Jason, I have always found it interesting the way that those who are the biggest critics will find plenty of time to do DD on their criticisms. Yet when asked to contribute to the thread, they back out. You aren't the first.
I was just looking for acknowledgement of a poor year by most EVERYONE, including you.
Really? What? You go from place to place "looking for acknowledgement of a poor year"??? And how, may I ask, does this help you? And what good does this do? To me it is a waste of time.
2000 was what it was. Plain and simple. The Nasdaq fell 39% on the year. We made extraordinary gains in the first two months. Then we SOLD OUT of techs in the first week of March. We ran to cyclicals, REITs and Dow stocks for the summer. Around October 13th we began dipping our toes back into long-term techs. . . buying the most beaten up value-oriented issues. . . with the peak of our buying happening the first part of December.
Was that good or bad? Well, the first part was amazingly great. The second part was not so good. So what?
Most everything bought mid-October was stopped out in a matter of days. Most everything bought in early December was stopped out in a matter of days. Some here doubled their portfolios during 2000. And some had extraordinary gains in December. Others suffered terrible loss in October and November. And still others never sold a tech from March and were devastated . . and are no longer with us.
Should I dwell on that? That is what it seems you would like me to do. But how would that benefit those who are still with us? It wouldn't. We all know what happened. But it sounds like you would like me to say that because 2000 had some rough waters that we are just going to give up and quit.
I see no reason to quit. There are PLENTY of fine traders that have survived 2000 just fine and are anxious to move forward. And I am here to assist in whatever way I can. Period.
As for criticism, no, I don't take it well. With the number of sacrifices I have consistently made on a daily basis for two years here, I am simply not interested in whining. The amount of time I put in posting my thoughts is not just for the thousands of wonderfully gracious patrons of our community. . . .but for the few ungratefuls as well. I don't log in the number of hours I spend answering email of a personal nature. . . from those wanting to know what to do next after losing their homes, families, spouses, etc. due to margin calls, daytrade gambling debts, or borrowing against their house to daytrade, etc., etc., etc., . . . . . or from those who have made so much money that they don't know what to do next or how to act. Or from those who are lonely. . . .worried. . . confused . . . ill. . .in need. . . You have no clue what it is that I REALLY do here!
Yeah, I get miffed at criticism. . . from those who fail to contribute. But I take to heart and gladly accept criticism from our regular contributors.
I totally agree with you that there are times when I do not do sufficient DD on a company. But then, we don't trade on fundamentals here. Before you ever started coming around, we were trading primarily momentum. . . ignoring all fundamentals and valuations. Over the past year, we have begun to look a bit closer at valuations. And in 2001 we'll probably start looking more closely at fundamentals. DD has been a sort of evolutionary process here at HOME, according to the flow of the markets.
But I do agree that over the past year of building a place to communicate in ways that we do not have presently, it has taken me away from the time I used to spend doing as deep of DD as I used to do. That is one reason that I rarely make stock picks anymore. And it is because I am too busy with our move to Insighters.com, that I keep saying that I am officially "still on vacation".
If you read every post, you'd know that. But why bother, when it is easier to just stop in once every 2 months to take pot shots at me. . . like you have for about a year and a half now.
It is true that a month or so ago, I had to pull my opinion on CDMA, due to lack sufficient DD. It was pointed out that I needed to read some newer data on G3 and CDMA, so I rescinded all opinions until I had more time to study the emerging technology. I didn't think that CDMA would gain market share as quickly as others had thought. And frankly, after reading 40 pages on the subject, I still have serious doubts!! . . . since G3 is a good 5 years from being readily available. And when it does hit, GSM and CDMA will both benefit. And currently, GSM dominates the world with 4 times the global market share of CDMA. And believe me. . . .I am sparing you volumes of TECHNO BABBLE on why I believe as I do.
Regarding DD, I must say in my defense, that I spare you guys MUCH of the details. Most here don't want all the details. And don't forget, I try to tailor the commentary on this thread to the High School graduate. So excuse me, if we don't fill the HOME thread with thousands of pages boring due diligence. That isn't what this thread is about. And that is what links are for. . .and there are other threads that are more focused on DD. . . so why duplicate the process?
I post my views, but I rarely post the research that went into making those views. And many here appreciate that. In fact, according to the feedback I receive, 98% of those who read this board enjoy what they read. That last 2% will NEVER be happy.
Jason, I wish you the highest level of prosperity and the maximum joy possible for 2001.
Rande Is |
