LOL Laura...

He still hasn't taken me up on my offer to buy a time share... It's a great investment for him. Everyone will want to buy the slot should he decide to one day sell it.

B

Actually, in all seriousness, I was mulling over getting some Ford (F) stock. Goldman, Citi, and Bear have all upgraded it...and while Ford is in deep doo-doo, they have a lot of stuff they can spin off, a healthy model lineup, and as far as a downside, how low can it go---worst case, you lose $8/share. I wonder if a junior partnership with a Chinese partner might be the ticket. If that happens the market might like what they see.

PS I own no auto stocks at this time, nor do I know anyone who works for Ford, nor am I in the securities business.

fln8tive,

I will give you the same advice I give all my friends, take it or leave it but I am happy to share it with you.

Don't speculate on stocks. Now, that is not to say not to invest in the market. But the days of day trading are long over and have proven to be mostly unsuccessful to most end users.

What I do recommend is a diversified portfolio of stocks/bonds/real estate. Which should also compromise Value and Growth stocks, Emerging Markets, International, tax free bonds and proper investments/allocation based on your tax situation.

If you have enough to invest in the market, invest it wisely, with people who will return you 8%-12% over a long term period like ten years. Invest in a philosophy...

If your going to just buy a stock because you like the company, you might get a hit here and there, Blockbuster, Sirrius, (all the tech stocks for a decade.) but knowing when to sell is equally important.

So go get a financial manager or buy a cd 6% or invest in LONG TERM strategies. The quick in and out hits may work for time to time but almost never in the long run..

B

:fencing:

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmyX5go :popcorn:

Boiler room was such a great movie, but Wallstreet tops them all!

"The most valueable commodity I know of is information, you're either inside or you're on the outside...." - Gecko

:nanana:

My vote for best "financial" type movie:
"Trading Places"

and we can't forget, Quicksilver with Kevin Bacon..

Agreed. I have a lot of Bill Miller's stuff, and while this has not been his best year, I stand by him. Bad timing on buying the megayacht though. That kinda ticked me off, although he had a ton of Legg stock which is what paid for the boat.

I don't see F as a quick hit, just the opposite. At $8 bucks you can get piece of an American industrial icon for the the price of two trips to Starbucks.

I still subscribe to looking at certain downtrodden stocks though. Remember when Boeing (BA) was at $25 three years ago? My advisor feared it and was sure Airbus would have bought them by now. I remember him telling me about all the mothballed jetliners in Arizona, etc. Whoops. Closed around $80 today. Just before? BA was in the doldrums Citigroup was in the $25 range. (That one I pulled the trigger on). I'm not saying there is a formula or a wisdom in stock picking, but sometimes the street really beats up a stock and it looks great 36 months later.

It sounds to me what you are talking about is value investing: Rather than "speculating" that a stock will go up because it is currently "in favor".. You would be buying stocks that are undervalued based on the assets of the company. Say for example, a company should be worth $10/share based on assets and earnings but it is only being sold ofr $8/share, it's a good buy. But you have to have the discipline to sell it once it goes to $10/share because at $11/share, it's a growth stock.

B

I liken stocks to movie stars...a lot are overpaid, and many have been written off, but sometimes the John Travolta's of the world get a lift from the Quentin Tarantinos of the world...if everything was based just on value investing metrics, then machines could build portfolios...I just get the sense that FoMoCo can't get beaten up too much more and might be an interesting bet...there is no way to "value" a political sea change that might force Chinese capital to look for a home...particularly given the fact that the nascent Chinese auto industry has soundly had their ass handed to them at the recent auto shows...they need a partner and Ford needs a friend with capital, a huge untapped market, and the ability to lower manufacturing costs. Just a wild ass hunch.

I'm with laura and Michelle on this one.

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Otherwise if I say anything I may have to :takecover