Welcome to the weekend after the worst week I can ever remember seeing in the stock market. I can’t do much to make you feel better about that, but I can give you a chance at $50 or $100 if you’ve got time to share an idea with the rest of us.
Famous investors of yore have shared lots of thought about what to do in these times, and most of them revolve around buying when everyone else is selling. Rothschild suggested that we buy when there’s blood in the streets, Buffett tells us to be greedy when others are fearful.
Well, today I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least a pinkish tinge to the sidewalks … and judging from my correspondence, people are as fearful now as they were after September 11, 2001 (for different reasons, of course). Who knows if it’s the bottom, but there certainly aren’t many enthusiastic buyers.
This market crash could hardly have come at a worse time — millions of Baby Boomers are hoping to retire over the next 10 years, and for those who were trying to goose their returns with a bit too much stock exposure those dreams of life on the road in a Winnebago may be pushed back a bit.
But if you’re like me, you can’t help but feel that in all this pain there may lie a bit of opportunity. And we know that in the short term, the market makes lots of mistakes as it rides emotional waves of fear and greed … so where does the opportunity lie?
Heck, maybe all our fear is misplaced and the fact that the Dow turned around late on Friday to move up 1,000 points or so (from intraday lows to intraday highs, at least) means we’re all fine, the last seller has left the building, and we’ll all be rich. No?
Now’s your chance to be the next Rockefeller or Buffett, though your rewards will be quite a bit more limited than theirs. I’m asking you to suggest a stock or other investment that you are tempted to buy right now, whether or not you can bring yourself to actually do so.
And I’ll award $50 each to two submissions — one whose idea sounds most interesting to me or is best presented, and the other to the person who suggests the stock that does best between now and election day. That’s only three weeks, so it’s a crazy time frame, but if I wait much longer I’ll forget to keep track. You can still come back and take some bragging rights if you make a good longer-term call.
And yes, the same person can win both if that’s how it works out. So you might just win a hundred bucks if you’ve got the magic October touch.
One catch: I’ll only reward the money if at least 20 people submit ideas.
The rules:
- You can submit only one idea, unless you fool me by using two different email addresses or accounts. Enter your idea in the comment form below.
- Submission deadline is Monday morning, before the stock market opens in NY. If you believe you’ll get great insight from the Asian markets on Sunday night, or the premarket Monday morning, feel free to wait until the last minute — 9:30 EST is the deadline Monday morning.
- If two of you have the same idea, the first one submitted gets credit.
- The Stock Gumshoe short ban is in effect — these have to be long positions in either exchange-traded debt or equity. You can choose an ETF or closed end fund if you like, but not a short or ultrashort ETF, or a short position in anything. And no, there’s no ticker for “coffee can in the backyard,” though I suppose you could pick the GLD ETF if you like.
- You can submit just a stock ticker if you want, but if you’d like to explain yourself please keep it fairly brief — no more than a couple paragraphs. You’ll have to explain yourself for a chance at the first $50.
I know that many of you wouldn’t part with your money right now no matter what, even if it was Mother Theresa at the door trying to sell you a bar of gold for a dollar, but I know most of you have at least a little temptation — who thought that GE would be in the teens? Or that Microsoft would trade at a single digit PE and have a dividend yield that’s actually worth looking at? And who knows, is something going to happen this weekend that changes everything?
So … what’s your stock market temptation?
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I placed the entire stock listings of NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ on the wall, stood back 15 feet and threw a dart. GMO apparant winner! (AS GOOD A WAY TO PICK STOCKS AS WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE DONE FOR ME!!)
Not yet in production but with the demand for their product Molybdenum, and proven and probable reserves of over 1.5 billion pounds this could be an excellent short and long term investment. Like everything else, the stock has plummeted and is now below $2.00. For those who don’t know, Moly is utilized in steel to produce stainless and high strength steel (it’s also utilized in a wide variety of other things including oil and natural gas drilling and refining).
I do own shares of GMO and although I know there are hundreds of other opportunities out there now, I am buying more(nothing ventured, nothing gained)!
MO Altria, A no brainer. 7.6% div. Solid international company. Down from 79.
PVX, pays a 23%(!!!) return that is only taxes at 15% because its a return of capital. Onlty risk is oil going to $50.
I’m looking at Coke, Wal-Mart, Disney, and Exxon-Mobil. All these companies are world dominating franchises and will be here for a very long time.
C yes Citigroup don’t laugh! that 9% div. will be protected with the “almost free” money from JPMorgan when they settle for breach.
COS.UN. Canadian Oil Sands
Yah, lots of “talk” about alternative energy…lots of talk about OIL…up/down/sideways….the foundation (like it or lump it is oil) and the heart of that operation for many years to come is “the oil tar sands”.
COS is an energy trust and a combination of the “biggies” like” Suncor, Syncrude and Imperial Oil. For those in the States….get familiar with those names !! Here is Canada they are staples.
My entry is WMT – Walmart
When the going gets rough, WMT is everyone’s best friend!
Running Fox Resources (RFXRF o-t-c or RUN tsx.) Micro-cap Canadian resource co., price down close to 90% off its highs last year, but unlike most of these sort of companies, RUN has solid revenues from gas sales and oilfield services to help fund its exploration & expansion. Recent insider purchases of private placement. Prospective for oil, gas, gold & uranium, & working in environmental remediation. A steal at this price level, and so small that any significant buying interest will cause a skyrocketing price. Note: I own some, and this rec is made with Farley 5’s comments (#24 above) in mind.
Accuray, Inc (ARAY)
Sitting at low for the year, will report earnings just before election deadline. I think it will be positive and will ignite share price. Solid company, great management and unique product: CyberKnife. Zaps cancer tumors anywhere in the body in outpatient situation.
My top pick is COP, poised to gain if crude goes up, and when it goes down, poised to gain because of its many ancillary businesses. Is cash rich (approximately $12-13 per share is cash) has a position in Lukoil, synthetic fuels and chemicals, and a healthy dividend of $ 1.88. Has been beaten down from the mid’ $90’s to the mid- $40’s. I believe the long term thesis that crude prices will start to rise again, and that emerging markets will grow, despite current economic issues, which are short term. COP is poised to profit, and this is a wonderful opportunity to start nibbling and be patient.
Hey, Gummie, if you pick me, you can keep your prize, because I would just use it to become a stock gumshoe irregular, anyway!
Don’t go ultra short, go ultra long, the financials UYG – Proshares ultra financials. The banking sector has been oversold. The Fed is going to reinflate the financial sector big time. Why not place your bet with a Fed that is cutting interest rates down to next to nothing. I bought UFG Friday @7.71 per share.
I would buy 4 stocks in different industries:
MOS – FPL – BMY & NCTY and I’d dollar cost average on all four for the next 12 months.
CDE, Coure de Alenes mining company. I have been watching this company for six months, it has hit bottom this week. I keep waiting for silver’s moment to arrive…it’s getting closer. CDE should be good for 400-500% gains when it happens.
THINKER70! No matter what the oil price does, up or down and “opinions” (guesses really) are all over the map, the fact remains that it still has to be transported! DEMAND is not likely to ease by much, particularly in the growing economies in Asia, China and India in particular, and much of that crude is coming from Brazil and Venezuels, (long hauls) so a tanker company with double hulled vessels, still one third family owned with a history of 58 profitable quarters and a share price at half of NAV, a 5% dividend and strong share repurchase program seems a good bet1 I am talking about the Greek (famous as shippers) Tsakos Energy Navigation TNP/NYSE Co. the Tsakos family has developed since the 1880,s!
This is the latest pick from Chris Mayer editor of Capital and Crisis, a wily seasoned ex banker with a great track record of picking excellent value plays after extreme due diligence research!
Cheez!! $50/100 buxx…Are you trying to bribe us or buy us off?? Ha Ha! Actually, After the awful downturn taken in the last weeks, your offer is kind of refreshing!! Cheers!
with $13.1 mil in cash ad the indications read favorable at this time.
Zix Corporation provides Internet-based applications in a Software-as-a-Service model to connect, protect, and deliver information, enabling the use of the Internet for applications requiring security in the healthcare, finance, insurance, and government sectors primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Email Encryption and e-Prescribing.
Between now and it’s October 28th earnings release it is my hopes it will be per centages above it’s Friday 10/10/08 close of $1.54.
Please resarching ZIXI if you consider this recommendation in any way.
I like JPM i.e JP Morgan
Hi Travis,
my Idea would be to Sell Puts on great companies and then should more fear enter the market and my puts are exercised i would gladly but the company on the cheap. Well, you said to pick one idea, ok then, i would sell the 12.5 strike price Puts on EPE and pray that they would be exercised, cause EPE is a wide moat company with free cash flow, they just raised there dividends, they are trading like an oil company which makes no sense, and their yield is currently at 10%!!! So, to get free money by selling puts and hope more fear grips the market so that my put is exercised at 12.5 would be a great investment. i can do this with a ton of other high quality stocks, but you said to mention only one. i hope this qualifies.
Petrohawk Energy – HK. Closed Friday @ $9.74, down from an alltime high of $54.49 July 2nd. This is a technical trade. Friday gave a doji candlestick, with stochastic well below 25% and the close one standard deviation below the 20-day MA. Natural gas closed at $6.52. While I realize natural gas inventories grew in the last reporting period, we are going into fall and winter. HK is ideally positioned to rebound from what I think was an overshoot to the downside, probably caused by 401-k and mutual fund selling. A rebound rally should be in the offing.
GE Son-in-law a designer for nuclear division. He says word is that the Dems say build only 10 power plants in the next 10 years but GOP says build 40. Election should grow or stay GE Nuclear Div. Other side of GE good buy now but I am novice at this. Waiting, I guess to see which way to go. May buy some anyway. Any help appreciated.