The market bear or bull?

[Greenland]

i have saved my money wisely in the past two years, so i'm buying it up . nothing to lose but money. if mel can take care of a little of the debt , the stock will be stable for 2009.

[Siriusowner]

Siriusowner,

You sound like an cautious investor. Now is a good time for investors to start looking at stocks and maybe start buying some stocks again. With the volatility, it is a trader's dream, so I very much disagree with the notion that traders aren't in this market.

It all depends on your risk tolerance and investment timelines. If you are an older investor, you would sit on the sidelines until the market has clearly turned. My timelines are a bit longer, so I am buying now with a long term outlook. Many many stocks are severely underalued.

Either way, good luck with your investments.

I have 2 faces. I am an investor and I am a trader.

As an investor I take care of my money, I defend my gains with my life and I do not let them disappear. My knowledge as a trader helps me to be a good investor, I hedge most of my investments and I do not have nor I expect to have 100%, 200% or 300% returns in 2 or 3 years. I expect to beat inflation and if I can compound to more then that is great. As of today I am not beating inflation this year but I am beating the indexes, in other words, I have lost money, yes, but not 50% or more. Yes I am very conservative as an investor, this is why I do not average down just because the stock becomes insanely inexpensive. If I buy, there's got to be a good reason and if it turns out that I get to average down then that is GREAT but again, averaging down is a "side effect". My 401K, which Schlumberger lets me manage thru Schwab, has lost "only" 15% this year, not 50% like most indexes and I am highly diversified with options, stocks, bonds and money markets. My 401K is for my retirement in 30 years (I am also young but I started playing with investments and trading since I was in college). SIRI is not a part of my 401K portfolio, it is too risky. I hold mostly blue chips in there and options for those blue chips.

SIRI stock was XM Radio stock... long story... I had to open a "mid-term swing trading/investment" account just for it... which was wrong but anyway it has help me identify other opportunities and to learn (swing trades should not become "investments"...). Long story short, I got stuck with it...and here I am writing in this forum...In the end if you intend to play with stocks outside your 401K, it may be a good idea to have 2 accounts, one for day/swing trading and one for "investments" (I still think that trades should not become "investments" though)...

As a trader, who other than APEX, I do not think anybody in this forum is, I am more agressive and sometimes take unecessary risks. I also defend any gains with my life BUT because trading is way more risky, sometimes I win and sometimes I loose. I think I loose more times than I win...However, each winning trade wins more than each loosing. Overall, most of the time, and especially lately, I've come out even. The market is very turbulent these days and timing it is quite difficult, in other words, one day the stock market looses 500 points and you think the next day it will rebound BUT it keeps going down... or viceversa...

The point is, if you are an investor, SIRI is a highly speculative stock. It is better if you could move it to a swing trading account and play with it. Then there, you could buy whenever your analysis will tell you to buy and sell the same way. But swing trading and day trading is not for the amateurs. You could loose your shirt...Or become a "mid-term investor" ? ha, ha, ha...

[Siriusowner]

i have saved my money wisely in the past two years, so i'm buying it up . nothing to lose but money. if mel can take care of a little of the debt , the stock will be stable for 2009.

Stop. You seem to be a wise person since you saved for 2 years. I assume you intend to buy it as an investment. Eventhough, the stock has gained 50% short term (1 week), long term it has lost 95% (last year). There will be a December shareholder meeting where they will vote for issuing more shares and a reverse stock split. You have saved for 2 years, what is 2 or 3 more weeks to wait ? Wait until then and BUY after the meeting BUT only if it makes sense.

If you intend to swing trade then you may want to consider SHORTING the damn stock. It is more likely the 50% gain it has enjoyed in the last week will disappear than for it to gain 50% more BUT it may keep going up so trade at your own risk and use technical analysis !!!