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And this is one of those stories where the headline really does say it all. Our good friends at Homeland Security are keeping tabs on the legitimate purchase of both 3d printer and filament, because, for some reason, they still this is an easier way to obtain a handgun than to just buy one from some dude in the next state over.
I got a big LOL out of the dude from West Virginia who printed a bunch of lower receivers, then drove to Utica, NY and exchanged them for $21,000 at a buyback event a few years ago.
Also, debate idea:
Whenever either candidate makes a verifiably false statement, they have to take a drink.
Whenever Biden mumbles or freezes up, or Trump rolls his eyes or does the "what the teacher in Peanuts sounds like" voice, they have to take a drink.
I mean, it's not like they don't have some good material to work from. Here's an example which I just made:
Trump:
The stock market (DJIA, Nov 5 2020 - May 22 2024):
I mean, aside from the fact that the real value of my wealth has been decimated by inflation, I've done pretty well under Biden.
And, crap, who was in office when the US started printing money and giving it away like it was going out of style? I can never remember this... Rhymes with Ronald Rump, I think...
The stock market (DJIA, Nov 5 2020 - May 22 2024):
I wonder that if the stock market is based on dollars--and the value of dollars changes with inflation--what would an inflation-adjusted stock market look like? For example, if we were valuing the stock market in Venezuelan currency it would always be going up. Even a bad day could conceivably show positive figures simply because of the hyperinflation of the currency.
BUT, is inflation valued directly into the stock market like a formula, or since we have a fiat currency system is it all based on smoke and mirrors anyway?
Inflation could be a factor. I believe the market is artificially inflated for a few reasons. The main is that the past few downward cycles have made more investors ready to buy at any drop. This has caused many, me included to spring trade instead of long-term investing. I'm not overly knowledgeable about the market but I do invest often. I would like to trade daily, but I'm fairly conservative and have to follow a stock to determine it's at a period low. The other reason that the market has reached new highs is because it's the only game in town. What else would you do with your money?
Invest in foreign markets.
Invest in foreign currencies.
Invest in startup companies.
Invest in non-securities-based funds, such as REITs or oil ETFs.
Start or grow a small business.
Purchase real estate, such as rental houses or condos.
Purchase commodities, such as gold.
Purchase cryptocurrency.
Purchase corporate bond funds.
Other than real estate those would not be for me. I bet that would be true for most and why I think the market is so popular. Popular is the best way I can describe the reason for investing in stocks. There is no real logic, and nothing is guaranteed.
In 2019 I opened an account at Schwab with $3k. I then added about $5k in cash and over the next year and made another $2k. In 2020 the market went down from covid, and I added another $8k and bought a bunch of stuff that I though could not completely fail. Copper, GE, Tesla, Apple and Gabelli. There might be a few others. I was also spring trading most of these except GE because of its relative slow recovery and the copper stocks, FCX & SCCO. Now that account has $62K after 4yrs from an initial investment of $16k. Most of which is currently in cash, because I'm preparing for a correction.
What would the stock market look like today without all the gains from the magnificent seven? My 401k is just now returning to pre covid levels. That's with 4 years of contributions.
Other than real estate those would not be for me. I bet that would be true for most and why I think the market is so popular. Popular is the best way I can describe the reason for investing in stocks. There is no real logic, and nothing is guaranteed.
In 2019 I opened an account at Schwab with $3k. I then added about $5k in cash and over the next year and made another $2k. In 2020 the market went down from covid, and I added another $8k and bought a bunch of stuff that I though could not completely fail. Copper, GE, Tesla, Apple and Gabelli. There might be a few others. I was also spring trading most of these except GE because of its relative slow recovery and the copper stocks, FCX & SCCO. Now that account has $62K after 4yrs from an initial investment of $16k. Most of which is currently in cash, because I'm preparing for a correction.
I first started investing in mid 2000, when I was a young pup with my first corporate 9-5 job and a new Acura Integra in the garage, thinking I was Brantley Foster from The Secret of My Success. So, just in time to experience the post-9/11 market crash. Fortunately, I didn't have much skin in the game then, so it didn't hurt much.
Then, once my account balances started to have more digits in them, I made some dumb, panicky decisions during the unpleasantness of 2008, and actualized some fairly substantial losses which could have merely been a blip on paper had I had more patience. I vowed to learn from that experience. Back then, I was convinced that individual stock-picking strategies such as the "Dogs of the Dow" and so forth had merit. Today, I have a more humble perspective, and just use index funds like a normal person.
During 2020, I held fast to all of my long positions, and opened an additional (non-IRA) account shortly after the bottom into which I moved $100,000 in free cash and put it all in a single S&P 500 ETF. I just checked, and that account is now worth $182k. All the other positions have recovered and gained as well.
I also said "what the hell" and bought a house in August 2021. It was a total spur-of-the-moment decision, as my lease was running out and I figured that the market was ripe. Bought the third one I looked at. Took 2 weeks from when I decided to do it until we had an accepted offer. Got a 15 year mortgage at 2.125%.
I like to think I did a reasonably good job of learning from the mistakes of my late 20s / early 30s. And also reversed a very long unlucky (or dumb, depending on your perspective) streak which haunted me for years.
Until you get to be nearing retirement age, it's ok to hold onto long positions during a downturn and wait for the rebound. If you can, dump as much additional cash into them as possible while everyone else is panic-selling. Try to do so when you feel that the market is just about bottomed-out or beginning to recover, but don't obsess over trying to perfectly time the market; it's just impossible. If you miss-judge the bottom by 10 or 20% in either direction, no big deal- you're still making a bunch of free money.
Also, don't think I'm trying to one-up you by throwing around six-figure sums. I'm old, and single, and an absolute Scrooge, and I've been doing this for a while.
Originally Posted by stratosteve
What would the stock market look like today without all the gains from the magnificent seven? My 401k is just now returning to pre covid levels. That's with 4 years of contributions.
Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla, collectively, make up about 30% of the S&P 500's valuation. In 2023, they accounted for nearly 60% of the S&P's 24% year-over-year valuation growth. So, not insignificant.
On the other hand, tech stocks are notoriously volatile. People remember the ones that performed bigly. I'm old enough to remember the dot-com bust.
On the gripping hand, I also clearly remember selling AAPL at $10, thinking "hot damn, I just DOUBLED my (relatively small) investment!" Yet another dumb decision I made in my 20s which I have tried to learn from.
On the gripping hand, I also clearly remember selling AAPL at $10, thinking "hot damn, I just DOUBLED my (relatively small) investment!" Yet another dumb decision I made in my 20s which I have tried to learn from.
Sorry, but I couldn't help instantly remembering Forrest Gump and his investment in a small fruit company after having read that.
BTW, while we all read about how DJT is guilty guilt GUILTY (34X), the Biden administration has approved U.S. weapons use within Russian borders, as reported by Politico.
05-21-2024, 05:46 PM
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