I’m currently in the process of re-theming Investing Adventures. A sneak peek can be found on my test site here. Any comments would be appreciate it. If all goes well I hope to have it go live by tomorrow. The added real estate will be useful as well as the improved color scheme.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Jim Cramer on the Cover of Barrons
This week Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money on CNBC, was on the cover of Barrons magazine. Why? I have absolutely no idea. You would figure with the 180 the Fed pulled last week in cutting the discount rate, or the ongoing issues with the housing and financial markets, Barrons would publish something a bit more relevant to the current market.
I think people misjudge what Mad Money is supposed to do. It’s not a TV show that tells you what to buy and when. It’s an educational show. It’s something that hasn’t been and probably won’t be taught in schools around the country. Kids in school have very little in terms of financial knowledge once they graduate from either high school or even college. That’s part of the reason the country’s in a financial mess right now. Mad Money shows you how to invest, not what to invest. The problem is folks take shots at whomever they can whenever possible, even if the facts those shots are based off of are completely false. I’m sure the Barrons article has nothing to do with Dow Jones selling to FOX though. Why would you have such a controversial article on the front.. oh.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Portfolio Progress – Week of August 20, 2007
It seems that the market’s somewhat stabilized the past week with the Federal Discount Rate cut. The market’s been up for the past few sessions so it appears that life as a bull has been good once again.
- Monday (8/13): Rumors appeared to swirl that the FOMC was having an emergency meeting Monday morning regarding the state of the market. A general statement was released stating that the FOMC will be observing market behavior.
- Thursday (8/16): The market swung from a 300+ point deficit to closing almost unchanged. Volatility in the market was incredible with the VIX appearing to reach the 35 point level. Thursday also signaled the Dow dropping below 13,000 for the first time in a few months. Dell also concluded its two-year internal investigation regarding accounting irregularities. Dell has stated that the past few years’ earnings will be restated. Dell’s stock climbed 2-3% on the news.
- Friday (8/17): The FOMC cut the discount rate, the rate at which banks can borrow from the Fed, by 50 basis points. The market responded with a healthy 200+ close. However, it wasn’t as high of a close as some expected.
- Total Deposits: $1,417.26
- Current Portfolio Value: $1300.11
- Profit (Loss) as of August 23, 2007: -$117.15
- Profit (Loss) as of August 15, 2007: -$51.96
- Profit (Loss) as of August 8, 2007: -$ 103.88
I need to fine tune my portfolio as I’ve not really moved up or down. I’ve asked some of the more experienced traders on Stockpickr.com for advice on how to restructure my portfolio or if I should take a more wait-and-see approach. The problem is as the market climbs, I’m staying put (and no, not the option). Natural gas reserves reports come out this morning. Hopefully that’ll push XTO higher resulting in me able to cash some of my position out as well as some of the XTO options I have in play in order to make up for lost ground.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Masters of Science in Finance
Currently, I’m a PhD student in Engineering. However, my love for investing and the markets has had me look into other opportunities, such as a Masters of Science in Finance. Do any of you have experience in the field? What kinds of jobs are out there for someone with that specialization? Is the market saturated (as it was with computer programmers during the dot-com boom/bust of 2000)?
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Mortgage Companies in Trouble
First Magnus Financial Corporation halted all mortgage applications today. A quick trip to their website only helps to justify the trouble that the housing/financial sectors are in.
Will the 50 point basis cut in the discount rate help any? Temporarily perhaps. I think the problem stems farther than the liquidity issues the market’s been seeing the past few weeks. Something needs to be done to keep the 7 million + homeowners afloat. It’s not an easy solution though. Even if the Federal Reserve rate is cut, it appears that quite a few owners are “upside-down”. Upside-down refers to the situation where a home’s value is less than the current mortgage loan for that home. The only way homeowners can refinance is to bring the loan to an equal level of the home’s value. There’s no easy solution in the short term and as a result I have a feeling we may be seeing a recession sometime in the near future.
Update: It seems that as a result of the discount rate cut, First Magnus has reopened shop. Glad to see things are getting better.