| February, 2013 “We have moved a bill in the House twice, we should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and begins to do something.” ~ House Speaker John Boehner. “I think he should understand who is sitting on their posterior. We’re doing our best to try to pass something.” ~ Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid |
|
The Professional Opinion - DJ 14054.49 Bob doesn't seem as concerned about valuations and corrections as he did last month.....  Buy Recommendations None. Everything is rated as a hold, as is usually the case.  Virginia City, NV with a light dusting of snow. |
 Note: Gains or losses shown here with the exception of mutual funds are from the original purchase date, not yearly returns. Blackstone and Leucadia sure are performing nicely! Apple however.......... I picked up a few more shares in the low 4's. If that doesn't work out, at least I now own a few shares in a Wine Company! |  What a government, aye? Lurching from crisis to crisis, threats of gloom and doom and apocalypse lest the government spends less money....God forbid. Following the Clinton method of sticking a finger up in the air to see which way the wind's blowing and then following through, would be a far more effective form of leadership than what we have now. The markets are performing well enough in spite of all of this and that is a good thing. The FED's easy money policy sure is helping out anyone owning equities! Let's keep this up for just a little while longer.  |
Speculation Revisited  Boy it's nice when speculation works out for the home gamer. There was a big jump in Staples stock the other day, following news of a merger between Office Depot and Office Max. That news stocks in the same sector which is basically a knee jerk reaction in my opinion, but one that can be profited off of. Whenever I see something like this and the reason for the jump has nothing to to with the stock itself, I sell. There usually is another opportunity to buy the stock back a couple days later once the euphoria fades and the price drops. Kind of like the 'Cramer Effect'. The difference I usually pocket and add to something else. Market Timing...Worth Doing? Market timing in some form or fashion, involves the use of market timing and I think there is merit to it. On the opposite side of the spectrum is 'Buy and Hold Forever.' Me, I'm somewhere in between. If you're interested in adding some stability and growth to your portfolio using the power of reinvested dividends over time, 'Buy and Hold while maybe not forever, is think is the better thing to do with the core of your holdings. The Capitalist Pigs out of Overland Park, KS believe in using the business cycle as the model for investing. Here is a Newsletter on the Topic. Leucadia  One thing about conglomerates, is they occasionally spin off their parts and if you happen to own shares in the parent company, you sometimes get shares in the new company:   Not a bad deal all in all. Crimson wine does have some good brands. Since Crimson Wine is listed with the pinks, this means the company is not a fully reporting one and does not meet (or chooses to to meet at this time) the minimum criteria for being listed on a better exchange. It might, one day. In the meantime I get to enjoy wine at a 20% discount for being a share holder! What's new with Facebook....  Yeah....Right.......  Detailing out one's life on one of these social sites and depending on the number of 'Likes' and so-called 'Friends' one has.....and thinking this an important relationship strikes me as disturbing. Something off-balance there. This opinion of course is in the minority but there are a few here and there that share the same view...... A couple secretaries were talking the other day in the elevator and one asked the other if she had met any nice guys lately. She replied that it was rather difficult because she had two criteria right out the gate - that they weren't on FaceBook and that they didn't have any tattoos. The other secretary said, "Good luck with that". |
