Counterpoint to gloom & doom

[NW-Bound]

Well, I've got technology stocks like chip companies - the like of Analog Devices, Texas Inst., National Semi, Linear Tech - as well as Cisco, F5 Network, etc... Also basic material and agricultural stocks like Bunge, Potash, mining cos like Rio Tinto and Vale do Rio Doce, Freeport McMoran, and industrial cos like BASF, 3M, Cummins, etc... Throw in there some consumer staples like Unilever, Kraft, etc..., so that I can call it a "balanced meal". And then there are some energy companies, and some retailers like Lowe's...

Does it work? Well, not as well as I wanted, as evidenced by the fact that I am still 11% below where I was in 2007.

Oops, forgot that I dipped in there and spent a bit of money in the last 2 years. But I really have not added up the money that I spent. It's the remaining that counts, doesn't it?


PS. I forgot to add that I also have a bit of Alcoa who reported earnings yesterday, and Intel that reported earnings after market close today. Both did well, and lifted the market.

And how did I forget stalwarts such as Johnson & Johnson, and Berkshire Hathaway?

[TromboneAl]

Love that new term: "Square root recession." No one would ever understand what someone meant by that without a graphic.

[ejman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 The pervasive fear, doom and gloom is encouraging to the contrarian in me. But still - it is far from "blood in the streets" which are the best times to by. I just rebalance my portfolio occasionally when it gets out of whack.... Audrey

Well yes, the "blood in the streets" period is the best time to buy. But hopefully, we will have a to settle for a little less extreme version. I grant you that March 2009 was a primo time to buy but after April of this year sentiment was so overwhelmingly negative until this past few days that it started to feel really positive. This actually is presenting a personal quandary for me because I was intending on reducing my stock allocation band from a 60% midpoint to a 50% midpoint as I approach my 60th birthday and the hidden timer in me is rearing its ugly head saying "don't reduce equities now!" Plus "you really want to add to your bonds at the time rates are the lowest in many years?"

[MasterBlaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Love that new term: "Square root recession." No one would ever understand what someone meant by that without a graphic.

T Al: your symbol doesn't really represent what people mean when using it. They usually mean that we were flying high in 2007 had the crash in 2008 and 2009 then recovered some of the gain with no real prospects for growth going forward.

the symbol should look more like this:

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster T Al: your symbol doesn't really represent what people mean when using it. They usually mean that we were flying high in 2007 had the crash in 2008 and 2009 then recovered some of the gain with no real prospects for growth going forward. the symbol should look more like this:

That's an inverted-nike-square-root recession.

[FUEGO]

Guys, let's stop all this positive thinking. The Dow is never going to get back below quintuple digits if we keep this up, and SOME of us are still in accumulation mode.

[NW-Bound]

Eh?

You accumulator types will have to buy from us who are or will soon be in distribution phase.

Buy high and sell higher is your hope.

[Westernskies]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Oops, forgot that I dipped in there and spent a bit of money in the last 2 years. But I really have not added up the money that I spent. It's the remaining that counts, doesn't it?

Running for Congress again this fall?

[NW-Bound]

Hey, what have I done to be compared to these Congressional critters?

It's my own money I was spending, you hear?

[Eder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound PS. 76% equity as we speak.

75% here ...I think I'll leave it here, I like the 3.8% div atm.