not to chit chat this thread up, but i dig this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxEXk3OcBRo

3/7/2010 11:19:19 PM

Bought AAPL July 220 calls at $15.40.

Debating whether I should sell July 260s or 250s.

3/8/2010 2:08:18 PM

So, I've been contributing 15% + 5% $1:$1 company match to my 401k since I graduated/starting working in 2007. I would like to back my 401k down to around 10% and open a Roth IRA that I can max out each year.

I know this question has been asked before(I read the few responses) and I know most people in this thread would probably tell me that I should try and educate myself and manage my investments myself but I just really don't enjoy getting down to the nuts and bolts of stocks and bonds etc. I am still trying to be responsible and set my wife and myself up for a good retirement (and at 15% 401k including company match and maxing out a Roth IRA I hope I will be doing that), but I just don't want to spend time frequently micromanaging anything.

What are your recommendations for me setting up a Roth IRA? Is going through my bank a valid option? Should I be looking at online brokers? I basically want to set something up like I have with my 401k. A retirement account with long term investment in mind and minimal action on my end besides contributing money on a monthly basis and simply keeping an interested eye on the performance.

Obviously the lower the fees the better, but I understand that if someone else is managing it there is more cost associated with that.

[Edited on March 9, 2010 at 9:48 AM. Reason : ]

3/9/2010 9:43:24 AM

eek, double post.

Related to that last post...

The reason I am really looking into stuff now is that my wife and I will be homeowner's very soon and after all the financial dust has settled associated with that purchase I would like to kind of "re-balance" our investments. Before now I had been afraid of anything risky since I wanted the money we had saved up to be readily available for the big house purchase. Once that is out of the way, I want to start putting our leftover savings to good use.

Even outside of the 401k and also these future Roth investments, she and I both save quite a bit (maybe above average?) but don't really have it invested in much of anything. Since she started working as well, about 35% of our take-home pay is going straight into "savings" which is nothing more than a mix of a SunTrust savings account and a New Dominion MM account. So, we have the hard part down...actually being disciplined enough to set the money aside, but I just feel like we could at least be investing it in something other than a MM, even if it is just Mutual Funds or something. Nothing extremely aggressive here because I want this to generally be viewed as just "diversifying" our savings. IE Right now, like 30% of our take home pay is going into the MM and 5% is going into the regular (basically worthless) savings account. I'm interested in possibly doing something like 5% into the savings account, 15% into the money market account, and 15% into something slightly more aggressive like mutual funds.

Does that make any sense?

3/9/2010 10:21:14 AM

Don't get a roth through your bank. Just get it through Scottrade or a specific fund company like Vanguard or Fidelity if you have a favorite and want to save on transaction fees. Is all that cash you are saving going toward a down payment or something?

3/9/2010 10:24:38 AM

No not really; we already have the money set aside for a 10% down-payment. We were supposed to close last month, but some unfortunate situations associated with the seller have delayed closing (hopefully we will be closing this month though).

So the 35% post-tax money we are stuffing into the MM isn't for anything other than savings/emergency/big spending (like hardwood floors once we get in the house), etc. That is exactly why I came here with questions though. Going forward, besides keeping a certain amount on hand in the MM for easy access, I feel like we should probably be investing our savings into something.

Thanks for the heads up on the bank for Roth, was just curious.

3/9/2010 10:35:29 AM

Yeah, I usually keep about 6 months expenses in case of a layoff or something, but I wouldn't keep much more than that in cash and I'd be less concerned with a dual income household.

3/9/2010 10:44:19 AM

Yea. I will probably do what you said with the 6 months of living expenses in cash and look into a way to invest what is leftover beyond that (as well as future monthly contributions since the living expenses savings account would be "maxed"). Up to this point I've just been skiddish about putting all this money we have set aside into something with risk, but I need to get over that. From the little bit that I read, it seems like mutual funds through an online broker might be a good match for me here.

3/9/2010 11:27:51 AM

Not to chit chat it up, but Lindsay Lohan is suing E-Trade for $100 million.

Quote :

"Lindsay Lohan sues E-Trade over ad baby While Lindsay Lohan is busy attending fashion shows in Paris today (here she is posing before the Chanel show), her lawyers have filed a lawsuit against financial company E-Trade, saying the "milkaholic" baby named Lindsay in its latest commercial was modeled after her, reports the New York Post. She's seeking $100 million in damages. Lohan's lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said the actress has the same single-name recognition as Oprah or Madonna, and wants an injunction to force the spot off the air. Chris Brown, a spokesman for Grey Group, which produced the spot, told the Post it's "just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team.""

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/03/lindsay-lohan-sues-e-trade-over-ad-baby/1

3/9/2010 12:43:05 PM

Bought JCG April 47.5 calls at $2.30 this afternoon. Earnings were just announced and the stock is up $0.72 to $47.71 in after hours trading.

Likely reselling them tomorrow.

[Edited on March 9, 2010 at 4:09 PM. Reason : .]

3/9/2010 4:07:59 PM

fire in the Gherkin's atrium - not really - down the street from it actually - ftse stay home?

[Edited on March 11, 2010 at 2:20 AM. Reason : ]

3/11/2010 2:18:19 AM

Any people here who know Vanguard funds really well? Researching the regional exposure of each fund is incredibly annoying with how they have things set up (like only being able to see top 10, etc).

Right now I have 30% in the S&P500 Index, 30% in Emerging Markets, and 40% in "Target Retirement 2040" which is a world stock index fund.

What I'm looking for is a fund that has some more specific exposure to other regions. They have a Japan Stock Index fund (ick), etc, but I can't find anything with mostly exposure to China for example. I'd also like to find a fund with mostly exposure to the BRIC countries. Any other interesting funds you could suggest I look into would be appreciated as well. I have a regular account (no flagship access).

3/16/2010 12:45:23 PM

Quote :

""Target Retirement 2040" which is a world stock index fund."

You sure about that? I have the 2050 fund and it is certainly not a world stock index fund.

How about bkf for BRIC countries?

[Edited on March 16, 2010 at 1:11 PM. Reason : ]

3/16/2010 1:09:21 PM

S&P "melt up" to 1250 underway?

3/16/2010 2:32:53 PM

Ahh you're right I had assumed that the following fund was a world stock index, not a US index.

Quote :

" Portfolio Composition: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares 71.9% "

Thanks for the heads up on that one :x

3/16/2010 2:39:39 PM

New personal high score on my market spreadsheet.

3/16/2010 4:23:43 PM

Damn. When are we going to get a down day?

Also, does anyone else watch "American Greed" on CNBC? It's become one of my favorites.

3/17/2010 3:13:46 PM

Seriously! I'm ready to do some buying.

And yeah, I've watched it a few times.





Anyone else surprised to see things in the green today?

3/22/2010 4:31:05 PM

I don't think we're going to see any significant pullback in the next 30-60 days, but I don't see this full steam ahead approach from Cramer either, except from maybe AAPL. Health Care seems to be doing nicely, anybody out there own anything and have an opinion on how this new bill will affect it in the near and long term?

Was flipping through the TV and noticed Personal Finance on the NCSU channel and the teacher was explaining a 6% interest rate on a bond being $60 bucks a year, or $30 twice a year as that's how bond interest is paid. Student in the class proclaims that $60 doesn't sound like a lot to return on a $1,000 investment. Teacher reiterates that the time frame is a year, and asks said student what he thinks his money market account at his bank is returning currently. Student says "About that much, 6%." Teacher politely informed student otherwise. Kid was at least a junior. And then the camera at the back zoomed out to show the girls looking at facebook on their Mac's......Moral of the story, buy AAPL, and if Facebook IPO's, sell the farm to buy it....

3/23/2010 9:20:53 PM

yeah, when fb goes ipo, it's gonna be nutso

3/23/2010 9:41:51 PM

Is there an ETA for that yet?

3/24/2010 9:58:21 AM

^^

no doubt.

cdubya will be easily the richest guy on TWW when this happens.

3/24/2010 10:36:18 AM

Speaking of IPO's

Whats the deal with Newegg...I know there was talk of that earlier, ever since they filed late last year

Obviously not Facebook-level, but I'd think it could be juicy

Basically the poor man's Amazon

3/24/2010 10:57:23 AM

A must read if you own Google.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/195229-war-with-apple-will-push-google-to-300?source=article_sb_picks

THis is just one guy's opinion but this guy has been DEAD ON with AAPL for the past year I've been following his articles.

He certainly raises some good points.

3/24/2010 6:31:44 PM

^if google can't hold $500, then there is no hope for the stock...

apple is still a buy. Even at $228.

I would also recommend BAC, ORCL, and VZ.

3/24/2010 7:55:11 PM

also...for facebook

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/03/04/investors-bet-on-price-of-facebook-ipo/tab/article/

3/24/2010 8:00:28 PM

This thread isn't nearly what I hoped it would be.

The 2009 thread was at 18 pages by this time last year.

3/24/2010 8:08:38 PM

Plz to contribute more...

I don't recommend buying before earnings, but Conagra and Oracle might be two good companies to buy before they report...

3/24/2010 8:26:44 PM

PCLN pisses me off everytime I look at it.

I used to get in and out making option plays on it back when it was around $25.

3/25/2010 1:19:45 PM

^^^

I've all but stopped trading. I cashed out a couple of months ago and paid off a bunch of shit with my gains. Also, I started a new job, so i rarely have the requisite time to put into research nor the extra money lying around to trade with.

3/25/2010 1:35:10 PM

Also, on Feb 26 I sold April 17 calls on 2/3 of my GE stock for $0.24.

You may all point and laugh at me.

3/25/2010 1:51:11 PM

Rally, read the article on GOOG, very interesting about insider selling, that's always a red flag, especially if it's a larger stake and not just the exec's claiming they need some pocket money for a new summer home.

3/25/2010 2:22:39 PM

Any thoughts on the PIIGS debt problem?

I've been aware of it, but today was the first time that I actually did some heavy reading on it.

3/25/2010 5:06:37 PM

Quote :

"http://seekingalpha.com/article/195229-war-with-apple-will-push-google-to-300?source=article_sb_picks THis is just one guy's opinion but this guy has been DEAD ON with AAPL for the past year I've been following his articles. He certainly raises some good points."

Good read, I know I read it late. I just don't see AAPL continuing to do so well.

3/29/2010 10:41:10 AM

I still think it's a good bet for another few months at least.

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/27/apple-has-run-out-of-ipads/
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/29/apple-ups-ipad-shipments-report/

Like the iPhone, I think that word of mouth is going to give it a bump in sales once consumers actually get their hands on them.

3/29/2010 1:51:20 PM

AAPL just announced they are trying to develop the iphone for Verizon, i.e., war on RIMM's blackberry that dominates Verizon currently......sent AAPL's shares up another 5 bucks after market

3/29/2010 6:24:06 PM

apple announced? WSJ reported an unconfirmed rumor

3/29/2010 6:46:42 PM

So when are we all going to team up and start phoning in made up rumors and make a ton of money doing pump and dump?

[Edited on March 29, 2010 at 7:25 PM. Reason : does the SEC read tww?]

3/29/2010 7:20:43 PM

Anyone watching any pharma companies?
Dendreon is up for FDA approval (again) on May 1st for their prostate cancer vaccine.

3/30/2010 10:12:18 AM

I have a small stake in GNVC. It hit a new 52-week high on 3/09 and I was content to sit on it for a bit longer.

Of course today it was down almost 80% on news of their big new drug failing phase III testing. Fuck.

3/30/2010 5:08:26 PM

80% damn

i hope you had stops on it

3/30/2010 6:43:07 PM

Nah, it was a pretty small position. I need to do some reading up on it and maybe pick up a bit more while it's so beaten down.

BTW, the target for NFLX was raised from $71 to $85. It's trading around $75 now.

3/30/2010 7:33:00 PM

setting trailing stops on some long held EDC due to its pop.

bought SOHU and CTRP due to unusually high volume.

4/1/2010 1:28:28 PM

Any thoughts on the future of copper prices?

Will it continue to rise or are we near the peak?

4/7/2010 4:28:51 PM

^^^ haha, NFLX was one of the first individual stocks I ever bought. I got in at $20.

[Edited on April 7, 2010 at 4:38 PM. Reason : unfortunately, i bought only a very small amount]

4/7/2010 4:37:58 PM

okay, now you have to go ultra long.

Earnings will be $95 which means S&P 1350-1400.

Only go with large cap GROWTH plays and avoid google.

Once we get there get out because there is no true domestic growth, its just a select few companies growing their share in a growing market place.

4/7/2010 11:25:16 PM

^ S&P 1350 is aggressive. if you feel it go for it, but set trailing stops based on %

^^^ there's still real demand in copper. just hard to tell how much exactly because China is stockpiling and sitting o a lot of it. play it until the uptrend breaks

4/8/2010 12:32:39 PM

Quote :

"Anyone watching any pharma companies? Dendreon is up for FDA approval (again) on May 1st for their prostate cancer vaccine."

i've been in DNDN since the single digits and have monetized several times over.

http://tinyurl.com/y9ypfs8

its going to $50 it seems, which is a 25% run. given my price point situation i won't chase it, but a potential 25% run may be worth it.


i'm looking at ISRG due to unusual volume - its expensive so it could mean one of two things from a trading angle:
(1) an air pocket could form quickly under it on a bad quarter or outlook.
(2) its price point means quality/longer term/institutional money is more likely to be in it than dumb/cheap/short term professional money.

i'm thinking thing # 2 is more likely -- especially since i've talked to several family members and friends who are doctors, an OR nurse, and did some other reading -- it seems like their products are hot shit like sliced bread.


i'm not buying ISRG here. will keep an eye on it and buy if and when there's a significant pullback.



[Edited on April 8, 2010 at 1:26 PM. Reason : not buying ISRG]

4/8/2010 1:09:24 PM

I shorted $AAPL from around $240 via the April 240P from yesterday to today. Got out of them too early this morning (got a 15% gain, rather than 40%), but shorting $AAPL is just too scary. I feel like it wants to have a pretty significant correction, but I also feel like it's going to $300 by the end of the year (just like everyone else).

So, I ended that, and am now long $POT via the May 115C.

4/8/2010 5:08:26 PM

Bought FPL and VZ for my "good times fund" account (i.e., money that I put aside for vacations/cars/motorcycles/boats/airplanes/whatever I feel like spending it on, as opposed to it being long term retirement savings).

Basically, MMAs aren't yielding anything, so I wanted some steady dividends. Maybe add a REIT once I'm not scared of them. Basically just want some modest, steady returns.

4/9/2010 3:40:06 PM