Need some advice from the experienced folks. I have a 401k plan from work(I put 5%, they put 7% monthly). I opened up a ROTH account put $300/mo. What are some other areas where I can put small amounts monthly and just sit back for decades?
Looks like the make believe world is continuing....another budget surplus. Just imagine if we could get some tax reform and banks to lend. The economy is kind of sitting on a powder keg of money. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/us-budget-surplus_n_3581160.html US Government Records $116.5 Billion Surplus In June By MARTIN CRUTSINGER 07/11/13 04:40 PM ET EDT AP WASHINGTON -- The federal government on Thursday reported a rare surplus of $116.5 billion in June, the largest for a single month in five years. The gain kept the nation on track for its lowest annual deficit in five years. The June surplus was due in part to $66.3 billion in dividend payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage giants were taken over by the government at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and are now repaying taxpayers for the support they received. Through the first eight months of the budget year, the deficit has totaled $509.8 billion, according to the Treasury. That's nearly $400 billion lower than the same period last year. The Congressional Budget Office forecasts the annual deficit will be $670 billion when the budget year ends on Sept. 30. If correct, that would be well below last year's deficit of $1.09 trillion and the lowest since President Barack Obama took office. It would still be the fifth-largest deficit in U.S. history. The Obama administration also estimates a lower annual deficit, although it projects a slightly higher figure of $759 billion. Steady economic growth and higher tax rates have boosted the government's tax revenue this year. At the same time, government spending has fallen. The dividend payments from Fannie and Freddie have also helped. The government has collected $2.09 trillion in revenue so far this budget year, according to the June report. That's 14 percent more than the first eight months of the previous budget year. It has spent $2.6 trillion so far, or nearly 5 percent less than the same stretch last year. The decline partly reflects the impact of the automatic spending cuts that began in March. Defense spending is down 7 percent. A better job market has also helped lower spending for unemployment benefits almost 25 percent. Interest payments on debt are 4 percent lower than the same period last year. The improvement reflects the break the government is getting from record-low interest rates. But those payments will rise in coming years as the Federal Reserve allows interest rates to return to more normal levels. The federal deficit represents the annual difference between the government's spending and the tax revenues it takes in. Each deficit contributes to the national debt, currently $16.7 trillion. The improving deficit picture has taken pressure off negotiations to raise the federal borrowing limit, although that battle is likely to resurface in the fall. Obama has remained at odds with Republicans over cutting benefit programs and imposing further tax increases. The deficit reached a record $1.41 trillion in budget year 2009, which began four months before Obama took office. The Obama administration was forced to deal with a severe economic downturn that reduced revenues and boosted government spending in such areas as unemployment benefits and food stamps. The government also had to allocate billions of dollars to stabilize the financial system. The budget gaps in the next three years were slightly lower as a gradually strengthening economy generated more tax revenue. President George W. Bush also ran large deficits through most of his two terms in office after he won approval for broad tax cuts and launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The last time the government ran an annual surplus was in 2001.
I'm sitting on a 19% gain on DRYS since purchasing at $1.70. It's up just over 5% since securing a $1.8b in financing with maturing dates staggered between 2016 and 2021. Wondering if I should ride this further or take my gain and (possibly) wait for a pullback. Thoughts?
looking like peaks are always followed by troughs for this company.. id take profits and wait for a pull
I'm thinking about placing a stop loss order for AAPL at $418 ahead of its earnings. I bought some shares when it was at $395 so I would like to take some profit before/if it falls below that if the earnings are horrible. Good move?
That's not how stop loss orders work. If it's trading at $422 at the close, earnings come out, and it falls to $380, that will be immediate - you won't sell at $418, but at the best available price, which would be around $380. That only applies if you have access to after-market trading. If you don't have that access, then it will trade at whatever price the stock actually opens at tomorrow. It will only sell at $418 if the stock actually trades at $418, which is unlikely post-earnings. It's either going to go up or down, but it's unlikely to land immediately at $418.
Okay thanks. So I guess I can sell my shares before the close today if I think it is going to drop post maker close and earnings.
Exactly - if you're worried about an earnings drop, then you pretty much have to sell beforehand to protect yourself (or buy put options or sell call options or things like that - but that's a bit more complicated).
sold my AAPL today.. gonna hop on again once wall st freaks out about the most financially stable company in the world
My company offers 15% discount in their stock for employees. Is it good to buy at anytime or should I wait until its a lot lower than its 52 week high?
I particpate heavily in my company's plan. I put in a good size chunk and take out a decent chunk every quarter and not only do I get a nice chunk of cash to blow but the residual builds up. ex. for 1 qtr: buy 127 shares sell 100 shares (these are >6 months old) I get a good bump in "free" cash to spend on vacations, kids college expenses, or just something I want. If none of above hits, let it ride. That cash is approaching my CTS-V goal. I'm getting a manual so I'm not stuck driving the wife's Expedition...yeah she wears the pants but I have the brains...
Right. I heard about his tweet as it was happening. So I sold a few shares of aapl at 491 to cash in some profit, and it still went higher.
Everything seems to be indicating a slow grind higher thru the end of the year. Maybe when the Fed changes it's bond buying policy then it might be time to reevaluate the market. But even when they do change they are still going to be pumping in massive amounts of money into the market. Bottom line is don't fight the Fed...
That said....it's a good time for a pull back/consolidation after this break of support. Keep an eye out on the preferred stock market. The market has quickly been readjusting for a normalized rate environment and these things are getting slaughtered. If PFF gets down in that 35-36 range then there could be some very good buys in preferred stocks and closed end funds. IYR (real estate investment trusts) should also get dragged down quickly on changing rates.
