yeah, in my subdivision, houses and townhouses are selling for above asking price.

8/24/2006 2:41:32 PM

Quote :

"man i wish sun would pick up, I'd make a killing"

the stock may be headed that way. 15.5% YOY revenue growth

http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/060823/115635733212.html?.v=1

But the sticking point is this:

Quote :

"Nevertheless, Sun still isn't making money and isn't expected to record a profitable year before June of 2008. That's two years -- an eternity in the tech business, and more than enough time for today's brightly shining Sun to be swallowed by a Dell-sized eclipse."

However, if Sun hits profitability earlier, the stock will go through the roof. It may not be that unlikely.

8/24/2006 4:05:20 PM

ok i admit i'm not the smartest poster sometimes, but i was doing some deep thinking

so i heard a report that said like 80 percent of mail in rebates aren't cashed in or something, which is like an extra 10 billion tech companies get to keep per year

well i've noticed pepsi and other soda companies offereing 10 dollar mail in rebates...what if they all the soda companies start doing that
i know they aren't exactly the same types of commodities, but could that be used as some kinda guestimate as to whether to buy soda stocks?

[Edited on August 25, 2006 at 10:55 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on August 25, 2006 at 10:56 PM. Reason : .]

8/25/2006 10:54:02 PM

Not a bad thought, but Pepsi and Coke are such behemoths that the extra revenue would be negligible. People are going to buy coke and pepsi whether there's a rebate or not. As consumer staples, these products have an inelastic demand.

Consumer tech products are considered discretionary consumer goods, so demand is going to be based on disposable income and price. Linksys, logitech and other consumer tech companies operate on such tight margins that those non-submitted rebates do create a huge revenue stream for them. Most of these companies have gone to the point of offering such rebates on all of their highest volume products.

Most people who buy these products only buy them because they are enticed by rebates that net them a product for a small fraction of their retail value, or in some cases, free. Then they get home, and never get around to completing the rebate. This certainly generates a ton of added volume to these tech gadgets and peripherals, but such tactics aren't going to bring coke and pepsi new customers, as they are already ubiquitous.

8/26/2006 8:53:55 AM

oh ok, thanks

8/27/2006 3:02:28 AM

does anybody here ever trade commodities?

8/27/2006 8:15:16 PM

Soft drinks have an inelastic demand, yeah... they are just like milk and baby formula..

Stick to engineering.

8/27/2006 9:22:05 PM

Quote :

"Here's a couple that I'll be watching closely and probably picking up. Seagate (STX) All the new music and video downloading has to be stored somewhere - and that means more hard drive demand Akamai (AKAM) - The video media downloading business is finally here. From what I can see, you can download via Google or Akamai (Yahoo/Apple). And they have a ridiculously low P/E of ~11. meanwhile, Apple has hit almost 1 billion music downloads. 1/11/2006 9:19:01 AM"

How'd I do on my picks?

on 1/11 STX 23.18 was and AKAM was 22.92

Today, STX closed at 20.91(peaking on 3/3 @ 28.08) and AKAM closed at 38.94 (peaking at 42.00 on 8/3).

With STX, I believe that the dropoff is mostly due to the fact that they are accelerating the Maxtor shutdown. When STX bought the competition, they did it to shut them down. Now they are wiping it off their books aggressively, and then we have Vista in 6+ months. I am counting on Vista to drive more hard drive buying. HDD based video cameras are being released for the holidays. Sony has a High Def 100% digital for $850 retail today. Meanwhile, STX's P/E is lower than its historical average.

I stopped following AKAM because I expected GOOG to offer strong competition. Instead, GOOG isn't really a player of significance. That's important because the world needs an infrastructure for enabling movie downloads to multiple devices (cell phones, TVs, laptops, iPods), which continues to be a growing market.

A new one on my radar is T. Nothing very sexy here, just ol' ma bell. But, the important thing here is that the telecom industry is a backbone of linkages owned by ATT, Verizon and Qwest. All telephone, cell phone, and internet traffic currently passes down their pipelines.

AT&T will begin seeing benefits of the SBC/ATT/Bellsouth/Cingular mergers over the next few years. The digestion seems to be proceeding well. A uniform infrastructure will save costs as will laying off redundant employees. AT&T also has a 4.3% dividend. Meanwhile Sprint is stumbling. Also, I don’t think the $30B in debt is a problem for a company generating $19B in cash each year. As big as AT&T already is, I see this as a growth play.

8/28/2006 8:30:13 PM

everyone listen to the guy who thinks people will still buy coke when it's $10 for a 2 liter

8/28/2006 9:46:30 PM

^ they will and they'll still bitch about $3/gal gas at the same time.

8/28/2006 9:50:11 PM

Quote :

"AT&T will begin seeing benefits of the SBC/ATT/Bellsouth/Cingular mergers over the next few years. The digestion seems to be proceeding well. A uniform infrastructure will save costs as will laying off redundant employees. AT&T also has a 4.3% dividend. Meanwhile Sprint is stumbling. Also, I don’t think the $30B in debt is a problem for a company generating $19B in cash each year. As big as AT&T already is, I see this as a growth play."

i would wait to see how the triple/quad play bet plays out for the telcos - they are throwing lots of money at it and it's not proven to be anywhere close to turning a profit yet - hell at&t/sbc is going around telling their employees if they have cable they are giving their paycheck to the enemy

8/28/2006 9:53:08 PM

Quote :

"everyone listen to the guy who thinks people will still buy coke when it's $10 for a 2 liter"

If that's all you got out of my post, then maybe you ought to stick to reading threads replete with "OMFG LOL!!11" and other mindless drivel. If your feelings are still hurt over me deleting that thread, I'm sorry. Your trolling is getting old.

Or if you're at all serious, how about contributing something of value to this thread and prove that it ain't all over your head? I know a few folks in this thread who cashed in on a couple of my picks earlier this year.

Otherwise, go away and let the smart people talk.

8/28/2006 11:52:47 PM

Hey BobbyDigital:

You said a few posts back that soft drinks were inelastic. This makes you look like a complete fucking moron, because anyone who thinks soft drinks are inelastic should just step away from whatever Econ 101 book they read and punch themselves in the face. You majored in Engineering--stick to that before you make another stupid statement again.

You're also a dick, and I didn't even remember you deleted a thread of mine until you brought it up. GG though.

8/29/2006 10:28:42 AM

Coke and pepsi are consumer staples, which by definition have a relatively inelastic demand (unless you take the price to a ridiculous level like $10 for a 2 liter). Your EC101 textbook might claim otherwise, but this is america, and people buy coke whether the economy is up or down. Economic theory is all well and good, but is mostly based on models where it is assumed that consumers are rational and do not always reflect reality.

The original point is that rebates issued by Coke or Pepsi are not going to significantly impact their bottom line and will have no effect on their stock price. But go ahead and prove me wrong.

8/29/2006 10:46:00 AM

If both Coke and Pepsi discount their products at the same time, people who drink sweet tea or whatever alternative there is to soft drinks will buy more of Coke and Pepsi. For the same reason, despite what you think--Economics assumes people aren't rabid monkeys, people are "rational actors"--if Coke and Pepsi were jacked up and were ridiculously expensive people would seek out reasonable, subsitutable alternatives, such as lemonade or sweet tea. Sure, some people "hasta have their Coke", but the point is NOT EVERYONE is going to continue buying their soft drinks at that price "whether the economy is up or down" [sic for stupidity].

Economics this, economics that, "but this is America", amirite?

8/29/2006 11:05:58 AM

IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF

8/29/2006 11:09:01 AM

Good one, now go back to Tech Support.

8/29/2006 11:10:13 AM

My brother is the Prudential analyst for consumer goods specializing in beverages - he'll be the first to say that (domestic)demand for Coke/Pepsi is inelastic

[Edited on August 29, 2006 at 11:21 AM. Reason : asdg]

8/29/2006 11:20:08 AM

If your brother says that Americans will buy Coke at $10/2-liter, he's an idiot. Coke may be technically "inelastic" due to its elasticisty of demand but I'm pretty sure at some point Americans will stop buying Coke when it gets too expensive. BobbyDigital views Coke as something Americans will always buy regardless, for no other reason than "this is America". I would view the cutoff point at maybe $5/2-liter.



[Edited on August 29, 2006 at 11:26 AM. Reason : .]

8/29/2006 11:22:29 AM

I'm calling you an idiot for making up ridiculous hypothetical situations that don't have any relevance.

8/29/2006 11:25:54 AM

If Americans stop buying at some point it also means they will start buying at some point... if that "point" is low enough to get people who didn't buy coke before but will now and high enough to offset the loss of revenue due to price cuts so that there is profit, THERE IS MONEY TO BE MADE FROM HAVING REBATES.

8/29/2006 11:28:09 AM

Quote :

"If your brother says that Americans will buy Coke at $10/2-liter, he's an idiot. Coke may be technically "inelastic" due to its elasticisty of demand but I'm pretty sure at some point Americans will stop buying Coke when it gets too expensive. BobbyDigital views Coke as something Americans will always buy regardless, for no other reason than "this is America". I would view the cutoff point at maybe $5/2-liter."

you are a fool if you think that's what bobbydigital is saying - he in no way thinks that people would buy a 2-liter of coke for $10 - HE KNOWS THAT COKE WILL NEVER BE $10 FOR A 2-LITER - that was part of his point...

^^ i second scud

8/29/2006 11:28:21 AM

where is this "soft drinks are going to be 10 dollars a 2 liter" shit coming from

thats like 10 times more than they are now

i'm guessing when i'm like 60 they might cost that much

[Edited on August 29, 2006 at 11:29 AM. Reason : ^ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

8/29/2006 11:28:25 AM

Quote :

"People are going to buy coke and pepsi whether there's a rebate or not. As consumer staples, these products have an inelastic demand."

Wrong. More people will buy coke and pepsi when there's a discount, hence it's not "inelastic", that is all I'm saying. The $10/2-liter point goes to show that people will stop buying just as much as they will start buying at some point. Buying habits change based on price.

8/29/2006 11:32:10 AM

Oh yeah, and if you had bought Coke on 8/25 you'd be up 4% right now.



[Edited on August 29, 2006 at 11:55 AM. Reason : image]

8/29/2006 11:54:46 AM

And on 8/18, I claimed that the utilities, healthcare, and Consumer non-cyclicals sectors would be a good defensive move to the impending bear market. So thanks for proving my point.

8/29/2006 12:24:43 PM

now I am trolling

[Edited on August 29, 2006 at 12:40 PM. Reason : trolling]

8/29/2006 12:35:35 PM

TRID Up 20% the last few days...

8/30/2006 5:12:20 PM

RMBS up 10% today.

8/30/2006 7:36:29 PM

Hi everyone, I am a Masters student from India. I used to trade stocks in India. I am trying to understand the way stock market works here before taking the plunge.

I love http://www.thestreet.com and I like Cramer's view point. I try to get my hands on wallstreet and baron's, whenever i get time and I like to read some mags like Forbes and Businessweek.

I would be glad if you could advice me on how to go about, and ins n outs of the share market.

8/30/2006 10:32:50 PM

Another question: which is the cheapest market account? Is scottrade any good?

8/30/2006 10:34:03 PM

^^ ignore Cramer's individual picks, but listen to what he says about general rules of investing

8/30/2006 10:56:39 PM

ok, will remember that.

Btw: do we have any kind of clubs for people at skool, who are interested in stock markets ??

8/30/2006 11:19:03 PM

Quote :

"Oh yeah, and if you had bought Coke on 8/25 you'd be up 4% 6% right now."

8/31/2006 12:30:45 AM

Quote :

"Another question: which is the cheapest market account? Is scottrade any good?"

Scottrade is pretty good, probably among the cheapest. They've been around for a long time and also have a B&M office in raleigh if that is of any reassurance.

8/31/2006 8:52:36 AM

How do you guys feel about stocks that have been highly shorted?

Like BOOM for example, has ~22% of its float shorted.

Otherwise, I really like that company. I've done research for school on shorted stocks and the results were inconclusive. Some people (like me) think that shorts are bad because those shorting stocks are generally better informed than those buying stocks (they're taking the larger risks) and others say that shorts are neutral because shorters and institutional buyers are about the same level of intelligence and others say shorts are good because it represents buys that are required at some point in the future.

Do you guys look at short % and short ratios when you buy?

9/1/2006 9:05:44 AM

a lot of short positions generally indicate volatility. i usually do not look at short positions, but i would if i was a daytrader/high-volume trader.

9/1/2006 11:30:28 AM

Quote :

"and also have a B&M office in raleigh if that is of any reassurance"

and cary too!

9/1/2006 11:53:20 AM

Yeah, they just mailed me to let me know yesterday.

9/1/2006 11:54:15 AM

Bought 141 shares of TRID @ $21.01 today

9/1/2006 12:30:43 PM

anyone still in TIE? it's running today. Seems the Lockheed news has made the impact, seen rumors of 30 new plane orders from India as well.

9/1/2006 1:43:15 PM

nah, i need to build up some capital before i start investing again...

9/1/2006 1:48:24 PM

From what I've seen while being here at NCSU, investing in companies that manufacture hearing-aids sometime in the next few years probably won't be a bad buy.
With almost everyone walking around with an iPod jammed in their ear, music blaring out of their car windows, or pounding bass blaring from their apartment at all hours of the night...seems like the hearing-aid industry might have a slight boom in the near future when most people are deaf.

9/4/2006 9:33:36 PM

20 Rules for Investment Success
http://biz.yahoo.com/special/20rules06.html

9/5/2006 9:08:18 AM

Quote :

"Bought 141 shares of TRID @ $21.01 today"

it's great to see people actually post their trades

good luck

9/5/2006 9:25:34 AM

Well since BobbyDigital posted, I might as well too. I had just a few dollars left in my cash account so I decided to buy another 10 shares of RMBS while it's low but on an uptrend. Got in on the 8/30 at $15.66. This brings me up to 90 shares of RMBS total.

9/5/2006 1:11:46 PM

Looks like INTC is announcing major corporate changes today. I expect a jump in INTC share price because they are telling the market how they expect to improve.

If it is a large layoff (rumors are for 20,000), that probably means a shift to outsourcing. I expect large Indian/Chinese companies to benefit.

9/5/2006 1:16:12 PM

Always a shift to outsourcing, get with the program. Civilizations in decline, and were going to be looking at mass inflation after the war (if it ends)

9/5/2006 1:18:57 PM

buy DVN before they get bought out

[Edited on September 5, 2006 at 1:33 PM. Reason : ]

9/5/2006 1:30:26 PM

anyone have any $$$ in Cree? Looks like a bargain to me considering where LEDs are going.

9/6/2006 3:28:18 PM