My cash back program is better with Discover. I wish I could pay my mortgage with it.

My Roth hit my trading account today.

Seeded it with:

Coke, AT&T, P & G, Exxon, and Walmart


I really like the " pay yourself " concept, I will be using this the next time I'm beating the war drums on money management.

I hate that little man on Wall St!

I mentioned that I sold half my Goldman Sachs --- since it was way down -- and I had to counter some gain from the Apple sale at the end of the year... And today it jumps $6

Okay - so the lesson here is -- SCALING IN == SCALING OUT.... I only sold HALF of the position and still hold 1000 shares... so I get HALF the gain at least.
Had I sold it all at the lower $ I would just be "out". Remember -- this little SOB is watching you! And the minute you're OUT - he takes it UP. Hate that little guy!:rofl:

If you scale into a position - sometimes it raises your cost basis... IF the stock is rising over time. But ---- isn't that what you wanted when you bought it in the first place? So if you buy 50 shares at $50 and buy another 50 @ $52 does it really affect your basis that much to care? No --- you really want it to go to $60 so you still have a nice gain. Don't be a hog.... :unibrow:

Here's another PET PEEVE with Wall Street..... A major rating firm (Goldman) CUTS it's rating on a stock while RAISING the price it expects the stock to trade to.... the REASON for the "ratings cut".... IT HAS GONE UP 36% in ONE YEAR. DOH! Really -- so the stock has gone up 36% and they expect it to go higher!

OMG -- no wonder people go crazy listening to these idiots!

Here's the cut and paste:


Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) on Tuesday caught a big downgrade from analysts at Goldman Sachs.

The firm said it cut its rating on PM from “Buy” to “Neutral” with an $80 price target, suggesting a 3.5% upside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $77.32.

Goldman defended the move by noting the company lacks any form of near-term catalysts.

Philip Morris International shares, which have gained more than 36% in the past year, fell 38 cents, or -0.5%, in premarket trading Tuesday.

Greg- I've got my eyes out for that dude, and I totally agree with scaling in and scaling out (unless one of the fundamental reason you bought a stock changes, ie- you bought a stock for the dividend and the company suspends the dividend and issues a poor outlook, etc). To follow up on my earlier post of scaling down my position in FOLD and increasing CVX... My fundamental reason for purchasing FOLD hasn't changed, which is why I held half my position, I just wanted a little less volatility in my portfolio. FOLD is up nearly 120% since I made that move! :willy: Good news, I kept half, bad news I sold half. Let me know if you find the little man from Wall Street!

Had you not done ANYTHING -- FOLD would have stayed flat. So thank yourself for being a market maker! :rofl: :rofl: :woot:

I've warned of this phenomena on several occasions. I don't know why it happens - but it does. I have a rope with a noose ready when I find the little
basterd.

Rules of the road -- the one you sell - goes up - the one you buy - goes down. It's a total ying and yang thing. :lol:

I wish I understood more...I am going to try and learn about it more this year, and start investing.

In the mean time, I am just going to start sending you checks Greg, and you can invest for me.

Great subject!!

Mike == Buy low - sell high.... :rofl:


Just kidding of course.... this isn't TRADING 101 -- it's INVESTING 102!


Just give the checks to Laura.... she'll find a lot of investing to be done at the mall! :woot:

I have decided to take an investing class at school. It won't hurt to broaden my horizons while gaining some insight into this game. This thread is a great source of information. I really want to step it up a little.

BTW, I'm also looking for that little Wall Street Leprechaun. As soon as I sell the stock it goes up after being stagnant for the better part of my ownership in it. You let me know when you find him Greg, I'd also like to stick my foot up his ass.

Just don't let them make it complicated - because it's NOT!

Maybe you should teach the class! You know everything there is to know!

Names you know and understand - Good stuff - good chart (long term i.e. 5 years or better) - rising dividend payer - earnings growth... CLASS DISMISSED!

Give that man 5 stars and some gold bars!!

:rofl: :woot:

Catching up on a little reading and I thought I'd share this article in the December 12th issue of Fortune magazine.
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/...cks-investing/