Anyone else get slaughtered in the market last week?

[ChuckRock]

I have both Intel and an S&P500 index fund as large positions in my portfolio... I'm hurtin'

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[CatsandCradles]

I have both Intel and an S&P500 index fund as large positions in my portfolio... I'm hurtin'

Oh yeah, that 200 pt drop really was nuts. I think they said that the Dow lost all of 2006's run already.

I use to have shares of Intel and TXN (Texas Inst) but I sold them sometime ago.


But pharmacutical prices are pretty low already. They didn't go anywhere last week despite all the bad news elswhere.

Bristol Myers, Pfizer, and maybe Abbot have a nice P/E

They also pay dividens too.

 

[DrBowtie]

I wish I had money to get slaughtered in the market.

 

[CatsandCradles]

I wish I had money to get slaughtered in the market.

Maybe you could save a few dollars every now and then somehow.

For example,

I try not to spend money on alcohol. I know some folks who spend well over $50 dollars a week just to get wasted

I also avoid fancy clothing like American Eagle, or Eddie Bauer. Also wearing shoes until the bottom is worn out flat is a good way to save money.

Always try to think of reasonable ways to save money. Don't be a Scrouge, but there are things you can definantly do without.

Cable television is one of them. As a Pre-medical student/medical student, do we really have time to sit around and watch TV all day? Unless you really enjoy watching TV, there's no point in paying $40+ or so dollars for cable. At one point I was paying for cable and realized I spent more time at school studying than anything else.

If you can somehow save $2,400 you can get a hold of 100 shares of the pharmacutical companies such as PFE or BMY.

 

[DrBowtie]

I was reading fool.com and looking at some short-term investments. I-Bonds struck me as a pretty legit way to make a small amount without a large initial investment.

Are you familiar with those?

 

[Shredder]

i-bonds--intermediate term bonds? im all about the emerging markets mutual funds. i disagree catsandcradles--all of those savings you mention sum up to only a little bit of money. its not worth sacrificing the enjoyment of college or medical school to pinch pennies when there are greater returns in the future that will make up for accrued debts. student loans are the way to go; we will all easily pay them back when the time comes, and interest rates cant be beaten. $50/week is a little steep, but maybe 50 every other week is well worth it to get smashed and enjoy the good life while it lasts. before we know it, these times will be gone. that the thing about time vs money--time can never be recovered, money can.

with under $1000 i bought up over 200 shares of a couple of penny stocks. granted, theyre probably risky, but without a decent amount of cash its difficult to make a worthwhile investment in blue chips and companies that hand out dividends. besides, without a large number of shares the dividends will pay only a pittance. better to go for aggressive, risky growth funds and stocks at a young age. leave the income investments for the geezers--its all about equity. amassing huge fortunes entails huge risks! the ball players everyone loves are the ones who swing for the fences but miss often, not the ones who get the consistent singles and doubles

anyway, back to the OP--what was the reason for the market slaughtering? anything to do with oil? i wish the stock market would for once respond to something other than oil, to mix things up

but C&C, binge on the booze, clothes and shoes. 20 something babes are as hot as it gets, and theyre more impressed by such outward signs of apparent success than by a portfolio tucked away in some brokerage account. debt--its the american way! haha, but truly debt shows strong credit, confidence in the future. ladies love confidence, number one trait maybe. they dont love scrappy shoes and clothes!

 

[DrBowtie]

I bonds - I think the I stands for inflation. The return rate is adjusted for inflation and the bonds acrues monthly. You can withdraw the amount at any time and just pay a few months interest in penalty if it is under 5 years. To me it sounds like a pretty safe way to earn more money than a plain savings account with the liquidity in case I need the money quick. Plus they can be bought direct from the treasury so no trade fees. Look it on on fool.com for details.

 

[Shredder]

hmm, that sounds familiar to t-notes or t-bills that i learned about a little in my personal finance class. is it? or something different? what are the real rates of return for some of them? if theres a good link that you found on it you can substitute that if you want

 

[DrBowtie]

hmm, that sounds familiar to t-notes or t-bills that i learned about a little in my personal finance class. is it? or something different? what are the real rates of return for some of them? if theres a good link that you found on it you can substitute that if you want

I Bonds (from fool.com)
No, they have nothing to do with the Internet. I Bonds are inflation-indexed savings bonds issued by the U.S. government. The amount an I Bond pays is adjusted semiannually so as to keep up with inflation and protect the purchasing power of your money.

Pros

I Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
The "I" in I Bond protects your investment against inflation risk.
They are sold in manageable denominations, ranging from $50 to $10,000.
They can be bought from most financial institutions, including TreasuryDirect.
The earnings are exempt from state and local taxes, and can be tax-free if used for post-secondary education expenses.
Taxes on earnings can be deferred for up to 30 years.
The yield ain't too shabby. I Bonds issued between May and October 2001 will pay 5.92% for six months (at which point the earnings rate will be adjusted to account for inflation).

Current rate is 6.73%

Cons

You must hold an I Bond for at least twelve months, and you will pay a penalty of three months' earnings if you redeem the bond before owning it for five years.

 

[Shredder]

boo, contributing to the growing deficit and debt ! jk, its smart to profit from it than gripe about it, seeing as it will happen anyway regardless of 1 persons decisions. but in the conglomerate, say millions of ppl decisions to invest in these, what would be the effect then? how strong is the full faith and credit of the US govt? just some rhetorical questions

seems similar to CDs and money market accounts. all good ways to hedge inflation and maintain liquidity

 

[DrBowtie]

boo, contributing to the growing deficit and debt ! jk, its smart to profit from it than gripe about it, seeing as it will happen anyway regardless of 1 persons decisions. but in the conglomerate, say millions of ppl decisions to invest in these, what would be the effect then? how strong is the full faith and credit of the US govt? just some rhetorical questions

seems similar to CDs and money market accounts. all good ways to hedge inflation and maintain liquidity

I heard a funny from Dennis Miller on TV a few nights ago about the deficit. He was talking to his son about how he felt his generation being responsible to pay off the deficit and he son laughed and said I'll do what every other generation has done, saddle it onto their kids.

On a semi-related note, with SS as we know it going away before we will collect, Do you think there will be some government program that "replaces" it? Without it, it would reward the smart investor.

 

[Shredder]

i dont know, SS blows, US govt is going out of control. i guess its the inevitable fate of civilizations, do govts ever shrink? reagan said the closest thing to eternal life on this earth is a federal government program. SS returns are wretched, and ive read that the establishment of SS weakened family ties and personal responsibility/independence. SS was a pyramid scheme from day one, thank FDR.

im tired of it, thats why i want to dabble in singapore...looks appealing, and im not looking forward to uncle sam stealing 1/3-1/2 of my wealth. US debts and deficits are embarassing, and dollar will continue to decline with increasing globalization, mainly china then india. but i present the cynical view of the US. dont even get me started on diversity. supposedly our country now has a negative savings rate, i love it.

 

[DrBowtie]

i dont know, SS blows, US govt is going out of control. i guess its the inevitable fate of civilizations, do govts ever shrink? reagan said the closest thing to eternal life on this earth is a federal government program. SS returns are wretched, and ive read that the establishment of SS weakened family ties and personal responsibility/independence. SS was a pyramid scheme from day one, thank FDR.

im tired of it, thats why i want to dabble in singapore...looks appealing, and im not looking forward to uncle sam stealing 1/3-1/2 of my wealth. US debts and deficits are embarassing, and dollar will continue to decline with increasing globalization, mainly china then india. but i present the cynical view of the US. dont even get me started on diversity. supposedly our country now has a negative savings rate, i love it.

China is indeed the next explosive market. Too much cheap labor to compete with. The decline in the american car companies is prime example of globalization taking an increasing market share of the American economy.

 

[Shredder]

chinas soon going to start pumping out cars en masse, and the american auto industry will be all but dead. although i dont know if they can muster up the japanese quality, it might be like cheap chinese toys. japans always had my respect, if only it werent for that nucular bit. but yeah thats why im into the idea of chinese investment and indian perhaps slightly later. pat buchanans against globalization, or american free trade at least. i mentioned in another thread around here, im not sure what to think.

aside from cheap labor, i think china has more unity and ambition that has been lost in modern america. its not the same as the america of old. also they dont suffer from massive and detrimental immigration, or welfare state issues to the best of my limited knowledge. id definitely be interested in scoping it out.

as the dollar continues its fall, foreign goods and services will reach par with those of america but at the cost of tons of american jobs. basically a leveling of quality of life among globalized countries. one thing is that property rights are supposedly pretty faulty over there, preventing innovation and keeping things of ours like drugs and research safe. but then countries like canada put price controls on our drugs, sell them to americans and eat into big pharmas R&D money

 

[DrBowtie]

Yep. I saw you were interested in moving to singapore. That would be pretty cool. I think two places I would like to visit would be Dubai and Kuala Lampur (sp?). Dubai because it looks like the tourist's dream and KL because of those huge twin towers that makes Trump's towers look small.

 

[Shredder]

yeah but i think thats all oil money, which is a cheap beverly hillbillies way to get rich that doesnt last. within 50 years the entire mideast will be starving and burning in their hot desert sun. there is not a better textbook example of undiversified economies. but they might indeed be tourist paradises, with their enormous towers, artificial islands, and other extravagances. dubais building/planning a new tower thats so high it needs a special design to avoid being ripped down by high altitude winds. or at least i read that in popsci once...dunno if its real

hmm...maybe i take some of that back. im still very skeptical about the fate of the mideast once the wells run dry.

man that is effing ridiculously tall

 

[southerndoc]

I try not to spend money on alcohol. I know some folks who spend well over $50 dollars a week just to get wasted

For me it was Starbucks coffee. I was spending nearly $1,000 per year on it.

 

[Shredder]

fourbucks coffee...speaking of the market, what a good pick it wouldve been five years ago. now its too late, is already spans every corner of the earth like mcdonalds. whole foods was a good one too

 

[southerndoc]

fourbucks coffee...speaking of the market, what a good pick it wouldve been five years ago. now its too late, is already spans every corner of the earth like mcdonalds. whole foods was a good one too

Starbucks is opening up nearly 800 new stores this year, and will be starting a drive-thru service as well as beginning to sell breakfast items.

Starbucks hasn't fully matured yet!