On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:09:02 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:32:30 -0400, John H.
salmonremovebait@gmaildotcom wrote:

On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:56:30 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"John H." salmonremovebait@gmaildotcom wrote in message
...


So what are the companies which have done well? I'm assuming you continue
to hold them because you believe they'll continue to do well.

Our largest holdings are in Corning (GLW). We bought at a serious dip,
shortly after telecom blew up at under 3 bucks.
It recovered to the high 20's, now has pulled back a bit to the low 20's.

The others are in related technology areas. I pick and choose myself,
based on my knowledge of the technology and what I believe it has as a
future. Optical stuff, mostly.

And yes, we will hold them. I really don't fret or worry about them.

It seems that you, like most people, are hesitant about giving out the
names of companies that are doing well. I've wondered about that. If you
told folks the names, and the folks went out and bought the stock, then the
demand for the stock, and therefore the price, would go up. No? So it would
seem to be in a holder's best interests to always divulge the name of a
stock that's doing well for them.

It's personal - Eisboch could give you the list and it wouldn't work
for you - different circumstances, different people.

For me, over the years, I've made a ton bying, holding and taking
profits from IBM. My strategy has been to keep my base number of
shares and buy and sell above and beyond that. I take ten percent of
any profit and reinvest it at the dips into IBM keeping that stake
seperate from the original holdings. I've never touched the original
holdings - ever. I've borrowed against them to start the process, but
once the ball got rolling, that has stayed steady state.

Now I've done that with other stocks of major industrials and
technology also with one notable exception - Yahoo. I dumped Yahoo
two days before Cuban dumped his stake and the stock started tanking.
It worked out very well.

Here is the real secret to actually making money in the stock market -
or any financial venture - you need to do your homework, you need to
purchase stocks that you have some familiarity with (look around your
house and see what you use the most, then look up the parent company
for instance), don't listen to the folks who tell you about their
latest killing in the stock market because it's probably bull****, you
need to design a strategy that works for you over the long term - what
works for Wayne, Eisboch or me may not necessarily work for you -
we're all different people. There are certain principles in common,
but overall, utilizing the stock market as a short term play is for
traders who are plugged into a whole different data set than long term
equity holders - you need to create a strategy that makes the most
sense to you and in concert with a financial advisor (not a broker - a
broker is not a financial advisor - broker's are salesmen) excute the
plan and stick to it.

Lastly, get to the library and read Jim Cramer's three most excellant
books, read them twice, then ignore the advice and do what works for
you. :)

~~ That's just a way of saying get a clue before you do anything ~~

We're getting off track, although there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not
looking for suggestions on ways to buy stock. Asking Eisboch for the names
of his companies was not because I wanted to go buy them. I've noticed,
over the years, that people tend not to want to share the names of
companies doing well for them. If it's because they're afraid of ****ing
people off, that's fine. If I have a company that has and seems to be doing
well, I'll share the name with anyone who's interested. They know that the
stock may go up or down. Hell, I hope it goes up and they share the name
with a few thousand other folks!

My question had to do solely with the decision to sell enough stock to pay
off my mortgage. Nothing more.

But thanks for the info you're sharing. It is not what I need right now,
but hopefully someone here will get some good out of it. I think it is
*great* advice.

I wouldn't put any money in annuities, however!