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-beaten-down-biotech-stock-is-a-cure-for-your-portfolio-2016-08-09?siteid=yhoof2

I may dump one or two stocks tomorrow to invest in Gilead now.

In other action, I dropped CTRL. It shot up quite a bit recently and decided to take advantage of that. I actually still lost out in the long run on this stock, but getting out opened the door for me to invest in Skyworks (SWKS). Unfortunately, an article came out today that says Apple is trying to squeeze their margins. We'll see. All the fundamentals still look great for that stock.

OCN has been on a RAMPAGE, posting huge gains for me. It's making me look HARD at Genworth (GNW)!

[austingirl]

Gilead is owned 79% by institutions. Retail has been spooked. The price is in a very narrow range the last few days. Something is brewing. Wall Street wants an acquisition and rumors are flying but Gilead could buy a private company or a foreign company that is on no one's radar. Since the Street wants an acquisition will they reward Gilead if and when it happens? Interesting to watch. Good luck.

[bolobaby]

Here is one to watch.   I don't currently own it, but watching for possible entry.

SLCA owns 40% of the frac sand market.  Wells are requiring more and more sand to frac with, so this one has tremendous potential. 

Now for the possible downside....  If Hillary is elected she could possibly ban fracking, which would be detrimental to the oil industry.

This stock has doubled this year and looks a bit toppy currently. 

@Smokin Joe

Definitely looks toppy.

No growth. No profits. And it doesn't looks like management is doing anything about it. Probably explains the 23% short interest in this stock.

[bolobaby]

Sold ENS and took some profits.

Bought Genworth (GNW). This stock is trading at an unbelievable 0.12 price/book ratio. Margins and returns are abysmal, but there is signs of growth and just enough short interest to give it a further push upwards since there is 82% institutional interest in this stock.

Finally, they are bullishly above their 200 MA and trading on strength. Could be a 40%+ move on this stock coming.

[Idiot]

I supposed it would be helpful to get a list together of sectors that would benefit from having the Hildabeast in office.  Anything green seems to come to mind.   

[austingirl]

Biotech is already suffering from the Hitlery effect. FUD affects Gilead in particular. Cure Hep C and suffer the consequences- what a world.

The only sector that could benefit from the reign of the she-devil is the financials. She is funded by the big banks and won't do anything to stop the gravy train, IMO. Her policies will destroy the rest of the economy and the energy and consumer sectors.

It is  hard to accept that this corrupt witch who should be in prison has a very good chance at POTUS.

[bolobaby]

Biotech is already suffering from the Hitlery effect. FUD affects Gilead in particular. Cure Hep C and suffer the consequences- what a world.

The only sector that could benefit from the reign of the she-devil is the financials. She is funded by the big banks and won't do anything to stop the gravy train, IMO. Her policies will destroy the rest of the economy and the energy and consumer sectors.

It is  hard to accept that this corrupt witch who should be in prison has a very good chance at POTUS.

Interestingly, there are several financials on my watchlist right now, not the least of which is Wells Fargo. I haven't decided whether or not to buy it yet, but I agree with your observation above that several of the banks could do well under a Hillary presidency.

I wouldn't discount consumer electronic segments for the year or so immediately following a Hillary win. Smartphones and VR are today's bread and circuses. Libtards will revel in getting the first female president AND an iPhone 7! It would be orgasmic for them.

Finally, I wouldn't throw oil under the bus. The entire sector has been down due to the oil glut. Hillary will ensure that it is harder to extract oil which will cause the cost per barrel to increase, improving the margins of the biggest and best - like Exxon. Many of the smaller oil services companies will whither and die, though, so focus on consolidating strength in the sector as the price per barrel rises to $80. (Speculation.)

Incidentally, I increased my position in ZNGA today, as well as bought HIIQ.

HIIQ is on a bull streak and still looks undervalued to me. I wanted to time the buy, but realized that I could get left in the dust, so jumped in today even when it was up. I had the same problem with OCN, where I initially missed the move from ~1.50 to ~1.80, but decided to get on the train before it was too late. Glad I did, as that stock is now up nearly 75% for me. I'm hoping GNW and HIIQ have similar moves for me.

Careful here with HIIQ, though. It's only a $40MM market cap with $9MM in cash, so definitely a micro-play. But if it eventually becomes a $400MM company...

[bolobaby]

Agreed that there are semis doing a lot better than MU. I am stubbornly holding on for the recovery or buyout- maybe in vain.

By the way - good call on MU. It's put on about 10% in the past two weeks. I haven't bought QCOM yet, but it's been flat. I bought SWKS - we'll see if that goes anywhere.

[austingirl]

I still have a way to go on MU to get my money back- but I have hope that I will eventually do so and maybe even have a profit.

Good point about oil- with Hitlery punishing energy - prices will rise.

I am still watching BMY for a rebound- it is stuck but good in a narrow range 60.40-60.90. Still has a hefty PE.

GILD is still in the doldrums as well, but well worth watching.

Good luck to all at the casino. Worrisome that those close to retirement (like me) have to risk their capital since interest rates are so low thanks to the Fed and the cozy crony capitalism.

[austingirl]

@bolobaby

Update:

MU up another $3.00 since my last post- PT raised to $23 by Nomura. Semis seem to be recovering- so cyclical.

BMY still in the doldrums.

GILD may have turned the corner- has gone back to the 80s- supposedly on the AGN acquisition for fatty liver disease- AGN overpaid for a company- but GILD owns liver disease and there is even speculation that AGN might acquire GILD. GILD has lost a lot of market cap.

[bolobaby]

@austingirl

I made a bunch of changes to my portfolio a bit over a week ago, which included dropping out of most stocks. I only kept 4 for now - CCJ, GD, GM, and GILD, along with my silver stake.

I had already dropped OCN at an 80% profit. The rest of the stocks had earned good returns, and I wanted to lock in some gains and sit out some of the September doldrums. (For example, my GNW gain was about 40%.) My timing was questionable.

Several stocks, including my version of MU - SWKS, have seen significant gains since I dropped out. SWKS is up another 12+% since my exit. Both GNW and HIIQ are up another 8+%. In fact, most of the stocks I sold are up more than 5% since I sold them - KPTI, 6.5%; IRBT, 7.35%; DDD, 6.39%. The others have smaller gains, and only QURE has gone down since I sold it.

Bear in mind, that I sold most of these at a good gain, so my "sour grapes" are that I could have earned more.

Meanwhile, the returns on my three biggest holdings have been pretty moderate:

GM - 4.08%
GD - 5.68%
GILD - 2.56%

I think I've held all these for less than two months, so it's not too bad. I'm still waiting on CCJ to break out.

Bottom line: I tried to time the market and probably failed. I didn't lose money as a result, but missed out on a chance to earn a lot more. I'm going to put my money back in soon and stick with the strategy of picking winners and not panicking when Fed speculation is giving the market fits. I will probably buy many of the stocks I sold off, because many of them are still technically winners. I'm just annoyed that I missed part of the ride.

[austingirl]

@austingirl

I made a bunch of changes to my portfolio a bit over a week ago, which included dropping out of most stocks. I only kept 4 for now - CCJ, GD, GM, and GILD, along with my silver stake.

I had already dropped OCN at an 80% profit. The rest of the stocks had earned good returns, and I wanted to lock in some gains and sit out some of the September doldrums. (For example, my GNW gain was about 40%.) My timing was questionable.

Several stocks, including my version of MU - SWKS, have seen significant gains since I dropped out. SWKS is up another 12+% since my exit. Both GNW and HIIQ are up another 8+%. In fact, most of the stocks I sold are up more than 5% since I sold them - KPTI, 6.5%; IRBT, 7.35%; DDD, 6.39%. The others have smaller gains, and only QURE has gone down since I sold it.

Bear in mind, that I sold most of these at a good gain, so my "sour grapes" are that I could have earned more.

Meanwhile, the returns on my three biggest holdings have been pretty moderate:

GM - 4.08%
GD - 5.68%
GILD - 2.56%

I think I've held all these for less than two months, so it's not too bad. I'm still waiting on CCJ to break out.

Bottom line: I tried to time the market and probably failed. I didn't lose money as a result, but missed out on a chance to earn a lot more. I'm going to put my money back in soon and stick with the strategy of picking winners and not panicking when Fed speculation is giving the market fits. I will probably buy many of the stocks I sold off, because many of them are still technically winners. I'm just annoyed that I missed part of the ride.

@bolobaby

That is always the risk- losing out on profits- but in this market it is better to be cautious and take profits, IMHO.

Good luck.

[austingirl]

FWIW- I despise the fed-a bunch of inept crony capitalists. Today the markets will be hanging on idiot Yellen's every word once again and parsing her nonsense. Sorry had to vent.

[Idiot]

 

FWIW- I despise the fed-a bunch of inept crony capitalists. Today the markets will be hanging on idiot Yellen's every word once again and parsing her nonsense. Sorry had to vent.

[mountaineer]

GOLD

What to do? Buy or not?

[mountaineer]

TheNational.ae:

BEIJING // China last week announced it was establishing the first clearing bank for yuan or renminbi (RMB) in the United States.

This is seen as a milestone in the internationalisation of the Chinese currency just before the yuan is due to join a select club at the IMF on October 1.

From October 1, the yuan will be one of the five currencies used by the IMF for issuing Special Drawing Rights (SDR). SDR is a synthetic currency representing five currencies in the IMF basket, which is used for lending funds to countries that need it.

Around that time, the New York branch of Bank of China will start clearing facilities for the Chinese currency.  ...

So will the dollar tank?