The Stock Market

[zorro1]

Even for a bull this is getting ridiculous, Dow up 130 . On what news??? futures were down 66 this afternoon. Clearly a transfer of wealth occurring so back to my favorite boring non chartists view, The TREND is your friend. Have a good weekend all

[flying]

Even for a bull this is getting ridiculous, Dow up 130 . On what news??? futures were down 66 this afternoon. Clearly a transfer of wealth occurring so back to my favorite boring non chartists view, The TREND is your friend. Have a good weekend all

Some would agree & think things are over valued.

Today's chart illustrates how the recent plunge in earnings has impacted the current valuation of the stock market as measured by the price to earnings ratio (PE ratio). Generally speaking, when the PE ratio is high, stocks are considered to be expensive. When the PE ratio is low, stocks are considered to be inexpensive. From 1936 into the late 1980s, the PE ratio tended to peak in the low 20s (red line) and trough somewhere around seven (green line). The price investors were willing to pay for a dollar of earnings increased during the dot-com boom (late 1990s) and the dot-com bust (early 2000s). As a result of the recent plunge in earnings and recent stock market rally, the PE ratio spiked and just peaked at 144 – a record high. Currently, with 97% of US corporations having reported for Q2 2009, the PE ratio now stands at a lofty 129.

http://www.chartoftheday.com/20090821.htm?T

[zorro1]

Interesting chart flying, I didnt know that. Explain to me this though, shouldnt each stock be taken on its owm merit? I only ever buy stock that are at a massive discount to what they were 15 mths ago, all mine are mid cap or penny dreadfuls. They were the hardest hit and will be the first to fly when we get back on track. Most have plunged straight down ,not even a squiggle LOL However they are making a comeback. How could they be considered expensive? there is no where else to go except up assuming we dont head back to 6500?

[flying]

Interesting chart flying, I didnt know that. Explain to me this though, shouldnt each stock be taken on its owm merit? I only ever buy stock that are at a massive discount to what they were 15 mths ago, all mine are mid cap or penny dreadfuls. They were the hardest hit and will be the first to fly when we get back on track. Most have plunged straight down ,not even a squiggle LOL However they are making a comeback. How could they be considered expensive? there is no where else to go except up assuming we dont head back to 6500?

Well zorro I am sure a more astute investor will chime in with a better answer for you.

Mine is based on personal experience from the past. I was in the markets daily during the tech bubble. I did not do bad but the stress from it was literally bad for my health.

I did have many friends though who bought all the way down based on the same reason that you gave...ie: They seem so cheap compared to what they were.

That reason assumes they were valued fairly before & will return to that as if there was no bubble that burst.

The other event in my life is that while I have been self employed 99% of my life I did a stint with a large company. Because I was married to a daughter of the owners I was treated well & allowed full access to all the books & executive board meetings. It was then that I learned how cooked books usually are. Made me realize that in the future if I wanted to invest in things it would be real things like myself/my company or tangible assets.

Now from what I see of your postings you seem more of a day trader & I see no problem with that. Your in & your out & if you make a few $$$ all the better.

Good Luck to you.

Edited August 22, 2009 by flying

[zorro1]

I do agree with you 100% on cooking the books and health issues. Some of the announcements made by these coys are absolute rubbish. a lot of the ceo"s would have difficulty runing a kindergarden, Look at At Tom Albanese CEO Rio , destroyed one the best companies on the planet knocking back BHP and buying Alcan at the top of the market and destroying wealth world wide. I trade with a plan and use a stop loss. This is where people fail , they are gamblers . A stop loss should be there if only to protect you from a another 9/11 style scenario. Health? yes I do drink more now and sitting in a dark room staring at bouncing numbers all day every day has never been my stlye. Not moving all day tens to pile the weight on LOl

Edited August 22, 2009 by zorro1

[loong]

Zorro,

Don't always think that stoplosses will protect you. I don't know if any brokers offer a guaranteed stoploss, and if they did it would be at a premium.

You should be aware that often the reaction to bad news is an over-reaction.

Sometimes there is an opening gap after news and also an overly large spread

If you hold shares in XYZ and they are 100 with a stoploss at 95

Bad news overnight

In the morning they open mid price 70, bid 60, ask 80. The large spread is because the marketmakers are not sure of the reaction

This low bid triggers everybody's stoplosses and the bid price moves down rapidly to 50

In situations like this (and yes they do happen, but usually not so excessively) your stoploss level means nothing. Your broker may try to sell the shares on your behalf, but may only be able to sell at 50.

So you've lost half your investment in no time.

Often, when the panic is over the shares will rise again and over the next few days they are back at the same level.

In a situation such as 9/11, your broker is unlikely to be able to settle your stoploss at anywhere near the level you have set. I believe that some brokers will not execute stops in the first 15 minutes of trade, because of market volatility. Others will not execute stops if the market price deviates too much from the stop level. Ie, you have set a stop loss at 5%, if the shares opens 20% down, the broker will ignore your stoploss.

Earlier, I'm sure that you said that you work on a stoploss of 2%.

I would have thought a 2% stoploss level would be triggering all the time, especially with mining companies.

[zorro1]

Hi Loong I said "however text book is 2%" I certainly wouldn't use a stop that tight unless it was highly liquid such as BHP. most of mine are illiquid however as Im trading live and as I mentioned in a previous post , I use a mental stop mostly and stick to it. Also stops are there to protect profits and absolutely I use a trailing stop If I'm away from my platform for profit protection. In the early days I got stopped all the time and missed some monster profits due to a 1c dip below my stop Also in the last collapse a prolific trader wouldnt have benefited much getting stopped . re entering, getting stopped and so on.. Most of my stuff is very short term but hi turn over and watching the screen. Im not sure what you mean by "I don't know if any brokers offer a guaranteed stoploss, and if they did it would be at a premium"

using a conditional order is always at a premium.

If a stock plunges 50% well if you get tripped will most likely be at the 50% however this mostly in extreme cases. Mostly I would say 8 times out of ten your stop will be triggerd somewhere around the placement but of course if you bought at $1 and your stop is 99c you can well expect a hit maybe ar 95c and if your off loading 25k shares into iliquid stock then your avg may be 80c. Having said that I would rather be stopped at 80 than watch it go down to 22c. each to their own in this case but most even today just buy sit and prey, no stops. Thats just plain crazy

Edited August 22, 2009 by zorro1

[thaijasmine]

Could someone please explain to me how so many traders who are obviously

intelligent people are prepared to drive the market even higher just based on the

assurances of Ben Bernanke? I mean he is one the main reasons we

are in the mess in the first place ?

[churchill]

I think 'a tissue a tissue we all fall down'

[Abrak]

Even for a bull this is getting ridiculous, Dow up 130 . On what news??? futures were down 66 this afternoon. Clearly a transfer of wealth occurring so back to my favorite boring non chartists view, The TREND is your friend. Have a good weekend all

Some would agree & think things are over valued.

Today's chart illustrates how the recent plunge in earnings has impacted the current valuation of the stock market as measured by the price to earnings ratio (PE ratio). Generally speaking, when the PE ratio is high, stocks are considered to be expensive. When the PE ratio is low, stocks are considered to be inexpensive. From 1936 into the late 1980s, the PE ratio tended to peak in the low 20s (red line) and trough somewhere around seven (green line). The price investors were willing to pay for a dollar of earnings increased during the dot-com boom (late 1990s) and the dot-com bust (early 2000s). As a result of the recent plunge in earnings and recent stock market rally, the PE ratio spiked and just peaked at 144 – a record high. Currently, with 97% of US corporations having reported for Q2 2009, the PE ratio now stands at a lofty 129.

http://www.chartoftheday.com/20090821.htm?T

The chart does look a little screwy for a reason. Financial earnings in 4Q 2008 were so bad that the S&P500 earnings for the quarter were something like -US$23. This clearly decimated any annual earnings figure. The PE will obviously come down when the next 4Q earnings are reported.

Still if you look at say a long term earnings trend a 10 year moving average of earnings, this currently stands at 54 (and is declining). That puts the market on 19x, well above its average of about 15.5x.

[lannarebirth]

Even for a bull this is getting ridiculous, Dow up 130 . On what news??? futures were down 66 this afternoon. Clearly a transfer of wealth occurring so back to my favorite boring non chartists view, The TREND is your friend. Have a good weekend all

Some would agree & think things are over valued.

Today's chart illustrates how the recent plunge in earnings has impacted the current valuation of the stock market as measured by the price to earnings ratio (PE ratio). Generally speaking, when the PE ratio is high, stocks are considered to be expensive. When the PE ratio is low, stocks are considered to be inexpensive. From 1936 into the late 1980s, the PE ratio tended to peak in the low 20s (red line) and trough somewhere around seven (green line). The price investors were willing to pay for a dollar of earnings increased during the dot-com boom (late 1990s) and the dot-com bust (early 2000s). As a result of the recent plunge in earnings and recent stock market rally, the PE ratio spiked and just peaked at 144 – a record high. Currently, with 97% of US corporations having reported for Q2 2009, the PE ratio now stands at a lofty 129.

http://www.chartoftheday.com/20090821.htm?T

The chart does look a little screwy for a reason. Financial earnings in 4Q 2008 were so bad that the S&P500 earnings for the quarter were something like -US$23. This clearly decimated any annual earnings figure. The PE will obviously come down when the next 4Q earnings are reported.

Still if you look at say a long term earnings trend a 10 year moving average of earnings, this currently stands at 54 (and is declining). That puts the market on 19x, well above its average of about 15.5x.

Are you using Operating, As Reported, or Core Earnings in your examples? TIA

[Abrak]

Are you using Operating, As Reported, or Core Earnings in your examples? TIA

I use 'as reported'.

Operating earnings would I am sure put the 10 year EPS as higher but there really is enormous scope to manipulate this figure especially in recent years.

'Core earnings' I do not believe are not reported and are highly debatable. To some extent I use a 10 year average of 'as reported' earnings to represent some sort of reasonable core earnings basis.

[zorro1]

Could someone please explain to me how so many traders who are obviously

intelligent people are prepared to drive the market even higher just based on the

assurances of Ben Bernanke? I mean he is one the main reasons we

are in the mess in the first place ?

We are not intelligent people. Most pretend to be but not true. The lawyer Chris Murphy who compared to most is an Intelligent person just lost 100 million in the opes prime collapse.

read it here

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-...i-1111115946949

thaijasmine the markets are light years in advance of either negative or positive data , recessions, depressions, recovery's. This is why they recover at the height of panic and fall off a cliff just as you felt comfortable buying your new 7 series BMW and the 60ft yacht. Most punters take their eye off the ball like they are now and ignoring the upswing , most likely these are the same people who ignored the downswing. You cant fight the markets they are always right

Edited August 24, 2009 by zorro1

[Chunkton]

Could someone please explain to me how so many traders who are obviously

intelligent people are prepared to drive the market even higher just based on the

assurances of Ben Bernanke? I mean he is one the main reasons we

are in the mess in the first place ?

There seems to be a coalition of the private banker owned Fed (who created this mess), government lobbied and controlled by bankers (check how many are Goldman Sachs people) and the banker owned media pushing the idea that the worst is all over. Add banks that received bailout/assured-retirement talking it up if you like (why does the word banker keep coming up, Abe Lincoln must be turning in his grave).

It is your option to belive this fabricated BS or actually study the economic fundamentals (no, not on CNBC) that tells a completely different story. If you get cleaned out by listening to the vested interests creating a suckers market then blame yourself for ignoring reality.

At worst it is time to get out and wait and see, even if you miss a few points more up before the real crash. The US that drove the world economy on credit for so many years is bankrupt, face the truth and be glad if you aren't living there when the voters finally wake up to the fact they have been conned and their Republic destroyed by the greed of the few. Not to pick on the US alone if in Europe start reading up on Sharia law, they are stuffed as well, too many non productive hands out.

Thailand looks better and better despite the headaches.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Chunkton

[loong]

Could someone please explain to me how so many traders who are obviously

intelligent people are prepared to drive the market even higher just based on the

assurances of Ben Bernanke? I mean he is one the main reasons we

are in the mess in the first place ?

There seems to be a coalition of the private banker owned Fed (who created this mess), government lobbied and controlled by bankers (check how many are Goldman Sachs people) and the banker owned media pushing the idea that the worst is all over. Add banks that received bailout/assured-retirement talking it up if you like (why does the word banker keep coming up, Abe Lincoln must be turning in his grave).

It is your option to belive this fabricated BS or actually study the economic fundamentals (no, not on CNBC) that tells a completely different story. If you get cleaned out by listening to the vested interests creating a suckers market then blame yourself for ignoring reality.

At worst it is time to get out and wait and see, even if you miss a few points more up before the real crash. The US that drove the world economy on credit for so many years is bankrupt, face the truth and be glad if you aren't living there when the voters finally wake up to the fact they have been conned and their Republic destroyed by the greed of the few.

Thailand looks better and better despite the headaches.

Have to agree with what you say, but the day when reality bites is when? The west is enjoying a relatively high lifestyle based on IOUs and one day it has to come crashing down. We just don;t know when.

The problem is that when it does happen, my pounds will buy diddley squat in Thailand, so living in Thailand may well not be an option when the time comes.

[zorro1]

Could someone please explain to me how so many traders who are obviously

intelligent people are prepared to drive the market even higher just based on the

assurances of Ben Bernanke? I mean he is one the main reasons we

are in the mess in the first place ?

There seems to be a coalition of the private banker owned Fed (who created this mess), government lobbied and controlled by bankers (check how many are Goldman Sachs people) and the banker owned media pushing the idea that the worst is all over. Add banks that received bailout/assured-retirement talking it up if you like (why does the word banker keep coming up, Abe Lincoln must be turning in his grave).

It is your option to belive this fabricated BS or actually study the economic fundamentals (no, not on CNBC) that tells a completely different story. If you get cleaned out by listening to the vested interests creating a suckers market then blame yourself for ignoring reality.

At worst it is time to get out and wait and see, even if you miss a few points more up before the real crash. The US that drove the world economy on credit for so many years is bankrupt, face the truth and be glad if you aren't living there when the voters finally wake up to the fact they have been conned and their Republic destroyed by the greed of the few. Not to pick on the US alone if in Europe start reading up on Sharia law, they are stuffed as well, too many non productive hands out.

Thailand looks better and better despite the headaches.

"Thailand looks better and better despite the headaches"

Agreed the SET is screaming along and my G/F started her portfolio after my insistance several months back. But chunkton wasn't talking about that. when you here people start to suppose LOS is looking better than USA then you really got "blood on the streets

can you provide some actual proof that what you have posted will happen? Just a massive downramp and should be wiped be any one reading it. Stick with the pros and follow the money and for goodness sakes ignore the above post. its already HAPPENED we fell off the cliff , are you shorting the market? of course you wouldnt admit it your shorts would be burrrrrning

Edited August 24, 2009 by zorro1

[loong]

Zorro, what is commonly known as the western world has been teetering on the edge of the really big cliff for decades. It may be decades more before the really big plunge, but it will happen.

China and the rest of the developing world are stockpiling dollars. Why? because there is nothing else that they can do with them.

Nowadays we have the trade deficit ( except for Germany, usually) in the west..

Years ago, it used to be called the trade balance and there was a good reason for this. A healthy global economy needs balance.

How can the western world keep take take take goods and give worthless pieces of paper in exchange?

Remember that paper currency was originally a replacement for lugging gold all over the globe.

If everybody in the world that are holding dollars in there foreign currency reserves went to America and asked what can you give me in exchange for these $? You know what the answer would be?

Nothing!

Dollar bills, pounds and most western currencies only have a value when locked up in other countries foreign reserves. If there was ever an attempt to redeem them, they would be shown exactly what they are - worthless.

How much longer will China continue to subsidise the west by accepting worthless IOUs?

Who knows

[zorro1]

loong really enjoy your posts and have learn t a lot outside of trading via charts . Your long term outlook I suspect will hang in the equilibrium as no one would dare exchange their dollars in their foreign currency reserves all at once just as a Trader wouldn't dump 200 million BHP shares on the spot. Both would be catastrophic

"If there was ever an attempt to redeem them, they would be shown exactly what they are - worthless."

Absolutly correct however that wont change whats happening tonight on the dow up again. The only concern ,not for me but for those on the side lines is that the analysing continues whilst the markets roar ahead. Its no coincindence that Germany France and "apparently" Usa are making headlines out of recession. Australia surely must be on the brink, my point is make hay while the sun shines

Edited August 24, 2009 by zorro1

[flying]

I will be very interested in what effect this meeting has on the markets.

I know the news will not be good. I guess it will depend on how the information is understood by the general public.

I see no way it could be dollar positive but then again I have been surprised so many times this past year as to how the public disseminates information & how they react to it.

http://www.fdic.gov/news/board/notice26August2009.html

Discussion Agenda:

Memorandum and resolution re: Final Statement of Policy of Qualifications for Failed Bank Acquisitions.

Memorandum and resolution re: Final Rule on the Extension of the Transaction Account Guarantee Program.

Memorandum and resolution re: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Risk-Based Capital Guidelines; Impact of

Modifications to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; Consolidation of Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Programs;

and Other Related Issues.

Edited August 25, 2009 by flying

[zorro1]

Flying, from memory your a believer in tangible assets, steady as she goes and its real. I am as well having a few properties both here and in Oz. As for your post no one will know the effect on the markets , how could they nothing makes sense at the moment from a laymen s point of view. I do get the impression your bearish however your posts state that you seem to be happy with income derived from your tangible assets. How can one be bearish and yet pump the tangible side? both are intertwined. unless you are one of the real people who expresses their point of view knowing full well that it will damage you long term interests. I'm only curious

[flying]

Flying, from memory your a believer in tangible assets, steady as she goes and its real. I am as well having a few properties both here and in Oz. As for your post no one will know the effect on the markets , how could they nothing makes sense at the moment from a laymen s point of view. I do get the impression your bearish however your posts state that you seem to be happy with income derived from your tangible assets. How can one be bearish and yet pump the tangible side? both are intertwined. unless you are one of the real people who expresses their point of view knowing full well that it will damage you long term interests. I'm only curious

Yes I am a believer in tangible assets but, I also I prefer to invest in myself. Meaning that if I were to place money on a company I would rather place that on my own company. This is just something I came to as I said after working at the executive level of a large company. I saw how easily they twist the books to show what ever they want to show. Whether that be to a bank or to the public.

But I do understand why many are running to the markets given the fact that many companies are tangible backed by brick & mortar. Although not tangible in the physically held by me sense that I adhere to. It could be another way to rid themselves of dollars they think will shrink in power. Of course not all companies are going to go under. There are products that are needed no matter what the economy does.

I would not say I am a bearish person but this government has shown me no reason to be bullish about anything they are doing. All the things they have done thus far is 180 degree opposite from my way of thinking. To my mind they are trying to re-inflate the asset bubble that caused the problem. Add to that obvious deception & it in no way makes me hopeful for the future of this economy. Not yet anyway.....

I am not receiving income from my tangible assets. If by tangible assets you mean gold. I hold physical gold, silver & even lead as a hedge to what I think is a downhill slide of the USD . In that respect it goes well with bearishness. But, I have never advised others to buy such things. Even within my own family circle I have not.

Property wise yes in the past I made money from homes I sold as I am a building contractor. There has been no income in that new home area this year for obvious reasons. Although if I really wanted to I can find remodeling/ repair work. But usually I build for myself with resale in mind.

But even when I built & sold speculative homes I always built homes that met certain minimum requirements. The reason being I never assumed 100% sure sale or profitability. So I built homes that I would not mind keeping if need be.

Also normal investors speculators can not compete with my prices as I do it all.

My properties are still valued well over twice the small amounts I take off them when done building. Even at today's prices. But I would not buy any land at this point & in fact I did back out of a escrow closing last year when I sensed we were headed downhill.

I do not see my seemingly bearish view of the US economy/financial world as being damaging to my long term interests. Although as a contractor this crash will in fact affect my ability to earn in that field. I have been building for over 25 years I do have other talents & am not opposed to switching fields.

I hope I understood your question correctly

Edited August 26, 2009 by flying

[midas]

Its the way the market interprets the " news " that amazes me !

Americans' pessimism about the economy appears to be lifting, with consumer expectations for the next six months hitting their most positive point since the recession began.

but then later in the same report

Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, said consumer spending dropped last week, according to its daily surveys. "We're not seeing a sustained increase in consumer spending yet," he said. Gallup asks 3,500 people each week about their recent shopping activity.

That could be a problem for retailers. Many economists expect to see another holiday season of sales declines, after last year's Christmas period was the weakest in several decades. Holiday shopping accounts for up to 40 percent of annual sales for many retailers.

Never mind about JUST feeling good..............SHOW ME THE MONEY !!

Edited August 26, 2009 by midas

[zorro1]

Its the way the market interprets the " news " that amazes me !

Americans' pessimism about the economy appears to be lifting, with consumer expectations for the next six months hitting their most positive point since the recession began.

but then later in the same report

Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, said consumer spending dropped last week, according to its daily surveys. "We're not seeing a sustained increase in consumer spending yet," he said. Gallup asks 3,500 people each week about their recent shopping activity.

That could be a problem for retailers. Many economists expect to see another holiday season of sales declines, after last year's Christmas period was the weakest in several decades. Holiday shopping accounts for up to 40 percent of annual sales for many retailers.

Never mind about JUST feeling good..............SHOW ME THE MONEY !!

Just think of it in reverse, at he height of euphoria what were you thinking as the sell off began , please dont say you saw it coming a very dear friend who is ceo and MD of 2 very large companies based in china earns lotto money as a wage. Bought a 1.5 mill penthouse in Kamala and lives in the same full time Hong Kong. He didn't see it coming biz was BOOMING and has lost 50% of his wealth which is 45% more than me and you will ever see Midas LOL.

Stop reading anaylsts reports they never did any one good on the way down and certainly arrent helping wealth creation on the way up. If you think that within 3 years we will be back to normal then buy now. If you think it will take 10 years then just sit there its the best you could do

[zorro1]

Flying, from memory your a believer in tangible assets, steady as she goes and its real. I am as well having a few properties both here and in Oz. As for your post no one will know the effect on the markets , how could they nothing makes sense at the moment from a laymen s point of view. I do get the impression your bearish however your posts state that you seem to be happy with income derived from your tangible assets. How can one be bearish and yet pump the tangible side? both are intertwined. unless you are one of the real people who expresses their point of view knowing full well that it will damage you long term interests. I'm only curious

Yes I am a believer in tangible assets but, I also I prefer to invest in myself. Meaning that if I were to place money on a company I would rather place that on my own company. This is just something I came to as I said after working at the executive level of a large company. I saw how easily they twist the books to show what ever they want to show. Whether that be to a bank or to the public.

But I do understand why many are running to the markets given the fact that many companies are tangible backed by brick & mortar. Although not tangible in the physically held by me sense that I adhere to. It could be another way to rid themselves of dollars they think will shrink in power. Of course not all companies are going to go under. There are products that are needed no matter what the economy does.

I would not say I am a bearish person but this government has shown me no reason to be bullish about anything they are doing. All the things they have done thus far is 180 degree opposite from my way of thinking. To my mind they are trying to re-inflate the asset bubble that caused the problem. Add to that obvious deception & it in no way makes me hopeful for the future of this economy. Not yet anyway.....

I am not receiving income from my tangible assets. If by tangible assets you mean gold. I hold physical gold, silver & even lead as a hedge to what I think is a downhill slide of the USD . In that respect it goes well with bearishness. But, I have never advised others to buy such things. Even within my own family circle I have not.

Property wise yes in the past I made money from homes I sold as I am a building contractor. There has been no income in that new home area this year for obvious reasons. Although if I really wanted to I can find remodeling/ repair work. But usually I build for myself with resale in mind.

But even when I built & sold speculative homes I always built homes that met certain minimum requirements. The reason being I never assumed 100% sure sale or profitability. So I built homes that I would not mind keeping if need be.

Also normal investors speculators can not compete with my prices as I do it all.

My properties are still valued well over twice the small amounts I take off them when done building. Even at today's prices. But I would not buy any land at this point & in fact I did back out of a escrow closing last year when I sensed we were headed downhill.

I do not see my seemingly bearish view of the US economy/financial world as being damaging to my long term interests. Although as a contractor this crash will in fact affect my ability to earn in that field. I have been building for over 25 years I do have other talents & am not opposed to switching fields.

I hope I understood your question correctly

hey thanks for replying in such detail. A guy I really respected told me once stick with what you know best and build on that!

"My properties are still valued well over twice the small amounts I take off them when done building. Even at today's prices"

I have been in biz myself for the lat 10 years running major corporate main events for motor dealers , toyota , holden, mazda ( only stuck with the best) however the profits generated need to be parked somewhere and 4% in a bank is dead money considering rate of inflation. Diversify is the name of the game , one goes down , the other up... a well balanced portfolio of property, cash , stocks will NOT see you in the poorhouse at todays prices. Im heavily leveraged in the markets as you can see by my posts back to November. would I sell my properties for more, no way!

[jcon]

Are we back to the good old days of Midas vs. Zorro???????

You two used to go at it and it slowed down a bit, I'm glad you've re-kindled your passions for each other...

Here is my 2 cents for today: almost 3% of the turnover on the entire Hang Seng for this morning has been in one crappy (basically penny) stock. From what I see, the casino players are all back in full swing, which means I'm heading for the door.

p.s. Has anybody looked at the USD vs. ARS or the USD vs. BRL lately? I think there is massive money to be made somewhere in there, but I don't dare touch em... just goes along with my motto that "when things begin to look strange (and right now the markets do, IMO), put on a spead (options) or get ready to spread em' (your legs)....."

Now back to Midas vs. Zorro! The imagery is almost as good as Naam's Apocalyptic Riders (almost!)!!!

[Naam]

Has anybody looked at the USD vs. ARS or the USD vs. BRL lately?

nothing much one can do Jcon. except perhaps with NDFs. ARS = arse, BRL = too many restrictions apply.

[Naam]

Now back to Midas vs. Zorro! The imagery is almost as good as Naam's Apocalyptic Riders (almost!)!!!

adding "almost" appreciated con mucho gusto!

[Naam]

Has anybody looked at the USD vs. ARS or the USD vs. BRL lately?

nothing much one can do Jcon. except perhaps with NDFs. ARS = arse, BRL = too many restrictions apply.

i wish i had left all BRL in Brazil when we sold our properties. a friend of mine handles the (miniscule) remaining amount at 8% per month. last year it used to be 14% per month! anyway, whatever is left there pays for some caviar and a couple of good old Port bottles every month.

we are in a crisis. life is difficult!

[zorro1]

Midas has been trying to "save me" for 6 months now. I have advised him to remove his burning shorts to avoid sizzled sausage, probably to late for that now

Hope he comes back , we were mates for one day when I had a mid dow crisis and turned bear for 24 hours before I snapped out of it. He will be right one day though and I will short the market and maybe we can buy a shed and start stock piling rice for the great depression and the sell it and make some really big bucks

[jcon]

ARS = arse

ahahahhahaahahahhahaahahahaaha

And yes, good old BRL.... she's been kickin ass takin names lately... You ever wonder if you had gone to Brasil as a single man, Naam (IIRC you were married at the time? (remember Floripa???... now remember it as a single male.... ).... MMMMMMMMMM yummmyyyyyy!!!! oi! oi!!! oiiii!!!!