MES News: 2nd stimulus package?

Months after saying no to a second economic stimulus package, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is now saying yes. With a twist, according to this Wall Street Journal article. Not as intoxicating as vodka with a twist, but this is still interesting news.

Is it wrong that I'm salivating about a second $600 check? Does it show desperation? Never fear, I will keep paying Powerball. But facts are facts: Powerball gave me $8 this year, mostly thanks to two times I got the Powerball number and nothing else. The government gave me $600! (Should I be given another $600 check since I saved it and turned it into $400, according to this morning's trading?)

Of course, the story doesn't say $600 yet or any other figure for that matter. Just stuff about encouraging spending among the masses while helping the credit and housing markets. Hope I don't have to wait until next year's tax rebate check to find out more. Sphere: Related Content

MES To Do List: Take the emotion out of this painful game

Between playing Word Twist on Facebook and checking the status of My Economic Stimulus Portfolio on Yahoo!, my right wrist is really starting to throb. The pain starts in the knuckle of my middle finger and darts back to my wrist.

A self-imposed break from Word Twist has helped. But I can't stop checking for numbers in the green on my personalized My Yahoo! page. Not even on weekends when -- duh! -- the markets are closed. Sad to admit, but last Sunday I was actually looking forward to the workweek because the markets reopen Monday morning.

Just checked my stocks again. (There were 2 "in the green" when I began this post and now there is only 1). Slowly, the pain trickles up my forearm. By the end of the day, my shoulders will hurt too. Not sure if that's due to the obsessive clicking or daily stress and my office chair that is set too high for my desk.

Thankfully I also clicked on this Kiplinger.com article about how to keep your sanity and emotions in check as the greens fade to red. Its message is in the same vein as advice I've received lately. If I take the emotion out of investing, that will alleviate the pain.

The article offers a good exercise to chart your stocks. If I simply write down my high and low thresholds for each stock, that will help me determine when to sell and when to stock up. Whether it's a diet or a to do list, putting "something" in writing has helped me stay on track toward my goals. To accomplish two goals with one cliche, writing things down has helped me put my money where my mouth is. Sphere: Related Content

My Economic Stimulus Portfolio Update: Fully INvested

The $600 that prompted My Economic Stimulus is finally fully invested.

Here's My Economic Stimulus Portfolio Update: I spent the last $30 earlier this week on a low-priced stock. Can't beat $1.75 a pop. Hope it was worth it. Of course in this market, what was low-priced on Monday is even lower on Wednesday. Such is life right now.

I'm not going to worry about it for 2 reasons:

1. The market swings in cycles. What goes up, must come down. What goes down, must go up. Unless, of course, you're stepping off a building. No worries for me -- I live in a raised ranch and have no access to the roof.
2. The experts say there's no tried and true method for timing the market. Sure, everybody gets lucky sometimes. And even though my Dad reminds me, "It's better to be lucky than good," he and I both know the lucky gene belongs to my brother, John, not me. Good thing too since John, not me, fell off a second-story porch once. (My falls are usually from 5 feet, 5 inches or less.)

I plan to post My Economic Stimulus Update weekly. Here's what I picked for my portfolio, why and the "what now":

• EFJI - This is my most recent buy. The company develops secure communications for first responders and just got a $48 million contract from the Navy.
• GLW - I blogged about Corning recently after receiving a tender offer from a company wanting to unburden my portfolio. But at the price I bought, selling wasn't worth it. Since then, the price dipped. I bought a second batch. It dipped again. Yikes. But the big reasons I got into it (twice) are its corner on the LCD market the fact that its software was being used to help build greener cars, not because I have a stockpile of Corning glassware in my cabinets. People aren't buying flat panel TVs as much right now. Hopefully that will change around Super Bowl time ... maybe even if our house too.
• DLIA - Delia's was my pride and joy, mostly because it made me look like I could time the market. I researched it, followed the charts, and then bought it at 1.82. It shot up a few days later and hovered around $3 for a while. It was tempting to sell and make about $30. I held onto it. Now, like other retailers, the price has dipped. I'm hopeful it will rise again soon.
• MAR - Bought this because Smart Money Magazine rated it as a long-term gem. Still remains to be seen, thus the long-term tag. In this market, less people are traveling and staying in nice hotels. I'm considering a Super 8 for this weekend.
• ANSS - This was my first buy. It's a software company in Pittsburgh that helps a lot of big name companies get better products to market faster. Though it's slipped a bit since June, this stock is on a lot of Strong Buy lists.

All told, my $600 is worth about $387. It's less than a $171 loss (or dip) if you consider the $7 per trade I have paid to Scottrade to get this thing stimulated. Sphere: Related Content

Warren's Words of Wisdom

I've been googling my face off the last few days for investing advice in times like these. There are so many opinions out there, mostly telling people not to sell because getting out is not the answer. I wonder if that's what AIG shareholders thought two weeks ago.

I get it! Sheesh. I'm in and I'm staying in.

Anyway, I found an article today on Yahoo with some more advice that that alerted me to a gem of a quote from Warren Buffett. The article is part of a Yahoo series called Beginning Investing. The next quote for the quote book I've kept since college is:
"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."

I wonder if that's what AIG shareholders thought two weeks ago.

Anyway, articles about the federal bailout plan's pros and cons are pretty dry and confusing. I think I'll go read more Warren Buffettisms instead. Sphere: Related Content

Buying Stocks on Sale

The market is down. Again. The fever I felt the last few weeks when watching my cheap-o stock climb almost a full dollar a share to $2.75 is gone. (That diamond in the rough is hovering around $2.20 today so it's not that bad.)

I keep hearing on the morning TV news shows that financial analysts now play the role of shrinks. Their best advice for their clients is to do the opposite of "Don't just stand there -- do something!" I've been interpreting this as don't sell, sell, sell and do buy, buy, buy.

That's because the talking heads are encouraging us to think of the this down market as a special sale. And who doesn't love a bargain?

Since I do love a bargain, I bought more Corning (GLW) stock today. I bought 10 shares last month when the share price was close to $20. Then it fell a bit. Then the tender offer came, then it fell some more. Then it dipped below $15!!! Despite another $7 trade fee to Scottrade, I bought more of the same because I believe in the company, I believe it's on sale and I believe the shrinks when they say what goes down, must come up.

Could it be happening already? Here's today's news of a stock surge. It would be nice but I keep reminding myself, I'm in it for the long haul.

Could Sphere: Related Content

Tender (Offer) Moments

I got an email from Scottrade this morning about a tender offer from TRC Capital Corporation. TRC wants to take my 10 shares of Corning stock (GLW) off my hands for $20.50 a pop. While the offer per share is higher than today's opening price of 17.75, I wasn't sure what to do. What the heck is a tender offer anyway?

So I phoned Scottrade. I explained to "Scotty" why I was calling and immediately launched into my trademark list of questions. Most important of which was ... is this a wise move for me?

I'm not sure how much he could tell me or wanted to tell me since I'm a teeny-weenie fish among Corning's owners. But he provided me with a sounding board for my ideas and helped me determine my answer.

There are few key ideas at play here. Firstly a tender offer sounds sweet, but in my case, is not sweet enough. A tender offer is a third party's solicitation to purchase a substantial percentage of a company's shares, according to the SEC. The biggest issue for me? I only bought the stock last week at 20.19. So the 20.50 offer would give me 31 cents a share. That's 3.10 minus the $7 commission I paid to buy the stock in the first place and a $25 reorganization fee I would owe Scottrade to transfer it to TRC Capital. My goal is to make money, not give it back.

I decided to leave a tender moment alone and said no. The basic math is enough to see why. I also googled TRC and found a few interesting articles, mostly from the companies imploring stockholders to resist TRC's "tender" moments. I read this one: Corning Recommends Rejection of below-Market Mini-Tender Offer by TRC Capital Corporation. Gannett said something similar in May. (Gannett's stock is 18.04 today compared toTRC's offer of 29.45. Yikes!)

The bottom line is this: I bought GLW last week because of what I read in the June issue of Money Magazine. Corning is big into LCDs, which are used in everything from electronics to cars (trying to overlook the news today that this sector is bloated and will stall in Q3) and makes emission-control systems for trucks -- an issue that gets air time daily as we try to walk the talk of our environmental consciousness. I'm into Corning (and My Economic Stimulus) for the long haul. I'm not sure how long that is ... but I'm certain it's longer than one week.

Sphere: Related Content

Join the Savings Revolution

Here's a tidbit in the September issue of my Smart Money Magazine listed under the title, Juicing the Economy:

"Americans are so often chastised for not saving enough, but the rebate checks recently pushed the national savings rate to 5 percent. If it stayed this high, it would be the highest percentage of saved income since the late 1990s."

That's kinda cool. I've never been part of a revolution before.

If you recall earlier this year when the big wigs announced the stimulus package, they implored us to spend, spend, spend. Instead, I banked my $600 and started My Economic Stimulus.

Have you started saving more this year than ever before? If so, post a comment to this blog entry so we all can benefit from your experience! Sphere: Related Content