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To: RR who wrote (56366)	12/8/2002 10:03:40 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Strategies from the Best Stockpickers Saturday December 7, 9:23 pm ET By Linda Stern WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From here on out, the stock market may be somewhat less dismal, but it will be no less bumpy. And, anyone who has ever made -- or lost -- money in volatile markets knows that it's important to have a strategy. Investors who jump from theory to theory or change their strategy with the latest CNBC reports will, as the saying goes, get slaughtered while the bulls and the bears make money. It's not always easy to define a strategy, but a book published earlier this year can help. "The Market Gurus" by John Reese and Todd Glassman (2002, Dearborn Trade Publishing), spells out the strategies employed by some of the most famous and methodical investors in U.S. stock market history. It's a nice book for investors who are serious about scouring the market for good stocks, because it spells out the exact criteria by which the Warren Buffetts, Martin Zweigs and Peter Lynches of the world came by their fortunes. It's as if each star investor wrote a chapter opening his own magic box of strategies. And every detail is summarized in a grand final chapter called "the famous ratios" which lists and explains the numbers that can point the way to good stocks. For example, there's not one of the famous investors who doesn't look at some measure of a company's intrinsic value. Most looked at the ratio of a company's share price to its earnings, either as a stand-alone statistic or in relation to other figures. For example, Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, liked companies with PE ratios under 15. Peter Lynch only looked at the PE of those firms with sales exceeding $1 billion, and he wanted them to have PEs under 40. That gives you a much longer list of companies, but not the whole universe. Even William O'Neil, the publisher of Investor's Business Daily who is famous for loving fast growing companies and stocks that are moving up quickly, likes to look at PE and compare it to how fast a company's earnings are growing. In his estimation, a high price/earnings ratio is okay if it is exceeded by the company's annual earnings growth rate. That ratio is called PEG. What about Warren Buffett, probably the most lauded investor still trading today? He doesn't look at PE, or O'Neil's PEG, or price-to-sales or yield, other measures you'd expect a traditional value investor to use. Instead, Buffett really scours a company's debts, and buys shares only in firms that can pay off their long-term debt with two years of net earnings... last year's earnings. His ratio? Long- term debt must be less than twice last year's earnings. In fact, all but one of the famous investors steered clear of companies with high debt loads, though each had his own way of measuring that. Other factors that pointed star investors to star stocks? Fast earnings growth. Solid dividends. Growing sales. Anyone willing to do a little homework (and homework is much easier to do with online stock screening sites available today), can put together their own strategy from the useful information in this book and build a portfolio likely to deliver gains over the long haul. The authors points are informative, but they deliver one lesson more than they probably wish they had. Their own, analytical Web site, validea.com -- which spawned the book and is referred to at the beginning and end of the volume -- is inactive, and for all intents and purposes, defunct. That doesn't make their information invalid. It just seems their own company didn't measure up to those winning ratios. (Linda Stern is a freelance writer who covers personal finance issues for Reuters. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern(at)aol.com). biz.yahoo.com

To: RR who wrote (56366)	12/8/2002 10:21:24 AM
From: RR	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Morning Troops! Everyone doing their homework this weekend? Getting that plan down for this week to make some money? This ole market may have some steam left. The ole bears and bulls are really tugging at each other right now but I think there is some steam left in the market over the next 4 weeks. Maybe 9000 on the big board and SPX 1000. Remember options expire next week, so I'd expect some volatility this week to line up for options week. Question, are you a trader? If so, what is your time frame, your style? I mean, do you day trade, or swing trade over a few days, etc.? It seems so easy to get wrapped up looking at data and the charts in a time frame that does not match the trading strategy. Like I've said before, I hear of people making decisions based on watching a 5 or 10 min chart when that doesn't even fit their time frame. Sometimes it's good to set that thing on 60 mins or a daily and walk away. Patience. Set your plan. Determine strategy. Have the discipline to execute it. Stay on target. Have patience, but be aggressive. So what's your plan? You got one? RR

To: RR who wrote (56366)	12/8/2002 12:27:01 PM
From: Cactus Jack	Respond to of 65232

RR, My favorite uncle (Dad's brother) is near the end as well. I just saw him earlier this week for what may be the last time. He seems pretty prepared to pass on, but my Dad has always looked up to him and is heartbroken. The holidays only magnify the loss when the flood of memories return. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to lose a child. Stay well. jpg

To: RR who wrote (56366)	12/8/2002 6:59:58 PM
From: McNabb Brothers	Respond to of 65232

RR, Count your blessings for having parents as long as you did and look at this holiday season to celebrate their long lives they had and think of the good times you had with them especially the things they did that made you laugh! It's very healthy to cry and laugh, for if they did not mean anything too you or your wife in life then you would not miss them as you do! When the family gets together sit down and talk about what if mom or dad or grandma or grandpa were here would be doing now or thinking now! Then have everyone tell the funniest story they can think of about each one, have a toast in their honor and remember they are in a much better place than we are! So many blessings to count and most do not know where to begin! Hank

To: RR who wrote (56366)	12/8/2002 8:48:47 PM
From: Jill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

RR it's funny how we step into these roles, these passages, like a suit of clothes...sometimes I look at toddlers in the park, and all toddlers are the same in certain ways--they've just got their sealegs, they are so excited to waddle about and want to explore the world, they love to get away from Mom and Dad, but then quickly turn around, a little scared--are they still there? And teenagers--especially girls--are always giggling together--I remember being 12 and practically falling apart giggling with my best friend in the lunchroom at school--can't imagine what could have been so funny-- Young parents, the middle aged, the elders--the roles are bigger than us, and we fit into them whether we choose to or not!