Posted: January 20th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Investing | Tags: Investing, Jim Cramer, Stocks | No Comments »
Here’s a quick post based on Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World Hey, it’s actually a good book, so why not milk it? 
It’s a companion to How to Spot a Stock Market Bottom. That article is about the stock market as a whole, whereas this is about individual stocks. It appears that the market has bottomed out since I wrote that post (around 8000 for the DOW). True Market wide bottoms happen in cycles and usually accompany difficult economic time. But individual stocks can go through bottoms even in the best of times. Here are some things to look for when trying to find an individual stock bottom.
1. Stock needs to lose most, if not all, of its sponsorship.
Sponsorship here means support from wall street. This means multiple downgrades and more sell recommendations.
2. Stock price doesn’t go down when new bad news hits.
This tells you that all sellers have left, so there’s no reason to sell.
3. Consistent, large insider buying.
People sell for many reasons – even insiders. But they only buy to make money. Just don’t fall for token buying. You’re looking for large dollar amount buying, as in $millions.
4. Negative rumors leaked, but price holds.
This is pretty much the same thing as #2, except it isn’t hard news about sales or competition, it’s only rumor. But the point remains that there is an excuse for people to get out of the stock, but they don’t.
If all of the above are true for a given stock AND the underlying company is sound, then it may be time to back the trunk up. So sayeth James Cramer. What say you?
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Posted: January 16th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Insurance | Tags: Insurance, Rant | No Comments »
I received a letter in the mail yesterday from an insurance agent of a company who shall remain nameless. Let’s say, our realtor worked for the same company.
Anyway, this letter is in the form of a questionnaire. The agent would like me to “check off the products below that interest” me. Excuse me? The salesman would like me to fill out the form so he can try to sell me something I don’t want?!
If I wanted any of the products they offered, I’d contact him!
This is the snail mail equivalent to the telemarketer who keeps leaving ,a recorded message on my answering machine. No, it’s worse – It’s the telemarketing company that greets me with a pre-recorded message to stay on the line and wait for a telemarketer to try to sell me something I don’t want or need. It’s crazy…
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Posted: January 15th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Insurance, Sponsored | Tags: Insurance, Sponsored | No Comments »
I know I get quite a bit of traffic to the blog from the United Kingdom, so here’s a tidbit for all you U. K. readers who might be looking for commercial insurance: Autonet Insurance.
Autonet Insurance price checks 40 of the leading insurers in the U. K.. Autonet is an independently owned insurance broker, and they do all the shopping around for you.
Here are some of the types of insurance they offer:
- Van Insurance
- Courier Insurance
- Truck Insurance
- Car Insurance
- LHD Car Insurance
- Bike Insurance
- Quad Insurance
- Home Insurance
- Travel Insurance
- Business Insurance
- pet insurance
- caravan insurance
It’s all done online through the AutoNet website. You enter the info, and they run with it. Brokers do charge a fee for their services, but they are also typically in a position to get better rates, so it can still work to your advantage. Occasionally, you can get a better deal but it requires you doing all the leg work. I did this for my mortgage, and it worked. But Autonet offers a guarantee:
“Get your insurance through us and if you find a cheaper insurance elsewhere giving you the same cover and you can provide written proof within 48 hours of having taken out cover with us, you may cancel and receive a full refund. No problem!”
Like anything in life, you can save a couple bucks going the DIY route, but sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle. If you believe it’s not, then AutoNet may be worth the time save.
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Posted: January 14th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Saving | Tags: FDIC, Savings | 2 Comments »
You’ve probably heard that Congress increased the limit of FDIC insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 back in the second half of 2008, when it seemed the sky would fall any day. But did you know that increased coverage expires on 1/1/2010? I didn’t either.
I saw a sign in my local bank stating the increase in coverage and that it will reset to $100,000 on midnight of 12/31/2009 unless Congress extends it.
So what does the FDIC insurance cover?
- Deposits in checking and savings accounts
- Money market deposit accounts
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs).
The coverage is per institution – not account. In other words, only $250,000 of your total account deposits are covered at each bank. If you have more than $250,000 in assets to deposit, do so at various institutions to split up your insurance coverage.
What’s NOT covered by FDIC insurance?
- money invested in stocks
- money invested in bonds
- money invested in mutual funds
- life insurance policies
- annuities
- municipal securities
These are backed by “the full faith and credit of the United States government”, but not FDIC insurance:
- U.S. Treasury bills
- bonds
- notes
Other important points to note:
Deposits in separate branches of an insured bank are not separately insured.
It is possible to have more than $250,000 in deposits and still be covered under certain circumstances (see your bank representative).
For more info check out the FDIC website.
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