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To: unclewest who wrote (16931)	4/29/2000 2:18:00 AM
From: djia101362	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35685

Unclewest, I hope you don't think I was trying to stir up a hornets nest with you. I'm just trying engage in thoughtful discussion and point out that everyone has a different opinion of the same situation. I think your definition of a reasonable P/E and P/S and my definiton are probably miles apart. I admit that I live by the sword and die by the sword and I myself have seen a good portion of my nestegg vanish in since the beginning of March. But I also know that had I gotten gunshy, I would have missed the great buying opportunity that was presented to us early this week. I have been around long enough to know that if you're not in the market you cannot come back. You can also lose what little you have left and I realize that too. I use margin probably more than I should but was lucky enough to have lightened up when I saw trouble ahead. That doesn't mean I escaped injury because I certainly did not. But I also know that technology is the future and the brighest companies in this area HAVE high P/Es and high P/Ss. I suppose that is the price you pay for growth. I think most people that frequent the porch tend to be more aggressive investors than not. QCOM which is the dominant stock of discussion here is certainly not a low P/E P/S stock. My largest holding by far is JDSU and I'm quite sure this stock does not light up on your radar screen of screaming buys. Have a good weekend and I'd like to hear your thoughts on stocks like JDSU, QCOM, and NTAP.

To: unclewest who wrote (16931)	4/29/2000 2:39:00 AM
From: djia101362	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35685

I think it's interesting that bring up how much money has been lost in this market. The examples you gave are indicative of many many investors/gamblers. I say gamblers because the only way people lose that kind of money is by being on margin. Gamblers are a strange breed, they always seem to think the next game, the next roll, the next race, is going to be the one that brings them back. Likewise, investors on margin feel the next trading day or the next stock is the one that will bring them back. I think the most destructive thought for any investor is to think about how much money you had just xxx days ago. The more you think about what you had, the more likely you are to do something really dumb to try and get it back. The sad thing is that people have short memories and once you've used margin to achieve exponential gains, it's hard to go back to having 100% cash positions. Fortunes are made and lost in the market everyday, this will not change.

To: unclewest who wrote (16931)	4/29/2000 2:54:00 AM
From: shamsaee	Respond to of 35685

Completely agree with you unclewest.I went into a buying spree in feb/march and ignored all valuations and some technical signals(not a TA but understand some of the common terms and indicators)I was about 900k down on my portfolio and the only saving grace was that Nothing was on margin.I held all the shares and now have recovered about 40 percent of those losses.Had,I been forced to sell due to margin ,I would have never been able to make the recovery.The losses would have set me back a couple of years. I don't use margin due to the fact that,I am a lousy timer of buys and sells.I don't buy options because,I think you need to have years of experience to make money at them. I was reading about The Soros funds yesterday and if people who are proffesionals with leverage of 30BIL can get hurt,I as a individual will be better of to concentrate buying solid companies for the longterm than trying to be a trader. I think margin is a tool for skilled and seasoned investors and they even get it wrong sometimes.