Sun -
I too think that a lot of internet stocks are going to experience some serious pain this year. If a stock goes way up because of a change in the market's perception of the company and not because of its fundamentals, then it can go down for the exact same reason. When you buy the hype you are investing in the market's sentimentality, and not in the company. I'm still green behind the ears but I'd rather bet my money on a company than on the capricious whims of the average investor. Of course, if I were smarter I would be able to predict "what is the MARKET going to think is the next big thing" as opposed to "what is the next big thing".
I do own some internet stocks but my recommendation is that as far as investing goes, try to stick with ones that have profitable business models. A personal favorite of mine is Go2Net (GNET), but I don't want to plug anything on this board. What bothers me about the company is that it doesn't "play the Wall St. game", but if anyone wants to talk GNET we can take it to PM or the GNET thread.
Anyway, Sun, I'm wondering if you could possibly elaborate on your rather sweeping generalization of "internuts". You certainly don't mean internet stocks in general? Or just ones with sky-high PEs? I guess what I'm asking is are you talking a sector meltdown or the bursting of the bubble?
Also, I'm curious what you think about Japanese equities given that an awful lot of money is starting to become unlocked from the savings accounts of Japanese retail investors, and they have been regaining confidence in their market. The Nikkei has run up 35% this year, which I'd normally say is a lot but compare that to our Nasdaq, up 65% this year. I don't think they will reach the lofty heights of 40,000 anytime soon but a booming economy could send them back up to 30,000 in short order, what do you think? The Japanese still have plenty of room to grow.
Happy investing ..
-G |
