Latest News about Warren Buffett for the Week of May 7

The latest news about Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B):

Reflecting on Buffett, Business and Politics

Warren Buffett Calls for 90% Billionaire Wealth Tax

Buffett's investing basics: Easily imported to families

Warren Buffett says his successor will be a man

Warren Buffett: Wal-Mart View Unchanged, May Have Overpaid For ConocoPhillips

Warren Buffett won’t invest in Facebook IPO

For a free list of Warren Buffett stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

We sold off hard early in the day but made a comeback to finish with a loss of 76 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were negative.  Todays action was what I expected for yesterday.  Not exactly sure where we are heading from here.  Short term oversold on the stock indices right now.  However the summation index is heading lower.  But the McClellan oscillator is showing a potential positive divergence.  We now have lower lows in some indexes but a higher McClellan oscillator reading.  I suppose the key word there is potential.  So the technicals are somewhat mixed but I would expect some type of bounce here.  I thought that yesterday as well.  My take on things lately has been way off.  GE was off 1/8 on light volume.  Nothing new to report here.  No trades in mind at the moment.  Gold took a hit today as the US dollar strength led to a commodity sell off.  The precious metal fell about $35 on the futures.  The XAU dropped 5 points.  ABX lost 1 1/4, GG fell 1 2/3 and NEM shed 1 3/8.  Volume was good.  Gold and the gold shares continue to be liquidated.  I have no idea why they are being sold off.  I can only guess that money needs to raised overseas or the big players are still getting out.  Very oversold and the Gold/XAU ratio remains off the charts.  I dumped the remaining ABX May calls for another over 90% loss.  I now have no open positions.  The ABX trade was sobering.  But it means nothing now.  I try and make the proper adjustments going forward.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The stock indexes need to hold on here for the bulls to still be in control.  We are right at the necklines of some possible head and shoulders tops reversals.  This is an important point in the stock market and will set the tone for the rest of the month in my opinion.  But I could be wrong and often am.  Gold broke down from the recent support on good volume and that is bearish despite being very oversold.  It looks like support comes in around 1550 but who knows if that will hold.  I'm on the sidelines for now until I can sort things out.  I doubt I'll be attempting any trades in the remaining May option cycle.  We'll see what goes on tomorrow.  A bounce is due.

Latest News on Facebook Stock for the Week of May 7

This is the latest news on Facebook and the Facebook IPO stock offering:

Why Facebook Stock Makes the Best Graduation Gift

Reddit Founder Says He Won't Buy Facebook's Stock

Start-up to tap Facebook as a no-fee investment platform

Facebook likely to be the fourth richest flotation in stock market history

Mark Zuckerberg kicks off Facebook roadshow to pitch IPO

Closed End Funds that Own Facebook Stock

A lower start to the week as the Dow fell 29 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were positive and the overall market was stronger than the Dow.  The S&P 500 futures sold off big on Sunday night after the election results from overseas.  However there was no follow through downside when the markets opened up today.  We had every reason to sell off this morning and we didn't.  That usually is a sign that the stock market wants to go higher.  The daily technicals on the stock indices are now more oversold than overbought.  GE was flat on the session with light volume.  Still in the trading range here.  Gold dropped $6 today as the US dollar was higher.  However the dollar was much stronger early in the day and came back well off of the highs.  The XAU was off 7/8.  ABX and NEM were both flat on the day while GG lost 3/8.  Volume was light.  I still have some May ABX calls open that are losers.  I'll be selling them this week but am waiting for some kind of bounce to perhaps cut the loss.  The gold shares are oversold and have been for a couple of months.  Gold and the gold shares are dead money.  My trading account died a bit with them.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  9 days left in the May option cycle.  I don't see myself doing any trades after the ABX call trade debacle.  If anything I'd be looking at the OEX calls here.  But my confidence is shot, so the sidelines seem like a good place to be for the moment.  Not a lot of economic data out this week, so there won't be much to trade off of.  We'll see what goes on tonight and take it from there.

Steve Jobs

If you have not read the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, you need to read it. Even if you are a Microsoft (MSFT) Windows person and not an Apple (AAPL), Mac person. Even if you use a Research In Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry, instead of an iPhone. You need to read this book.

It is not just the historical information, which is very, very extensive, going back to the grandparents of Jobs and continues to almost his death. It is not just the fascinating trivia about Jobs, including the drugs, the feet soaking in toilets, the veganism, and how he once turned into a carrot (you have to read the book!). By the way, there is a ton of trivia, and I really don't want to give any more of it away.

What makes this book great is the combination of a psychoanalysis of Jobs combined with an evolutionary business analysis of Apple, Inc. and its founder. One of the key elements of the book, at least in the first part, is the interaction and relationship between Jobs and Steve Wozniak. They are complete opposites in numerous ways, physically, mentally, emotionally, philosophically, behaviorally, yet they worked together so well and complimented each other almost perfectly.

This business and financial side of Apple was significantly covered in the book, but probably just as interesting, if not more so, is the personal side of Jobs and all the major players in his life. And what a life.

Here is a guy who basically created his own market, his own Industry. He is responsible for providing employment to over 60,000 people directly, and hundreds of thousands of workers indirectly. He has made millionaires out of thousands and thousands of employees and investors. Not bad for a dollar-a-year man.

Isaacson has done his homework for this book, not only through interviews of Jobs, but also his co-workers, staff, family, friends, and even enemies. The research is extensively annotated at the end. The book even includes over 20 pictures. This tome is over 600 pages long, perfect for summer reading, vacation reading, or just one-chapter-a-night-before-you-go-to-bed reading. It is even available as a Steve Jobs Kindle book. If you are looking for a book as a gift, either for a friend, family member, or even yourself, Steve Jobs is the book worth getting.

Profit from the Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby, considered to be the most famous horse race in the United States, was held this Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the first of the three major races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and will be followed by the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.

Is there a way to make money on horse racing without betting on the outcome of a race? Definitely. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com turned up a list of a dozen stocks in the horse racing industry, and several of them pay dividends.

A perfect example is Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN), the host of the Kentucky Derby. This is the holding company of the Churchill Downs Racetrack that originally opened in 1875. It also owns Arlington Park, the Calder Race Course, the Fair Grounds Race Course, and the Trackside Off-Track-Betting Facilities. The stock trades at 17.2 times forward earnings, and pays a yield of 1.0%.  Revenues were up 8.8% for the latest reported quarter.

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (DDE) owns Dover Downs Raceway, a harness racing track with pari-mutuel wagering. The company has a forward price to earnings ratio of 9 and pays a generous yield of 4.3%. Revenues were up 7.9% for the latest quarter.

Penn National Gaming Inc. (PENN) owns racetracks and off-track wagering facilities in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. The stock has a forward PE of 15.6 but does not pay a dividend.

For a free list of stocks involved in the horse racing industry which you can download, sort and update, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

By the way, if you want a free horse race handicapping program, check out the one at horsetip.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Third Week of May 2012

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.


 

Consolidated Edison, Inc.	ED	$17.2B	5/14/2012	4.1%
H&R Real Estate Investment Trust	HRUFF	$2.8B	5/14/2012	4.9%

Sonoco Products Company	SON	$3.4B	5/16/2012	3.6%
Whirlpool Corporation	WHR	$4.9B	5/16/2012	3.1%
China Mobile Ltd. (ADR)	CHL	$224.9B	5/17/2012	3.8%
Highwoods Properties Inc	HIW	$2.5B	5/17/2012	5.0%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:
Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.



Monthly Dividend Stock List Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com