Qoute of the Day: Jim Cramer

"Who cares about the fundamentals? The great thing about the market is that it has nothing to do with the actual stocks."

Market Strategy: Keeping One's Self Sane in a Choppy Market

Gosh, I hate a choppy the market the most. It evokes my most hated enemy: Emotion.

I can't stand it. Although I'm in better shape than I was last week and although I'm currently beating the market. I hate the feeling that I'm not moving fast enough. Not getting to where I want to be. Yet through all these things that I'm feeling, I have to always remind myself that: Being Emotional plus Impatient equals Losing a crap load of money. So let's focus on the Pros & Cons and decide what to do from there.

PROS:
- With the Nasdaq lower by 1.5% and the DOW down 2.5% than compared to the start of the year, I'm beating out the market however, I'm still at EVEN. Booooo!
- I really like my portfolio. I truly believe they will all be winners!
- It easily could be waaaay worse

CONS:
- I feel like I'm going no-where financially
- I feel I could be doing more
- I'm getting impatient

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THE ANALYSIS:
The truth of the matter is that I'm doing OK. In reality, the way I have my sell prices set at, I'll do pretty darn well (assuming the market recovers and all goes as planned). The Pros definitely speak to that. The Cons, if you haven't already noticed, are overwhelmingly emotional. Irrelevant right?

THE LESSON:
So the million dollar lesson that I constantly have to re-teach myself: When stocks go up... It goes up fast. Really, really fast. The majority of the time, we're just getting ourselves in position to reap the profits.

THE STRATEGY:
Here's what I have come up with.

To address my need for action, I have designated a set number of shares for trading and left the majority for investment. So as the market experiences volatility as it tries to find some direction, I can buy and sell and pretty much address my concerns as listed in my CONS. This way, I can get a leg up in the market while still being in position to enjoy the long term (and many times more rewarding) benefits when the bulls decides wakes up and run.

So yes, while I'm fully aware that buying at the lows and holding rather than putting aside shares to trade will probably end in the same gain. I think we have to remember who we are. As investors, we need to keep, hold and believe in the investments we make. But as my patience gives way to my emotions... I think I still need to be true to who I am. Flaws included.

GM (General Motors): What Words are Synonymous with Ressurection?

Reliability, Performance, Design and Value. These are the 4 pillars that the entire auto industry is built upon. It's product centric. It has nothing to do with clever marketing (remember the 48 hour test drive), or amazing deals (remember the Employee Discount F'up?) or even America in general. It's about making beautiful to look at, innovative, fun to drive cars.

GMC's new product is amazing. From the revitilization of Cadillac and Saturn to the exciting new concepts from Chevy... I can't wait for this American company to remind the world where cars we're born. Let's take a look at the line up.




Saturn/Opel/Vauxhall: Awesome new set of cars and SUVs. It's amazing how they have executed a complete line change within 2 years.


Cadillac: Won't become the standard of the world again but it sure as heck will be up there with the other big hitters.


Buick: Being reborn (much like Saturn and Cadillac) as we speak... New Enclave SUV is the start of a new generation of great Buicks.


Chevy: I love the new product coming out. HHR, Silverado (MotorTrend: Co-Truck of the Year), Avalance, Tahoe and new Malibu are SOLID. Concept cars (Camaro) on tour are gorgeous and intiial drawings of the new impala and monte carlo are stunners. Don't forget the Corvette (Best v8 in the world... 400HP and 28 MPG).


GMC: The Sierra was the MotorTrend Co-Truck of the Year, The Acadia, The awesomeness is here.

Pontiac/Holden: The real "Thunder From Down Under" Not that I've ever seen that show... or know of it... shut up! ALL OF YOU... SHUT! UP! *cry*

Hummer: The lone dark spot

Saab: Okaaay... two dark spots

With the quality gap between European and Japanese product quickly closing. What's going to make the difference? It's going to be the past. It's going to be the heritage that America's once great companies once had. Finally, we have cars that are worthy of that rich spirit and it's going to be the difference. I see GM back down in the 20's as new product begins to roll out but give it a few years, and I'm predicting that this stock see's it's glory days back at 60+. As always... we'll see. For now, we're seeing some pretty amazing product come off the lines.




Notes:
In Portfolio: Not just yet, waiting for sub-30 to get in.
Duration: In it for the long term baby, well, once I get in.
And then?: I'm going to buy a 2008 Camaro, a 2008 Cadillac CTS, or the new Saturn SUV *drool*

The Market Finally Wakes Up

Hahahah... wow... only one day after I post and it turns back around. Hope the uptrend continues. It baffles me why the Stock Exchange is the only market where people panic when there is a sale.

Resolve, Resolve, Resolve

I think it's appropiate to write now that the market has been taken out to the woodshed and been given the beating of a lifetime. Like everyone else, I'm still bleeding... badly. So the question is, what do you do? The bleeding seems to never end and yes, it's scary... really, really scary.

So let's pull it back a little and go through the list and see how we are doing? Well, first off, I'm in much better shape than from where we started (I'm where I started with the market down 15% from where I started). OK, so we're in good shape. So let's take a look at the picks and re-evaluate. Sell the ones that we're not confident in, and keep (maybe invest more into) the stocks that we like.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: If you really like your picks, why are you bailing out so early? It's easy to stay in when things are good however I will personally say that my best gains have come from sticking it out; In and out of the stock market.

So here's mine, how did yours pan out?

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AMD - Yes, They are getting their asses kicked but at some point, they're going to turn the corner and I'm going to be there. It doesn't have much more to fall but buy more as it goes down. Accumulate.

BBI - I still like this stock. It's a superior product to Netflix and they are already laying the groundwork for online downloads. To $20 Scotty! Hold.

COGT - Pursuing more than 20 significant projects in more than 15 countries and any new contracts will send this bad boy soaring. It'll disappear if it goes any lower. Hold.

EXEL - Just like Cogent. It has so many products in the pipeline and is so small that any approval will send this bad boy soaring. Accumulate.

GTW - Ya ya, but I only have a small bet for a turnaround prospect. Leave me alone. Hold.

ISV - It's a 5 star stock on CAPS and is at a low price but I'm ashamed to admit that I only bought the stock because my fiance has it as well. Can't let her have all the fun. Besides, it's a tiny bet. Hold.

WFMI - Now I got out of this one after it jumped 5 dollars two weeks ago. I've always been iffy on a couple of sectors and they are the airline industry and the supermarket industry. Sell

LOOP - It's still higher than the $13.50 price that I got into it with. I'm personally am excited about this one. Hold.

PANL - I am so enamored by the potential of this company's technology. It's lower than what I bought it at and I'll buy more as it goes down. Accumulate.

RRGB - I have a decent bet in this stock and it's still higher than what I bought it at. I can't wait to see how this one rebounds once the market starts to go back up again. Hold.

SBUX - Near 52 week lows and I will continue to buy more as it goes down. Accumulate.

USO - It's higher than where I bought it at and Crude Oil 'ain't' going nowhere but up. Hold.

VLO - It's much higher than where I bought it at and it's gas. Enough said. Hold.

KANA - I only have a small bet for a turnaround prospect. Haven't lost anything, didn't make anything. To be honest, I'm really just in this stock because my uncle Chuck has this as one of his big potentials. Nothing beats making money with your friends and family. Hold.

YHOO - It's way higher than where I bought it at and Panama is picking up traction earlier than expected. Hold.

ATVI - The game companies are still gaining tracking. I'll be buying more as this stock goes down. Accumulate.

JBLU (JetBlue): Customer Bill of Rights = Company's Living Will

Today, JetBlue unleashed (on itself) what it calls it's Customer Bill of Rights (essentially putting themselves in a burlap sack and then beating themselves with a freshly made sausage) which details a list of self-imposed penalties on all of it's flights if they are delayed in an attempt to win back passengers after last week's operational screw ups. The release states that:

"JetBlue customers will be compensated based on the length of the delays. The vouchers range from $25 to the full amount of the ticket. The delays include airplanes unable to taxi to the gate within 30 minutes and flight departures held up for a minimum of three hours, according to a program copy provided to The Associated Press."

I am personally a part of this because for the long weekend, we flew out a friend to come join us and her flight was delayed 7 hours. We were thankful that she even made it out considering the icestorm however the delay was a drag. We ended up picking her up at 4 am in the morning at a different airport 40 miles away.

Reading this new this morning was great! I'm glad that we'll be getting a full refund and yes, JetBlue still has our business however this Customer Bill of Rights is essentially death for the stock and what it comes down to is that the company pretty much has given up profitability for half the year. Every time there is fog, rain, snow, a troublesome passenger, a technical malfunction, or a pilot with an overly active bladder, they'll be reaching for their pockets. It's brilliant in terms of customer satifaction but suicide in terms of profits. They'll be breaking even or losing money on any flight that goes wrong. Surely this is an over reaction on their part.

I'm glad I cashed out at $14.50 with my $50 dollar profit because ever since, the stock has been crashing and will continue to crash until they revise their bill of rights or until man learns how to control the weather.





Notes:
In Portfolio: Just got the hell out.
Random Thought: Cats aren't clean, they're covered in spit.
Best Dunk: Dwight Howard's Sticker Dunk

SBUX (Starbucks): A Legal Addiction

What it all comes down to is legalized drug dealing (OK, maybe not that bad but I'm just illustrating a point). Society needs outlets and the three that Uncle Sam has allowed us are smoking, alchohol and caffeine. It begins as a social thing and later becomes a dependancy. It's crazy and it's to a point where my friends make mental notes of each and every Starbucks location as they are driving. I guess what I'm trying to say is that coffee is a neccessity (like gas, food, and water) for many.

My second thought is that drinking a cup of Starbucks is like having a little slice of luxury for a few dollars every day. It's also part of the reason why the iPod has been enjoying so much success, because it's considered a luxury item that can be easily accessed by the general public. It's not a 3,000 rolex or a 35,000 BMW. It's 300 dollars for the iPod and 3.00 for the coffee. Coffee is even better because of the margins but that doesn't need to be delved into.

The most important stat is that Starbuck's goal is for 40,000 thousand stores world wide and they currently are at 14,000. “We keep getting surprised by how successful we are each time,” says Peter Maslen, president of Starbucks Coffee International, commenting on how new international customers have reacted. They are gaining nice traction in non-US countries and although the stock seems pricey now, I don't see it going anywhere but up. It's currently expensive however it will seem relatively cheap a while from now. We'll see tho, but from the way my friends are mad about their coffee, it's a great buy for me. Witness.





Notes:
In Portfolio: Entry buy at 32.75 and will buy more as it goes down.
Duration: Long term
Random Thought: Justin Timberlake has a higher voice than the girl he sang with at the Grammy's... that's just wrong.