A Good Read

Hard to believe I am closing in on my 2nd year anniversary - February 24th. No need to send a card! My overall results on sold stocks is an average gain of 4.2%. Not exactly setting the world on fire. But I felt it was time to take a step back and re-read TLBTBTM.

I dog-eared page 69 as I felt it was extremely pertinent to today's market:

"Imagine buying a book that tells you to invest real money in a group of stocks whose names were spit out by a computer, Imagine diligently watching those stocks each day as they do worse than the market averages over the course of many months or even years. Now imagine deciding enough is enough. No more trusting that stupid book or mindless computer. You're going to roll up your sleeves and investigate the companies you purchased and the outlook for the businesses you actually own. As we'll find out later, imagine the horror when you realize that if you'd only investigated these companies for a few minutes before buying your shares, there is no way you would have touched any of them."

I don't have to imagine. That is exactly what I have gone through. And I suspect many of you as well. In the book, JG emphasizes that we need to have a three to five year horizon. So take a chill pill. Sip a few brewskies. Don't worry, be happy.

Stock news

LCAV: Reported Earnings Monday morning and immediately dropped about 17% (LCA-Vision Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2007 Financial Results). They did comment that industry-wide eye procedures would be down about 10% in 2008. In reading the call transcript, one thing I had not thought about was their exposure to the credit crisis. I think they must offer some sort of financing to patients getting the eye surgery. They have increased their bad debt reserve.

TGB: Announced their earnings this evening (Taseko Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2008 Results). I thought they seemed pretty solid. They are getting more effcient. However, the high costs of shipping are hurting. Their projects are going well. I think they could certainly be a company that might be bought by a bigger company.

SIMG: Went up 11% on news that an investor had taken a passive stake in SIMG (Shareholder Reports Silicon Image Stake).

HURC: Not a stock I currently own, but it was mentioned in Smart Money magazine as a company that could really benefit from a weaker US $.

HBMFF: Another company I don't own, but recently mentioned by Jubak as a great stock to own in inflationary times.