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The Journal of Common Stock delivers news, methods of analysis, strategies, references and information about investing or trading in common stocks.

Journal Entries

October 18, 2011

It seems that the bottom of this market will be October 4, 2011. Now is the time to be looking for the bargain stocks and to begin to buy. We will be buying from the Strong Buy List and from the High Risk page.

October 1, 2011

We are dropping Tech as a group and adding Agriculture. This group will include fertilizers, food producers, machinery, and farm operations. The Tech stocks listed are still Strong Buys so we will leave them up for a while, but we will not be adding anymore.

September 2, 2011

There are a lot of bargains in the market right now, but it is impossible to know if now is the time to buy them. We are waiting until October 15th, when the market will begin to recover. September is the worst month of the year for common stocks. Here is an article from the Financial Post which explains more: Seasonal Influences.

August 5, 2011

It is a time to hold and wait. In the history of the markets, a large downturn or panic selling does not define the bottom. The turning point will come several months later. For more information see our article From Top to Bottom.

July 13, 2011

Advance America (AEA) has reached the target price and is being sold today. AEA price has more than doubled since we posted it as a Strong Buy. It is being replaced by a similar company with the same fundamentals as AEA. QCCO is also known as "Quick Cash".

July 1, 2011

The downturn seems to be over as the market has been up five days in a row and is back above the 100 day moving average on the S and P 500. We are going to start buying. Every investor has thier own favorite industry to trade in, but we are going to stick with shipping. DRYS has been upgraded by Goldman Sachs and many of the ocean shipping stocks are trading below book value. ONAV is priced at 4 cents on the dollar.

June 3, 2011

The last time this entry appeared was May 19, 2010. We are posting it again as it appeared then.

The S and P 500 index has crossed below the 100 day moving average of 1317. It is time to implement a plan for a market downturn. If you do not have one, feel free to use ours which is at Checklist for a Downturn.

This downturn may only last a few days, or it may last for several months. What ever your plan or method is, "do something". Do not stand by and let the value of your portfolio shrink by 3 to 4 percent per day.

May 2, 2011

We have had a good November to May market which has followed the historical trend of other years, however, we are entering May which is a time that most commodity prices begin to decline and this decline usually takes the stocks down with them. If a trader or an investor wishes to continue on as normal, then there is a chance that there will be no change in the market and it will continue upward. Please watch the S and P 500 and if it declines to 1300 that is the first signal that the market is turning down.

Smart Modular (SMOD) has agreed to be purchased by Silver Lake Partners for $9.25 a share. This is a good profit from $5.96 when we first listed it as a Strong Buy.

April 2, 2011

This is the time of year when ocean shipping begins to pick up and the stocks revive along with the increase in business. We will not buy just because a company is in the shipping business. Some of them still have big problems from the recession. We will buy only DRYS, SB, and NM which have good financials and qualify as Strong Buys. Seanergy is still on the list, but the financials are not as good as they were when it was put on the list. We are holding it, but we would not buy any more.

March 3, 2011

If you have been concerned about the up and down direction of the market and concerned about the problems of the world that make the market go down, then please keep in mind that the signal for a downturn is 1250 on the S and P 500. We are a long way from that, so it is best to stay with stocks.

However, we are approaching May which is a time to sell stocks and accumulate cash for buying bargains after the downturn. Starting around April 15th, we will begin to sell one or two positions a day until we are mostly in cash. For more information on this strategy, see our article Change of Season.

February 26, 2011

BMB Munai (KAZ) is being acquired. There is a payment of aproximately $1.07 per share that will be sent to stockholders in about six months. We have decided to sell and go on to something else.

February 1, 2011

We have made no changes to the Strong Buy List for February. We still believe that there will be a moderate bull market for the next two months, so we will remain fully invested.

January 17, 2011

The media is full of Outlooks for 2011. The good news is that there is a recovery underway and if it gains momentum it could be a very good year for stocks. The bad news is that there is a huge debt in the nations, the states, the counties, and the cities and that could interfere with the recovery. Watch for interest rates and if they go up it is time to cut back on stock investment.

Although it is a short time we have been in 2011, there is data from Dow Jones on asset performance. In the first 15 days, Tech Stocks outperformed all other assets. This includes gold, silver, corn, wheat, real estate, bonds, emerging market stock, everything measured by Dow Jones. If this changes, we will post it in the Journal. In the meantime, we are going to look for some more Strong Buy Tech Stocks.

January 1, 2011

Here are the results for 2010:
DOW up 11% S and P 500 up 13% NASDAQ up 17%

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