Monday, January 9, 2012

Where has the Volatility Gone?

Stockmarketdouble is a journal of my attempt to double $10k in the market in less than one year. Recently, I was traveling with an investment banker from UBS and we started talking about my blog and my experiences thus far with the attempt at a double and she asked, in a surprised tone, I might add, "Is that possible?"  Now I am either really naive and/or ignorant, but for sure I think it is possible.

Let's face it, the goal of money managers is NOT to lose your money, not necessarily to make you money. But who can blame them, they get paid to hold on to your money and to make money for the institution they work for, make no mistake about this.  Well, now that I have gotten that off my chest;

Update on the STOCKMARKETDOUBLE Portfolio:

Start Date: 12/12/2011
Starting balance: $10k
Current Balance : $11,654
Gain: 17%


ON THE MARKET:
Do things seem much calmer and orderly in the market to you in the last few weeks? Why? Has anything changed that much out there or have the traders just gotten a new supply of meds?
Just asking.

Earnings season is upon us. Alcoa is always the first bellwether to report. Word on the street is that we will have a good earnings season.

A word of warning about Earnings, they are a lot like statistics in that you can skew the numbers in many different ways to present the kind of picture that best suits your purpose. If a company is increasing earnings and their revenues decline, is that really the sign of a lean, mean profit making machine?

Or is it a company that is cutting staff (customer service?) to barebones and reducing the quality of their product because it is less expensive to make? Hmm... sound familiar? I'm sure we can all rattle off 2 or 3 companies immediately that fit the description.  Beware the company that is reporting greater earnings and less revenue.

And again, please check out the Market Prediction page to see which way the market will move tomorrow.

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