Poppy girl

Thats the kinda shares I want like the Disney idea!

Michael

Yes but that was when the market was teetering on total destruction and those growth rates won't occur in the future.

Thinking that the market has to rise after a crash isn't guaranteed. Just look at the Japanese N225 which was at 39,000 in 1989 and is only at 10,000 today. There has been a lot of money lost in the Japanese market since it hit its low of 20,000 in 1991 following the original crash. Since then the highs have been lower and lows have been lower.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%5EN...sic+Chart&t=my

tonrob

I can't be hooped following individual stocks so I have a small mixture of bonds and mutual funds.

Macca67

The deal still has to go through regulatory approval so is not 'done' yet, however prior to this there has a been a regular dividend yield around 6% with some modest capital growth in the stock price - so a decent comparative return on your money. If the deal moves forward, there are a number of positives including providing iPhone access to T-Mob's 30M+ customers but also creating better greater network access to handle higher bandwidth demands. Outside of this deal AT&T's UVerse TV package has been growing well.

So, definitely worth a punt but as others have said you should only ever put in what you can afford to lose.

Michael

The main risk of most stocks is the current weakness of economies around the world. Currently the Euro zone countries are growing at a 0.4% annual gdp rate according to figures from the 4th quarter, UK is declining at a 0.6% rate, and Japan is declining at a 1.2% rate. The US has the most robust growth after China and India at a feeble 2.8% gdp growth rate. The US needs to get near or above a 4% gdp growth rate to make a significant dent in unemployment.

With so many things going on in the world, if any of them get out of control, growth rate around the world could decline possibly pushing economies back in a recession.

Crude oil is currently high at about $100 per barrel and the economics can likely survive that price without any significant reduction in growth rates but if it goes to $120-$150 per barrel and remains there, that could bring on a new world recession.

Due to the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, many plants have shut down production causing shortages and price increases. Shortages of Japanese auto parts could possibly shutdown Japanese assembly plants around the world. Already four medium sized Silicon Valley companies have announced that they will have problems filling orders.

The European sovereign debt crisis keeps flaring up every few months causing markets around the world to panic. The last major turndown was last spring/summer (but there was market turmoil when Ireland had to be bailed out this fall) which was followed by the gulf oil spill which caused the US economy to temporarily slow. If Greece, Ireland, or Portugal defaults on their debts, this will likely cause major problems with European banks.

Then there could be a problem with inflation causing central bankers to tighten the money supplies which will slow economies.

If we can get by all of the above without problems, the economies will likely improve unless there is some other unexpected crisis.

Currently the market is showing optimism not expecting any of those to become unmanageable but the market was also optimistic prior to the credit crisis of 2008 (assumed the market was just in a correction).

The Horticulturalist

We have mutual funds, they include international, growth stock and so on, it's with Templeton Franklin.
I'd be too nervous to invest any significant amount into single stocks, for me it would be too big a risk.

lisa67

I've just been left some money unexpectedly so I'm thinking of buying some shares (I have about $2,000)
Any advice on what to buy?

Yorkieabroad

Staying away from individual stocks is a sensible course of action for the vast majority of people...

My "important" money (retirement, college savings etc) is tucked away properly, roughly 60% with a financial management company, 40% in a portfolio I manage myself, both of them in bond and stock mutuals, some index funds, but zero individual stocks. Then I keep a tiny bit of hobby money out for "playing" individual stocks with. I've had a few stunning returns, and a few total bombs. In general, the properly managed portfolios have outperformed my play money pretty consistently...

robin1234

True, but if the stocks pay relatively high dividends, and the investment in them is not going to ruin you if it shrinks... And I'm old fashioned, believe in holding stock for the long term -- decades. Another reason to hold equity in a company; if it amuses you. Our other big stock holding is in Walmart, doing very well over the years and pays a decent dividend.

I work in a liberal arts college, and my fellow faculty and staff profess to despise Walmart, were actively involved in the attempts to stop them opening a store here. I personally shop there all the time, and sometimes mention that my daughter worked there for a year or so (she just got a payout in the class action suit for sex discrimination.) Shopping there is one thing, but when I mention I'm a shareholder; it would be like I announced I'm pro-life or I'm a tea-party member! The appalled silences!!

The Horticulturalist

Agreed.
Morningstar might help with choosing mutual funds, I think you can get a free trial if you sign up. Even there though you need to know what you are doing otherwise you risk getting investing in something risky. I'd stick with the better known companies like Fidelity or Vanguard unless you are very confident.

The Horticulturalist

I guess it depends how much of your money is tied up in single stocks and if you can afford to lose it or not.
Of course there are risks with any investing, I spent a looooong time trying to research the pros and cons before we invested in mutual funds recently, (long!) time will tell whether we've made good choices or not.

robin1234

Here's a list of "low-risk, high dividend" stocks.

Admittedly, it includes tobacco (Reynolds) and Pharmaceutical (Merck)..

(This particular article is several months old, but Google will find you much similar advice.)

Yorkieabroad

Depends on you're objectives.

I wouldn't think about investing it until you were absolutely totally out of debt - credit card, car loans, medical, student and mortgages. If you've got any of those, I'd throw the money at them and work on getting rid of the debts first, and putting an emergency fund together - 3-6 or 6-12 months, depending on your assessment of your own family's risk.

After that, I still wouldn't buy individual shares. I'd trot down to the local Fidelity office (or someone like that) and talk to a few of their advisors. Find one that seems to be talking sense and open an account with them and let them walk you through a mutual fund selection based on your objectives and risk tolerances. They have some good tools for thinning out the selection. Find a cheap (low fee, no-load) fund that meets your criteria and buy into that. If you can afford a few extra dollars out of your monthly budget, set up a regular contribution to feed into that account and let it run. Resist the urge to check it every day or every week. Check on it every 3-6 months and see if it still fits with your criteria. If it does, leave it, if not, go and have a chat with the advisor again and see if you need to change horses. Just be aware of any costs of doing so (fees and/or tax implications) before you do it.

robin1234

To give another more serious answer; if you own stock in a company, you can attend the AGM, get involved in stockholder activism if there is an issue that is important to you, vote for the company officers, vote on shareholder initiatives etc. It is important for Americans to understand that being a citizen and voting in elections will only get you so far (not very far.) Corporations are much more powerful people than people are. If you own equity in a company, then you have a voice. Owning a mutual fund that owns stock in that same company puts you at a further remove from power, since your fund manager is the one that attends the AGM and votes etc...

The Horticulturalist

That's true, so next time you're at the Walmart AGM tell them it's imperative that they always have Edy's Popsicles in store at all times.