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Technology Stocks : Altaba Inc. (formerly Yahoo) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: john defreitas who wrote (26080)	12/2/2000 5:11:23 PM
From: CookiePuss	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27307

john, how many of us could have written this letter to cramer ;-) Step Into Cramer's Confession Booth By James J. Cramer Originally posted at 9:50 AM ET 12/1/00 on RealMoney.com We all know I get a ton of mail. Sometimes an email comes in that says it all about this era. Here is today's: Jim, you don't have to read this. I am sending it to you because I need to repent my wayward ways in the market. To do that I must confess my investing sins and go forth and "sin no more." Perhaps somewhat dramatic, but there is nothing here I haven't known in my heart of hearts for some time. However, confession is only good if you make it to someone. Since you have become my financial "priest" in some sense, I decided to make my confession to you. Here goes. I have committed the sin of greed, manifest as fearing the loss of potential profit more than the loss of actual equity. This has resulted in a lack of discipline in setting stops and limiting losses. It has caused me to turn substantial gains into losses. I will never again enter a trade or maintain a position without setting a predetermined sell point at which to lock in profits and/or limit losses. I have committed the sin of arrogance, manifest as insisting I knew more than the market -- that I was "right" and the market was "wrong" about the worth of a stock. This has resulted in maintaining losing positionswhile waiting for the market to "wise up" and recognize what I already "knew." I will "listen" to the market and no longer hold positions beyond my predetermined loss point. I have committed the sin of confusing stock shares with capital. I have often conceptually substituted shares for dollars, leading me to rationalize losses because the number of shares I owned remained constant, even as their value plummeted. I know this sounds weird, but as long as I didn't sell, I rationalized I hadn't lost anything because I still had the same number of shares (needless to say, I loved splits!). If the price dropped, atsome point it had to come back, right? I only lost if I sold. I have come to believe this is the bane of the buy-and-hold investor. I will no longer think of equities in any terms other than their monetary value. I have committed the sin of holding stock to avoid paying taxes. The result here is obvious. I will let the market determine when I buy and sell without regard to tax consequences. I will forever look at paying taxes as a cost of doing business and an indication of success. I have committed the sin of myopia. I have focused on tech stocks to the exclusion of opportunities in other market sectors. While I will probably always have a bias toward the tech sector, I will no longer let it limit my market activities. I will attempt to place my equity where the best opportunities exist with decent risk/reward parameters. I have committed the sin of delusion. All too often, when thingshave gone wrong, I have rationalized, or even ignored reality. This has often resulted in a kind of paralysis and indecision that has more often than not cost me money. In the future, I will be disciplined in executing a predefined plan for each trade/investment I enter. I have committed the sin of hating cash. I felt being less than fully invested was foolish. It has cost me money. I will use cash as a regular part of my investment strategy, attempting to always have a cash reserve available to respond to opportunities when they present themselves. I'm sure I could go on, but if I can avoid these "sins," I will be well on my way to correcting most of my glaring deficiencies. I am mad at myself for giving back the gains from the past 12 months. I can never allow that to happen again. While I am still up about 400% since 1995, there is no excuse for giving back half. Strangely, on a number of occasions in early 2000, I took your advice by "taking some off thetable," only to plow those gains back into the market a few days later -- usually on some stock that was much riskier than the one I sold. The lessons of the past eight months have been expensive ones. I can only hope that over the fullness of time they will prove to be worth the cost. Thanks for the lessons you have provided at a much lower cost. Maybe if [the lessons of the last eight months] had cost more, I would have learned them better, sooner. And thanks for "hearing" my confession. This guy's good, too. I know him. He is a good investor. Don't let these sins be visited upon you next time around.

To: john defreitas who wrote (26080)	12/4/2000 1:10:59 PM
From: Rick_Barry	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27307

Looking at the first message below makes me think twice about yahoo at this stage. Yes, Koogle is a good talker. But the problem with the ads. Go to Yahoo!Shopping to find out how much they charge, $100/month for less than 50 items. No contract, merchants can cancel anytime (this is scary part). Also, the wealth effect now become disaster. People will shop less (both at the mall and online). I looked at some online items at Yhoo!shopping such Louis Vitton handbags and wondering if someone would purchase these design items online. Certainly I would not buy it online. Go to the mall I can see and feel it. Women love going to the mall because it's one of their nature. Started By: sage douglas Date: Apr 25, 1996 1:29 PM Despite the much publicized euphoria surrounding Yahoo!`s flotation, I am not sure how they expect to profit from the Internet! There are plenty of equally good search-engines for browsing through the www. I therefore am finding it difficult to find fair value for the stock! I estimate a range between $25 -$35 , but thats just an oppinion! If anyone has any more concrete ideeas it would be nice to hear them.