WatchOil is now creeping up to the $110 mark(AGAIN!), and Obama gave his schillic duty speech yesterday, about how we tried to keep Gas and Oil prices down for over 30 years and it didn't work. (Well yeah it did, until Bush introduced Price gouging and manipulation into the markets, and Obama gladly obliged to continue his not only disastrous but dishonest policy.)
And this when the Markets at the highest level since 2008, who's staring at the headlights coming down the highway. Who's playing chicken, only to act surprised when the markets all go 86 south. I bet Warren Buffets Secretary isn't, she didn't pay more taxes than the Oracle by being stupid.
The highest level since 2008, that means people still haven't recouped the hundreds of thousands they put in during the 90's. I never hear anyone say, "I have over 100K in my 401K" anymore, and at this rate it will be a long long time before I ever hear people say that again.
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Nope, just moved my money into a bond option. Low returns but I think we are headed down again this summer. We are on track to hit record high gas which is going to get huge publicity. This could drive down spending.
I am also looking at the Isreal and Iran problem. Isreal won't ever allow Iran to have Nukes and Iran won't stop trying to make one. It ain't looking good. That is going to create some instability in gas prices also and you can't stop hearing about the Greece insolvency.
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It will create an imaginary problem, prices will be exorbitant, but there wont be shortage. If anything there will be another surplus, because people will stop driving. The roads are so bare now.
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Yes, we are using less now than a few years before. However, the global population is using more. There is probably a chart out there but I am too lazy to find it right now.
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Oh yeah you mean that China growth chart that recent reality debunks?
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Davis, CA
I am not in any of the Dow 30 stocks.
I am however balls to the walls mostly in equities only a bit in bond funds. I presume you are talking about accounts where you can pick stocks, and not that BS we all put up with 401K/403B where all we can pick is which Fidelity mega-fund we want to target. For those who are AFRAID to be in stocks, I say they've obviously never heard of this thing called a TRAILING STOP SELL order.
If the stock-market Apocky-clips so many salivate over arrives, my ass is hanging out in the wind for sure*. Call me Commander Kruge:
EXHILIRATING ISN'T IT?
* OK, I did sell all the call options I had open yesterday.
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Corning, NY
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Am I still in stocks? Well, I'm in some consumer non-cyclical blue-chip stocks that tend to be recession-proof. I got out of the index funds when we hit dow 13,000. I figure I'll have plenty of opportunity to get back in at lower prices.
There's still plenty of "headline risk" from the European debt fiasco, China's RE bubble, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, high oil prices, "Arab Springs", political deadlock here at home, etc etc.
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I have been shorting the Dow for two months. :( I've sadly lost out on that bet. 13,000 is a ludicrous number given the circumstances the world is in. I'm not sure how long it can hold, but it looks like governments around the world will paper over the problem as long as they can, so I'm not holding my breath. It could keep going up.
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Corning, NY
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As they say about shorting stocks: the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent!
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Baltimore, MD
I mostly buy dividend paying stocks so any pullback is an opportunity to buy and get better rates of return on my money.
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Corning, NY
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Sounds like a plan.
My favorite stock? McDonald's. It's not sexy, but people keep eating there, even after movies like "SuperSize Me." The McDonald's corporation will probably outlive me. Why? Because I keep eating there!
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Santa Cruz, CA
I like stocks for retirement. Any new money I have I would buy more. I have owned some bonds in Vanguard funds for several years. I don't sell them just let them roll. My bond % is not large and as stocks go up, the proportion will be larger for stocks.
I am not afraid of stocks but there is always a chance that things happening around the world get "exciting" and a sell off.
As things are today, many companies are making a ton of money, despite the slow growth of the USA and EU economy.
Apple, Pfizer, Caterpillar, Deere, Halliburton, BMW, Nestle, Danone, Coke, LVMH, Monsanto, Potash, Boeing, Exxon, Walmart, McDonalds etc should do OK if the rest of the world keeps growing.
What many don't realize is the countries like Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, China have people who have no personal debt, no huge mortgages (I only know one Mexican with a mortage in Mexico), and they can spend money on stuff.
In many cases, they would rather have stuff than money.
I think that the wilshire 5000 index is up about 9.5% or so since Jan 1 2012.
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I don't invest in individual stocks. I have diversified investments in both national and international mutual funds, a 401k, a few bond funds, a coupla' CD's and enough cash to either buy or put a sizable down payment on a house. Am I worried and changing stuff up? Nope. I don't try to guess when the "next big thing" will be because guessing usually means you lose money.