If I may..Sheffield Plc may be the greatest company in the world for all I know. It could also be a steaming pile of dog shit that happened to have a good short-term run for no reason at all.

Just because a stock price goes up, does not a good company make. Just like so many dot-com blow-ups, irrational housing stocks, rising financial stocks in the face of rising rates and a massively indebted consumer, the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. Just do some research and invest in what you know and understand. That way you will have the most control and understanding of what's driving your portfolio.

The smartest thing you can probably do is put your money into a mutual fund so that, in the minimum, you've at least diversified your holdings and your risk such that you won't be made or broken by the actions of one company. There are thousands of mutal funds out there--all with their own pros and cons. Figure out what kind of goal you want your fund to have, then pick from the ones that match that profile and go for it. Investing is still a lot like gambling, but you can do a lot to increase your odds of success if you do your homework on the front-end.

Cheers.

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Originally posted by kush paintings VanDyk I like your portfolio, however Im not really looking to build a portfolio right now. I'm looking for a short term investment, probably over the course of the next 4 months or so. Sony is an unbelievable idea, but keep in mind there has been some major clusterfucks caused by crappy manufacturing in the Asia release. I still feel the PSP will own when it comes out on the market.

Hmmm. Simply looking for a 4 month trade is probably not going to do much for you either way. Since you want a return in such a short time horizon, you should probably just go after a high-risk, high-beta stock and hope to catch a big move in your investment time-frame. IMO, it's an extremely risky and dumb way to invest your money, but in such a short time frame, you don't leave many other options. Buy some Taser(TASR). It's pretty washed out, they've been caught up in a lot of controversy lately, the mgmt are dickheads, but the stock is highly volatile and could very well pop 5-10 points on a positive news article. But like I said, IMO, it's a dumb way to invest. Might as well go to Vegas and put your money on the roulette wheel. The return is much higher if you win.

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Originally posted by Shakka If I may..Sheffield Plc may be the greatest company in the world for all I know. It could also be a steaming pile of dog shit that happened to have a good short-term run for no reason at all. Just because a stock price goes up, does not a good company make. Just like so many dot-com blow-ups, irrational housing stocks, rising financial stocks in the face of rising rates and a massively indebted consumer, the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. Just do some research and invest in what you know and understand. That way you will have the most control and understanding of what's driving your portfolio. The smartest thing you can probably do is put your money into a mutual fund so that, in the minimum, you've at least diversified your holdings and your risk such that you won't be made or broken by the actions of one company. There are thousands of mutal funds out there--all with their own pros and cons. Figure out what kind of goal you want your fund to have, then pick from the ones that match that profile and go for it. Investing is still a lot like gambling, but you can do a lot to increase your odds of success if you do your homework on the front-end. Cheers.

Sheffield United PLC actually, and you will probably lose money but if people buy shares in Sheff Utd then we will be able to afford better players and the fans come before the shareholders!

I know investing over 4 months isnt the thing to do. I want to get in the market again, but I cant do it while Im at school, as itll just be a distraction that I dont need. I still think Sony is a good bet, but I do see your point.

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Originally posted by kush paintings Sorry, but what the balls is ISAs

I think it stands for Individual Savings Account...

Its basically tax free investment (and I think there is a certain period you have to leave the money in the account)

Its an investment like shares but without the unpredictability, but as it involves tax its likely to be different in the US

In the UK, depending on whether you have a Maxi or Mini ISA you can put in £7000 or £3000 respectively every tax year

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/isa/

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Originally posted by George Smiley Sheffield United PLC actually, and you will probably lose money but if people buy shares in Sheff Utd then we will be able to afford better players and the fans come before the shareholders!

lol. I see your ulterior motive!

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Originally posted by Shakka lol. I see your ulterior motive!

I might add that altho initially they did go up to £1.20, they are now worth around 12p!! (Which means they are really cheap for what they will be worth so snap em up while you can!!)

sorry smiley, but Shiefield is not on the New York Stock Exchange. its in London i dont invest in red coat country

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Originally posted by ::TranceVanDyk:: sorry smiley, but Shiefield is not on the New York Stock Exchange. its in London i dont invest in red coat country

Actually, there is a Sheffield United in America!!

http://www.sheffieldunited.org/

As has been mentioned already, investing is a long term prospect not short term. 4 months is sometimes too short a time horizon for even a speculative play to come to fruition.

But for what little its worth, their are financial instruments which allow you to take a position in the market without actually investing in stock. You would need to see a stockbroker or the like to do it but it takes the stock picking element out of the equation. The harsh truth is most people are bad stock pickers anyway. There are funds which are linked to the various indexes. So you could buy into a fund which basically tracks the Nasdaq, SP500 or whatever and your capital gain or loss is based on the rise or fall of that index.

Given the fundamentals of the global economy my suggestion would be a Gold index or a resources index (especially an oil index if there is such a thing).

Alternatively I could suggest just buying currency other than US dollars, the obvious choice is the Euro but equally good are the currencies of the Asian economies which on a trade weighted basis are undervalued or resource currencies such as the Rouble or the Australian dollar.

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Originally posted by rupert Alternatively I could suggest just buying currency other than US dollars, the obvious choice is the Euro but equally good are the currencies of the Asian economies which on a trade weighted basis are undervalued or resource currencies such as the Rouble or the Australian dollar.

woudlnt the chineese Yuan be a good long term investment? sooner or later they must drop their fixed value against the dollar right?

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Originally posted by St_Andrew woudlnt the chineese Yuan be a good long term investment? sooner or later they must drop their fixed value against the dollar right?

Yes, theoretically, though it's currently more beneficial to them not to do so. They have a near monopoly in "cheap" labor as long as they peg the dollar. Particularly a weak dollar. But I'd guess that over a 5-15 year horizon, that would probably make a good bit of sense.