jamesbwood's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/user/737391/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/1408041/comments?source=feed#comment-18528881 18528881 Tue, 07 May 2013 08:42:07 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1384441/comments?source=feed#comment-18274081 18274081
Net Profit Margin -2,021.38%

Might as well be day trading. . .]]> Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:23:59 -0400
Net Profit Margin -2,021.38%

Might as well be day trading. . .]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1383111/comments?source=feed#comment-18262221 18262221 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:18:18 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1343601/comments?source=feed#comment-17764131 17764131 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:06:41 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1326311/comments?source=feed#comment-17355821 17355821
If, in 1970, someone had picked the right stock, and invested all of their IRA contribution in it. . . wait a minute. The limit is 5k now, so that would take 4 years. . . I can't do it on one year. Also, I'm pretty sure the limit was much lower in 1970. OK so if someone had managed to pick the right stock and invest all 20k they somehow had in it. . . Wait a minute. Doesn't pretty much everyone push diversifying? Not putting all your eggs in one basket? After all, that basket could have just as easily been Enron. Now they are on a street corner with a cardboard sign. . .

So if a bunch or incredibly unlikely and unrealistic things all happened 40 years ago, yes the math tells us that someone could have over 3 million in their IRA. If I could make a million shots in a row, I could play for the NBA. It is possible. . .

Since we are using hindsight, if I had this gift I would have a much great ROI than 3 million on 20K. I'd go back in time and guess the winning lottery numbers, bet on long shots in horse races, etc etc etc

The logic of this and every other SA article that basses an argument on hindsight is seriously flawed. In the real world, the hypothetical described in this article could happen but is so unlikely that it is ridiculous to even consider making national policy on such a far fetched "problem".

Since the Enron and cardboard sign is just as likely, perhaps a lot more likely, may we should tax the millionaire and pay for some basic services to society as well as attack the debt?


]]> Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:01:31 -0400
If, in 1970, someone had picked the right stock, and invested all of their IRA contribution in it. . . wait a minute. The limit is 5k now, so that would take 4 years. . . I can't do it on one year. Also, I'm pretty sure the limit was much lower in 1970. OK so if someone had managed to pick the right stock and invest all 20k they somehow had in it. . . Wait a minute. Doesn't pretty much everyone push diversifying? Not putting all your eggs in one basket? After all, that basket could have just as easily been Enron. Now they are on a street corner with a cardboard sign. . .

So if a bunch or incredibly unlikely and unrealistic things all happened 40 years ago, yes the math tells us that someone could have over 3 million in their IRA. If I could make a million shots in a row, I could play for the NBA. It is possible. . .

Since we are using hindsight, if I had this gift I would have a much great ROI than 3 million on 20K. I'd go back in time and guess the winning lottery numbers, bet on long shots in horse races, etc etc etc

The logic of this and every other SA article that basses an argument on hindsight is seriously flawed. In the real world, the hypothetical described in this article could happen but is so unlikely that it is ridiculous to even consider making national policy on such a far fetched "problem".

Since the Enron and cardboard sign is just as likely, perhaps a lot more likely, may we should tax the millionaire and pay for some basic services to society as well as attack the debt?


]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1298761/comments?source=feed#comment-16808701 16808701 Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:53:44 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1298711/comments?source=feed#comment-16808351 16808351
Lets say I wanted to buy FB stock 10 years ago. Truth is, I did back then before it was discovered. My students were using it and I have learned to pay attention to the new stuff they use. Guess what? Like so many other companies most everyone else didnt know about, they were Private Equity only. A game I'm not allowed to play in.

And of course by the time I am allowed to play, there was the more recent FB IPO - with all the hyp of a fully "discovered" and promoted company even much of the market realized this for the pump and dump it was. And we all know the "it wasnt rigged" shenanigans there.

Lets look at MBS fraud. Bundle junk and suddenly it is top class. Robo sign it. Boot millions of Americans out of their homes. Of course that was't rigged either right? And while we are talking about banks and things not being rigged, are you also going to tell me that your tax dollars will bail out my small business and pay for my bonuses should I make really risky decisions that fail? To big to fail bailouts, especially in the US where there were almost no strings attached, are yet another example of a rigged system.

Keep calm and carry on. Things will be fine. Until they aren't.

The scary thing is that there are not a lot of alternatives. I think that is why the stock market is going up now - it is the cleanest dirty shirt. As mentioned above, investing in yourself and starting a small business is one of the few good options left.]]> Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:35:43 -0400
Lets say I wanted to buy FB stock 10 years ago. Truth is, I did back then before it was discovered. My students were using it and I have learned to pay attention to the new stuff they use. Guess what? Like so many other companies most everyone else didnt know about, they were Private Equity only. A game I'm not allowed to play in.

And of course by the time I am allowed to play, there was the more recent FB IPO - with all the hyp of a fully "discovered" and promoted company even much of the market realized this for the pump and dump it was. And we all know the "it wasnt rigged" shenanigans there.

Lets look at MBS fraud. Bundle junk and suddenly it is top class. Robo sign it. Boot millions of Americans out of their homes. Of course that was't rigged either right? And while we are talking about banks and things not being rigged, are you also going to tell me that your tax dollars will bail out my small business and pay for my bonuses should I make really risky decisions that fail? To big to fail bailouts, especially in the US where there were almost no strings attached, are yet another example of a rigged system.

Keep calm and carry on. Things will be fine. Until they aren't.

The scary thing is that there are not a lot of alternatives. I think that is why the stock market is going up now - it is the cleanest dirty shirt. As mentioned above, investing in yourself and starting a small business is one of the few good options left.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1298711/comments?source=feed#comment-16778631 16778631 Private Equity Markets.]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:36:37 -0400 Private Equity Markets.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1298711/comments?source=feed#comment-16778551 16778551
Rigged can be OK as long as you can figure out how it is rigged and therefore which way it will move. If you can't find the sucker in a rigged game, it is most likely you. In those cases, don't play.

Your mileage may vary. ]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:35:39 -0400
Rigged can be OK as long as you can figure out how it is rigged and therefore which way it will move. If you can't find the sucker in a rigged game, it is most likely you. In those cases, don't play.

Your mileage may vary. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1291741/comments?source=feed#comment-16604401 16604401
What does history tell us happens when things get bad? Do managers severely cut their pay in line with their performance or do they often continue to take as much as they can because they can?

Even if you trust the managers today, are you willing to bet that in 10 years they will still have your best interests at heart?

Finally, we have invested in a REIT, not a hedge fund. If wanted to be paid like I did job X, the best strategy would be to get a job doing X. If managers want to earn hedge fund salaries, they should go work for a hedge fund. Yes, management has been excellent but it has been working under the checks and balances of shareholder feedback. If they want to do something else for tax advantages that is fine as long as transparency is kept as well. ]]> Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:30:23 -0400
What does history tell us happens when things get bad? Do managers severely cut their pay in line with their performance or do they often continue to take as much as they can because they can?

Even if you trust the managers today, are you willing to bet that in 10 years they will still have your best interests at heart?

Finally, we have invested in a REIT, not a hedge fund. If wanted to be paid like I did job X, the best strategy would be to get a job doing X. If managers want to earn hedge fund salaries, they should go work for a hedge fund. Yes, management has been excellent but it has been working under the checks and balances of shareholder feedback. If they want to do something else for tax advantages that is fine as long as transparency is kept as well. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/859881?source=feed#comment-15666011 15666011 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:19:38 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/833521?source=feed#comment-15207181 15207181
How about some real evidence instead of these PR campaigns (from both sides)? ]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:53:36 -0500
How about some real evidence instead of these PR campaigns (from both sides)? ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/832991?source=feed#comment-15111381 15111381
Corporations are now people too, with much deeper pocket books. . .]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:20:23 -0500
Corporations are now people too, with much deeper pocket books. . .]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/828891?source=feed#comment-14994521 14994521 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:52:53 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1111931/comments?source=feed#comment-13748781 13748781
http://fxn.ws/V7gg31]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:47:22 -0500
http://fxn.ws/V7gg31]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1080521/comments?source=feed#comment-12970921 12970921 Tue, 25 Dec 2012 12:47:45 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/734061?source=feed#comment-12958131 12958131
We as a nation don't seem to know that other solutions exist: when Germany bailed out their banks, they put caps on executive salaries and bonuses. We threw even more money at our banks and asked them to solve the problems they created. What about German banks that don't like the $ caps? That is just fine - the free market has a solution that tends to redistribute wealth to more compentant manages: it is called Bankrupcy. Some of us Americans will call you socialist but when huge corporations take large risks and get all the profits if things go their way but get the taxpayers to bail them out if they don't. . . well I don't know what that is but what it sure isn't Adam Smith capitalism. Here in the Excited States, our banks and other big businesses essentially own those in "poly ticks".

We also don't how low our return on investment for dollar spent on healthcare is. We spend way more for the same level of care as most developed nations. Your system, by the way, is EXCELLENT and was always there when I needed it as a graduate student. Kudos.

The same is true for Education, especially k to 12 education. On average, your k-12 teachers are better trained and higher caliber. I think we do well and catch up a bit at the University level but that is getting cut to.

And like most developed countries, you Canadians are not nearly as violent as your brothers south of the boarder. You have much less domestic violent crime and you are not going into debt to maintain a near continuous state of distant foreign warfare - from Vietnam to Iraq - for over 4 decades. You do contribute to international efforts when asked - thanks for that.

Your real estate market didn't crash like ours did. With those "socialist" regulators Canadian big business was not able to rebundle low quality mortages and market them as AAA. Nor did you have robo signing. . . You would call that fraud and send people to jail as well as roast them on this hour has 22 minutes. So 10% of your middle class didn't lose their homes due to unchecked corporate greed.

Most of us Americans do very little international travel. Most of us don't read news sources that originate out side of the US. We just don't know. Please excuse our ignorance.

Oh yeah, your beer is pretty damn good too. And since you travel, I'm sure you know that there are other sports in the world besides hockey. . . Now, if you could just get your grandparents to drive the speed limit and stay out of the fast lane here in South Florida. . . You should at least buy them some pillows so they can see over the steering wheel.

Merry Christmas

James
Small business owner
12 years living abroad of which 6 were in Nova Scotia, Canada]]> Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:06:26 -0500
We as a nation don't seem to know that other solutions exist: when Germany bailed out their banks, they put caps on executive salaries and bonuses. We threw even more money at our banks and asked them to solve the problems they created. What about German banks that don't like the $ caps? That is just fine - the free market has a solution that tends to redistribute wealth to more compentant manages: it is called Bankrupcy. Some of us Americans will call you socialist but when huge corporations take large risks and get all the profits if things go their way but get the taxpayers to bail them out if they don't. . . well I don't know what that is but what it sure isn't Adam Smith capitalism. Here in the Excited States, our banks and other big businesses essentially own those in "poly ticks".

We also don't how low our return on investment for dollar spent on healthcare is. We spend way more for the same level of care as most developed nations. Your system, by the way, is EXCELLENT and was always there when I needed it as a graduate student. Kudos.

The same is true for Education, especially k to 12 education. On average, your k-12 teachers are better trained and higher caliber. I think we do well and catch up a bit at the University level but that is getting cut to.

And like most developed countries, you Canadians are not nearly as violent as your brothers south of the boarder. You have much less domestic violent crime and you are not going into debt to maintain a near continuous state of distant foreign warfare - from Vietnam to Iraq - for over 4 decades. You do contribute to international efforts when asked - thanks for that.

Your real estate market didn't crash like ours did. With those "socialist" regulators Canadian big business was not able to rebundle low quality mortages and market them as AAA. Nor did you have robo signing. . . You would call that fraud and send people to jail as well as roast them on this hour has 22 minutes. So 10% of your middle class didn't lose their homes due to unchecked corporate greed.

Most of us Americans do very little international travel. Most of us don't read news sources that originate out side of the US. We just don't know. Please excuse our ignorance.

Oh yeah, your beer is pretty damn good too. And since you travel, I'm sure you know that there are other sports in the world besides hockey. . . Now, if you could just get your grandparents to drive the speed limit and stay out of the fast lane here in South Florida. . . You should at least buy them some pillows so they can see over the steering wheel.

Merry Christmas

James
Small business owner
12 years living abroad of which 6 were in Nova Scotia, Canada]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/734061?source=feed#comment-12957711 12957711
Your mileage may vary.

James
Also a small business owner.]]> Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:29:06 -0500
Your mileage may vary.

James
Also a small business owner.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1080521/comments?source=feed#comment-12957441 12957441
As much as we like it to, I don't think this issue can be resolved with simple sound bites (from either side). Both sides have been over this ground for decades. . .

As for investing, the durability of the product is a negative. Ammo is expendable, like a nice cold Coke (for the Buffet crowd) or a Naty Light and NASC Car race (for the Tea Party crowd).

Your mileage may vary.]]> Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:07:48 -0500
As much as we like it to, I don't think this issue can be resolved with simple sound bites (from either side). Both sides have been over this ground for decades. . .

As for investing, the durability of the product is a negative. Ammo is expendable, like a nice cold Coke (for the Buffet crowd) or a Naty Light and NASC Car race (for the Tea Party crowd).

Your mileage may vary.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1079761/comments?source=feed#comment-12956511 12956511 Mon, 24 Dec 2012 18:04:52 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1079761/comments?source=feed#comment-12947741 12947741 Mon, 24 Dec 2012 12:18:27 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1079761/comments?source=feed#comment-12947211 12947211
This is a very tough crowd for those products.

There are some good people out there - this author sounds like one of them. But for me, as long as I am mentally competent to make my own investment decisions and continue to on average, beat the average, that is what I will be doing. When I'm older and the math tells me I can no longer make more good than bad investment decisions, and my wife is also not able to make these decisions, then this sort of product might be appealing. But probably not, I'll probably go with a diversity of div paying stocks and income from managed rental properties - less shyster risk.

Your mileage may vary.]]> Mon, 24 Dec 2012 12:02:11 -0500
This is a very tough crowd for those products.

There are some good people out there - this author sounds like one of them. But for me, as long as I am mentally competent to make my own investment decisions and continue to on average, beat the average, that is what I will be doing. When I'm older and the math tells me I can no longer make more good than bad investment decisions, and my wife is also not able to make these decisions, then this sort of product might be appealing. But probably not, I'll probably go with a diversity of div paying stocks and income from managed rental properties - less shyster risk.

Your mileage may vary.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1077991/comments?source=feed#comment-12892681 12892681 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:57:45 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1077121/comments?source=feed#comment-12855621 12855621
I couldn't find txmd.ob but did find txmd on the nsdq. I'm not seeing any options available for this company in the sandboxes I play in.

]]> Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:38:09 -0500
I couldn't find txmd.ob but did find txmd on the nsdq. I'm not seeing any options available for this company in the sandboxes I play in.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/732001?source=feed#comment-12846301 12846301 Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:34:37 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/732001?source=feed#comment-12846241 12846241 Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:33:22 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/732001?source=feed#comment-12846091 12846091 Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:28:12 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/732001?source=feed#comment-12845841 12845841
We have been in a nearly continuous state of distance foreign warfare for at least 4 decades.

How many Democracies have we setup in that time? How good are we, really, at nation building post WW2? Why do we go to war, spending trillions and losing the lives or our sons and daughters based on, at the best, shoddy intel?

Why is it that most fiscal conservatives on the right want to continue to expand the military? 70% of us, that is most of us and includes both sides, are tired of all this damn war mongering. I'm glad people are finally starting to talk about this huge bloated elephant in the room. ]]> Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:20:13 -0500
We have been in a nearly continuous state of distance foreign warfare for at least 4 decades.

How many Democracies have we setup in that time? How good are we, really, at nation building post WW2? Why do we go to war, spending trillions and losing the lives or our sons and daughters based on, at the best, shoddy intel?

Why is it that most fiscal conservatives on the right want to continue to expand the military? 70% of us, that is most of us and includes both sides, are tired of all this damn war mongering. I'm glad people are finally starting to talk about this huge bloated elephant in the room. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1073761/comments?source=feed#comment-12810281 12810281 Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:33:22 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/1073761/comments?source=feed#comment-12810081 12810081
A lot of the professionals charge fees to under preform. This report says 84% (http://bit.ly/T9Dlxr) That seems a bit high but I'm sure the % is significanly north of 50%.

If I, the retail investor, am going to lose money, I'd like to do it myself instead of paying someone to do that for me. The reality is that this isn't rocket science and I and many others that are paying attention can beat the benchmarks. The reality is that those that are paying attention are not randomly picking stocks. And unlike most (but not all) professionals we happen to have our best interests at heart. . .]]> Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:25:49 -0500
A lot of the professionals charge fees to under preform. This report says 84% (http://bit.ly/T9Dlxr) That seems a bit high but I'm sure the % is significanly north of 50%.

If I, the retail investor, am going to lose money, I'd like to do it myself instead of paying someone to do that for me. The reality is that this isn't rocket science and I and many others that are paying attention can beat the benchmarks. The reality is that those that are paying attention are not randomly picking stocks. And unlike most (but not all) professionals we happen to have our best interests at heart. . .]]>