larrygator Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Anyone care to share stories, thoughts about the future, or trends they see coming? My thoughts - Although I try to invest in companies I know a little something about, however, the regional park operators in the US have not done so well in the past couple of years. Although I really do think Six Flags will turn it around from an investment standpoint in another two years. Other industries I see as growing in the future are Security companies, Alternative Energy, and companies that can help reduce the effects of a growing industrialized world (i.e.: companies that can reclaim water for drinking). Those are all needs that will have to be addressed moving forward with huge growth potential both domestically and outside the US. Anyone care to give their thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 If I had the money I'd be putting some towards alternative energy right now. Oil is going to peak (and begin to decline) in the next several years, and that is going to drive a huge amount of investment into figuring out what we do next. Basically alternative energy is going to become something of a fact of life in the next 10 years, it would be nice to get in on the ground floor. As of right now I don't have any investments. I'm living on student loans so it's impossible for me to invest. I've thought about buying myself a single share, just so I can begin to get a feel for how the Stock Market works, so when the money is there in a few years, I can begin actually making some investments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 If they can figure out an efficient way to contain it in a vehicle, hydrogen might not be a bad place to invest in the future. This is an interesting thread. Im hoping to be able to get into some investing in a year or so. Im just now catching up on my saving after getting married and buying a house within a two month period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 ^^I hear you, there a compnay called Ausra that is a private company right now, that I wish was public so could invest in. They are planning to blanket acres of the California desert with solar panels and have developed a way to store the energy and very few people have been able to find fault in their business model. I recently sold shares in a Canadian company Petro Canada that I learned of through 60 Minutes. One part of their business is extracting oil from oil sands in Northern Canada. Analysts said they would never be able to make money because it costs over $50 to create a barrel of oil. The analysts said this when oil was $30 a barrel, but now it is close to $100. I probably should have held on this one stock. Supposedly there is as much oil in the sands as there is under the sands of Saudi Arabia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 The mock stock market activity I did in my high school Economics class didn't turn out as good as I hoped. I "invested" in McDonalds, Anh.-Busch, and Nintendo. I ended up losing around 400 dollars in that activity. So, I guess I wouldn't be that good of an investor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 ^Wth everybody becoming deathly terrified of trans-fats and basically fat in general I'd stay away from fast food. Nintendo isn't a terrible idea, but the whole video game market seems risky to me, many years ago (granted I was like 13-14) I though Dreamcast was the greatest thing since sliced bread, appearently nobody felt the same. Not sure about investing in a beer company... That seems somewhat interesting. This thread s really making me want to start investing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Anybody do a bit more in the market then just normal trades? I know my dad swears by trading puts and calls. It takes a little more research and putting yourself out there, but if you know your stuff it seems like easy money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I would invest in Nintendo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Invest in Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki. If gas keeps going up, I am going to have to start riding my bike to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 Anybody do a bit more in the market then just normal trades? I know my dad swears by trading puts and calls. It takes a little more research and putting yourself out there, but if you know your stuff it seems like easy money. Now I know what to talk to your dad about next time I see him. Puts and calls are something I would certainly like to learn more about and take a stab at in the future, but it does take a little more time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 He'll be on the Europe trip and loves to talk about this 'seldom used' side of the market! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 ^Cool - I'll see if JimmyBo will lend Russell his yellow hat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I am a registered rep. for a Securities company. The market isn't such a good place to be these days with all of the volitility we've been seeing and with the Fed. dropping interest rates. I recommend to my clients a balanced and varied Mutual Fund portfolio. This way - you are investing in different companies, but in groups. Invest a larger percentage in a stable bond fund (rates for bonds go UP as interest rates go DOWN), with a percentage in higher risk areas like "Small-Cap value" and "precious metals." That's what is working for my clients at the moment. David There is quite a bit of money to be made in trading puts and calls - but you need to have investment experience and knowledge of the markets to do it successfully. Options trading is very high risk, but in on the exchanges, the higher the risk - the higher the reward. Most wire houses and investment firms require you to have investment experience and knowledge (like Elissa's dad) before they will even authorize you trade puts and calls, sell short, options or futures trade inside of your brokerage account. If you get the chance, talk to someone about it and retain the services of a Financial Advisor to keep you from losing your shirt . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 A big IMO just to be clear but here are my thoughts: I agree that alternative energy is a good place to invest although it remains highly speculative from my UK perspective. Not because we are not going there (and need to go there) but most of the companies are 'start up' and a lot of research may be needed. As for oil, I think whilst the barrel price is hopefully peaking, the demand (for at least another 30 years) will most definately not peak. The emerging economies of Asia will continue to make this a very strong market for some time(and remember they are considerably more efficient with their oil use than the 'Western economies'). Whilst the financial markets are in complete flux, and by that I mean the banking sector (the sub prime issue) it may be worthwhile entrenching yourself in any mining stock - and gold most particularly, especially as the dollar is sadly in freefall and I don't really see a replacement for it right now. Gold was and perhaps remains 'THE medium of Exchange' when all else is going pear shaped so it may be worthwhile taking a look at some of the gold mining stocks. By Jan/Feb 08 I will probably pile into the banking sector as I reckon they will have reached or very nearly reached bottom. (hopefully ) Interesting topic Larry, its a huge DYOR of course. I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending any specific company as a 'buy' but for sectors, I have done very well in Telecommunications in 2007, and very badly in leisure and retail. Steve C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 ^ Very well put - several precious metals funds (and the underlying stocks) are doing VERY WELL at the moment, while financial institutions - not so hot. I completely agree with your forcast - and it appears you would be one of the people that I referred to as able to trade options, etc.... As with anything in life - be as knowledgeable as you can, and when necessary - retain the services of a professional. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Come on guys, let's all invest in the US Dollar!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I thought about investing in Six Flags since it is so cheap. You can buy 100 shares for 30 bucks plus the stock broker fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I'm a low-cost index fund type investor. Researching stocks seems like a pain. And the vast majority of funds don't beat the market over the long term. Not to mention that the management overhead on actively managed funds really eats away at your returns. I had an E-trade account for a while, and wound up just breaking even. I'm not sure I have the temperament for that sort of thing. Right now all of my assets are in bonds, because it's likely that I'm going to have to pull some of my money out for tuition soon. Back when I was in the stock market I did some actively traded international funds in an effort to cash in on the craptacular dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Good stuff in here. I am definitely going to take some notes from this thread. My first goal when I am able to start investing is to start a mutual fund. I had one before I bought the house, and it sure was nice having. I used Fidelity because that is what my parents were using and they set mine up. It seemed to do really well for what I put into it. I am the most familiar with Fidelity funds but I am open to other companies. Any suggestions? I don't really have a set plan once I have a mutual fund established. I need to do a lot of research over the next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I guess I got another form of investing. I got a 401k from my work, I actually got two, one from the old company and one from the new, I think I have to do something with the old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 ^^Yes, you roll it over. As long as you are 100% vested in the old one, you can transfer all of the money in your old 401K into your new 401K. Ask your Human Resources people at work or the investment company that your 401K is through how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Good stuff in here. I am definitely going to take some notes from this thread. My first goal when I am able to start investing is to start a mutual fund. I had one before I bought the house, and it sure was nice having. I used Fidelity because that is what my parents were using and they set mine up. It seemed to do really well for what I put into it. I am the most familiar with Fidelity funds but I am open to other companies. Any suggestions? You might check out Vanguard's index funds. They invented the index fund, and seem to be a little bit more on your side than many investment houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 We out to find some software that allows you to fantasy stock trade, that would be fun, well in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 You might check out Vanguard's index funds. They invented the index fund, and seem to be a little bit more on your side than many investment houses. Thanks, I'll check them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 jynx - excellent advice, most of my money is tied up in Mutual Funds, but I also like exploring individual companies with a small percentage of my remaining cash. But the market is getting hammered of late. Of course, I'm not going to just jump on a company because someone on TPR says it is the way the go. Nor would I even suggest investing in a particular company, just want to see what other do or are thinking. spaceace - of course any stock you are personally interested in like Six Flags sounds tempting when it is less than $3 per share. I actually made money on it two years ago because I owned it when Snyder got involved. But remember Six Flags has a debt right now and that debt is not disappearing and that makes it tough for a company to make money. Yes, Six Flags has a tendency to do below $4 and rise back to $6 but past performance is no guarantee of the future. Yes, Six Flags "sounds" good at less than $3, but it also looked good to me when I bought it a month ago when it dipped below $4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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