Investors, what are some great buys now?

[calnbs]

I am thinking about dumping some money into some stocks and looking at a few stocks that have been taking a beating. I am looking for some long term; buy and hold. In your opinion, what are some of the great buys now?

 

[aberkowitz]

I am thinking about dumping some money into some stocks and looking at a few stocks that have been taking a beating. I am looking for some long term; buy and hold. In your opinion, what are some of the great buys now?

Right now- nothing. The best thing to do is to stay away from individual names for a little while. Hell- you even have money market funds yielding less than $1 (think about if you had to pay a couple cents everyday you had your money in a checking account!). Despite the movements of the past few days, we have not reached a bottom and probably won't until sometime in 2009. Scary enough- cash in a bank account is not a bad way to be for a little while!! If you're already invested in funds (e.g. IRA or 401k or even non-retirement) then don't sell out, but investing additional dollars at this time is not necessarily prudent.

 

[cbraver]

Vegas. Odds of winning are better and at least you might get laid.

In all seriousness, I agree with aberkowitz. I think it will be another year or so before there are really any buys, but we'll have to see what the next president does. Getting a decent CD rate is hard now, unless you have a lot of money with a bank.

Keep your money liquid for the next year or two.

 

[Adam]

Vegas. Odds of winning are better and at least you might get laid.

That has got to be the best investment advice that I've ever read.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Don't keep your money in stocks right now. Stick to commodities and real estate.

What I think is a very good investment, especially in thhe state of this economy is buying up domain names.

 

[aberkowitz]

Don't keep your money in stocks right now. Stick to commodities and real estate.

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I'd stay away from commodities personally... They can be incredibly complex to invest in for non-professionals, and its hard to realize good returns unless you are investing large sums of money. They are also going to be incredibly volatile over the next year... I'm expecting wild swings that will be hard to hedge against. Stay away unless you really know what you're doing.

 

[jamie2112]

I would invest in alternative energy sources myself. They seem to be growing fast....

 

[mazersteven]

Put your money into art (paintings).

 

[croseiv]

What about gold?

 

[jostenmeat]

Right now- nothing. The best thing to do is to stay away from individual names for a little while. Hell-. . .

I'd stay away from commodities personally... They can be incredibly complex to invest in for non-professionals, and its hard to realize good returns unless you are investing large sums of money. . .

At the most recent wedding I attended, I picked the brain of a groomsman who manages money/funds. Of course he complained of a few folks that want miracle workers, and he says he often tells them, "just save your money". It works wonders! I probably wouldn't know, because I spend too much time here, which means spend too much, period. Well, at least for the accounts he handles, the initial investment is really a ton of money in his cases. I have nowhere near enough.

I would invest in alternative energy sources myself. They seem to be growing fast....

Sounds interesting. I have a friend who invested in the present feul source of oil, and he's been doing pretty well for a while. He looked at it as hedging, either he makes more money but pays more at the pump, or vice versa, heh.

Put your money into art (paintings).

Not a bad idea?!

 

[aberkowitz]

I would invest in alternative energy sources myself. They seem to be growing fast....

Eh- I think it's gonna take years before any of those companies/technologies turn a profit. Considering most alternative energy sources are currently less efficient than fossil fuels... take biofuel- it uses up more fossil fuel energy to create a gallon of gas than it saves through usage... I cannot imagine any of the sources we currently know of making it.

 

[rnatalli]

Never judge stock prices based on perceived market value, rather what they're actually worth. Do that, and you'll find there are deals to be had even now.

Only invest if you truly have money to play with. Don't risk your savings, insurance, or real estate. Speculating the market is tricky and people often get burnt doing it. It also requires a lot of capital to be worth it. Long-term wise, stocks are a good bet until the interest rates are back up and then bonds. People often panic in a down market, but this is the time to buy stocks. Same with real estate; lots of deals out there. I wouldn't go near things like Gold as they'll cave once the economy hits an uptick. I'd also stay away from strong currencies like the Euro which will likely cave in the next 6-8 months.

The above represents my opinion and not advice. I haven't been in the business for some time so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Warpdrv]

Eh- I think it's gonna take years before any of those companies/technologies turn a profit. Considering most alternative energy sources are currently less efficient than fossil fuels... take biofuel- it uses up more fossil fuel energy to create a gallon of gas than it saves through usage... I cannot imagine any of the sources we currently know of making it.

'


Nicely stated....

I think the future of printed solar cells and electric has a good future, energy storage has yet to be scaled down in size though, in both size and weight...


And for what its worth, Everyone should invest at least a couple a grand into gasoline... because that is an incredibly stable future...

 

[mazersteven]

What about gold?

Gold is very shaky right now. Unless your the kind of investor that likes to watch the market daily, or a few times a week. I say don't get into gold right now.

 

[StiMpACk]

pokemon cards ftl! lol

 

[aberkowitz]

Gold is very shaky right now. Unless your the kind of investor that likes to watch the market daily, or a few times a week. I say don't get into gold right now.

Agreed. It's also very hard to invest properly in gold if you're not an institutional trader. You generally need large amounts of capital to invest in real gold futures. You can probably find some sort of fund that contains gold in its basket, or a fund/derivative that mimics the price of gold, but unless you really know what you're doing I'd stay away.

I have a small portion (about 10%) of an IRA created out of an old 401K that's invested in a commodities fund as a hedge. The way my broker put it- 7 out of every 10 years it won't return much, 1-2 years it will probably lose a little bit, but for that 12-18 months out of every 10 years when the rest of the stock market takes an absolute beating... that's when it will make you money. I'll let you know how it works out .

 

[rnatalli]

Gold is very shaky right now. Unless your the kind of investor that likes to watch the market daily, or a few times a week. I say don't get into gold right now.

That's what I said, I'm setting booty traps

 

[annunaki]

Never judge stock prices based on perceived market value, rather what they're actually worth. Do that, and you'll find there are deals to be had even now.

Only invest if you truly have money to play with. Don't risk your savings, insurance, or real estate. Speculating the market is tricky and people often get burnt doing it. It also requires a lot of capital to be worth it. Long-term wise, stocks are a good bet until the interest rates are back up and then bonds. People often panic in a down market, but this is the time to buy stocks. Same with real estate; lots of deals out there. I wouldn't go near things like Gold as they'll cave once the economy hits an uptick. I'd also stay away from strong currencies like the Euro which will likely cave in the next 6-8 months.

The above represents my opinion and not advice. I haven't been in the business for some time so take it with a grain of salt.

This is some good insight. If a company's real value is higher than the stock price indicates it would be a good option to buy. Perceived value & speculation is a poor way to purchase stocks or any investment. The market if rife with this type of orientation right now.

If you are interested in investing on your own, buy the book "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham. He is the gentleman whom Warren Buffet modeled himself after. Combined, they are the two most successful investors in the history of the market. He teaches a truly disciplined, real value type approach.

 

[poutanen]

I'm using the current situation (hopefully) to my advantage by buying a house now. The current market in the Hamilton, Ontario area has dropped by about 10%, and it just so happens that I'm looking at the moment. The plan is to buy a place with excellent property, a nice house, but maybe a dated interior.

I've done a few basement reno's so plan to do a small amount of work to fix a place up over at least 5 years (not planning on buying and flipping). I just don't want to buy a place that needs to be gutted...

Methinks if I can do it right, I can increase the value enough to take a step up when moving to a larger home in the future.

 

[aberkowitz]

I'm using the current situation (hopefully) to my advantage by buying a house now. The current market in the Hamilton, Ontario area has dropped by about 10%, and it just so happens that I'm looking at the moment. The plan is to buy a place with excellent property, a nice house, but maybe a dated interior.

I've done a few basement reno's so plan to do a small amount of work to fix a place up over at least 5 years (not planning on buying and flipping). I just don't want to buy a place that needs to be gutted...

Methinks if I can do it right, I can increase the value enough to take a step up when moving to a larger home in the future.

If you have good credit and can afford to make a real downpayment in order to secure a lower rate mortgage, then buying a house is not a bad way to spend your money. MY only advice on real estate to people is that you shouldn't buy just for the sake of buying... if renting makes more sense financially, then you're better off renting and finding another way to invest your money. With taxes and legal fees, most residential real estate investments do not turn large profits. One more thing to keep in mind- if you're looking to take out home equity loans to pay for renovations you need to think again... banks have been cutting off lines of credit to homeowners with little notice. If you're planning on doing renovation, I'd make sure that you can pay for most of it on your own.