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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (1981)	5/15/1999 11:49:00 AM
From: Uncle Frank	Respond to of 54805

>>Did you ever think I, of all people, would short a front office stock? Bottom feeding (or should that be top skimming?), Mike? Don't be apologetic about recognizing an opportunity to make money. I think this is a skill we will all need to hone as we head into the summer slump, unless we are content to sit tight and watch our portfolio values drift down until the 4Q return of optimism. There's some interesting psychology in playing the downside. I actually felt guilty about buying puts on cpq in February - as if I was planning on profiting from the anguish of the good folks who were long on Compaq <think grave robber>. But in actuality, I think most of the float of put contracts is written by the companies themselves (this is surely the case for dell). In the end, I was deeelighted about 300% returns in 2 months <g>. I read an article years ago that analyzed the odds at craps. Turns out that <don't pass> is a better bet than <pass>, but not many play it due to the reaction of their fellow gamblers. Strangely enough the need for peer acceptance may be a stronger driver than greed. Frank

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (1981)	5/15/1999 9:34:00 PM
From: DlphcOracl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

*Somewhat Off Topic, Part II* As laughable as I find the mainstream financial publications to be, there is an occasional nugget amidst the rubble. The monthly publication "Red Herring" is devoted exclusively to technology/internet companies and often has insightful articles. I strongly recommend that members of this thread purchase the June 1999 issue entitled: "100 Top Companies of the Electronic Economy". Included are their 50 top private companies (several of which will be IPO's within the next 12 months) and top 50 public companies (as they see it) for 1999 in the technology/internet space. Although there are some glaring omissions and questionable picks, this list is a good source of investment ideas and includes many of the stocks discussed on this thread as well as several fledgling Gorilla & Kings. In short, it provides one with several good investment ideas. In the same vein, the May 1999 issue of Money magazine has a good article on the 10 technology stocks they believe are best to own for the next decade. As useless as this magazine usually is, this article is an exception and is worth a read. Reverting back to form, the May 1999 issue is also worth having for containing two articles (one following the other) by two of the most clueless financial writers on this planet. First, Jason Zweig write his umpteenth "internet tulipmania" article with some of the most ridiculous analogies imaginable (just when you think you have read it all). Then, James Grant, the perpetual bear who has been shouting for the past six years that the "overvalued" U.S.stock market will collapse, opines that smart money should now be invested in Japan because of its "compelling valuation". P-U-L-L-L-E-A-S-E!!! These two articles are worth having and keeping in your bathroom; the laughter they will elicit will invariably aid in the performance of one's bodily functions.