Personal
Portfolio
Not a bad return for the year so far. Took a hit on KCG though,
which supports the saying that just because a stock took a hit
and went really low, that doesn't mean it can't go a lot lower. |
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I
was sitting on a plane the other day and could not help but notice a
man in front of me with a laptop out who was laying out a plan for
Cisco
Systems in terms of splitting up the sales force in to specialty areas
of concentration and at the same time, putting special emphasis
on 'the cloud'.
I penciled a few notes and did a little
research on the company that many, myself included, considered a
losing company. I ended up buying some before their
earnings announcement, which worked out rather well. I ended up
selling after the pop, but I think the stock might be worth a second
look.
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Electronic Arts on the Sixth Month (Never Again!)
I swear, I'm once and for all done with Electronic Arts. I
ended up selling the lot when rumors came out that the company was
putting itself up for sale,
providing a temporary boost to the stock price.
Globe Specialty Metals is a company I learned about from Cramer, on
CNBC. The company makes silicon and other silicon alloys
and........
They own the whole supply chain. The own the
quartz mine and they also own the Kentucky coal mine which produces a
special grade of coal found
in only two places in the world - Kentucky and South America.. They also own the manufacturing facility.
If
you think the Tech firms which high quality silicon are going to
experience an uptick in manufacturing, this is a company worth
considering.
They had a great quarter and upped their dividend by 25%. I ended up locking in some nice gains by selling half.
The
half that I sold got reinvested into Jefferies, an investment banking
firm that I have traded in and out of several times, and I think
now is a good time to get back in.
The market has been riding
higher on hopes and dreams of more stimulus, which means the more
printing of money. Not a very good way to invest, at least not
for the long term. However, there are two Fed meetings in the
upcoming weeks and who knows what rumors will be coming out of Europe .
If however the rumors are all positive and encouraging,
banking stocks should tick up nicely.
In the interim, I
think Jefferies is a decent company worth owning if you need exposure
to the sector. If further exposure is unnecessary and you
feel like doing some speculating, I also think Jefferies is a
company for doing just that.
Bottom Fishing
Staples
stock got hammered over a lousy quarter, and a number of institutions
agree that if there is one bricks and mortar store that stands a chance
against everything Internet, it is Staples. Someone still
needs to sell stationary and office products at the local level,
provide copier services and printer ink.
Assuming Staples continues paying its dividend, the 4% yield at these prices, is attractive.
I bought some.
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THE PROPHET WATCH
What we have here is CNBC's prophet,
seer, revelator - and major PITA. Detailed Opinion Here
Financial Analyst - NOT
Soothsayer - NOT
Bearer of Practical Financial Advice - Occasional
Man's Worst Nightmare - Maybe......
Having to listen to annuity pitches
interspersed with vitamin infomercials could be worse.
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Let's
keep track of just how well this PITA's
'predictions' pan out for the rest of the year.
| 2012 |
Predicted |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Gold |
$2,000.00 |
1736.7 |
1716.28 |
1671.9 |
1664.2 |
1616.9 |
1604.2 |
1613.8 |
1683.4 |
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|
| Recession |
60%
Chance |
Nope! |
Nope! |
Nope! |
Nope! |
Nope! |
Nope! |
Nope! |
Nope! |
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| TIPS
Current 5yr Yield |
Home
Run - Maybe |
0.95% |
0.90% |
-.126% |
.125% |
-1.03% |
-1.00% |
-1.22 |
-1.286 |
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Lesser Goldfinches at the thistle feeder.
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