Twitter Twursday

Lots of stuff in the news, and we don't mean Tiger Woods. GE sells NBC, Bank of America is ready to pay back their bailout money, gold continues to climb, Ben Bernanke is in the hot seat, etc, etc. How will these stories affect the stock market today? Stock futures point to an early bounce. Follow me on Twitter @scottjwheeler as I note trends in the stock markets. Getting ready to buy gold or sell gold? Is oil dead? What's up with those coffee companies? Can Harley Davidson continue to outperform gold this year? Read my 5 most recent tweets below in the right-hand column or go to: http://twitter.com/scottjwheeler and follow me.

Cyber Monday

Today, retailers get a second chance to improve their bottom line, by enticing people at home and at work to shop online, by offering special deals and incentives for Christmas shoppers and discount hounds around the world. Results from Black Friday indicate that while shoppers were out, most spent less than last year. That's not surprising given the recession and economic downturn over the past 12 months, not to mention the fact that more Americans have lost their jobs during the same time period. While online shopping is convenient and offers another avenue for retailers to sell goods, it doesn't necessarily help those looking for hot toys and gadgets. The Zhu Zhu Pet for example is sold out on the Toys R US website and appears to be available only for those willing to pay triple the price on eBay. It seems to me that stores should limit the number of items sold to prevent the practice of resellers who snap up all the hot toys each year to make a quick buck on eBay at the expense of parents trying to surprise their children on Christmas morning. Either the people at Toys R US do a terrible job of forecasting sales or the vendors can't keep up with demand. Apple seems to be the only store that tries to match product with demanding consumers and keep their items off the eBay black market.

Black Friday Backfire

While the official sales numbers aren't in yet, early reports from store managers seem to indicate that shoppers have now become smarter than the stores. Black Friday got it's name from the date that retail businesses crossed over into "the black" for the year, meaning they finally made money. Holiday sales are extremely important to retail stores, so much so, that the final outcome can make or break their annual sales goals. The basic premise is to get shoppers to come into their stores by offering extremely competitive prices on a few select items, often at razor thin margins, to entice buyers to choose their store over the competition. For the plan to work, however, shoppers must also purchase other goods and items at regular or more profitable prices. This is what the industry calls a "lost leader". What's happening now, is that shoppers have become more knowledgeable about pricing from other stores because of the internet and iPhone apps that make comparison shopping easier. Now consumers can go to each store, buy the "door buster" deal and move on, thus leaving the retail store without the extra profit from their other goods and services. Advertising executives and retail executives might have to re-think the "Black Friday" strategy in the future, or else see their profits dwindle even further into "the red"!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to take a moment and stop and share what I am thankful for in my life, this Thanksgiving Day: My God, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my job, my business, my health, my hobbies, and my freedom! Thanks to all who read, share, and comment on my blog!

Stop orders

Back in the bull market of the late 1990's, many people saw the prices of their stock go up almost exponentially to heights never imagined. Rather than sell at the highs, some thought that stocks would continue to advance. Those that did not see the internet bubble coming and sell out in time, saw their stock position tumble back to earth. In effect, they lost all or most of their gains because they did not sell in time. What could they have done differently? Lock in gains! Let's say you bought shares of stock ABC at $10/share and watched it climb to $20. Rather than hope that it continues to climb higher, you can put in a stop-loss order to sell your shares if the prices drops below $15/share. If the stock climbs to $25, then change your stop-loss order to $20. But if the stock falls from $20 to $15, your sell order will kick in and you will sell out around $15 and book a 50% profit. If you still like the stock, buy it again later. But don't be in a position where you kick yourself for not selling at $20 or $15, when the stock drops down to $8. Don't be greedy! When you buy a stock, have a price in mind that you would like to get out at, and stick with it. You can also use stop-loss orders to limit your losses when you first buy into a new stock position. If you book profits and limit your losses, you will make money in the long run. You can always make adjustments to your plan, but you need to have a plan in the first place.

Twitter Thursday

I've been posting market updates on Twitter, with a special emphasis on Harley Davidson stock ("HOG") and gold ("GLD"). Both are having a great year and deserve a look in your portfolio. Of course, if you've been following me for long, you know that I actually like silver ("SLV") better than gold! Follow me on Twitter @scottjwheeler or go to: http://twitter.com/scottjwheeler and keep up with my tweets! As usual, my last five tweets are posted below if you scroll down and look in the right-hand column.

Fools Gold?

The biggest asset class in the news lately has got to be gold. As the dollar continues to weaken, gold has surged in price over the last several weeks to all time highs in price. Thursday's close had gold priced at a never before seen value of $1123/oz. Year to date, gold is up over 26% and has gained over 78% in value in the past 3 years. So is it too late to buy gold? Some pundits expect gold to continue to climb to $1200, $1500, and some even predict $2000 in the not to distant future. Of course, like anything else, it all depends on your goals and objectives. Are you in it for the long haul or just for a short term play? If the US Dollar strengthens from actions from the Fed or Treasury Dept. moves, then the price of gold may come down a bit. Long term, these predictions could play out. Just remember, had you bought gold in the early 80's at the going price of $800 per oz., you would have watched it go down below $300 and back up to today's values. If you really want to get in on a piece of the action, the safest way to play is by buying the Gold Trust ETF, "GLD" or the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, "GDX". You can hold in your brokerage account and not worry about the cost of storage fees and safety issues that gold bars and coins entail. Think gold is too expensive? Try silver. It usually follows to path of gold, and is a fraction of the cost. The Silver Trust ETF, "SLV" can be had for $17.15/share at Friday's close, and silver has actually outperformed gold this year. It's up over 53%! Happy mining!