tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187883772012-01-27T20:28:20.367-08:00Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.comBlogger1571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-49861908787541760382011-08-28T09:30:00.000-07:002011-12-28T17:53:30.000-08:00

Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. ("MSCI") created an index to track the performance of Latin American stocks in the late 1980s. The MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Latin America Index was instituted with a market closing value of 100.00 as of December 31, 1987. It is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-55845585882642468302011-08-27T19:12:00.000-07:002011-08-27T21:38:39.852-07:00

As I have previously written, the Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. ("MSCI") Europe, Australasia Far East ("EAFE") Index is the benchmark index for foreign equity markets and is the foreign equity equivalent of the S&P 500 Index. The MSCI EAFE Index measures the equity market performance of developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-87932329959564202342011-05-28T19:17:00.000-07:002011-05-29T01:44:16.286-07:00

2010 was an above-average year for the S&P 500 Index as the stock market continued its rebound from the depths of the 2008-200 market crash. The S&P 500 Index rose about 15.06% in 2010.The annualized return for the S&P 500 Index (and its precursor S&P 90 Index) between 1926 and 2010 was 9.87% and the 5-year annualized return through the end of 2010 was 2.29%, an improvement over the 0.42% return

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-16488118384902048432011-05-20T19:07:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:14:21.170-07:00

Midcap stocks are generally defined as those of companies with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion. The S&P 400 Midcap Index is the most widely-followed of all U.S. Midcap stock market indices. The S&P 400 Midcap Index was introduced in June 1991 by Standard & Poors to track the performance of U.S. mid cap stocks. I have previously posted charts with annual returns

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-74722635483636558552011-04-29T19:48:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:15:10.953-07:00

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets (EM) Index is the most widely reported and followed broad-based emerging markets equity index. I have previously discussed annual returns of the index during the 1989-2008 and 1989-2009 time periods. I have updated the information in the current post and in the chart shown below (click on the image for a larger view) to include

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-53329656740369589682011-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:002011-01-08T23:37:14.396-08:00

Since 2007 I have been posting charts showing annual stock market and bond market returns for various indices for the time periods from 1980-2006, 1980-2007, 1980-2008, and 1980-2009. These charts show returns for small cap indices (Russell 2000, Russell 2000 Value, and Russell 2000 Growth), large cap indices (S&P 500, S&P/Citi 500 Value, and S&P/Citi 500 Growth), a broad-based foreign stock

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-80777881528820045672010-09-17T19:17:00.000-07:002010-09-18T00:05:08.828-07:00

I have been a big fan of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) ever since they gained mass appeal during the late 1990s. ETFs tend to have lower management fees than most corresponding mutual funds and can be traded throughout the trading day instead of only at the end of the trading day as is the case with almost every mutual fund. ETFs are also very popular because almost every ETF tracks a particular

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-56866006466581264772010-05-09T21:33:00.000-07:002010-05-09T22:05:42.217-07:00

Vanguard is one of the preeminent mutual fund investment companies, managing over $1 trillion in fund assets. Vanguard offered the first low-cost index fund, the Vanguard S&P 500 Index fund, back in 1976 and has been credited with essentially pressuring competitors to reduce fees on their mutual funds over the years. Vanguard expanded into the field of ETFs back in 2001 and has become a major

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-33307844662265986202010-01-30T09:12:00.000-08:002011-08-27T21:38:01.021-07:00

The Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. ("MSCI") Europe, Australasia Far East ("EAFE") Index is the benchmark index for foreign equity markets and is the foreign equity equivalent of the S&P 500 Index. The MSCI EAFE Index measures the equity market performance of developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The Index includes a selection of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-81732908104994852842010-01-29T20:56:00.000-08:002011-05-29T17:15:10.954-07:00

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets (EM) Index is one of the most widely-followed emerging markets equity indices. In the investment community, "Emerging Markets" typically refers to a social or business activity of nations that are in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. In March 2009, I discussed annual returns between 1989 and 2008 for the MSCI EM

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-75857985531261092852010-01-18T15:23:00.000-08:002011-01-08T23:39:57.469-08:00

In 2007, 2008, and 2009, I posted charts of the annual stock market and bond market returns for various indices for the time periods from 1980-2006, 1980-2007, and 1980-2008, respectively. The charts I previously posted included returns for small cap indices (Russell 2000, Russell 2000 Value, and Russell 2000 Growth), large cap indices (S&P 500, S&P/Citi 500 Value, and S&P/Citi 500 Growth), a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-46287605665953583912010-01-18T08:41:00.000-08:002011-05-29T17:14:21.170-07:00

The S&P 400 Midcap Index is the most widely-followed of all U.S. Midcap stock market indices. Midcap stocks are generally defined as those of companies with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion. ("Market capitalization" refers to the value of outstanding shares of a particular stock.")The S&P 400 Midcap Index was introduced in June 1991 by Standard & Poors to track the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-71756651444027754632010-01-17T22:23:00.000-08:002011-05-29T01:48:08.856-07:00

Last year I wrote a post about the annual returns of the S&P 500 Index and its precursor S&P 90 Index from 1926-2008. Some people have been emailing me to write a new post and update chars with full year returns for 2008. Updated charts are shown in the two images below (click on each image for a larger view).As shown below, 2009 was one of the better years for the S&P 500 Index. This should

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-75662419366396435032009-12-12T12:51:00.000-08:002009-12-12T13:25:30.203-08:00

I recently discovered an interesting website that contains short interest information for stocks, ETFs, and closed-end funds. Shortsqueeze.com has a search engine and lists the number of outstanding shares and the float of a particular equity or fund and the number of shares that have been sold short. Short interest information is relevant to any investor considering selling short an equity or

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-69777560549485524412009-10-11T23:53:00.000-07:002009-10-12T02:25:50.608-07:00

Back on May 10, 2009 I discussed an arbitrage strategy for profiting from the inevitable compression in the net asset value ("NAV") premium of the Templeton Russia & East European Fund (symbol: TRF). At the time, TRF had closed at $19.00/share and had a NAV of $10.56 during the previous day of trading, Friday, May 8, 2009. Accordingly, TRF was trading at $8.44 above its NAV of $10.56, a premium

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1599977624857469372009-07-03T21:12:00.000-07:002011-05-29T01:48:34.768-07:00

Last November I posted charts of historical annual returns for the S&P 500 and its precursor S&P 90 Index from January 1926 - November 2008. Some people have been emailing me to ask me to update the charts with full year returns for 2008. Updated charts are shown in the two images below (click on each image for a larger view).As shown below, 2008 was an awful year for the S&P 500 Index and was

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-73828678965838625082009-06-19T22:03:00.000-07:002009-06-21T22:30:21.971-07:00

I have previously discussed the 2009 Lincoln penny, which features four new designs to celebrate President Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the first Lincoln penny. The designs on the 2009 penny will only be used this year - new designs will be featured on pennies in 2010 and during subsequent years.The first 2009 penny design, featuring a design commemorating

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-64388561044203049162009-05-10T22:45:00.000-07:002009-10-12T02:26:05.535-07:00

I have previously recommended the Templeton Russia & East European Fund (symbol: TRF) as the best means for small investors to invest in Russian equities. Back when I made my recommendation in 2005, there was no suitable ETF that focused on Russian equities. However, in late April 2007, the first ETF focused on Russian equities was introduced. The name of the ETF is the Market Vectors TR

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-63868005811603143632009-05-02T20:01:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:17:45.590-07:00

The chart below illustrates annual returns between 1989 and 2008 for select developed foreign markets. The chart shows the returns for the various MS country indices for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As references, the chart also includes annual returns (in terms of U.S. Dollars) for the MSCI EAFE Index of foreign developed markets

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-85044400850616920172009-04-07T11:04:00.000-07:002009-04-07T11:10:44.002-07:00

In these tough economic times, cutting expenses isn’t just good sense, it’s a must. Drivers can’t do without car insurance; the law won’t let you. But there’s no law that says you have to pay through the nose when insuring your auto. When you start looking for an auto policy, remember these key points to do some deep “discount diving.”Not all discounts are obvious.Everyone knows that insurance

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-46320955736042105152009-03-27T20:09:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:15:10.955-07:00

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets (EM) Index is one of the most widely-followed emerging markets equity indices. In the investment community, "Emerging Markets" typically refers to a social or business activity of nations that are in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. There are currently 24 Emerging Markets tracked by the MSCI EM Index: Argentina,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-50652920879304128772009-03-14T08:41:00.000-07:002009-03-14T15:19:37.904-07:00

I have discovered interesting "periodic tables" of returns for select emerging markets during the years between 1993 and 2008. These charts (click on each chart for a larger view) are interesting and illustrate just how volatile and potentially rewarding investments in emerging markets can be. Country-specific returns can be extremely volatile. For example, the Turkish stock market had some of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-72222965339752806652009-03-13T20:22:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:14:21.171-07:00

The S&P 400 Midcap Index is the most widely-followed of all U.S. Midcap stock market indices. Midcap stocks are generally defined as those of companies with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion. ("Market capitalization" refers to the value of outstanding shares of a particular stock.")The S&P 400 Midcap Index was introduced in June 1991 by Standard & Poors to track the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-75755852086302805192009-01-31T08:49:00.000-08:002009-03-06T09:26:16.931-08:00

In my previous post, I discussed annual stock market and bond market returns for various indices for the time period from 1980-2008. Viewing annual returns since 1980 can be very illuminating and show the impressive effects of annual compounding of investment returns over time. However, even more information may be gleaned by viewing index returns on a decade-by-decade basis.The chart below (

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-65015293424293011722009-01-30T21:08:00.000-08:002011-01-08T23:39:42.426-08:00

In 2007 and 2008, I posted charts of the annual stock market and bond market returns for various indices for the time periods from 1980-2006 and 1980-2007, respectively. The charts I previously posted included returns for small cap indices (Russell 2000, Russell 2000 Value, and Russell 2000 Growth), large cap indices (S&P 500, S&P/Citi 500 Value, and S&P/Citi 500 Growth), a broad-based foreign

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-68468625968013331512009-01-22T22:00:00.000-08:002009-01-22T22:03:52.152-08:00

An updated version of the Callan "Periodic Table" of equity style investment returns from 1989-2008 is posted below. (Click on the image below to see a larger version of the Periodic Table.) This Periodic Table illustrates calendar year returns for several indices, including the S&P 500, S&P/Citigroup 500 Growth, S&P 500/Citigroup 500 Value, Russell 2000, Russell 2000 Value, Russell 2000 Growth,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-20063757274945934892008-11-16T11:04:00.000-08:002011-05-29T01:50:22.017-07:00

As I have discussed previously, the S&P 500 Index is arguably the most widely-followed U.S. stock market index. The S&P 500 Index is a market cap-weighted index of U.S. equities of 500 large companies. Standard & Poor's introduced its first stock market index in 1923 and created the S&P 500 Index in 1957. Prior to 1957, Standard & Poor's utilized a different index, the S&P 90 Index, that

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-34100179492423403682008-11-14T19:24:00.000-08:002008-11-14T20:00:34.139-08:00

I was reading the most recent issue of Forbes magazine today (dated November 24, 2008) and saw a blurb by one of the columnists who claimed that some members of Congress are considering legislation that would abolish 401k plans. I assumed that was probably mere hyperbole. However, I did some Internet searching and discovered that it is true!High ranking democrats in the House of Representatives

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-82210711894391934972008-09-23T19:32:00.000-07:002008-09-23T19:51:14.968-07:00

In September 2007 I discussed proposed new designs for the 2009 Lincoln cent (a.k.a., the U.S. penny coin). The front side of the Lincoln cent will remain unchanged, continuing to show a profile view of Abraham Lincoln. The obverse side, however, will be changed to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. (2009 will also mark the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent - the first

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-42173051126531867122008-07-20T19:48:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:14:21.172-07:00

The S&P 400 Midcap Index is the most widely-followed of all U.S. Midcap stock market indices. Midcap stocks are generally defined as those of companies with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion. ("Market capitalization" refers to the value of outstanding shares of a particular stock.")I have previously posted about historical returns for large cap stocks, such as the S&P

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-44123112934469391532008-07-14T20:03:00.000-07:002010-05-09T22:05:42.218-07:00

Last November I wrote a post about how Fidelity offers a low margin rate for wealthy investors. As of today, July 14, 2008, the lowest margin rate provided by Fidelity is 4.00%. An investor would need to maintain a debit balance of at least $500,000 in order to receive this low margin rate.Although the Fidelity margin rate is quite low, I recently discovered that TradingDirect offers a far

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-68297585770260110132008-06-17T19:24:00.000-07:002009-12-12T13:25:30.204-08:00

I recently discovered an interesting website that lists various key interest rate information. The website is money-rates.com and it lists current national average money market rates, the prime rate, discount rates, broker call rate, U.S. savings bonds rates, and 30- and 15-year mortgage rates. Such interest rate information is highly relevant to any stock market investor, as stocks tend to be

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-50709466404130879342008-05-19T20:39:00.000-07:002008-05-19T21:10:30.334-07:00

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on May 8, 2008 to change the composition of penny and nickel coins to less expensive metals. As I have previously discussed, the U.S. Mint currently loses millions of dollars a year on minting costs associated with producing nickel and penny coins. Nickels currently contain 75% copper and 25% nickel and pennies contain about 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. Due

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-55120955378285882842008-03-08T22:01:00.000-08:002008-03-08T22:29:53.462-08:00

In February 2006 and January 2007 I wrote posts about dividends for the S&P 500 Index. I've decided it is time to update the chart to include dividend information for the full 2007 year. The dividend information is available at the Standard & Poor's website.The chart shown below (click on the chart to see a larger image) illustrates dividend information for the S&P 500 from 1988-2007. As shown,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-63493497860022674612008-02-29T18:38:00.000-08:002008-02-29T23:33:14.381-08:00

I have previously written about how I have been collecting U.S. nickel and pre-1982 penny coins because their the value of the metals in such coins (i.e., the "melt value") exceed the face values of those coins. [See my posts from February 2006, April 2006, and October 2006.]Coinflationis an interesting website that I periodically visit because it gives the melt values of a number of coins

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-86287195268419681122008-01-30T22:32:00.000-08:002011-01-08T23:40:35.471-08:00

Last year, I posted a chart of the annual stock market and bond market returns for various indices for the time period from 1980-2006. The chart I previously posted included returns for small cap indices (Russell 2000, Russell 2000 Value, and Russell 2000 Growth), large cap indices (S&P 500, S&P/Citi 500 Value*, and S&P/Citi 500 Growth*), a broad-based foreign stock index(Morgan Stanley Capital

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-84253904552822965692008-01-30T16:48:00.000-08:002009-01-22T22:06:45.669-08:00

Posted below is an updated version of the "Periodic Table" of equity style investment returns from 1988-2007. (Click on the image below to see a larger version of the Periodic Table.) This chart was originally posted on the website for Callan Associates.*If the image is too difficult to see, you can view a .pdf of the image here.I have written a new post with results from 1989-2008.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-15972048452860718982008-01-08T22:22:00.000-08:002008-01-08T23:23:05.595-08:00

ProShares offers a wide variety of interesting Exchange Trade Funds ("ETFs") that may be suitable to some inventors. The investment company applies financial leverage to implement trading strategies that would be prohibitively difficult for most small investors to replicate. The company’s most interesting offerings are its Short ProShares and Ultra ProShares ETFs.The Short ProShares ETFs track

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-37910837162795156332007-12-01T19:00:00.000-08:002007-12-01T20:55:23.688-08:00

The October 2007 results for my Hypothetical Model Portfolio were the worst performance (on a % basis) since I created the portfolio back in 2006. The returns were very volatile throughout the month, as recession fears permeated through the market.As of the market close on November 30, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio was down $9045, or about 5.51% during November. However, the Hypothetical

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-88858431965812379732007-11-17T09:42:00.000-08:002007-11-17T09:43:23.691-08:00

I started my Finance and Investments blog on November 8, 2005. I have posted 118 times since then, including 41 times during the past year, discussing a number of topics primarily focusing on stock market investing (including tracking a model portfolio), basic coin collecting, and general personal finance issues. Here are some of my favorite posts from 11/2006 - 11/2007: Best posts relating to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-91203621059267573132007-11-09T10:36:00.000-08:002007-11-09T10:43:55.974-08:00

Russia is one of my favorite emerging markets and its stock market has delivered incredible stock market returns over the past few years. In research the Russian stock market, I recently discovered an interesting paper analyzing the evolution of the Russian stock market, and its associated risk factors, during the period from 1995 and 2005.Here is a hot link to a .pdf of the article: Risks of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-13358545623439671142007-11-04T09:18:00.000-08:002007-11-04T09:22:38.551-08:00

Some investors attempt to enhance their portfolio returns by using financial leverage, such as options or margin borrowing. Margin borrowing is probably the more popular leverage-enhancing technique used by individual investors. By borrowing "on the margin," i.e., from one's brokerage firm to purchase shares of stock, the investor can achieve large returns in a short amount of time if shares of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-80390439460203129292007-11-03T18:25:00.000-07:002007-11-03T22:16:12.498-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio had its second strongest performance (on a % basis) of 2007 during October. Although the month was volatile, the Portfolio rallied on October 31st when the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.50%. The FED released a statement indicating that it now thinks the risks of recession and higher inflation are in "balance," a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-58122676399826867522007-10-21T15:47:00.000-07:002007-10-21T18:59:31.149-07:00

The S&P 500 index is one of the most famous and widely followed U.S. stock market indices. It was created in 1957, although data for stocks representative of the index have been determined by backdating the index into the 19th century, as I previously discussed in an earlier post about historical dividends for the S&P 500 index. The chart below illustrates the end-of-year closing values for the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-62070534721845564972007-10-14T12:06:00.000-07:002007-11-03T21:46:16.134-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio registered its strongest performance (on a % basis) in nearly a year during September. The Portfolio was down for the month until the Federal Reserve unexpectedly cut interest rates by 50 basis points on September 18th, sparking a strong stock market rally. The FED said the rate cut was intended to "help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-48334315677372035952007-09-30T19:35:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:18:29.782-07:00

The iShares Emerging Markets ETF (symbol: EEM) and the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (symbol: VWO) both track the same index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. However, iShare's EEM has underperformed the underlying index by about 5% so far in 2007 due to a tracking error. Through the end of August 2007, EEM had appreciated about 17.33% for the year, whereas Vanguard's VWO had appreciated about

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-62960562764350605902007-09-27T16:48:00.000-07:002008-09-23T19:57:26.473-07:00

The U.S. Mint is changing the designs on the Lincoln penny in 2009 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln penny. The face of the penny has remained the same since its introduction in 1909. The design on the reverse side, however, was changed in 1959 from wheat stalks to the current design of the Lincoln Memorial.The U.S. Mint

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-33996842725178414542007-09-22T16:32:00.000-07:002007-10-14T12:39:57.005-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio rebounded in August after registering negative returns in June and July. As of the market close on August 31, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio was up $1324, or about 0.88% during August. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up about $6756 in 2007, a gain of 4.64%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table). The 2007 returns for the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-71326404532659491502007-08-25T17:30:00.000-07:002007-08-26T19:35:59.944-07:00

I have previously written about the tremendous projected growth of the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (see posts from January 2007 and May 2007). Rapid economic development in each of these countries is projected for decades to come. As I mentioned back in January 2007, Goldman Sachs published a report in 2003 on the BRIC countries and projected that the economies of these

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-23705701863983009802007-08-10T18:30:00.000-07:002007-08-10T23:00:51.746-07:00

I have previously mentioned that I am collecting nickel coins and pre-1982 pennies because their intrinsic melt values (i.e., the commodity value of the metals comprising the coins) exceed their respective face value. According to coinflation.com, as of the market close on August 10, 2007, a U.S. nickel coin has a melt value of 6.34 cents (i.e., 26.88% above face value) and a pre-1982 penny has a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-85224409119616881872007-08-06T13:17:00.000-07:002011-05-29T17:17:45.591-07:00

I have previously mentioned that the Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. Europe, Australasia Far East index (a.k.a., the MSCI EAFE index) is the "S&P 500" of foreign stocks. Until recently, the best ETF tracking the index was an iShares ETF (symbol: EFA). EFA is a core holding of my Hypothetical Model Long-Term Portfolio.Accordingly to the iShares website, EFA currently has an expense

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-38097838911315110832007-08-04T14:35:00.000-07:002007-08-04T15:00:14.855-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio performed very poorly during July as the overall market swooned. As of the market close on July 31, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio was down $5,560.57, or about 3.55% during July. July 2007 was the worst month for the Hypothetical Model Portfolio since last May, 2006 when the Hypothetical Model Portfolio dropped 4.92%. Despite the awful July results, the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-23480762346700152452007-08-04T13:52:00.000-07:002007-08-04T14:35:29.566-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio registered a negative return during June 2007. As of the market close on June 29, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio was down $1682.12, or about 1.06% during June. However, due to strong results earlier in the year, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio is still up about $10,992 in 2007, a gain of 7.56%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-92144678957238500212007-08-03T21:07:00.000-07:002007-08-04T14:14:16.048-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio performed very well during May, generating its largest dollar increase since January 2006 and the largest return, on a percentage basis, since October 2006, matching the 3.47% return achieved during April 2007. As of the market close on May 31, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* closed up by $5,299.73 during May. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-57664867330515653712007-07-30T10:48:00.000-07:002007-08-06T13:38:46.846-07:00

A couple months ago, I wrote a post about the iPATH MSCI India Index exchange traded security (symbol: INP) that tracks an India stock market index. I indicated that this was the first India stock market Exchange Traded Fund ("ETF"). However, I have since discovered that INP is an Exchange Traded Note ("ETN"), not an ETF.The ETN is a derivative (perhaps similar to futures) that is designed to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-70769906152520478742007-06-09T13:02:00.000-07:002007-06-09T13:20:54.159-07:00

I have previously written about ETFconnect.com, one of the most informative websites pertaining to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). I discovered another good ETF-related website that was mentioned in this weekend's edition of the Wall Street Journal. The website is XTF.com and is operated by XTF Global Asset Management LLC. The website contains various ETF screeners, peer rankings, and ratings.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-3822140494210655502007-06-02T18:56:00.000-07:002007-09-30T19:46:50.601-07:00

I have had an online savings account with Emigrant Direct since the end of 2005, primarily because it has one of the highest interest rates available, which is currently at 5.05%. Up until last week I had only electronically transferred money into the account from a checking account with my primary banking institution.Last week, however, decided to electronically transfer funds from the Emigrant

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-18502511943909010972007-05-25T10:33:00.000-07:002007-08-06T13:38:46.846-07:00

I have previously written about India and how the best way to invest in the Indian stock market was through closed-end funds that invest directly in Indian stocks. India is one of the rapidly growing emerging markets and was dubbed a "BRIC" country in a widely-read 2003 Goldman Sachs report on emerging markets. In the Goldman Sachs report, Goldman projected the Indian ecomony to rapidly grow over

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-63354434403181919542007-05-05T20:24:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:11:18.185-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio performed very well during April, generating its largest returns since October 2006. As of the market close on April 30, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* was up $5,131.37, or 3.47% during April. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up $7375 in 2007, a gain of 5.07%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).All of my holdings

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-78498888057000032652007-05-04T19:40:00.000-07:002007-06-06T12:37:17.624-07:00

I have mentioned several times that I am collecting U.S. nickel coins and copper pre-1982 pennies because the value of the physical base metals from which they are formed (i.e., the "melt value") exceeds their respective face values. Back on December 14, 2006, I mentioned that the metal value of pre-1982 pennies was 2.0752 cents (207.52% of face value), post-1982 zinc pennies had a metal value of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-30558564117683080052007-05-02T21:33:00.000-07:002007-08-06T13:38:46.847-07:00

I have written numerous posts about the Templeton Russia and Eastern Europe closed-end fund (symbol: TRF). I picked it for my Model Portfolio back in December 2005 because it was, at the time, by far the best investment vehicle for U.S. investors to invest in Russia stocks.I posted back in March that TRF was performing poorly despite the solid performance of the Russian stock market. This

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-54997598483696311452007-04-28T17:31:00.000-07:002007-06-06T12:36:31.399-07:00

Back in February I wrote about how the new Washington Presidential dollar coins were hard to find. Since I wrote that post, I returned to bank branches on several occasions and was finally able to obtain a $25 roll of these dollar coins. I am going to hold on to the roll and do not plan on opening the roll to see if there are and mis-strikes or error coins in the roll at this time.I have yet to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-22289887901299240402007-04-08T18:50:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:10:55.881-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio performed fairly well during March. As of the market close on March 30, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio was up $2159.30, or about 1.48% during March. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up about $2243 in 2007, a gain of 1.54%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).Foreign holdings were the best performers, with the iShares

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-35304195129483354932007-03-11T10:40:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:10:33.057-07:00

February was a very volatile month for my Hypothetical Model Portfolio. The portfolio was performing very well until February 27th when the market corrected with the Dow dropping about 3.3% (416 points), the S&P 500 index dropping about 3.5%, and the NASDAQ composite dropping about 3.9%.As of the market close on February 28, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* decreased in value by $1684.95,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-61754005516748557152007-03-10T20:13:00.000-08:002007-08-06T13:38:46.847-07:00

The Templeton Russia and Eastern Europe closed-end fund (symbol: TRF) has plummeted since the start of 2007. This has happened despite the fact that the Russia stock market has been strong so far this year. As of February 28, 2007, TRF is down 18.85%, dropping from $87.30 to $70.84 since the start of 2007. The Net Asset Value ("NAV") of TRF, on the other hand, has risen 2.96%, from $63.23 to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-36700214127049702342007-02-28T10:43:00.000-08:002007-06-06T12:35:55.860-07:00

As I have posted previously, I collect pre-1982 pennies and all nickels because their intrinsic values (i.e. melt values) exceeds their respective face values. As of today, February 28, 2007, a pre-1982 penny has an intrinsic value of about 1.8254 cents (i.e., 182.54% of its face value) and a nickel has an intrinsic value of about 7.80 cents (i.e., about 156.01% of its face value). (See

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-53074923756528972752007-02-15T21:42:00.000-08:002007-06-06T18:51:40.258-07:00

During the mid- to late 1990s I was a relative novice when it came to stock market investing. I read several books in the late 1990s to increase my investing knowledge base and frequented the Motley Fool website. The Motley Fool was a great resource at the time. The founders of the website would post various stock market-related articles daily and really seemed to be champions of the small

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-3877269374038824082007-02-11T11:19:00.000-08:002007-06-06T13:10:12.078-07:00

January 2007 was decent month for my Hypothetical Model Portfolio, despite trailing the broader market returns. As of the market close on January 31, 2007, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $1769.52, or about 1.22% during the month of January. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio has now gained a total of $22,246 since it was created in January 2006 with $100,000 and an

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-70928986993599707312007-02-04T10:01:00.000-08:002007-06-06T19:44:21.615-07:00

As I mentioned in my post discussing the December 2006 returns for my Hypothetical Model Portfolio, I have added another $25,000 to this portfolio. This money is allocated according to the original portfolio allocation discussed in my January 2006 post regarding the creation of this portfolio. In short, this money is being added to rebalance the portfolio. My rules of rebalancing are that I will

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1169963296872733462007-01-27T21:47:00.000-08:002007-06-06T19:47:03.655-07:00

I wrote a post in February 2006 in which I argued that the S&P 500 was undervalued. Since then, the S&P 500 has risen from about 1283 to 1422, a return of 10.83%, excluding dividends. This is a strong gain and I think that the S&P 500 has further to go. Relative to bonds, the S&P 500 still appears to be undervalued.According to Standard & Poor's, the projected reported earnings through 12/31/07

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1169367124215426892007-01-21T00:11:00.000-08:002008-03-08T22:34:56.934-08:00

In February 2006 I wrote a post about S&P 500 dividends. I've decided it is time to update the chart to include dividend information for the full 2006 year. The dividend information is available at the Standard & Poor's website.The chart shown below (click on the chart to see a larger image) illustrates dividend information for the S&P 500 from 1988-2006. As shown, the dividends paid by the S&P

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1169060716274276582007-01-17T11:05:00.000-08:002010-01-21T23:55:37.739-08:00

I often read articles written by stock market pundits who argue that now if the time for growth stocks to outperform value stocks. Value stocks have trounced growth stocks since 2000 and it's time for the growth to finally beat the value stocks again, or at least that is what we are told. It is true that investment styles are cyclical, but I really question whether an investor would be better off

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1168666727113193552007-01-12T21:38:00.000-08:002009-01-22T22:06:13.985-08:00

Posted below is an updated version of the "Periodic Table" of equity style investment returns from 1987-2006. (Click on the image below to see a larger version of the Periodic Table.) This chart was originally posted on the website for Callan Associates.*If the image is fuzzy, you can see a .pdf of the image here.I have written a new post with results from 1989-2008.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1167937494555237972007-01-04T10:59:00.000-08:002007-06-06T19:41:59.903-07:00

The Wall Street Journal Online has an interesting article about 2006 global stock market returns. The U.S. had respectable returns of about 13.86% during 2006, but this pales in comparison to the returns of the stock markets of many other countries, including the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, as shown in the chart below:

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1167890466473153322007-01-03T21:28:00.000-08:002007-08-06T13:38:46.848-07:00

In 2003 Goldman Sachs published a report on the top emerging markets for the next 50 years - Brazil, Russia, India, and China (collectively known as "BRIC"). In the report Goldman Sachs projected that the BRIC countries will grow much faster than any of the current developed markets (including the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., Italy, and France) and the local currencies of the BRIC countries

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1167705246790462202007-01-01T17:55:00.000-08:002007-06-06T13:09:43.640-07:00

December was yet another solid month for my Hypothetical Model Portfolio. As of the market close on December 29, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $2684.34, or about 2.28% during the month of December. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio closed up $20,496.90 in 2006, a gain of about 20.50%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).Emerging

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1166133378355658672006-12-14T13:22:00.000-08:002008-05-19T21:14:00.690-07:00

I have mentioned several times over the past year that I am hording pennies and nickels. We are currently in the midst of a commodities boom and the value of precious metals and non-precious metals (such as those used in current U.S. coins) has soared for the past 2 or 3 years. There are several reasons for the soaring prices that I will not discuss in detail here in this post (although I may

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1165533293771213082006-12-07T14:57:00.000-08:002007-06-06T13:09:22.109-07:00

November was another great month for my Hypothetical Model Portfolio. As of the market close on November 30, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $3934.75, or about 3.46% during the month of November. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up $17,812.56 in 2006, a gain of 17.81%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).Emerging markets led the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1163711545920337772006-11-16T12:56:00.000-08:002007-06-06T19:40:05.228-07:00

Home Depot (symbol: HD) announced today that it is raising its dividend by 50% to 22.5 cents per quarter, beginning with the dividend being paid on November 30, 2006. This is the second time Home Depot has raised its dividend during 2006. Back in Jaunary 2006, Home Depot announced it was raising its dividend from 10 cents per quarter to 15 cents per quarter. So that is a total increase of 125%

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1163393817358319442006-11-12T20:20:00.000-08:002007-06-06T19:39:38.172-07:00

I started my Finance and Investments blog on November 8, 2005. I have posted 77 times since then, discussing a number of topics primarily focusing on stock market investing (including tracking a model portfolio), basic coin collecting, and general personal finance issues. Here are some of my favorite posts from the past year:Best posts relating to Stock Market Investing:(1) Selling stocks short(2

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1163051147431647392006-11-08T21:45:00.000-08:002007-06-06T13:08:54.295-07:00

October was a great month from my Hypothetical Model Portfolio. As of the market close on October 31, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $4482.79, or about 4.10% during the month of October. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up $13,877.81 in 2006, a gain of 13.88%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).The iShares Emerging Markets

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1162513631047898262006-11-02T16:11:00.000-08:002007-06-06T19:39:07.785-07:00

Fidelity's Magellan mutual fund was once that most admired mutual fund in the industry from the mid-1970s until the early 1990s. The legendary fund manager Peter Lynch steered the fund to whopping 29% annual returns during his years at the helm between 1977 and 1990. A $10,000 investment in Magellan in 1977 would have grown to $288,000 by 1990, as discussed in this article. Unfortunately,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1161976412385485812006-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:38:49.515-07:00

Fortune magazine has an interesting article on its websiste regarding entitled "Revolt of the Fairly Rich." This article exposes alleged economic resentment between between people at the lower end of the upper 1% of the weathiest people in the U.S. versus those at the high end of the upper 1%.According to Fortune some of the "lower uppers" are doctors, accountants, engineers, and lawyers, and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1161885031682870862006-10-26T10:47:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:38:20.715-07:00

LSI Logic (symbol: LSI), an integrated circuit and data storage chip designer, is the only individual stock I own in my non-IRA portfolio. LSI, like all semiconductor stocks, is extremely volatile and has stretches of time where it has risen or fallen by 30% in a 2-3 month time span. I accumulated my LSI position over a period of 2 years, buying shares periodically on dips between October 2002

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1161800276005968342006-10-25T10:59:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:37:15.683-07:00

I was recently playing around on My Yahoo! and I discovered a way to link content from my blog to my My Yahoo! page so that recent posts are listed along with the standard categorized news. I am no HTML expert, but I think that this was relatively simple to do.If you want to add Financeandinvestments.blogspot.com to your My Yahoo! page so that you can see my most recent posts about stocks and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1161755696637226352006-10-24T22:35:00.000-07:002007-06-06T12:33:41.435-07:00

Back on April 6, 2006 I wrote that I was saving all of the U.S. nickels I acquire in change because the melt value of nickels was about 4.24936 cents, or 84.98% of the 5-cent face value ofthe U.S. nickel coin. Almost all U.S. nickel coins made between 1938 and 2006 contain 75% copper and 25% nickel (the exception was during 1942-1945 when almost all nickels contained silver and manganese instead

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1160752204497359662006-10-13T07:59:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:36:50.366-07:00

I have discovered a Dow Jones Index website that contains data for various Dow Jones indices. I especially enjoy looking at the current fundamental data for the Dow Jones 30 index. The website also lists miscellaneous trivia such as the best and worst one-day changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the best and worst one-year returns, and the dates upon which certain milestones occurred (

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1159830037132088032006-10-02T16:00:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:08:29.316-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio had decent returns during the month of September. As of the market close on September 29, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $1272.34, or about 1.18% during the month of September. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up $9395.02 in 2006, a gain of 9.40%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).The portfolio

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1158941874735388172006-09-22T09:11:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:36:15.786-07:00

The SPDR Financial components (symbol: XLF) is paying a quarterly dividend of $0.1938 per share on October 31, 2006. It is often difficult to find much information about upcoming dividends for XLF. However, I was able to discover the relevant information by viewing the ETF information available at Amex.com.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1158639738863831522006-09-18T21:02:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:08:06.311-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio experienced its strongest month since April. As of the market close on August 31, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $2492.74, or about 2.36% during the month of August. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is now up $8122.67 in 2006, a gain of 8.12%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).The portfolio rallied

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1157053566629870432006-08-31T11:55:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:35:23.238-07:00

Dividends are crucial to any long-term investor's portfolio. During extended bear markets they often provide the only positive returns to the investor. I have often wondered about the long-term historical dividend increases of various stock indices, such as the S&P 500 index, but have had difficulty finding information going back more than 20 years or so. Luckily, however, I discovered an article

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1154628170488976042006-08-03T11:01:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:07:36.221-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio was slightly down during July. As of the market close on July 31, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* decreased in value by $598.54, or about 0.56% during the month of July. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is up $5629.93 in 2006, a gain of 5.63%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).The portfolio was down substantially earlier in

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1153373607277049672006-07-19T22:28:00.000-07:002007-08-06T13:41:00.747-07:00

Today I received a letter from Emigrant Direct which contains a secure 10 digit access code for a new Emigrantdirect.com website. The letter also indicates that Emigrant Direct is raising its money market interest rate to 5.15% on July 28, 2006. The new rate will be 0.80% higher than the relatively platry 4.35% currently offered by INGDirect.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1152900632998212982006-07-14T11:02:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:34:06.634-07:00

I’ve recently read a number of articles badmouthing a dollar-cost averaging investment strategy (i.e., investing a certain amount of money in stocks at regular intervals). Consider, for example, this article in USA Today.The author mentions that if one had invested $100 per month in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund over the past decade, one would currently own shares worth $15,437, a gain of $3,437,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1152295453440612452006-07-07T10:36:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:07:12.092-07:00

The performance of my Hypothetical Model Portfolio was flat during June. As of the market close on June 30, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* increased in value by $42.77, or about 0.04% during June. The Hypothetical Model Portfolio is up $6228.47in 2006, a gain of 6.23%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).The portfolio was down substantially (bottoming near

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1151598021815402912006-06-29T09:17:00.000-07:002007-08-06T13:41:00.747-07:00

I just saw an online advertisment for Emigrant Direct which indicates that they have raised their money market interest rate to 4.80%. I'm not sure if they raised their money market interest rate today, but it must have happened sometime within the past few days. Emigrant Direct now pays more than half a percent more than INGDirect, which currently pays a paltry 4.25%.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1151450831273353462006-06-27T16:18:00.000-07:002007-08-21T15:52:49.326-07:00

Robert Kiyosaki has once again written an article for his Yahoo Finance column that has gotten me all riled up. (See my previous post - "Robert Kiyosaki Is A Blowhard.") This one is entitled “Why Mutual Funds Are Lousy Long-Term Investments.”He basically attempts to argue that mutual funds are wastes of money because of the fees they charge. He borrows quite a bit from an interview given by

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1151438775859798362006-06-27T13:03:00.000-07:002007-06-06T19:31:38.124-07:00

The Nasdaq 100 ETF (symbol: QQQQ) is paying a dividend of $0.0257 per share on July 31, 2006. This dividend is being paid to shareholders of record as of June 20, 2006. As with QQQQ's previous distribution in April 2006, it took me awhile to find the actual distribution date of this dividend. Yahoo Finance had indicated that the dividend was declared on June 16, 2006, but it did not list when the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1150490586660860362006-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:002007-08-06T13:38:46.848-07:00

The Russian stock market has taken it on the chin over the past six weeks or so. For example, the Russia RTX stock index (see the chart below) has fallen from an intra-day high of 2955 on May 10 to a close of 2105 as of today. That is a drop of 28.7%! However, the index is still up substantially over the past 52 weeks. It closed at 1057 on June 16, 2005. That is a gain of 1048 points, or 99%

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18788377.post-1149531615045279572006-06-05T11:19:00.000-07:002007-06-06T13:06:31.833-07:00

My Hypothetical Model Portfolio performed very poorly in May. As of the market close on May 30, 2006, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio* dropped $5,495, or 4.92% during May. However, the Hypothetical Model Portfolio is still up $6185.70 in 2006, a gain of 6.19%, as shown on the table below (click for a larger image of the table).Every one of the holdings went down, as May was a horrible month for

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275657546603193142noreply@blogger.com0