Flying High

#$%^&!@!

Why did I buy FTO as a ST MFI play instead of XJT yesterday???. Yes, FTO has dropped about 25% in the past two weeks and is a good deal. But with oil prices dropping I should have realized that airlines were a smarter ST play, especially since they had not gone up although the oil stocks have been battered. I realized it about 7 this morning but it was really too late. Now XJT is up about 4.5% today so far.

From Sale of Stock - Collect $45

I am starting to acculmulate some cash in my MFI account. I have gotten a fair amount of dividends.Then I have sold three stocks that each popped around 40%. So cash is sloshing around my account. I could supplement it and buy my 30th MFI stock, or I could wait until I sell PCU in October and that would likely give me $ to buy 2 MFI stocks. That is a mini-advantage of the benchmark IWV approach in that you never have to sell and therefore do not have re-investment risk. JG doesn't really address what to do with dividends and stocks that you sell due to acquisitions.

Cramer Loves Pharmaceuticals

I see where Cramer last night was touting big Pharmas. Scary when he and I are on the same page. I think he is a bit late to the party, seems like just yesterday he was saying the big Pharmas (like PFE & MRK) were dead and the "smart" play was DNA and AMGN. I'll bet YTD that MRK & PFE have smoked the biotech plays. Let's see... PFE is up about 17%, MRK is up about 28%. DNA & AMGN are both down around 9%. Like I said, a little late to the party.

Double Downs

I made a list of my "extra" MFI stock purchases. Not that it is fair to count them in my totals as they were not purchased in compliance (or intent) of the MFI rules. They have all-in-all done well. I have had one home run with NSS and one bomb with PTSC. I currently hold FTO, TGIS, PONR and BBSI. TGIS is my small bet, the rest are basically "double-downs".

Wow

Great day for my MFI portfolio. Up about 1.9%. I'd have to go back and read my own blog, but that has to be my 2nd or 3rd best day. MTEX was the biggest mover, up 9%. No news that I can see. It does go to prove (thus far) the wisdom and discipline of MFI. You can go back and see where I was tempted to sell MTEX back in May because of a very negative post by Phil Town. But now I am up 26% (and even more since the temptation). Quiet stocks PGI & PACR along with newcomer VPHM were all up over 5%.

Enunciate Clearly

PGI must be on steroids as it is up 12% in the past three sessions. I guess their big news (which I failed to mention) was the acquisition on Friday of a fast-growing Canadian conferencing company (Enunciate). Here is what a consultant said:

"Enunciate is the fastest growing and one of the top three conferencing providers in Canada," said Marc F. Beattie, CSP Practice Manager & Partner at Wainhouse Research. "It is well-positioned with a suite of leading technology solutions and a refreshing emphasis on service and personal customer contact. The acquisition will give Premiere Global a leading position in one of the most attractive markets for conferencing services in the world."

Hold