Festival of Stocks #49 - Time For Medicine Edition

Welcome to the Festival of Stocks #49 - Time For Medicine Edition. First, I would like to thank my dad who taught and coached me on investing in stocks. We have spent numerous hours debating the merit and issues for our stock picks. Second, I would like to thank George at Fat Pitch Financials for giving me the opportunity to host this esteemed Festival.

To note, the number of submissions seemed lower than for the average Festival. Perhaps, everyone has been too busy figuring out the market and didn't have time to participate in this Festival :-) Nevertheless, there were still many excellent posts on stocks, the market, investment systems, and alternative investments. With today being the one year blogiversary of My Wealth Builder, I was very generous with the criteria for acceptance to the Festival. If a post did not meet the Festival criteria, the submitter received a request for an alternate submission. Also, if more than one post was submitted, I chose the one I considered the better article. Finally, posts are show in each category in the order received, a bonus for early submitters :-)

On to the Festival .....

This past month has been an exciting one - down and up, again and again. It has been very much like a roller coaster with many peaks and valleys, loops and spirals. Enough to make even the strongest stomachs weak. If there is some lingering nausea, here are some potential remedies for the ride.

Stock Analyses and Recommendations

This year has been a "stock picker's market." If stock picking is your medicine, try these remedies.

Mr. Nabloid presents My Hedge Fund - The First Investments posted at Nabloid on Investing. Nabloid has created a virtual Hedge Fund at Investopedia and shares his strategy of buying LEAP options.
Stocks: YHOO NDM GRMN WFMI SLW

Average Joe presents Reader Request - Garmin Limited (NASDAQ:GRMN) posted at Investment Jungle. Joe offers, "Garmin Limited is still a Rule #1 stock in my opinion. However, it is currently over priced. Too much enthusiasm for my taste."
Stocks: GRMN

Average Joe presents Dividend Analysis - Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) posted at his second blog Dividends Matter. Joe notes, "All the financials are getting slaughtered over the sub prime concerns. Is this an opportunity to buy a great dividend yielding stock while the rest of the herd is running for the hills? All 3 valuation models point to a buy."
Stocks: C

Bill Trent presents ADBE: A Small Bet on Adobe posted at Stock Market Beat. Bill writes "I have followed Adobe Systems for several years, and up until now it has been one of the names I have been more successful at timing."
Stocks: ADBE

Tim Plaehn presents Stock Review: Thornburg Mortgage posted at Investing Thoughts. Tim says, "Recent market events have made this stock even more attractive! Thornburg Mortgage has dropped to around $23.50 today (August 3, 2007), making it a stock you should take a look at. I have owned and watched this stock for several years, and it has consistently traded between $23 and $28 a share." Festival Host's note: TMA closed at $18.06 on August 10 2007. It dropped to $17.25 after hours and seems to be another victim of subprime concerns.
Stocks: TMA

The Financial Blogger presents Top 10 Dividend Stocks in Canada posted at The Financial Blogger. TFB writes " As the markets are dropping, I wrote this article about the top 10 dividend stocks in Canada. A good way to protect yourself against inflation and to buy more defensive stocks. "
Stocks: ROC.TO RUS.TO BCE.TO MBT.TO NBD.TO EMA.TO TA.TO TS-B.TO LB.TO BMO.TO

Market Analysis

Since a tide raises and lowers all boats, analyzing the overall market trend can provide a remedy.

Jeremy presents 2nd Quarter 2007 Market Review posted at Generation X Finance. Jeremy notes, "An interesting trend has emerged during this period that shows regardless of market capitalization, growth re-emerged as a leading investment style over value for the first time in years." I have been investing in Growth since 2004. Hopefully, 2007 will reward me for being early :-)

Leon Gettler presents Bear markets and the Rumsfeld effect posted at Sox First. Leon comments, "You know things are really looking bad on the markets what the central banks start pumping in money to ease the liquidity crunch. But it’s a band-aid solution because no-one where the risks are. It’s a bit like Donald Rumsfeld’s “unknown unknowns”. Do the banks know something we don’t?"

Babak presents Sentiment Overview For Week Of August 10th 2007 posted at Trader's Narrative. Babak observes that every sentiment measure shows the market has not reached a bottom yet.

Super Saver, presents New Life For The Bull Market - For Now posted at My Wealth Builder. Super offers, " Hmmm...........When I have I seen this happen before? 1997? 1999? It's time to get ready for the ride, both up and down."

Investment Systems

For the scientists, mathematicians, or optimists among us, there is nothing like a model or system to serve as a remedy.

Blain Reinkensmeyer presents 7 Strategies for Online Stock Trading posted at Stock Trading To Go. Blain shares, "Investment strategies come in all different shapes and forms and can integrate both technical and fundamental analysis together, while some strategies just involve one or the other." A good set of strategies to consider for one's use. In my experience, it's helpful to know about more than one strategy since each strategy may be more successful in certain types of markets.

Thomas Ott presents Using Genetic and Evolutionary Algorithms to Build a Trading Model posted at Neural Market Trends. Thomas shows readers how to use RapidMiner's Evolutionary Algorithm to build a trading model. One of the drawbacks of a model is that it can be static while the market evolves. A self learning model is a great idea.

Golbguru presents I Am Happy When The Market Goes Down presented by Money Matter and More Musings. Golbguru muses, "A fall in stock prices seems like a 'grand sale' for me. If the price drops further, I am going to buy more aggressively. If the price increases, I will switch to my normal investing frequency, but still keep buying."
Stocks: SPY

MoneyNing presents Can We Use Alexa Rankings to Buy or Sell Stocks posted at Personal Finance Blog by Money Ning. MN wonders,"Whether or not Alexa Rankings can be used to buy or sell a stock since some companies' earnings are directly related to traffic."
Stocks: AMZN, YHOO

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 8 Ways To Invest Internationally: How Much Foreign Exposure Should Your Portfolio Have? posted at The Digerati Life. SVB advises, " If you’re after growth and want to be well diversified, the conventional wisdom is that you pack your investment portfolio with some foreign punch."

George presents Buybacks vs. Dividends posted at Fat Pitch Financials. George shares, "Last week’s poll at Value Investing News asked, 'As a shareholder, which would you rather have? Buybacks, dividends, or other.' Here are the results: There are good reasons to prefer buybacks in some cases and dividends in other cases."


Emotional Elements

As my doctor recommends, "If it hurts when you do something, don't do it."

Warren Wong presents Stop Checking That Stock posted at INTJ Personal Development. Warren recommends, "Focus on the things you can/will do something about. Ignore the things that are out of your control." Being an ESTP and personal finance junky, I probably check too often:-)



Alternative Investments and Options

When all else fails, punt. The best remedy may be to get out or keep one's cost low during volatile times.

Garrett Benner presents Time to Move into Commodities posted at Jim Cramer Blog. Garrett believes, "Today's commodity market has the stability and growth potential to draw an enormous amount of equity out of stocks and into the commodity market." Think "Bees."

FMF presents Illustration of How Costs Can Greatly Hamper Your Investment Returns (And Why Index Funds Do So Well) posted at Free Money Finance. "One reason many index funds have consistently done better than most managed funds is because they typically have lower expenses," Dr. Malkiel said in a recent Vanguard.com interview. "It is that gap between expenses of the two types of funds that gives you the advantage from indexing."

FIRE Finance presents World Currency Index CD From Everbank! posted at FIRE Finance. FIRE submits, "EverBank’s latest offering "World Currency CDs" is a great option for investors seeking to diversify their portfolios amidst a devalued dollar. This is a single CD comprising of multiple currencies each strategically designed to benefit from a specific regional strength and/or geopolitical and economic development."

Jorge presents Discount Online Broker Review - Zecco posted at My Adventures into The Street. He observes, "Zecco appears to be gaining steam in the discount brokerage game. It’s very difficult to top a $0 commission fee on regular equities. "

This concludes the 49th Edition of The Festival of Stocks. Next week's edition will be hosted by Fully Stocked and posts can be submitted via the blog carnival submission form.

Photo Credits in order of appearance: morgueFile.com, Microbiologist: Mary B. Thorman; Hospital Bed: Kenn Kiser; X-Ray: Clara Natoli; Button: Clara Natoli; Helicopter: Kenn Kiser

This is not financial or investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC