John, Hate to sound like P. Lynch but, "Know what you buy, buy what you know."
I made comments on another thread (AOL) about this issue. I asked about the drivers for augmented profit growth, and received only about four replies (there must be 50 -100 regular posters on that thread). I was disturbed because it told me something about the nature of the people who invest in the internet stocks. My conclusion is that the vast majority of these people don't take the time to read the 10-Qs and 10-Ks, don't understand the nature of the business they have invested in, and the result is that the "investors" are really momentum players. That makes me very uncomfortable, and in spite of my thinking that AOL is a solid company with a solid future, I am considering getting out because I don't want to be swept up in some sort of manic-depressive rollercoaster ride. Beyond that, there is the question of valuation. When investors take a dispassionate look at their holdings there is a much greater chance that valuation will bear some relationship to reality, and that feeling provides me with some comfort. What that relationship is, I don't know exactly, but the point is that I want to know that my fellow investors are forming independent informed decisions based on some sort of value and growth criteria.
Day traders don't bother me because they provide liquidity to the market. But momentum players scare the catnip out of me.
That's why this thread is so valuable. We have investors like Sig, Rudedog, Mohan, Jim Kelley, JBN3, Geoff Nunn, John Rosser, Lee, Kemble, ... --I could go on and on with that list -- who watch the news and spend considerable effort in trying to make sense of it and translate it into practical ramifications. (Don't feel offended if I left your name out, the point is that the list is very, very long, and my excerpt is very brief). And we have the occasional short like Jim Patterson who test our convictions with their concerns and criticisms.
TTFN,
CTC |
