So, is anyone buying stocks this week?

[Jennie]

Were you able to cash out some or all of your holdings in time to avoid a blood bath?

Are you venturing back into the market yet? Or are you "done with it" for now, or forever?

 

[rsnash]

I wish we had the cash to spare, there are several stocks I would buy. For example, dh works for a VERY LARGE company that had to release it's (profitable) 3rd quarter statement, just to stem the tide of its stock price falling. It would be a very good investment right now while prices are low. Also, any company that is relatively recession proof - a company that produces actual physical goods that people NEED (i.e. not banks). Food producers come to mind. I've also been wanting to invest in SC Johnson for a while. The make the Shout Gel with the scrubby top. It is the only product that seems to get all the food stains out of dh's shirts. Look around your house and see what products you love and/or buy all the time, and would continue to do so even in a recession (cleaning products, food, practical clothing). A company whose value isn't just based on the confidence that stockholder have in its future, but has actual products and capital backing up their stock value. How old fashioned.

 

[gmarine]

I've been buying small amounts of Citigroup, Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble, Philip Morris and Walmart.

 

[TomCayman]

Cashed out all but one holding in the last two years so I could build a house.

Not planned, but good timing.

What was the one I kept ? The one I intend to never sell under any circumstance. The one that does my market timing and value investing for me. The company that sat on c$50bn for several years until spending nearly $40bn in the last month on sweetheart deals not open to the regular investor.

Any guesses which stock I'm talking about ?

 

[bogey21]

Bought two: (1) Penn National Gaming (PENN) and immediately sold calls against it, and (2) an Australian $$$ ETF (FXA) to lock in the favorable exchange rate ($1 Aus = $.66 US) since I have monthly bills which have to be paid in Australian Dollars

George

 

[vivalour]

Cashed out all but one holding in the last two years so I could build a house.

Not planned, but good timing.

What was the one I kept ? The one I intend to never sell under any circumstance. The one that does my market timing and value investing for me. The company that sat on c$50bn for several years until spending nearly $40bn in the last month on sweetheart deals not open to the regular investor.

Any guesses which stock I'm talking about ?

You're not talking about Mr. Buffett's little mutual fund are you??? He bought a slew of preferreds, among other things, that spit off 10% +.

 

[Jennie]

Jim Cramer ("Mad Money" show on MSNBC) is recommending buying well known companies that produce recession-proof products, pay dividends between 3-7%, and have large cash reserves to ensure that the dividend payments will continue.

The money invested in these types of stock should realize a better return, and more favorable tax treatment, than if used for a CD or placed in an interest bearing bank account. The stock should also increase in value because almost everything out there has fallen so dramatically, even if the company has no financial problems and expects to continue to make a good profit.

Many other analysts are making the same recommendation. There's good articles and videos at http://www.thestreet.com/p/index.html?puc=rmhometop

 

[SDKath]

Funny but I was looking at some stock prices today! Getting ready to plunge in too....

We cashed out on all of our high tech stocks in late 1999 to buy a house. I saw a graph today -- turns out that was THE peak of the market! YIPEEE.

Katherine

 

[KauaiMark]

Bought some additional...

Buying to add to current investments in SJW, PHK and gambling on TMA

 

[TerriJ]

I did not buy any stocks, but I did not sell any either. Just holding steady. I don't own any single stocks except a small amount of my employer's stock. My stock exposure is all through mutual fund type investments.

 

[Zac495]

I'm holding steady, too. No cash reserve - all invested in mutual funds and timeshares.:hysterical:

My son is going out for Halloween carrying a plunger. Guess what he's going to be?



The DOW.

 

[Lawlar]

Ouch!

I moved my assets from 60% stocks to 45% stocks (mostly conservative mutual funds I've held for decades) during the months leading up to the big drop. But the collapse last week still hurt a lot.

The scary thing is that even conservative mutual funds with great long-term records have suffered losses of 30% to 40% (and I'm not even mentioning Bill Miller - Legg Mason - whose fund I never owned).

Example, my most conservative fund, which hadn't suffered a loss in 17 years, was down 26% as of last Friday. And it has about 50% in bonds!

We spent the week of the crash in Phoenix (we loved Marriott's Canyon Villas in AZ) and drove an hour out of the City. Still, as far as the eye could see are homes built during the last few years that you just know are worth maybe 1/2 of the amount of the mortgages on them. Tens of thousands of homes with negative equity.

The decrease in the value of homes / stocks / commodities creates one big question. Are Americans going to continue consuming goods or is our economy going to come to a complete halt? Scary.

 

[bogey21]

The scary thing is that even conservative mutual funds with great long-term records have suffered losses of 30% to 40% (and I'm not even mentioning Bill Miller - Legg Mason - whose fund I never owned).

Example, my most conservative fund, which hadn't suffered a loss in 17 years, was down 26% as of last Friday. And it has about 50% in bonds!

I just looked at the IRAs I fund and manage for my Daughter. "Manage" may not be the right word as she is 20% Money Market; 60% a Low Duration Bond Fund (yield is 2% YTD); and 20% in stocks. Pure dumb luck. Inattention pays sometimes!! Monday I will move another 30% into stocks

George

 

[Lawlar]

Lucky or Good?

I just looked at the IRAs I fund and manage for my Daughter. "Manage" may not be the right word as she is 20% Money Market; 60% a Low Duration Bond Fund (yield is 2% YTD); and 20% in stocks. Pure dumb luck. Inattention pays sometimes!! Monday I will move another 30% into stocks

George

I guess its better to by lucky than good. Congratulations.

 

[TomCayman]

You're not talking about Mr. Buffett's little mutual fund are you??? He bought a slew of preferreds, among other things, that spit off 10% +.

Bingo....and if I had any cash to spare, I'd be buying more BRK shares... B shares, naturally, the A shares at over $100k per share are a bit much for me !

 

[Patri]

Oh, missed your answer initially. I thought he was going as Joe. :rofl:

 

[Zac495]

Oh, missed your answer initially. I thought he was going as Joe. :rofl:

That crossed our minds after the last debate! I told him he could go around the neighbor a second time in his "new" costume. :rofl:

 

[cgeidl]

Buying good dividend stocks

Sold about 80% of stocks about a month ago.AVoided half the loss about.What a bloodbath .
We are 68 and have been 100% invested in stocks and real estate for many years. Now will be 50% in 5 year CD's at5%.Stock in Bershire Hathaway we have had a long time, stock in NNN a 7.5% Reit, JNJ a 4% Div.No dividend tax the next couple years if ADJ income under $69000.And Obama plans to let people withdraw $10,000 nfrom taxfree accounts the next couple years.Looks like with $150,000,000 in the month of Sept he will have lots of showtime.
Tomorrow will buy GE,AT&T,ALTRIA, and Pfizer all with 6% plus dividends,lots of cash and beaten down in the past couple months. Trying to generate a 6% yield and start withdrawing the minimum withdrawal required unde IRS rules in a couple years,We were very fortunate and made about 40% last year in the market but lost a bit over 20% this year.Leaves abot a 10% profit. Remamber if you buy a stock which goes up 100% in one year and the next year it goes down 50 % you are just even.

 

[TerriJ]

I've been in the business for many years and never seen anything like this. We are heading to Orlando and South Beach next week and I can't wait to escape to time share land for awhile.

 

[3kids4me]

I've said this before, but I don't think we're at the bottom yet. Buy if you're going to hold for a really long time, and be prepared to see further losses first. My opinion, YMMV.

 

[Icarus]

I buy stocks every week, through my 401k.

I just changed all future contributions from a balanced index fund to an all stock fund. The valuations in this stock fund are ridiculously low by historical standards. One of the stocks in this fund is so low, that the company could use it's cash on hand to take the company private if it wanted to, and the company generates a ton of free cash flow.

Will the market go down more? Probably. Maybe. Eventually it will go up again.

-David

 

[Maverick1963]

Nikkei 225 of Tokyo Stock Exchange was at over 37,000 in January 1990. It dropped below 8000 in 2003 while it had climbed up to 18000 in 1998 because of IT bubble. US government is taking much quicker actions than the Japanese one. And Japan made bubble with real estate and US did with subprime loans and CDO/CDS, but basic mechanism is the same. Monetary values were created based on credit. And now credit creation is working backward because the base was lost.

Some professionals say that current bad debts of US financial companies are three times more than what Japan had at the bubble burst. That is proportionate to the sizes of GDP. US economy has much more impact and influence to other countries than Japan. I am praying that we can see recovery sooner than we expect. But still there are possibilities that DOW will keep dropping like Nikkei 225 took its course.

One time, I worked for a US securities company and sold the idea of long term and portfolio approach from marketing stand point. Since there is (has been) too much of leverage effect in the market, this traditional investment method lost credit. Now Goldman and Morgan S have become banks and regulated in the bank league, such leverage will be impossible. So when the market hit the bottom some time, long term investment will again become　 a fair and square method. Until then, we just must survive patiently the downturn of markets and world economy.

Personally I sold all of my stocks and funds in May. If I had kept the position, I should have a good deal of losses, like a half of stock-related vehicles.

 

[Miss Marty]

Municipal Bonds

Municipal bonds have long been an attractive investment
option for tax-sensitive investors, because munis are free
of federal income tax and often state tax too....

 

[frankhi]

I switched all mutual fund money in 401k to money market in Jan. Bot it all back last week....


btw, just noticed XP thinks daylight savings ended, but vista knows better

 

[spirits]

Three months later

I was looking through some previous posts and found this one. Still a relevant topic IMHO. Since Oct my husband and I have been watching the financial news with pretty much disbelief. Three months later the corruption in financial markets has gone much further than the subprime problem. Even the financial "experts" are all over the map with their predictions. So here is my question. Are you getting out of mutuals, stocks, or holding on? We have not made any changes ourselves but as the time goes on I am starting to have second thoughts.