Personal
Portfolio
My own personal version of the 'Twist' worked out very well,
especially for my wife. Twisted in and out of Huntsman and Annaly
several times last month, adding more shares of both Huntsman and
Annaly.
BGS foods continues to lead the pack in percentage
gain for the year. ERTS has done better, but that's only a token amount.
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I
seem to remember something about the bible stating that the only entity
that knows when judgment day is coming is God himself. If that's
the case, I would think that three false prophecies would make for a
false prophet.
In the interim, buying up Huntsman again
and making some change was a pretty good prediction. I'm thinking
buying a little more MGM will also bode well. The entertainment
industry seems to be experiencing something of a rebound and some of
these stocks are worth a look.
I
also think DOW chemical is an attractive buy and I think I am also
going to talk about Netflix and all the trials and tribulations they
have been going through.
I think there maybe an opportunity there.
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This
was how the month started and that was the time to start doing
some buying, which I did. I hope a few of you did too.
Personal Portfolio
What about those banks?
Needless to say, this portion of the portfolio
has not done well at all. A large portion of this I blame
directly on our anti-business government. The other portion I
blame on me in failing to understand just how anti-business this
current administration is.
If I was looking to invest in these
four banks, I would be investing in the order shown above.
HBAN I think is a good regional bank and it will only
perform better over time. CITI is a strong second, considering
its international exposure. Goldman got crucified by the
teleprompter and new regulations, some of them in my view
anti-American, make for some strong headwinds and I think only a change
in leadership will really help. BofA is now the poster child
for the home mortgage problems and I think any new money invested in
this bank will be, well........problematic for the forseeable future.
A
strong economic recovery cannot take place without a strong banking and
financial sector. Many of the gains we've been seeing in the
market this month have been on very thin trading volume, which tells me
there is a very large lack of conviction in any economic recovery going
forward.
Investing in a few financial stocks at these levels
could prove rewarding in the future but to what extent and for how long
is anyone's guess. I would treat any monies invested in this
sector as speculation until we have a more business friendly government.
Old Business: What happened to my version of the 'Twist'?
My version
of the 'twist' involved selling NLY and buying HUN when HUN's
share price tanked in relation to NLY, and then buying back NLY
when HUN's share price surged.
I was able to pull this off three times in October due to the volatility in the market.
This
left me with a lower cost basis for replacing the NLY shares, and a new
position in Huntsman. It's kind of like shorting without
having to open a margin account.
The icing on the cake would have been to collect the NLY dividend as well but the stars weren't totally aligned.
Anyway, it's something to think about. All it requires is a high beta and a low beta quality stock, and some patience.
Speculation Time
I
think Netflix was way oversold and at these prices, owning a
small position was too hard to resist so I picked up shares in the low
80's. What amazes me is that after seeing the backlash from
Netflix customers, that Coinstar did the same thing and jacked up
their prices too. I think Netflix's share price will
recover over time and one must remember that memories are very short
anymore.
Man's Worst Nightmare
This loud mouthed b!&%$ has caused me more grief
than any other financial 'guru' with her frequent exhortations of
'You have to do this now!', staring into the camera with that psychotic gaze, trying to convince the females
in the audience that if you're not doing what she's exhorting now, why
your family financial future is at stake!
Buy the Book!
Buy the CD!
Take Action NOW!
It's enough to make one gag.
The only time I watch parts of the show is when I can't figure out how to flip channels when it's being TIVO'd.
My Top Four Major Gripes - AKA Guaranteed Heartburn 101:
Claim 1: The markets are basically going to meltdown in 2012 because of higher energy and food prices.
Comment: Complete Bull Crap. There is no basis in reality for this claim unless she fancies herself a seer as well.
Perhaps she and Harold Camping should hook up.
Claim 2: You have to set up a living trust and if you don't have one, you have to do it now!
Comment: Complete Bull Crap. It depends on your where your assets are and how many assets you have.
This is the most hyped up bunch of garbage I've run across in years.
Do
yourself a favor before you get led down this path which is guaranteed
to drain your wallet by first finding out which assets are not
appropriate for living trusts and / or are passed on neatly and
legally without a living trusts. Retirement accounts come
to mind.
Claim 3: If you don't have term life insurance you are setting yourself up for disaster.
Get
it now before your spouse kicks the bucket, leaving you in a financial
hole with no way
out!
Comment: Complete Bull Crap.
Ever heard of self insuring? If the primary bread winner
croaks the world will not necessarily come to and end because the
family doesn't have term life insurance. If you live within your
means and save and invest prudently, you can have enough on hand
to weather most eventualities. The older you are the less of an
effect term insurance has, other than as another payment out of your
wallet when you could be paying that money into a retirement account.
Example:
Say you owe a low five figures on your
house, you have high six figures in assets and you also have a
guaranteed monthly income at retirement due to a life of
service in the public sector........and your spouse croaks.
While something like this is emotionally traumatic, you do not have to do anything financial immediately!
You
don't have to change courses, seek advice or put a plan in action when
prior to the unfortunate croaking, everything was just fine.
Predators
troll the obits looking for people who have experienced a loss and the
older that person the better because odds are there are more
assets for the pilfering. These sharks will call widows of the
recently deceased expressing their sympathies for the loss and offer to
help in any way possible to ease the transition into widowhood through
the use of annuities, broker sold mutual funds, gold coins
and so on. These people make their living preying on the emotionally
vulnerable.
If
your retirement plan has been working fine and lasting a long
time, don't fix it with an insurance product with which
considering your age, may be of little or no value at all.
Claim 4: Catastrophic Health Care can wipe you out! Buy soon as you can because at an advanced age, it can cost you dearly!
Comment: Complete Bull Crap.
If you are working and have decent health insurance, it does not make
sense to buy a catastrophic plan unless there are some major
health concerns in the
family. If there are, catastrophic coverage probably will cost
you dearly anyway.
Most
of these catastrophic health care monthly payments adjust up every ten
years or so, meaning that if you can get a lower rate now while you are
younger, it will not stay low as you get older so why bother with
double coverage while you are employed. Maybe someone is
getting kickbacks from catastrophic health care insurance companies for
pushing product.
The best insurance is to stay healthy.
Closing Comments:
It
is reassuring to know that this individual will not be making a contribution
to the gene pool in this lifetime, unless it involves the use of a
turkey baster.
Lesser Goldfinches responding to the dinner bell in Minden Nevada
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