Trading for profit ( to buy a boat)

I once made $7000 in two weeks (backi in the1970's) on coffee future,s from an investment of $1200.

I gave it all to the broker to invest, and in 3 weeks I had lost it all plus another $4000

I was then told the three basic rules of futures trading is

1) Don't let the broker do the investing.
2) Don't let the broker do the investing.
3) Don't let the broker do the investing.

 

Exactly, these guys still expect to be paid too.

 

You see this is how unlucky I am. Before I was talking about blue chip and BP in particular . I said any utility company.

Whats in the news this morning,--the Uk national grid needs a complete re vamp costing millions.

I don't know what this news has done to the market but. On the other hand it may/ will recover so do I buy shares when its cheap and then go long till it recovers,---good dividend too.

 

Have a look at Wareen Buffets portfolio.

Perhaps chewing gum


"Mars has teamed up with Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, to buy US chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley for $23bn."

 

This 27 second video should give you an idea....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrLbY4-Q99A

 

Get elected to Congress then you can trade with insider knowledge. That is how they get rich.

 

It's the easiest way in the world to either make or loose money.

You may be lucky in that you possess those traits which enable you to enter the room and start making profits.
Otherwise prepare for a long education with uncertain results and a tuition rate equal to all the money you have or can gather for the project.

My best advice - learn how to sell. It's the tougher side of the trade and where most loose in this game.

Edit- I just looked back at the OP.

Frosty?
Is this you asking?
Are you crazy?

Broad advice- don't be bewitched by opportunity.
You missed that train- when Obama said on the air on march 9, 2009 that "NOW is the best time to buy stocks", he wasn't lying. Virtually everything rallied off that low hundreds of percent or far more. Now we are just back to a normal market. You need to understand the broader market and the trajectory of sectors and stocks within it.
Further, the market is complicated just now there are overlapping waves of stocks in decline and ascension. If you misjudge...

'Blue Chips' are no panacea- you very well may find a purchase stagnant for years, or in slow decline.

So take a small amount of money- invest with such wisdom as you posses and see how you do. If you can consistently profit, increase your stake. If you are loosing realize that if your stake were large, your losses would be as well.

Prepare to study, loose money, and spend a goodly amount of time tending your portfolio.

Be careful- you can loose everything far faster than it takes to light a match to burn the money..

And a parting bit- there is no such thing as a good or bad stock, only one thing matters and that is being on the right side of the trade.

 

Energy stocks look promising. However, BP could get hit by another disaster, or you
could have the misfortune to invest in an Enron-like company.

Send the King of Thailand a letter saying you would like to name your boat after one of
his grandchildren and would he like to make a donation.

 

That's true..nothing wrong with running for office.

Expensive getting in, but the rewards are great.

Also profitable to carefully follow market makers, analysts as well as the various talking TV heads for updated insider knowledge.

 

Invest in gold.

Since 1971: Increased 49x vs 16x for NYSE.
Since 2000: Increased 6x vs -.1x for NYSE.

It lost for a period in between during great GDP.

 

So a good time to have bought was in 2000...
Now?

I am not so sure:



This is how gold looked in 1979 when anyone could have said- "buy gold, it's gained 20x in the last 15 years...":



Gold then spent the next 23 years in decline..
One has to buy before the rally (and be coherent enough to sell at profit) you know?


All that gold got from 2000 is a 5.5x increase.
Hundreds of other investment vehicles did far better:

Apple was 4 bucks in 2000- it just traded off 700 that's a 175x gain in 12 years
Tractor Supply was .5 and just traded off 100 that's a 200x gain
Stratasys was .7 and just traded off of 75 that's a 107x gain
3d Systems has traded up from 14 to 50 in the last year for a 2.5x

It's easy to see what you should have done- the trick is what to do now.

Someone told me to buy AOL in the 90's when it was like 6 bucks.
I said- "What's AOL"
A- "a internet company"
I said- "What's the internet".....

Alas..

 

The easiest way for you to make a million is to start with TEN million ....

For every 'winner' at the gambling table, there are many losers.

wayne

 

Michael,

How is manipulating the market OK? It is bad enough that it is gambling and not investing any more, but to make it legal for the elite few to rig the game is scarry.

IMHO.

wayne

 

Made mention of gold being in decline however,when you look at it 40 years ago or 10 years ago, it decimates the NYSE.

In a period of one year gold was the classical definition of an overinflated boom/bust asset. It eventually went down to realistic levels and for the next 15 years it hovered around the same level, just as the NYSE for the last 15 years has hovered around 13,000. That was really the result of the fed chairman Volcker's strong dollar policy, it worked very well. Think about it, you put money in the bank and got 18% APR! The last of those 30 year US bonds about to retire. Completely different world today, put money in the bank at 1% APR and after the real inflation rate of 5-10% you are losing big time.

Plus the fact you are are not taxed on gold, nobody has access to it, no outrageous broker fees, and gold always at the very least keeps up with inflation; you have to say it the indispensible asset, hold at least 10-20%.

There is definite manipulation in the markets, but that only causes the unstopable free market forces to eventually further obliterate monopolistic and rigged markets. The ones holding the bag are out of luck, get out now.

If buying, buy gold forget apple.

 

As with all things, return depends on when purchased and sold.
If purchased any time from 80 or so on- the investment steadily lost value.
It kept loosing value for 20 years. What is the time frame needed?
If you purchase gold now- and it declines in value for the next ten years- does this equate to a good investment?

Perhaps so- but who really cares?
Commodities are traded in a "market" and as subject to manipulation as any other.

Be on the right side of the trade- "manipulation" is as good of a reason to move price as any other- why do you care?

Apple is the worlds largest public company- the price grew as a reflection of that trajectory. Would I buy it now? no. Was it a good investment ten years ago?
Yes- far better than gold.

What would I buy- many things but if you insist on a commodity- trade against Phosphates- the world needs them far more than gold and we are running out.

You can't eat gold- think about it.

Try to understand price.
Look at oil services companies.
Recession drove down demand so prices are low- recovery should show good returns.
But wait- scarcity will drive up prices every farther into the future: this is a great prospect for investment!
But take pause- scarcity will drive up extraction costs and decrease margins even in the face of a escalating commodity price.
How profitable will these companies be?

The trade?


This is a cyclical in a recession:



The trade?