Stocks - What've you got? Where you going?

[V]

Ahh, the smell of spring. Gotta love those tax returns, when thoughts turn to how to spend your money.

I've got my mind on stocks. So, what've you got? How're they doing? Where are you going?

I remember one guy said he was going to throw his Ralph bux on a penny stock and ride the wave. How did that go?

[The Fonz]

About a year and a half ago I put $500 into Quorum Information Tech (symbol: QIS). I bought the shares at $1.80, and right now there at $2.50.

Nothing major

[metallicat]

Tim Horton's is being released to the public soon I have heard...22-23 dollars a share I believe. Are they a wise move? I guess if they catch on in the US, the sky's the limit.

I don't have any stocks myself. Just RRSPs.

[V]

I bought into the uranium craze back in October last year, and put 500 on Paladin (PDN) and 500 on Cameco (CCO). I didn't expect results this fast, but PDN's made 59.7% and CCO-T has made 35.2%. I wish I had more money to throw at this stuff. I think a good chunk of my tax return will be going on both stocks, as I don't see either one of them coming down any time soon.

[metallicat]

How exactly do you do this? Do you buy stock online, or is it best to go to someone and ask which companies would be best?

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

How exactly do you do this? Do you buy stock online, or is it best to go to someone and ask which companies would be best?

it really is a crap shoot.
if you want good solid investments in stocks..talk to a broker..you wanna play the pennies, talk to your buddy's brother best friends sisters hairdresser..
I have been sitting on a stock that was suppose to shoot the moon for 6 years now..its dropped down so far that its barely noticeable. ASk cheese, he's still ****ed at me for recommending it.

if ya wanna play some pennies, take some money you can afford to lose and listen to tips from people you have no relationship with

I use cibcinvestorsedge online to trade stocks.

[V]

I use TD Waterhouse to trade online.

Sample's right, though. I've got a financial planner that worries about which RRSP's I put my money in, and then on the side I've been following some stocks, and have had the uranium ones doing well. Only a grand, though, as I really can't afford to lose any more than that.

I remember during the World Cup one dude was talking up the CNRL stocks. That guy must be happy, since those are up quite a bit since then.

[bluejays]

I still got the Connacher Oil and Gas (CLL) which I bought for $5.77 about a month ago (IIRC just a day before the great oil crash). Not just optimism, but I'm really not worried about it dropping. I expect some big things in the next few months that could take it in double digits (EUB approval, finalizing of takeovers, inclusion into the TSX). If you're going to buy it, the time is now. I'm really thinking of purchasing Stelco (STE.A) right now for $0.035 each with $500 or $1000 or something just to make a quick buck in hopes it doubles. I'm not sure about that one though...huge gamble. What would others here do with Stelco?

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by fotze

Connacher just made the drudgereport (http://www.drudgereport.com) because they bought a refinery in montana.

Got a direct link? I searched it, but nothing showed up. I know about the newsrelease, (meh), but I'm interested in what the Drudge Report has to say about it.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by fleury

I still got the Connacher Oil and Gas (CLL) which I bought for $5.77 about a month ago (IIRC just a day before the great oil crash). Not just optimism, but I'm really not worried about it dropping. I expect some big things in the next few months that could take it in double digits (EUB approval, finalizing of takeovers, inclusion into the TSX). If you're going to buy it, the time is now. I'm really thinking of purchasing Stelco (STE.A) right now for $0.035 each with $500 or $1000 or something just to make a quick buck in hopes it doubles. I'm not sure about that one though...huge gamble. What would others here do with Stelco?

Stelco is about to delist..I wouldnt be putting my money there, personally.
might wanna give that investment some thought..

http://www.stockhouse.ca/comp_info.a...2%3A42%3A09+PM

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Sample00

Stelco is about to delist..I wouldnt be putting my money there, personally.
might wanna give that investment some thought..

http://www.stockhouse.ca/comp_info.a...2%3A42%3A09+PM

...I'm somewhat a newbie, so care to explain what that would mean? I take it to mean they're taking common shares off the stock market, so what would that mean for the people who own shares of Stelco as of closing March 10th/06?

[Dang]

Article on Stelco's delisting from the Globe and Mail.

Current shares will become worthless once the restructuring is completed, since the legally insolvent Hamilton steel maker's assets aren't sufficient to repay its creditors in full.

http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet...o0303/GIStory/

[Shin Pad]

Right now, you are better off to put your money into real estate here in Calgary. You can't lose

[North East Goon]

10,000 Shares of Google..............We can all dream! The new hot one these day's is the IPO on Tim Hortons. Dont see a whole lot of potential growth for the company, unless they take over the U.S.

[FurnaceFace]

In a previous life I worked in the investment industry. We learned a pretty basic philosophy which I've followed for the last few years which has worked well for me. The basics, start off with, oddly enough, the basics:

• Liquidity - make sure you have money in the bank or some other easy to get at place (like savings bonds or one of those higher interest savings accounts). The rule of thumb as I recall is two months salary. It's important to have some cash on hand to pay for things like car repair or the water heater blowing up.
• Retirement - put some money aside, even if it's just $25 a month, it's better than nothing. None of us should expect the government or future employers to have pensions available for us. If you're 20, that $25/month might seem hard but do it and you'll be glad you did. Also if you've put the money into your RRSP, don't #$*& touch it unless it's the last money you have on earth. The government wants to get paid first, so you'll get taxed hard on it.
• Insurance - Learn what's available, really understand it. I had no clue about life insurance or how powerful an investment it actually can be but as I learned I became a believer. People with debate term insurance vs permanent, I don't want to get into it. I just know both have a place and starting off with a permanent plan when you're young is a smart move.

I know it's not at all as sexy, but if you've got credit card debt and are getting a return, put it towards the debt. The 16-20% you're getting dinged on your cards is typically more than you'll ever get as a return on the majority of stocks.

Once you've taken care of the basics, and by all means use someone within the industry to help you do all this, then feel free to take some money you have available and play the stocks with it. Make sure you're not gambling with the money you need for other purposes. Make sure your liquidity, retirement, and insurance needs are taken care of first. If you've got kids, make sure their education and insurance is taken care of as well.

As Sample implied, if you can't afford to just toss the money on the street and walk away, be careful with your investment and stocks probably aren't the best place for you. Penny stocks are fun to play with because they can double pretty fast, but they can half just as quickly. Don't gamble the rent money on it, the Starbucks Latte money is fair game though.

I've been into the Canadian diamond mining sector for a few years now. Lots of potential in this segment and lots of recent activity. I own stock in Mountain Province Diamonds, symbol MPV. Lots of recent buzz on potential Debeer's buyouts and mergers for a few years now but things seem to be warming up. Buyer beware though, make sure you do your own Due Diligence first.

Best analogy I came up with is if you bet $50 on a sports draft, you had better understand the sport. If you know the NHL, but nothing about baseball, going into a MLB draft or fantasy league is probably a waste of money. Stick with the NHL and you're more likely to win.

[mbrown]

I invest into 6 different mutual funds through work. They are RRSP. I got a 23% return this year. not bad, but even an index fund would be doing 15% last year.

I haven't maxed out my RRSP contributions yet, so I will be putting all the money I can in there until I am maxed out then I'll start doing the etrade thing.

have 6 - 10 mutual funds in different areas and you shoudl be good. start converting to bonds when you hit 50 and you'll have nothing to worry about. The younger you are the more risk you should take to maximize growth.

[Sylvanfan]

I'm pretty conservative when it comes to investing, but I like the ETF's that are offered. Very similar to index based mutual funds but they have lower MER's which often are enough of a difference to outperform a lot of mutual funds. Theres a lot of options this days with the iunits products. Allows you to get exposure to the entire market, or specific sectors and you do the option to get capped ones that limit how much of one company any fund can have. Basically allows you diversity for the price of one stock type of thing. Still these cost anywhere from $25 to $90 a unit. So unless you can throw down $5000 plus at a time mutual funds are the better place to start and build up a portfolio.

[Wookie]

I've got a few interesting prospects

CAX - Oil and gas play, done well, was up 125% in 2 months, but has since corrected. However going to hold for awhile.

SPQ - diamond, mining play, it's a cyclical stock with fluctuations related to their drilling season. If you can go in and out with the cycles you can do really well. I'm presently waiting to see how this most recent cycle will play out

CHS - O & G, got burned on some lame drill results, not badly, but will hold it for a bit as I believe once they get some drilling activity I'll easily break even with the prospecting people do

One thing I'm looking to buy is XEG, it's a publicly traded fund, holding most of the Canadian major O&G's. I wanted to get in on the pullback of ECA, CNQ, PCA, SU, but wasn't sure where to park the money. So this is an interesting option. http://www.iunits.com/english/funds/...x.cfm#holdings

You are a bit more diversified with this one, but diversified in O&G...

[Dynamic]

I just got a $1600 back, and I'm really confused after reading this thread what to do with it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Im 20 years old on monday, and I partially live at home so I have alot of money that just goes into a normal bank account. It just sits there and does nothing which can't be the best way to grow my money.

Anyways what could a person do with 2 or 3 thousand dollars, keeping in mind I can also put away $500 a month or more to also grow my money.

Also I don't have a credit card, I just bought a new car 6 months ago, and I plan staying with my current employer for a while. What would anyone with any knowledge about financial planning do???

Thanks

[V]

Pay off the car loan, for one. Depending on the interest, of course.

Save up for a house? Not a bad idea, although they do go for a lot these days.

If you're trying to make something out of your money, do not dabble in the stock exchange. Get a broker and it won't be like gambling.

RRSPs are always good. Especially for saving up for a house. You can use them to purchase your first house if you wanted to do so. Some people say it's a stupid idea, others think it's a good idea.

Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. At least I thought it was a fantastic book, and should be a must-read for anyone that doesn't do anything with their money except spend it.