Crashnburn

Sell Off Ahead? 25 Ways to Profit and Protect from a Stock Market Correction

I'm no expert, and lately my timing has been atrocious. Still, I'm almost 100% invested in the market, since late March, early April, and was out from Sept 8 until the above time frame.

I won't be at all surprised if the market pulls back significantly in Sept/October, mostly because about half the world's economy (Europe) shuts down completely in August. I don't know if I'll have the courage of my convictions.

Probably, the most I'll do will be to sell my excess weight in my diversified portfolio in late August, early Sept. I don't do options.

Convertible Bonds: Cashing In on Desperation

I did very well with CHI until I sold all of my holding of it in Oct. 2007. Since then, the share price has declined 45%. I hadn't even considered buying back into CHI until I read this article. I'm going to put it on my watch list, but for now, I'm 84% in TIP, and 16% cash. I'm thinking 5% of CHI will bring my targeted bond exposure to 20%.

Also, as of yesterday, Morningstar says CHI has a 4.5% premium. I have a hard time paying a significant premium for anyfund. It looks too much like a sales charge (I know it isn'!).