Roundtable Experts You Decide

This weeks Barron's has an article on whats in store for our economy. Barron's went all out by bringing in 10 experts to talk about whats in store for the next few years. The Roundtable discussion did not sound to optimistic  for the future, unless you are a stockpicker or trader. Their predictions range from $2000 oz. gold, inflation,a collapse in the U.S. Dollar and a new low in the stock market. So much for reading the newspaper. There are some smart people on the panel, but can they really see the future any better than you and I, Heck No! What are the answers then? Could Gold go to $2000 oz., well sure it can, but keep in mind it is a commodity, a commodity that is more admired for looks. Read more from the Roundtable Experts. You decide.

Edward Jones Your Neighborhood Investing Place

In the face of adversity these Old line dedicated brokers are still serving up stocks and bonds the old fashioned way, one customer at a time. Whenever their is a downturn in the market theirs a downturn in the brokerage industry, and it seems that times are really not any different than before, with the likes of  Lehman Brothers going under and Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch being taken over. However the brokers at Edward Jones seem to have a lot of tenacity. Most of the brokers operate in ones local neighborhood. The 12,000- broker force has added nearly a 1000 brokers this bear market and plans on upping that figure by 2012.

Year-End Tax Selling???

Will we see year-end tax selling this year? That's a question that will be answered in just under two weeks, as December comes to a close and 2008 is almost history. What is year-end tax selling anyway? Investors holding beaten down or depressed stocks will usually sell them at year end to take the tax loss. This can be a good strategy if the investor has capital gains in other securities or investments. This year the market has been very unkind to  investors. Stocks that are hovering near their lows are usually the ones that are pushed down further during this period. However studies have been shown that stocks trading near their lows in December often outperform the market going into the first several weeks of the new year. Many professional traders often play this tax selling game. The Long term investor only needs to sell  if he finds a better deal elsewhere or if he has profits to match against the losses. 

STOCKMANMARC

KISS?

I am not talking about the kiss you got from your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend last night. Nope, I'm not talking about the rock band named KISS either. I'm talking about the acronym KISS(Keep It Simple Stupid). But for most of us we can't. We want to make investing difficult. At least this is what most of us as humans do. We think there is some secret formula to investing. Maybe if we stare at enough charts or pay our brokers enough we will find the next super stock like Dell Computer(DELL) , Apple Computer(AAPL) or Walmart(WMT). The bold truth, is that their is no secret! If their was a secret it would be "buy low and sell high", now isn't that simple. Investing is all about keeping it simple. Most all of us, have the knowledge already. All you really need is a little common sense and some patience. I'm not saying everyone can be the next Warren Buffet, however one can expect to make a return as good or a little bit better than the averages. Most investors get into trouble over analysing the market, and then there are others who simply get frightened out of the market. So the next time you ponder on what stock or mutual fund to buy, think of KISS and I'm sure with some patience and some common sense you can pave the way to a brighter financial future.