Question: Anybody have a nice success story? Something like “I got into investing with 2 or 3K. Learned the ropes, did some research…paid off part of my student loans…”
Just trying to get a taste of this ng’s dwellers…
Answer: Thanks for the answer and the advidce — but no need to read into the question regarding my financial situation. If it makes any difference, I’ve been handed a few bucks by a gambler of a relative who has money to lose. The incentive for me is that we split the profit…and I get to learn a little more about the market using real dough…
I spose the question was bait to see who’s here, what they have to work with, what their goals are, et cetera… So if you went to an expensive college, and couldn’t afford it up front and had to get a loan – that means that after you’re done with shchool you couldn’t possibly be in a better financial state?
I dunno bout you, but I make a crapload more money now that I’m out of school than I did when I was actually *in* school 
Question: Last time “Wall Street” the movie opened, we had the 1987 market crash right afterwards. Today “Boiler Room” opens, the market tanked again. Coincedence? Is there a crash just round the corner?
Answer: I think CNN is right that the biotechs will boom for the next 5 to 10 years. Many biotech companies already have some products on the market. For example, NEXL has stem cell research equipment (which is part of their product portfolio) that is available to the American, European, and parts of the Asian market.
As for ‘old line’ and ‘new line’ companies; many of these companies have been around for years, but haven’t really had much press or success until recent months/year. As their products come to light, I believe you will find that as a whole the industry will continue to boom as people search for the small ‘diamonds in the rough’. I believe that some of the smaller companies are getting investments due to the hope that their future products will drive the stock price through the roof (kinda sounds elementary doesn’t it).
The higher priced stocks are out of my reach. I am trying to buy more of the smaller stocks since I can own more shares and if their product mix does come to be, then the difference between their current price and their (hopefully) higher future price will be greater.
I’m currently trying to use what little cash I have to build it up high enough to pay off my student loans when I get done with the MBA program I am enrolled in
So far, I’ve invested for about 2 months and made 101% on my money.
Question: Noticing the considerable traffic here on the great initial public offering by Netscape (NASDAQ:NSCP), there is a warning over and above any technical or fundamental analysis which you can argue about:
The common stock offering in the U.S. is 3,000,000 shares, and international stock offering will be another 500,000 shares.
…but TOTAL common stock to be outstanding after the offering will be 36,661,444 shares! The U.S. public offering makes up less than 10% of the total shares outstanding! (Most shares will be owned by the employees, venture capitalists and constituents of this company).
Do NOT value the market value of this company based on the shares being offered.
Answer: There are some rather significant chunks on the table in the hands of Clark, Barksdale, and Doerr. I was surprised to find out that Marc-A, while holding a sweet pile, is not one of the bigger holders.
Somehow I doubt these guys will sell unless they have to. Like Marc might want to buy a car or pay off his student loans early or something I am considering purchasing stock in an electric utility for a long term investment. I want it to balance my other investments which are mainly in growth stocks. I have just begun the research process. I would appreciate it if any one with information about Wisconsin Energy (WEC) and their DRIP account could please post. Thank You.
Question: The riots are streading all over France for the 10th night!! I suspect the coward Chirac will surrender to the islamo nazis in a week. As rioting that began in a poor, mostly Muslim, neighborhood near Paris a week ago continues to spread to other suburbs and cities across France and parts of Europe, U.S. experts and at least one American lawmaker believe radical Islam is most likely responsible for the chaos.
And, they say, despite the characterization by several media outlets that those perpetuating the violence are primarily disaffected youth upset with French economic and social policies, the fact the unrest spread so quickly and is virtually limited to Muslim neighborhoods signifies a deeper, ideologically driven motive.
Answer: How can anyone doubt the words of ricky since he informed everyone that: “I was in the Diplomatic Corps for 5 years and now I’m in charge of a huge multinational corp.” I wonder if that has anything to do with to many people, not enough jobs and the expanding gap between the haves and the have nots?
It is tough out there in the USA and even with someone earing say 40k the cost of living is greater than the earnings if you include a really decent place to live where you won’t get shot; some health insurance so you will not be drowned in debt if you get sick; a decent car so you can travel to the neighborhood where you make those bucks and lets not forget $500. per month in student loans you took out to get 40k per year….
I will be surprise if the same thing does not happen in the US since there are so many pockets of have nots and those who have little training are all doomed to poverty. It is a losing situation for sure.
Right now there are over 60k homeless persons in Dallas County alone who are being evicted because FEMA is late on responding.
Question: Matthew Swanson is a student at either a public or private university. His education is being subsidized in part by yours and mine tax dollars. We have a right to know what, if any, immoral and/or illegal sexual activities he is engaging in on our dime. For clarification, most religions view premarital sex, masturbation, homosexuality and bestiality as immoral behavior. Most, if not all states consider bestiality illegal. Some states consider homosexuality illegal. Some states consider sodomy illegal, even if performed on spouse. I DEMAND MATTHEW SWANSON ADMIT TO ANY IMMORAL AND/OR ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR HE ENGAGES IN WHILE THE BENEFICIARY OF OUR KIND HEARTED WELFARE SYSTEM! Since the president must be treated as any other citizen(Even though any other citizen who lied in a civil case about sex would not be prosecuted, if the lie was determined to nonmaterial, as Clintons was) according to Matthew Swanson, because we pay his salary and provide him with living quarters. I demand Matthew Swanson for once in his pathetically protected life behave like a man and come clean about his behavior while taking our tax dollars that could be spent on starving children in Appalachia rather than his rather pointless education.
Answer: It’s really rather simple. Even someone with such an obvious lack of critical thinking skills as yourself should be able to understand this, but since you don’t seem to get it I’ll try again. You have stated that the public has a right to know any and all of the details surrounding clintons sex life because we are paying his salary, providing his housing, etc.. You are being subsidized while in college by public tax dollars. If not directly then indirectly (although if you’re planning on a student loan you’re getting direct assistance). Therefore, based on your logic, we have a right to know all about your sex life (but only the real stuff, no imaginary things please). So whats the problem? It’s so impossible for you to understand why clinton would lie about sex because he finds it embarrasing, you should be able to supply the answers readily. You are the beneficiary of the welfare system and by your own words owe all of us a detailed accounting of your deviant and immoral practices. Of course clinton should be investigated for high crimes and misdemeanors and if found guilty then removed from office. However, after years of investigation by a prosecutor with unlimited resources, the best they seem to have are: sex with a willing partner, lying about that sex in a civil case and trying to cover up said sex. These are not high crimes and misdemeanors so they do not merit his removal from office but they do merit censure.
People ask me why I like clinton even though i’m not really a liberal, there are a few things he’s done that I like: signed nafta and the roth ira into being (and don’t tell me he didn’t have anything to do with either, they came in under his watch). Really the reason I sort of like him is that he and I are similar in that we both came from poor southern families and were able to rise against that and make something of ourselves without the privileged background people as yourself have obviously enjoyed.
Question: The CEO quit. Is this a case of short now and ask questions later?
It’s not clear if he bribed somebody or had a mistress or who knows what. He gifted 32K of his own money to an employee of a customer. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050928/ceo_resigns.html?.v=4
OTOH, the trailing P/E is about 9. I figure Student Loans are a growth business. Maybe it is cheap now.
I’m tempted to buy, but I don’t see any sort of support levels, so I don’t have a clue where to set my bid.
Answer: I thought about offering 21.25 based on a 1-day chart, but I chickened out and lost the chance to make a quick 20%. Rats.
More info came out. The giftee was a female senior VP at BAC, who was fired for it *an entire month ago*. BAC is a huge customer, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of revenue for FMD. BAC pulled out of one current deal, but that deal just got delayed 1 month to bring in someone else. BAC has not publicly stated that it is cutting all ties with FMD, so hopefully future business is not affected too much.
FMD announced a 5M share buyback. Usually, buybacks send me running, but I am not opposed when the P/E is below 10 and earnings are increasing. There is also some silly fund manager who bet too much on FMD. These ought to provide support at 21, unless the fund manager gives up, in which case no chart-based support will be meaningful.
My limit buy got filled this morning at 21.60. I thought I saw support at 21.50 on the intraday charts, and this time I placed my bet. Actually, it might be more correct to say there is support at 11:00 AM Eastern.
Question: After the market close, Internet search company Looksmart revised its 4th quarter guidance. Revenue will be down to 16.5m – 17m from 18m – 20m. The net loss is now 1.4m – 1.7m. The original figure is less than 1m.
I don’t know why Yahoo has P/E of 100 and Google has P/E of 200. For me, I never read those pop-up ads. And if I have to use Google search to buy stuff, I always skip the items listing on the right and the top. The real bargains are those deep down in the list since they don’t pay Google fees so they can keep the cost down. By the way, Yahoo will report its earning next Tuesday. This time meeting the estimate or beating it by one cent won’t be good enough for investors. Apple has set the bar so high, now other companies have to blow away the estimates to keep the momentum going.
Answer: What scares me in this market segment is the relative low entry cost theses days. Building a good web crawler / search engine (by current standards) is not out of the reach of many young computer science students.
Just remember how Google started a few years ago.
With a minimum initial capital (less than 50k), a few bright ideas and little time, someone can set up a small search engine / web directory startup and claim a small share of the market quite easily.
Compare it with others sectors, such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, energy, transports, financials, even retail sales. Startups in theses sectors need MUCH more capital to become key players and make their place, so new players threats are much less present.
The big names today in online searches might as well disappear tomorrow and new players are likely to emerge. Wait until a few open-source zealots decide to build the world best ads-free intelligent search engine…
Also, I think the business model itself is weak, since the customer is NOT paying for the service itself. I don’t think making people pay for web search is a good idea, but a sudden shift in internauts habits or Internet structure might disrupt the whole concepts of online advertising, which represent for most web search companies the ONLY revenue stream.
I think more tangible infrastructure needs to be developped to add a real and lasting value to the sector.
Question: Has anyone in the Group tried or know someone who has used this $4000 software (Wizetrade) that tracks stock progress?? Any honest opinions would be great?? Thanks………
Answer: What follows is only my opinion regarding Wizetrade, and any other software that promises untold riches from the stock market.
Run Away!
Think about it. If someone actually did find a method for making money from following red and green flashing lights, why would they sell it? Wouldn’t they just trade the method themselves growing their own accounts into the millions of dollars?
On to the software itself: I have a copy of the Wizetrade program provided to me by a friend who DID spend the cash to get it. He wanted my opinion. After reviewing the training DVD’s and testing the software vs. the system I use, I felt the Wizetrade Program failed to measure up to the expectations set forth by the promoters. I advised my friend to get his money back ASAP. He failed to listen wanting to test the signals himself.
His results? He is out the $4000.00 for the program and an additional $1500.00 from following the Wizetrade signals. Of course, YOUR mileage may vary.
You don’t need any fancy program with flashing lights or whistles and bells to tell you how to make money at this game. Take a step back and educate yourself. Start by making a few trips to your local library and reading as much as you can regarding the stock market and trading in general. Here are a few titles to get you started:
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Jesse Livermore
How to trade in stocks by Jesse Livermore
Market Wizards by Jack Schwager
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom by Van K. Thar
pThe Stock Trader by Tony Oz
Trading for a Living by Alexander Elder
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Find a system, or set of rules, that works for your personality type and psychological profile, and STICK to them. Eliminate fear and greed as influences on your trading decisions. Study risk and money management, and apply the lessons learned daily to your trading.
Following the advice above won’t cost you anything but your time, and you will find yourself further ahead (and better educated) than those that spent the $4000.00 on a program that doesn’t live up to its promises.
I hope you find the above information useful.
Question: I am 34, 4 kids and a wife, no house (I rent), and about 50K in debt (credit cards, vehicles and a student loan). The ONLY thing I have that could possibly ever be worth anything is 2000 shares of Zingit (ZNGT) stock. Which last time I checked was worth about 0.23 a share. I didn’t buy the stock, I received it as part of an agreement. I don’t know if it will ever be worth anything.
I need help with my finances – I’m sinking and becoming desparate. I’m the only person I know who has a full time job, making 44K a year and am completely broke.
Does ANYONE have any useful advice ?? Or 50K to loan/grant me?
Answer: Well, 6 mouths to feed on 44K/year? Can be done without bankruptcy.
1st thing to do is restructure your loans. Get the interest rates down to 10 or there abouts from 20. You can do that by calling the bank and telling them about the offer that another bank sent you. Cut up the @#$@#$@# credit cards except for ONE card that you seal in an envelope for absolute emergencies.
If your employer has a credit union, open an account there with the minimum but as $20-40 comes your way, deposit it in the account.
Sell everything that you don’t immediately need. Clean out your basement. Sell it all. If you find some junk along side the road, sell it to the scrap dealer.
Stop buying anything unless you absolutely need it, no newspapers, cigarettes, beer, corn chips, magazines, frozen pizza, soda pop, stay out of 7-11.
Red beans and rice are your friend. Buy 20 lbs of dried beans and red pepper at the Hispanic store; 50 lbs of Korean rice at the Asian market, canned tomatoes, as much as you can get when it’s on sale.
Here’s the recipe:
1/2 pound of whatever cheese is on sale 1 sweet onion (these are the yellow flat onions) 1 lb ground beef 2 lbs dried red beans 1 pint of canned tomatoes or tomato sauce 2 tbl spoons of olive oil 1 lb of rice
Soak the beans overnight.
cook the rice separately, 1 lb rice + 1 quart of water, bring to rolling boil, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
fry the ground beef in olive oil season with red pepper and salt mince the onion toss it in to saute add beans, tomatoes, simmer for 15 mintues.
Serve over rice. Add cheese. Make it 6 huge servings for about $5.00 If your kids are small, there’ll be enough left over to take for your lunch. This is world-class peasant food, hearty, filling, high in protein and fibre, and cheap.
There are lots of variations on this theme, pasta, corn, potato based with different mixes of flavors and seasonings.
Breakfast is bulk oatmeal and other cooked cereals flavored with real cream, butter, cinnamon, strawberry jam, orange marmalade, vanilla, brown sugar. All cheap and filling and a fraction of the cost of store bought items. Strawberry jam comes in 2 lb and larger jars. Buy those. Cook a big pot of hot oatmeal, add lots of brown sugar and butter, spoonfuls of strawberry jam, this is high in sugar but it tastes good.
After two months of peasant fare, you should have diverted some cash to the credit union. If so, ask for a loan to pay off the high interest credit cards, cut them up, close the accounts.
$44k/year is 3600/month.
300/month for food. 1000/month for rent and utilities. 1000/month for debt servicing. 50K debt is 500/month if long term. You gotta get the rates down, then you have some headroom to apply against the principal. Short term, high interest and it’ll suck you dry.
Not much left over after taxes and insurance.
You gotta hit the interest rates and squeeze every penny you can out of your budget.
It ain’t gonna be easy but you can do it.
Question: this stuff couldn’t be any funnier.
By Martha Irvine, The Associated Press
Christian Miller can’t get a car loan and, at age 27, has returned to his parents’ New Jersey home, forced back by the double load of credit card debt and student loans.
Like other “20-somethings” across America, he’s found that graduating from college means having to face tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Some even drop out before they finish school, while a growing number are declaring bankruptcy.
“It stinks,” said Miller, who arrived on his parents’ Livingston, N.J., doorstep on New Year’s Eve two years ago.
Financial experts predict this year’s graduates will have an even tougher time. Never has a generation entered a recession-weakened job market so debt-ridden.
“I have a negative net worth of $14,000 — it’s great!” Jessica Lopez said sarcastically.
Answer: I’m not sure what the big deal is. My wife and I had close to 60K student loan debts between us after we graduated with master’s degrees, and we paid them off. Took ten years, sure. Of course, we both had jobs. I’ve done everything from clean lye out of paper mill kilns, to delivering pizzas for a living, to washing dishes, so I guess I would have survived somehow. when I was 17 I was out on my own washing dishes for a living, living in a shithole above an old drugstore that had cockroaches the size of mice. The mice were the size of rats, and the rats were bilingual. I got no money from my parents. I lived off student loans and shit jobs for years, as I went in and out of school, trying to get my head above water.
Now I have a PhD and a good job. I did it through student loans, lots of jobs, and a lot of hard work. I damn went crazy sometimes, it was so hard. It’s not superiority, it’s just the fact that I can’t feel a lot of sympathy for people who are whining about things that seem pretty minor to me. Let them get a job delivering pizzas to pay off their loans, like I did.
I would feel a lot differently if a lot of the same people whining weren’t the same people who were just a short time ago going after the welfare moms and wanting to do away with things like social security and such. Sure seems a different picture now that suddenly the money isn’t just dropping into their pockets like it was during the boom. What goes around comes around.
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