If spam equals revenue...

So as you may or may not remember I have been frequenting Fool.com. I have already discussed how they recommended Rosetta Stone (RST),which is up 27% from just yesterday.

While that pick was a more formal recommendation, they also offer informal ones to anyone who wanders their way over to fool.com and reads the free articles. I thought it was interesting to note that one of the picks was for Pfizer, the company who manufactures the product our spam boxes know and love.

Now don't get me wrong, they talk about a whole lot of factors in their promotion of Pfizer, which are probably justifiable. But that leads me to a question.

Should I invest in a company like Pfizer?

I know they do more then just make Viagra, but that is hard to overlook when my email boxes are loaded with thousands of Viagra related spam. Should traders be concerned with moral issues, or should they focus on making money?

As for myself I am torn.

Luckily I do not have to invest in Pfizer because the plan was to purchase only the official recommended companies, and this is unofficial. But what if Pfizer becomes the official pick?

We will just have to wait and see where my conscience takes me.

"Wait, you like girls and money! Your freaking me out..."

Hopefully soon their will be some real action to write about.

-tCT

So far, so bueno

Well as you can see I am working up on my Spanish. Why, you wonder? Well because the first recommended stock pick I was given was for Rosetta Stone (RST) and was dated February 19th (the new recommendations come every 3rd Friday of the month at fool.com).

On the 19th RST was trading at about $16.85. From the time they recommended it to the time I saw it (Feb 24th) it had already jumped to about $17.45. Today (Feb 25th) RST has just published their 4th quarter results, and are now trading at about $18.55 after hours. That is a 10.2% increase in 1 week.

...

1 week.

...

While that settles in...

I will let you know that, NO, I did not buy Rosetta after it was recommended to me. I know, I know I should have gone with the recommendation instead of buying more ATVI. How was I supposed to know they would be so right, it was my first time using it...

So it looks like I have missed the Rosetta boat this time, but next time I will actually put my money where my mouth is, and see if I can make money doing exactly what the Fool's tell me. That is the whole point of this project, seeing what works and what doesn't. Not going off and actually investing...

So to you readers, or perhaps reader, I am sorry. The next one will be for real, no take backs.

Tune in next time, same slotmachinetrader time, same slotmachinetrader channel! (probably not as catchy as the original)

-tCT

PS: Literally in the time it took me to write this post RST is now trading at $19.60 after hours...

...

WOW

He shoots...He scorecards!

So I have been messing around with the Motley Fool website and it is pretty cool. Most of the features available are like anything you would see on Yahoo or Google Finance. The one difference is the community and the Caps Scores. This site is all about community and helping people invest in good companies.

You can also put your portfolio information on and it will track your portfolio against S&P*. As you can see my gains are about 2.5% versus the S&P gains of about 1.98%.

Also you will notice that I have two different prices for ATVI. I know its not the trade you thought I would make, but... well I think its just too good to pass up. I consider ATVI a part of my core, and having fun with trading has to take the back burner to my serious investing (not to mention it has a 5 star caps rating... hint hint).

With that aside I promise that with the next trade I will purchase something off the recommended buy page they gave me. So far the site seems really good. It follows two founders of the website portfolios and shows their gains vs S&P. For instance one of them has seen a 67% gain on his portfolio! That is huge.

Don't get too excited, those guys are pros. We will have to just wait and see if their site will be beneficial to a novice trader like me.

"Not all that glitters is gold."

-tCT

*S&P 500 (Standard and Poor's) is an index on 500 large-cap, common stocks, that are actively traded. It, like other indices (such as the Dow Jones), are used to gauge the overall market.

A Fool

So as time goes on, I find I study so much that by the time I make a move the short gains to be had are gone. So I have called in the assistance of a Fool. The Motley Fool to be exact.

Motley Fool is a website that has its users rank companies. You can go on there and rate the companies you have shares in, and ones you don't. As time goes on, the website tracks your picks to how the shares prices fluctuate. So if you are accurate with your picks, then you will have a higher rating.

The site also shows ratings for companies. For instance after looking up ATVI it has a 5 star Cap rating. 5 stars is the most, meaning almost all members think the company will be strong (bullish), where as 1 star would mean most members think the company will be weak (bearish).

This is very cool because you can find out when people rated them, and at what price, and for how long. It will show you who rated the company, and also that persons rating. So if someone with a rating of 100 (highest you can get, I think means you are correct more than 85% of the time) says buy, then that is more credible then someone with a low rating.

Of course you have to take this with a grain of salt... No one really knows how well a company will do, but this is a good starting point. Since the whole point of this project is to see if money can be made by someone who doesn't know anything about trading, I am going to do exactly what this site tells me, and see how that goes. I have purchased a 1 year subscription, and while I have just started looking into it, it seems pretty good.

Legally I can not disclose anything that is only for paid members (though I doubt anyone would ever notice or care). I will try to give information that will teach how this service works. I have just started looking into it, but its fairly extensive. It gives you recommendations on stocks you should buy, hold or sell. It even tells you which companies should be in your core (timeless stocks to hold).

Though I can not tell you which companies they suggest, I will be able to tell you which companies I purchase. I will keep you posted, and together we will see if this service is worth it.

Keep your eyes peeled, and we will see what I purchase next.

-tCT

US beats Canada Appreciation Day!

Preface: I know this is supposed to be about trading, but you will have to forgive me, because sometimes something special comes along that just needs to be talked about.

Where were you when the US beat Canada? OK, so your probably saying "what else is new... its Canada...?" Your right, in most things the US beating Canada is no big deal, but this is about hockey. I don't know if you knew, but Canada, well they love hockey... Who knew...?

Its been said about the 2010 Winter Olympics that if Canada only wins one Gold, well it better be in Hockey. So they put together one of the best most star ridden teams in history to take them there.

And this team hits a WALL known as the United STATES. The US played with relatively young and inexperienced players, and were written off before the game by all of the announcers... even Jeremy Roenick (One of USA best former hockey players).

If you were unaware, like my sister was, the stars of the NHL are made up of mostly foreign players, and during the Olympics the US isn't a hockey power house. They have only won gold twice and the last one was in 1980. The US has only medaled once since 1980 and it was for Silver (after losing to Canada) in 2002.

I have never watch a game with so much excitement and trepidation as the game I watched last night. It was not about the gold, it was not about stars, it was a prequalifier that, win or lose, both team would move on to the next round.

No it wasn't about that, it was about Pride. It was about both teams proving themselves.

And well, after last night, I am proud to have watch one of the best most hardest fought games I have ever witnessed. I can not explain to you how amazing that game was. The last few moments were so exciting that you can hear "DOC", a professional announcer, actually loses his voice from calling the game.

NBC Olympics Highlights of the US vs Canada

What sums this game up for me is after the final goal, the US is in a dog pile behind the goal going crazy and the announcer says the lamest, stupidest, and yet most meaningful line I have ever heard...

"And those are a bunch of happy humans, right there!"

I was happy too. And that, Charlie Brown, is what the Olympics is all about.

-tCT

Never, ever look back...

So as you well know I sold my Citi shares yesterday for $3.30. I am finally free and I a happier person for it. I am sure they have tanked, and are doing poorly again- What? $3.43 as of this post? A fool, you say?

I have heard that one of the most important things to do when buying and selling stocks, is never look back. Hindsight is always 20/20 and sometimes that perfect vision isn't a blessing.

Yes, I sold Citi too early. Yes I figured at some point it would go up. Do I regret what I have done? Absolutely Not.

I sold Citi because I do not believe they have a good business model or a good company. Markets are naturally fickle. Any company, good or bad, can be bullish (ie strong **). Traders, opposed to investors, have vague reasons for trading and are only looking for a quick buck. With that said, I am an awful Trader. Terrible in fact. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to stop trading, but I am going to just have to think less like an investor and more like a trader.

So lets look forward and think of the bright side. ATVI is doing very well, and if things continue in this direction, not only will I cover my costs.... I might... just maybe... make a profit! Don't tell anyone though... I don't want my profit to see its shadow and declare 6 more weeks of losing money.

In a couple more days my sale will clear, and I will be able to turn that money I got for Citi into shares of some new exciting company.

"Wait... your in the black? You?" Thanks...

Symbol	Cost	Mkt Value	+/-
ATVI	142.68	145.47	+2.79
Total	142.68	145.47	+2.79

-tCT

**For those who need clarification, like I did, Bullish means strong or positive and Bearish means weak or negative. Honestly I think its dumb. Bears are stronger than bulls. The song wasn't Lions, Tigers and Bulls oh my... But everyone uses it, so join the club, impress your friends with random trading facts!

What do you mean, it sold?!

So when I set up that limit trade last week, I honestly didn't expect Citi to get to $3.30 anytime soon... I did it more just to see if it worked, and guess what? It does...

Citi got all the way up to $3.31 a share! I can't believe it... So that being the case, my limit order sold all my shares (all 35 of them) for $3.30 a share. I won't lie to you, I kind of wanted to hold on to the shares. In fact after writing the blog about limit orders, I intended to cancel the order and just hang on to them. Oh well... I feel so, so liquidated...

Now its on to the future. Soon I will move all the money I have in the ShareBuilder over to Schwab and close the SB account.

The markets have been up and down the past few weeks, we are riding a bit of a wave, but who knows where it will take us. Needless to say, we live in Interesting Times.

Symbol	Cost	Mkt Value	+/-
C (SOLD)	133.50	115.50 (Sold Price)	-18.00
ATVI	142.68	143.13	+0.45
Total	276.18	258.63	-17.55

-tCT

Take it to the Limit!

So today, as I was thinking about all the opportunities lost from holding on to Citi, I decide I would try a new type of trading. Some of you may be aware of Limit Orders, but for me, this was my first one.

Brief Lesson: Limit orders are orders that you place for a certain amount to guarantee a price to buy or sell.


For instance I wanted to sell Citi but I didn't want to do it at the current market price of $3.18(also the markets are into after hours, since the markets close at 1 PM PST). So I decided a share value I would be willing to sell my shares which is $3.30 a share. The brokerage will then sell my shares for exactly $3.30 automatically when they reach that price. This saves me from having to pay attention and sell them manually.


As you can see from the summary, I am going to end up with $105.55 after commissions. While this is indeed a loss, I am still up on my account! When I made a Sharebuilder account I was offered $50 free if I made a deposit. My account was credited the $50 earlier this week. So with a initial $150 deposit, and after losses and commissions, I will be on top by about $12! WOO!

Of course I would have liked to have made more money then just what was given to me, but considering all the learning and mistakes I made I am pretty pleased; I am sure I could have lost a whole lot more.

Keep in mind though, Citi is still in my account until the price gets up to 3.30. I can't be sure if that will happen anytime soon, but one can only hope.

So with my Limit Order in place, ATVI doing well, and a free 50 bones, I'm feeling pretty good!

Heres to the weekend!

-tCT

Prophecy

Well as you may know (looking at my account balance) I have not been doing well on my actual purchases. Citi as we all know, has been doing poorly and has hovered around 3.20 mark for a couple weeks. ATVI has seen a slight increase, but I wouldn't mind more.

That takes me to some advice I gave myself last month. Mid January I mentioned how Warren Buffet's BRK-B was going to be split. Since the split the stock has gone up by 11% in just 3 weeks. Well how do you like that, the one I don't get money into does well...

Thats how it goes, I should have moved money around, I should have taken the loss on Citi and sold, but I didn't. Oh well, ATVI has gone up by roughly 8% since I got in on it, and thats not too bad. First time I have ever went to my account and saw green instead of red... Weird...

Well hopefully seeing green becomes a new trend for me...

Symbol	Cost	Mkt Value	+/-
C	133.50	111.30	-22.20
ATVI	142.68	144.43	+1.75
Total	276.18	255.73	-20.45

-tCT

In banks we don't trust.

So I just read this fine article "The Least-Trusted Banks in America" and well there is some good news. Apparently Citi is not the worst... they are second worst, thank you very much!

In other news, ATVI has been staying relatively low (around $10 even) for the past few days. I am surprised as it has been getting a lot of news in its favor, but then again EA's lowered outlook has people thinking the game industry is dying. Though I do not trust Activision, I do trust Blizzard and I firmly believe that with their upcoming releases, these things will be as good as gold.

I am still waiting on my refund to arrive, hopefully it will be here by the end of the week... which means more real trading next week! I have lost focus lately on the stock market, so I plan to do some research later this week. Maybe something interesting will pop out of the woodworks.

So sit back and relax...

Symbol	Cost	Mkt Value	+/-
C	133.50	111.30	-22.20
ATVI	142.68	130.65	-12.03
Total	276.18	241.95	-34.23

-tCT

Taxes...

So I did my taxes early this year, because TurboTax just keeps getting easier and easier. It took me 26 minutes to do everything. Honestly I was almost disappointed it didn't take longer, but then again I don't have much that needs to be taxed so no big deal. So with my refund on its way, I am excited to say that I will be adding more money for investing!

WOO!

With that said, things are looking bleak market wise. In the past 5 days Citi alone has had a high of $3.45 and a low $3.16 (where it is currently holding). While Citi has always been awful, it is a pretty good indicator to the overall market. ATVI has also had its ups and down, with 5 day high of $10.54 and a bottom of $10.04. People are in sell mode, and that could be good or bad.

I think that when I do get an infusion of cash, I am going to put some of it into ATVI and then find a penny stock or something to put the rest into.

"You know your getting up in the world, when your mail is to important to be folded."

Initial Balance: $500.00
Current Balance: $466.24
Cash: $224.82
Stock: $241.42
35 shares Citigroup $110.25
13 shares Activision/Blizzard $131.17
Total (+/-): $-33.76

-tCT

Singing some praises

I think there are some thanks in order. As you may or may not know my trading life has been up and down, and well I got to admit though I haven't yet been able to trade as frequently as I'd like, I am glad I went with Schwab. They are extremely helpful, and just below the limits of being overwhelming. I think they are great. Had I been around for the old days of brokerage firms, I am sure this is what it would have been like.

Don't get me wrong, their online platforms are extremely extensive with the amount of technology and usefulness, and the people who work there and the way they send you information is excellent. It is like they have taken the best of both worlds, and put it into one company. Do you need to talk to your broker, get help with trading? Sure 24/7 internet and phone service. Do you want to do trading for yourself, but are unsure how to start? Ok, they have an online learning center, and offer seminars on trading. Are you a hardcore trader who needs some "power trading tools"? Look up their Street Smart Service, it's is top of the line.

In short Schwab offers it all, I am almost ashamed that I am only using there service for messing around. If and when I start honestly investing, I will be staying with Schwab for sure.

In short, I recommend to anyone looking to start investing to take a look a Schwab, you won't regret it.

Sorry for the schwab commercial there, but if you know me, you know I like people to like what I like... So Like It Already!

Initial Balance: $500.00
Current Balance: $469.95
Cash: $224.82
Stock: (as of post)
35 shares Citigroup $113.05
13 shares Activision/Blizzard $132.08
Total (+/-): $-30.05

-tCT