Ready for a market correction?

[MJZiggy]

Yo, so what can I do to be a high powered stock owning Nabisco?

I always read this threads when you guys talk about $$$ but don't post in them cuz I don't have any info to contribute. What would be a good starting point?

From what I understand (and I'm sure I'll be told I'm wrong) is to start setting aside a portion of your paycheck before you ever even see the money and putting it in a mutual fund. Do it with every paycheck and take advantage of any retirement or matching that your company does. Then, when you're on your way to being rich, and run into a couple bucks, I like to buy a few shares of a company whose products I use (is craigslist publicly owned) and just hang on to it. I do that just for fun, but once my parents bought Sears stock and had a little cash from it for a few decades until Sears performance started sucking and they sold the stock. (I wonder if that dip in stock performance was at the same time as a certain associate was hired???
)

[Partial]

(I wonder if that dip in stock performance was at the same time as a certain associate was hired???
)

Yeah those Sears stores will hire just about anybody!!!

Their stock is supposedly on the up-and-up because there is discussion that Sears-Holdings is going to buy Home Depot or some other large retailer. I was very, very taken aback when I found out they were the 4th biggest retailer in the country.

[Bretsky]

Yo, so what can I do to be a high powered stock owning Nabisco?

I always read this threads when you guys talk about $$$ but don't post in them cuz I don't have any info to contribute. What would be a good starting point?

From what I understand (and I'm sure I'll be told I'm wrong) is to start setting aside a portion of your paycheck before you ever even see the money and putting it in a mutual fund. Do it with every paycheck and take advantage of any retirement or matching that your company does. Then, when you're on your way to being rich, and run into a couple bucks, I like to buy a few shares of a company whose products I use (is craigslist publicly owned) and just hang on to it. I do that just for fun, but once my parents bought Sears stock and had a little cash from it for a few decades until Sears performance started sucking and they sold the stock. (I wonder if that dip in stock performance was at the same time as a certain associate was hired???
)

Just some thoughts on starting.

My first step was to pick out a mutual fund with a proven track record and I had $50 a month automatically deducted from my checking account each month. I started it with 2,500 at age 21 or so and never really even missed that $50 a month that I was contributing. But be smarter than me; I stopped tracking that mutual fund as well as I should have and didn't make nearly enough annually as I should have. I recently switched funds and hopefully that will work out better.

To start I hope anybody who has a 401K with a company matching part of your contribution is contributing money. For instance, if your company puts in 3% to every 6% you invest IMO that's contributing 6% of your wage is step one.

From there, I think it's a good idea to get familiar with stocks through Internet Websites....such as msn.com/smartmoney.com/kiplingers.com.....and mutual funds through morningstar.com.

I always feel like it's good to invest in sectors you are interested in. Mad is a Tech expert so it would seem to me that he would begin looking at technology companies you know and respect and do some research on them. Pick out a few companies and go to msn.com in the investing area. Use their stockscouter and view earnings expectations, and even current analyst ratings on the company.

If you know a Investment guy, you can also meet with them and push their goods. But in reality if you go to a site like www.discountbroker.com you can buy stocks for $7 a trade.

There are some starter ideas; the main thing is for people to get off their comfortable couches and take action. Start now, or it will cost you later.

[Freak Out]

I always feel like it's good to invest in sectors you are interested in.

Good advice. Investing 101 almost....Go with what you know.

[retailguy]

(I wonder if that dip in stock performance was at the same time as a certain associate was hired???
)

Yeah those Sears stores will hire just about anybody!!!

Their stock is supposedly on the up-and-up because there is discussion that Sears-Holdings is going to buy Home Depot or some other large retailer. I was very, very taken aback when I found out they were the 4th biggest retailer in the country.

Sears used to be the biggest retailer in the world, until a certain little company based in Arkansas took 'em down. :P

[retailguy]

I always feel like it's good to invest in sectors you are interested in.

Good advice. Investing 101 almost....Go with what you know.

Only a fool who wants to be separated from his money invests in something he doesn't understand. That advice comes straight from the mouth of a guy named Warren Buffet. And, no, he's not Jimmy's brother... and they've got the DNA to prove it.

[Kiwon]

Well duh! Please.

Is this your personal or professional opinion?

Would you mind sharing your current percentage breakdowns between stocks, bonds, gold, cash equivalents?

I don't base my investment strategy off of one persons opinion. I just thought it was a good read and that's why I shared it.

And I learned never to give buy recommendations.

I wasn't looking for stock recommendations (and you don't want mine either). I was curious about your overall portfolio breakdown. You wrote that you changed your risk percentage recently so I wondering what you thought a good balance was.

("Lately I moved a bunch of money out of stocks into gold and other commodities as well as more into bonds. I still own some stocks in my 401k/IRA plans but have really changed my risk % as of late.")

I've got a couple of mutual funds dedicated for the kids' college fees that have done well recently. After reading the article and what you did, I was wondering if now was the time to take those profits and sock them away. I did not do this in 2000 when I had the chance and regretted it.

Also, I understand that the Motley Fool approach is buy and hold. Does this investing philosophy run throughout all their newsletters or do different newsletters connected to them advocate different investing strategies?

[Freak Out]

Ooops.

June 21, 2007
Rescue bid for Wall Street hedge funds
Suzy Jagger in New York

Blackstone, the US private equity group, was locked in rescue talks last night with a dozen lending banks, including Bear Stearns, to prevent the collapse of two hedge funds that control investments of about $20 billion (£10 billion).

Bear Stearns, the parent bank, had offered to help the hedge funds with a $1.5 billion credit facility in return for assets, but it is understood that the offer was made on condition that no assets were seized by other lenders.

Merrill Lynch, the American investment bank, yesterday published a list of assets worth $850 million held by the hedge funds that it intended to seize and auction on Wall Street last night. It wanted to sell the bonds to claw back money that it had lent to the funds.

It was not clear whether the parent bank’s offer of new credit facilities still stands.

Both hedge funds invested the bulk of their funds in risky securities linked to the sub-prime mortgage market – home loans made to borrowers with poor credit histories. That market has suffered significant losses after lenders became sloppy in chasing full documentation from potential borrowers to check details such as their proof of income, and American house prices slid.

The collapse of the funds would mark the biggest casualty yet among investment banks in the American sub-prime mortgage market.

Investors, including wealthy individuals and so-called fund of fund shareholders, became concerned in May when one of the funds showed that its value had fallen 6.75 per cent in April. That loss ballooned to 18 per cent just two weeks later.

The two hedge funds – the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund and the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund – are part of the Bear Stearns banking group.

JPMorgan had also threatened to seize assets to reduce its lending but is thought to have withdrawn the threat. It is also believed that Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are considering whether to grab similar assets from the funds.

Sources close to the hedge funds were uncertain about the feasibility of the funds’ future after the Merrill Lynch move.

Other sources close to some of the lenders estimated yesterday that should the two hedge funds collapse, the banks will recoup only between 60 and 70 cents of every dollar that they had lent.

Blackstone, which is advising the hedge funds on a refinancing package, started talks over the weekend with lenders to the funds.

The private equity group is seeking to persuade other lenders to the funds, including Citigroup and Barclays Capital, to take part in a rescue package.

Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs yesterday refused to comment on whether they, too, would seize collateral to claw back money from the two Bear Stearns funds. Merrill Lynch also declined to comment. Deutsche Bank was unavailable for comment. Bear Stearns also declined to comment.

Victims

— One of the highest-profile victims of the sub-prime lending crisis has been New Century Financial, one of the biggest providers of mortgages to low-income borrowers. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April. Morgan Stanley, UBS and Barclays had credit lines to the company of $3 billion, $2 billion and $1 billion respectively

— HSBC was exposed to $11 billion of bad debts through its HFC Household American sub-prime division

— 31 American sub-prime mortgage lenders have failed in the past few months on the back of more borrower defaults

[Bretsky]

anybody have any good or bad experiences ??

http://msn.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2007/06/20/searching-for-40000-returns.aspx?logvisit=y&source=eedmsnlnk0010001

[LL2]

Well duh! Please.

Is this your personal or professional opinion?

Would you mind sharing your current percentage breakdowns between stocks, bonds, gold, cash equivalents?

I don't base my investment strategy off of one persons opinion. I just thought it was a good read and that's why I shared it.

And I learned never to give buy recommendations.

I wasn't looking for stock recommendations (and you don't want mine either). I was curious about your overall portfolio breakdown. You wrote that you changed your risk percentage recently so I wondering what you thought a good balance was.

("Lately I moved a bunch of money out of stocks into gold and other commodities as well as more into bonds. I still own some stocks in my 401k/IRA plans but have really changed my risk % as of late.")

I've got a couple of mutual funds dedicated for the kids' college fees that have done well recently. After reading the article and what you did, I was wondering if now was the time to take those profits and sock them away. I did not do this in 2000 when I had the chance and regretted it.

Also, I understand that the Motley Fool approach is buy and hold. Does this investing philosophy run throughout all their newsletters or do different newsletters connected to them advocate different investing strategies?

Motley Fool does advocate a buy and hold approach, but you have to do your own research and do what you feel comfortable doing. The Fool newsletter I subscribe to is Champion Funds, and it's strictly a newsletter for mutual funds. They do have newsletters for stcoks too like Rule Breakers and Hidden Gems. I'm thinking about getting one of those too. Have you ever taken a risk tolerance questionaire? It's a good step, but not the only one, to find out what type of investor you are.

[Freak Out]

I'm thinking its a good time to buy some Yahoo.....getting an itchy trigger finger. I've been watching it for some time and heard that fucking Rupert Murdoch was going to make a run at it.

Dammit Jim!

[LL2]

I'm thinking its a good time to buy some Yahoo.....getting an itchy trigger finger. I've been watching it for some time and heard that fucking Rupert Murdoch was going to make a run at it.

Dammit Jim!

I thought about Yahoo too but I'd like to see the stock price drop some more. Say to around $20 or lower. It's at $27.67 today. If Murdoch buys Yahoo Microsoft will probably regret it. Google has a monopoly on internet advertising and search revenue. Boy, I wish I was an employee of Google before their IPO, even if it was a Janitor.

[Partial]

Wasn't Yahoo at over 300 dollars at one time?

[Freak Out]

I'm thinking its a good time to buy some Yahoo.....getting an itchy trigger finger. I've been watching it for some time and heard that fucking Rupert Murdoch was going to make a run at it.

Dammit Jim!

I thought about Yahoo too but I'd like to see the stock price drop some more. Say to around $20 or lower. It's at $27.67 today. If Murdoch buys Yahoo Microsoft will probably regret it. Google has a monopoly on internet advertising and search revenue. Boy, I wish I was an employee of Google before their IPO, even if it was a Janitor.

I bought Google at $200 and was scared....lol.

I won't wait for it to go as low as $20. I think I'll pull the trigger on Friday but we'll see.

I'll have to check but I think you are close Partial.

[LL2]

Have you thought about Sirius? Currently at $2.84. It's not a recommend over at fool because they lose more money than they make and have yet to make a profit, but I think it might be worth the risk. Dump 20k into it and hopefully watch it grow to $15 a share in 5 years. A while back I saw it around $1 a share. I don't think the company is going to go away and it could eventually be bought out by some media or internet company.