If you want to make money in the stock market right now.
I bought 65 shares of Altria at 76.07 when I recommended it in my post about shorting the market. I know that it is unlikely that this stock will double in the next year, but I also do not want my money sitting idle. Right now, nothing is working but defensive names in the market. I’m not sure when this market will turnaround. The fact that we are more than 10% off the highs of the market is a good sign that we might have corrected and now may move up, but I am still weary of the market right now. I think Altria along with other defensive names like JNJ are the way to go. They won’t get you the fast money, but they will keep you safe for now.
By the way,my stock picks from that post are doing quite nicely. In two days, the QID is up 6% SDS is up 3.5%, MO is up 3.5% and JNJ is up about 1.5%. This compared to the market being down almost 4% isn’t a bad showing.
Hi Terrence
But until then, keep up the good work!
I have been reading your blog since the very first few days and I am still enjoying it. I was just wondering whether your plan now is to manly trade stocks with your money or whether you are going to come up with some other more unusual and unexpected ways to earn money. So I hope you can find some ways (I know its hard) other than trading. This stuff would be even more exiting and fun to read because there are already so many sites out there training to spot the best stocks
Thanks for commenting Jones and being a loyal reader. I really did mean to explore some other options. In fact my friend Rick also keeps bugging me to do more things for this site. My big problem is the new job. It takes up a lot of my time, so I haven’t really been able to sit down and explore any other opportunities.
I do promise to do something else soon. I’m getting the hang of my new job, and hopefully things will slow down there.
Hi Terrence
Its me again. Although I asked for some blog entries about other issues than stocks I am still having one question about the stocks
)
I just went through your Shopping-List again. The one stock that I am interested in is Home Depot. But just at this moment they are going done another (3.76%, 23.8). Have you changed your opinion on that stock or do you still think its a good buy? Or would you still go for the more defensive stocks as you mentioned such as J&J or Altria? What would you do If you could risk some money right know? Home-Depot or Altria? I must admit I do not know the US market that good since I am from Europe. But since the US-Dollar is quite low at the moment I would like to buy some US stocks.
Thanks for your answer!
Right now, I still avoid HD. It’s on my watch list, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it here. I still stand by my recommendation of JNJ and MO. If you are going to put new money into the market, stay defensive.
I agree with you that JNJ is a good long term stock. I only hesitate to dabble in Altria myself because of the slight unsettling feeling I might feel benefiting from smokers. I know that people make their own choices. Yet I wonder could I say to myself that I am completely uninvolved when I know my money will go towards marketing cigarettes? I can avoid answering this question by not buying that stock.
I echo Stephen – having a problem with cigarettes, I just don’t know if my own personal morals would allow me to invest in it.