Ignoring ethics, I like oil right now.  We paid off my law school loans because of an oil stock.  We bought into some natural gas stocks a few years ago and made a second buy of the same stock as prices plummeted.  Now we are starting to see them jump a lot. Keeping in mind that I'm just a dumb guy on the internet, I keep expecting oil to have another major dip before a real big spike.  I very rarely try to time the market but I'm watching a stock named HP (Helmerich & Payne) pretty closely.  We bought in 06 and sold it in 2014.  If it falls into the 50s, I'll probably buy.  It's an oil rig company with a great dividend and good leadership.

I am in HP, but expect to be taken out soon due to a call option that I wrote. I like the stock.

 

Interesting. I know nothing of oil, really.

 

When I started investing, my wife and I made a pact that we wouldn't invest in anything we find deplorable. That means no oil, gas, or banks, mostly.

 

I'm still kicking myself that I didn't invest in Wells Fargo after the scandal, though. That was an easy 20% gain and I knew it was going to happen.

It was an easy gain and I grabbed some of it. I wish that I had grabbed more. As for ethics, you can always give part of your profits to freed starving children.

 

It was an easy gain and I grabbed some of it. I wish that I had grabbed more. As for ethics, you can always give part of your profits to freed starving children.

Feed em or free em.  Both are good.

 

I am in HP, but expect to be taken out soon due to a call option that I wrote. I like the stock.

 

Why are you selling calls on a stock you're bullish on?  Just curious.

Out of curiosity, what is there to like about HP?

 

I mean, their stock was so low that it was a decent buy to rebound but no fuggin' way would I longterm invest in that company.

 

I'm soft on Apple and I'd invest in them ten times before I dropped a penny on HP.

 

HP is a 15 year long **** show that peddles 20th century hardware 17 years into the 21st century. They failed to capture ANY emergent technology during the run into mobile and the cloud.

 

They're a decent rebound stock but I have zero faith in their ability to be anything more than what they are. The type of stock you get into when they bottomed out at $10 and get the hell out at $18.

 

Why are you selling calls on a stock you're bullish on?  Just curious.

I was bullish when I bought it then Trump got elected and I sold a lot of calls.  Now I am more bullish again.

 

Out of curiosity, what is there to like about HP?

I mean, their stock was so low that it was a decent buy to rebound but no fuggin' way would I longterm invest in that company.

I'm soft on Apple and I'd invest in them ten times before I dropped a penny on HP.

HP is a 15 year long **** show that peddles 20th century hardware 17 years into the 21st century. They failed to capture ANY emergent technology during the run into mobile and the cloud.

They're a decent rebound stock but I have zero faith in their ability to be anything more than what they are. The type of stock you get into when they bottomed out at $10 and get the hell out at $18.

HP is an oil services stock, not Hewlitt Packard.

Ahhhhhhhh, gotcha. That makes way more sense.

 

I was bullish when I bought it then Trump got elected and I sold a lot of calls.  Now I am more bullish again.

 

That's honestly my primary strategy... selling covered calls.  I tend to be a bit more bearish though and prefer to sell when the market is overbought ( like it is now)... 

Well after a really nice run TSLA seems to have hit resistance at $285. Earnings next week, have to think the market is pricing in a solid beat at this point. Can't help but feel like if I sold now, took the short term gains, I could get back in at a 10-15% discount in a couple weeks.

 

Well after a really nice run TSLA seems to have hit resistance at $285. Earnings next week, have to think the market is pricing in a solid beat at this point. Can't help but feel like if I sold now, took the short term gains, I could get back in at a 10-15% discount in a couple weeks.

 

Wouldn't surprise me, but how does the tax effect change your thoughts, assuming those are short term holdings, and the wash sale factor?

 

Me? I just keep stuff I want long term....maybe I make a tad less here and there, but it has kept me from making some serious mistakes.

Yeah now that I think about it the tax bill would probably offset any discount. I'm not planning on selling any other stocks for losses to offset the gain.
I'll just squeeze my arse and keep holding.

 

Yeah now that I think about it the tax bill would probably offset any discount. I'm not planning on selling any other stocks for losses to offset the gain.
I'll just squeeze my arse and keep holding.

 

I did sell some losses last year in an attempt to get our income lower for FAFSA purposes...but I don't think it worked. We'll see.

Bitcoin over $1150.

Bold prediction:  It will hit $1400 by end of march.

Edited February 23, 20179 yr by DaveW

OUCH

Nvidia took a beating today. Short term it I could see it dipping down to mid 90's, but mid to  longterm I still think it's a strong investment. I bought another chunk of shares on it's way down today at $101

I'll have to keep an eye on Nvidia.

 

Square got a nice boost today of 12-13%. Their earnings report was only negative four cents per share, which means they could become profitable in the next few quarters.

 

Which, hilariously enough, puts them in better position than Dorsey's other company, Twitter.

OUCH

Nvidia took a beating today. Short term it I could see it dipping down to mid 90's, but mid to longterm I still think it's a strong investment. I bought another chunk of shares on it's way down today at $101

Haven't checked. Maybe I won't...

Bitcoin at $1200

Buffett's annual statement to shareholders is up. Worth a read even if you aren't a shareholder.

 

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2016ltr.pdf

Bitcoin just hit an all time high.

I was at the Nvidia announcement last night, I think the new 1080i should do well.

I keep dragging my feet on bitcoin......

 

I have 15K in cash between my two big retirement accounts.....thoughts from anyone? I am NOT risk averse.....

If I had $15k lying around I'd split 50/50 into TSLA and BRK/B. High risk / reward hedged with a value stock. I would not get into the currency game, esp. for a retirement portfolio. Currencies are non-yielding assets.

 

I keep dragging my feet on bitcoin......

 

I have 15K in cash between my two big retirement accounts.....thoughts from anyone? I am NOT risk averse.....

BIT

COIN

 

If I had $15k lying around I'd split 50/50 into TSLA and BRK/B. High risk / reward hedged with a value stock. I would not get into the currency game, esp. for a retirement portfolio. Currencies are non-yielding assets.

 

I have a good amount of TSLA already. but, I was considering that.

 

You would not like my retirement portfolio, or maybe you would. LOTS of IT stuff (GOOG, QQQ, Shopify, nvidia, workday, FB). Lots of risk in there. Of course, those assets have returned HUGE returns for me the last 12 months.

 

I have a good amount of TSLA already. but, I was considering that.

 

You would not like my retirement portfolio, or maybe you would. LOTS of IT stuff (GOOG, QQQ, Shopify, nvidia, workday, FB). Lots of risk in there. Of course, those assets have returned HUGE returns for me the last 12 months.

You need risk to realize gains. Everybody has a different tolerance but that's a required component. But there's no risk OR reward with a currency over a long timeline. Its a pointless investment for a retirement portfolio.

Edited March 1, 20179 yr by Willihammer

 

You need risk to realize gains. Everybody has a different tolerance but that's a required component. But there's no risk OR reward with a currency over a long timeline. Its a pointless investment for a retirement portfolio.

Bitcoin isn't a traditional currency, and there are some real short term gains to be had.

 

Bitcoin isn't a traditional currency, and there are some real short term gains to be had.

What makes bitcoin different?

What makes bitcoin different?

Literally just about everything about it

 

Bitcoin isn't a traditional currency, and there are some real short term gains to be had.

 

told my wife I expected a 20% return by August on it. And, I don't have cash to invest outside my retirement accounts, and you can't buy it there.....so still thinking. Wish those ETF were real!

 

I keep dragging my feet on bitcoin......

 

I have 15K in cash between my two big retirement accounts.....thoughts from anyone? I am NOT risk averse.....

If you're looking to stash money in a stock for at least the mid-term, I'd consider putting a bit of money in Square.

 

I think they have the potential to break through in a pretty big way. Given their stock price is still well under $20/share, any gains are a pretty significant percentage of your investment.

 

Out of the recent tech IPOs, I think they're one of the more underrated companies and have felt that way for quite some time. I don't think it's likely they will jump to $80/share but I think we could easily see $40/share prices if they break into profitability next holiday quarter.

 

I think too many are letting the disappointment of Twitter skew their perceptions of Square. The business model is rock-solid and has the potential to be a true market disruption. Credit card processing tech is ripe to be steamrolled by an agile tech company and Square nailed that business model almost on day one.