Friday, September 30, 2011

Journal 2

This week I invested in Nintendo (NTDOY). Nintendo’s 52 week range is 17.70 – 38.60. Yesterday Nintendo closed at the lower end of its 52 week range with a 17.85. I believe now would be the best time to invest in Nintendo because it has a lot of room for growth and I predict it will increase to 20.00 – 22.00 a share in the next two weeks. Nintendo specializes in gaming systems, namely the Wii which is very popular among children, families and even older adults. Nintendo’s competitors include Sony and Microsoft. I think Nintendo is a stronger investment than either of these companies because they are continually coming out with new games and are also creating an innovative gaming system called the Wii U which is projected to release in 2012.

I also invested in Caterpillar Inc. Right now their stocks are at their lowest point at 75.08 a share, but last year at this time they were about at the same point. The 52 week range for Caterpillar Inc. is 75.60-116.55. I am estimating Caterpillar’s stocks will increase gradually because they are in the farm and construction machinery industry and that industry is very limited by the weather. Now would be the best time to invest because I think I will see an increase in sales as companies update their old machinery in preparation for the new spring and summer season. Caterpillar’s competitors include CNH Global and Deere and company. I believe that Caterpillar is a stronger company because they specialize in both farm and construction machinery, making them a more diverse company.     

Friday, September 23, 2011

Journal Entry 1

This past week I invested in Starbucks on the stock simulator game. At the time, I bought the company only becuase I am familiar with and enjoy thier products. After doing some research, I have decided that Starbucks is a decent investment.
One of the tools I used to investigate my stock was the stock scouter on msn money. Starbucks has a 7 out of 10 rating, with its main faults being unsteady ownership and a higher price-to-earnings multiple than other stocks. Over the past 52 weeks, Starbucks' stocks have gone up gradually. They have not had any huge drops or rises. It is more steady compared to other coffee companies such as Caribou Coffee.

Vocabulary

1. Dow Jones - a compilation of 30 major companies that indicates how the stock market is doing
                         Today I looked at the Dow Jones and saw it was doing badly, but tomorrow it could go up.
2. Bonds - A debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity who borrows the funds for a defined period of time with interest.
                 China bought bonds from the US which our government will eventually have to pay back.
3. Equity - the market value minus the intrest
                 I decided to invest in equity rather than bonds.
4. Dividend - money paid to a number of people (usually shareholders) by a company
                 I was extremely happy when Apple paid me this month's dividends.

5. Small Cap - stocks with small market capitalization $300 million to $2 Billion
                Today I invested in a small cap company because I believe it will grow someday into a large cap company and will pay me some sweet dividends.


6. Mid Cap - Stocks with a market capitalization between $2 and $10 billion
               I invested in a mid cap company because I didn't want to invest in a huge company nor did I   want to invest a small company.


7. Large Cap - stocks with a market capitalization higher than $ 10 billion
               Wal-mart is definitely a large cap company because it has a market cap of $185 billion.


8. Dow Number - the 30 companies are added together then divided by a Dow divisor which is subject to change
               The DOW calculation is not as simple as adding the companies value and then dividing by thirty. You must use the Dow divisor which may change from day to day.


9. EARNINGS – the amount of profit a company makes in a given time period, usually a quarter or a year
    Macy’s earnings were better than expected this quarter, so their stock prices sky-rocketed.


10. PRIVATE COMPANIES VS. PUBLIC COMPANIES – private companies have shares that are held only by a select group of people while public companies allow the general public to buy their stock.

Today I tried to buy shares of Mars Inc. the candy company; however they are a privately held company, so instead I decided to put my stock in Costco, a publicly owned company.


11. GROWTH STOCK – a company’s shares that are expected to grow at an above average rate compared to the market

The S&P 500 is expected to grow 2.5% this quarter while Apple’s stock is expected to grow 2.9%, making Apple’s shares a growth stock.

12. Risk - a standard deviation of the return on a total investment
      I am expecting to get a good return on the money I invested in Exxon, but there is always risk associated with an investment.

13. S and P 500 (standard and poor's) - an index of 500 large cap stocks that are selected by a group of analysts to indicate how the market its doing.
      Today the S and P 500 went up 100 points, indicating that the overall market is doing pretty well.
14. Russell 2000 - the bottom 2000 companies in the Russell 3000 index. It is a benchmark for small cap stocks in the  US. 
      Today I thought about investing in a small cap company, but after looking at the Russell 2000 I decided not to because my potential stock was underpreforming compared to the Russell 2000.
15. Treasury Bond - a bond issued by the US treasury that has fixed interest and a maturity of 10+ years
       My grandmother bought some treasury bonds because she believes the stock market is too risky and she has faith her money will be returned by the government.
 
1.      WHAT IS THE RUSSELL 2000?



2.      TREASURY BOND



3.      INFLATION - In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time



4.      GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT - totl value of goods and services produced by a country in one year



5.      CURRENCY - system of money used in a country



6.      INFRASTRUCTURE - buildings roads etc



7.      ECONOMY - wealth/resources of a country in terms of goods and services



8.      ECONOMIC SYSTEM - system of distribution production and consumption



9.      SUPPLY AND DEMAND



10.  INTEREST



11.  ASSETS



12.  ACCOUNTS PAYABLE



13.  ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE



14.  AMORTIZE - to reduce a debt by putting money aside



15.  ECONOMIC INDEX -



16.  DEPRECIATION



17.  GROSS MARGIN -



18.  EARNINGS PER SHARE - earnings returned on initial investment



19.  LIABILITIES



20.  OVERHEAD EXPENSE - ongoing expense of an operation



21.  OWNERS EQUITY - total assets minus liabilities



22.  PRODUCTION COST



23.  WORKING CAPITAL



24.  LOAN



25.  LOSS LEADER - merchandise sold at a loss to draw a market



26.  SCARCITY -



27.  OPPORTUNITY COSTS - loss of potential gain when one alternative is chosen over another



28.  EXPLICIT COSTS - easily accounted cost



29.  IMPLICIT COSTS - no direct payment but loss of some sort



30.  PRICE



31.  RELATIVE PRICE



32.  INCENTIVES



33.  PROFIT



34.  LOSS



35.  EQUILIBRIUM



36.  SURPLUS



37.  SHORTAGE



38.  MINIMUM WAGE



39.  PRICE FLOOR - floor that prices aren't allowed to drop below



40.  BEAR MARKET - prices are falling selling is encouraged



41.  BULL MARKET - prices are rising encouraging buying



42.  BOOM -



43.  BILL OF EXCHANGE - promissory note



44.  BUDGET DEFICIT - excess of expense over revenue



45.  CAPITAL



46.  SHORT SELL -



47.  SHORT COVER - after short sellbuy back

Monday, September 12, 2011

9/11

I believe there is an on going battle between Al-Qaeda and America. It is a more quiet and behind the scenes operation rather than full out and in the open. Yes, Osama Bin Laden, the original perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks is dead, but the US economy is still on extremely shaky ground. The difference between America winning or loosing this battle will depend on how the government deals with the issues posed by our financial situation. Al-Qaeda succeded in scaring the American public, but as a result the American people grew more united after the attacks. However, now there is a lot of polarization in the government mostly about the economy. If we can unite again, I think this is a battle America can win.