Bulls vs. Bears

Hello everyone!  Sorry it has been so long since I last posted.  But I have had another health issue but now I think I am back on the mend.

I have been reading various Bulls vs. Bears articles written by various people and so called "experts".  But my problem has mainly been I don't know if these author's of the articles are talking about the Pro basketball and football teams in Chicago or if they are talking about the financial markets of Wall Street in NYC.  Everyone seems to have totally different points of view and all of them simply cannot be right.  So I might as well throw in my two cents and here it comes. :)

So experts are saying right now, that unless there is another recession we are going to continue on the Bull Market cycle for a long time.  Well, I guess I am not quite as optimistic as all that.  Let's look at some key points together.

First of all we cracked the 17,000 mark on the DOW this year already when we started out in January 2014 barely over 16,000.  I along with most of the experts at that time said we would not quite hit 17,000 this year.  Well we did and only by a thread thus far.  The market as been staying extremely close to that 17,000 mark for a good month or so now.  It is like everything is in a holding pattern.  The DOW will gain 90 points today and lose 90 points tomorrow.  So no real positive action or traction since hitting 17,000.  Why?  Because we did this year what everyone thought would not happen.  They fear the market is over inflated.  I feel that way too of the overall market.  That is not always true with each individual stock though.

So what should you be doing with your portfolio right now?  Well, first of all set up an appointment to talk to your financial advisor.  Check out his/her advise and see what they have to say.  For the less savvy or more conservative fund holders in mutual funds and bonds.  Your financial advisor may just tell you to hold everything, keep adding to it each month and not to worry.  That advise is probably good right now.  It is not time for the conservative investor to think about any big moves.

For the more savvy investor that owns and dabbles in individual stocks too like I do.  Your individual stock holdings if they were with sound companies have most likely done better than first predicted back in January 2014 by the experts.  Everyone predicted a Mutual Fund year...yet both have done pretty good.  So are you still investing, buy more individual stock right now or riding the wave and just reinvesting your dividends?  There are some sectors that have been doing extremely well in the market this year.  Healthcare would be one of those sectors that I personally like.  I could sit here and name you stock after stock in the Healthcare sector that has made 20% or more so far this year.  Yet another good year for Healthcare just like last year.  I have been keeping my eye on technology stocks and alternative fuel and utilities and US oil companies...and I am not talking about the Exxon's and BP's.  There is no money there to pick off their old bones for me.  But there are Gems to be found out there.  You just have to really watch the markets and do your homework.

I have told my readers about many of the gems out there as we have went along.  Did you take advantage of some of the gems I told you about.  Well let's talk about Apple (AAPL).  I told you this was a diamond in the ruff.  One of these so called experts that wrote an article for Yahoo Financial wrote a SEARING article about Apple.  I hunted him down for 3 days but I finally got a hold of his email address.  Told him I read his article and that he must be crazy as a bat to advise people against taking the 7:1 Split.  That this split was a for sure winner for many reasons including the new I-Phone that would be coming out in September.  So lets review this now and see who was right and who was wrong...the so called "Expert" who wrote the searing Yahoo Financial Article or Me?  Well I have to say "I told you so" to the so called "Expert" that was extremely rude to me in three emails because I wrote 1 email that questioned his so called "Expert" advise.  Well, since the 7:1 Split by Apple, if you took my advise your holding are up by 25% plus, all the dividends...there was just another payment sent out the other day...plus the I-Phone 6 I think was released yesterday at 12:00 CDT. And Apple is currently up today while the DOW is taking another 80 point hit.  So if you listened to me and not the so called Expert you have made some very decent money.  More than one expert said to pass on the 7:1 Split on Apple...they were all wrong.  But that one guy was a total asshole about it.  I could sell my total holding in Apple today and be perfectly happy taking my money to the bank.  While jerk expert sits there, passes on the split and has exactly what he invested.  Nothing!  I hope you followed my advise and that you are making money on Apple (APPL) too.

Now lets talk about CVS Pharmacy.  A risky move on their part this past week, but I see it coming from many stores in the future.  They pulled out all cigarette's and tobacco products in all of their stores.  Not heard anything from Rite Aid Pharmacy.  Walmart and Walgreens say they will not be pulling cigarettes and tobacco products from their shelves.  So how will this affect CVS Pharmacy, the second largest Pharmacy Chain behind Walgreens.  Well, I have been looking and so far it has not affected poorly on their stock prices.  But it has only been a week and this evidently has not scared any CVS investors.  But when the profit margins start coming out in months to come in the future, this will be the deciding factor that you may or may not start seeing changes for the worse or maybe even the better.

Well, I think I have said quite a bit in this posting today.  But I am going to give you some stocks and mutual funds to look at and consider before I leave today. (RDY), (LLY), (HUM), (PRHSX), (KR),  (HRL), (TAP)

See you next time!

Gus S.


Disclaimer: Make sure to review any information found on this blog site with your personal financial advisor before making any decisions. I am providing general information and not financial advise. I am not a licensed stockbroker or financial advisor.