# U.S. Stock Market Watch



## King Shrek (Aug 7, 2002)

http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/07/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/06/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm

The U.S. Stock Market has been up 2 days in a row.  Let's hope it stays that way.  Though we must realize there will be some down days, but hopefully the up days will overwhelm the down days.

IMHO President Bush seems to be doing all he can to stimulate the economy back to life again.  I praise him for his effort.  We have gotten a tax cut passed, an economic stimulus package, a corporate reform bill, and just yesterday Mr. Bush signed an open trade bill.  IMO, even if the economy does continue to fail, you can't blame Bush for not trying.  

Apple, Motorola, and IBM have been up these past two days as well.  Apple is now up over $15.00!  Woohoo!

Let's use this thread to keep an eye on the stock market and have discussions about it.  Here is a link to CNN's moneyline homepage:

http://money.cnn.com/


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## xaqintosh (Aug 7, 2002)

this is good news
I don't have any stocks at the moment, but I'd like to get some.


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## tk4two1 (Aug 8, 2002)

I almost bought Apple stocks about 3 or 4 years ago right before the iMac came out. You know when Apple stock was about $4.00 a share. 

*kicking himself*


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## King Shrek (Aug 8, 2002)

http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/08/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm



> *
> Dow: 3 days, up 668 points
> A financial stock rally propels blue-chip indicator toward a winning week.
> August 8, 2002: 4:49 PM EDT
> ...



Apple stock is up $0.27, IBM went up $2.44, and Motorola went up a staggering $0.80!!!  This is not normal for Motorola, I think; makes you wonder if some new chips are on the way.


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## JetwingX (Aug 8, 2002)

lets hope it don't fall


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## King Shrek (Aug 9, 2002)

http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/09/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm



> *
> Mixed Day, Winning Week
> Stocks end strong week little changed on the day; major indexes all rise for first time in 3 months.
> August 9, 2002: 4:09 PM EDT
> ...



In the meantime, Apple stock has dropped $0.30 (-1.96%) to close at $15.00, Motorola stock is up $0.20 (+1.69%) to close at $12.00), and IBM stock is up $0.22 (+0.31%) to close at $71.83.


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## chemistry_geek (Aug 11, 2002)

The Stock Market woes will continue with the discovered corruption along the way to corporate accountability.  When the corruption is gone, investor confidence will return, and the DJIA will recover, eventually.  I think it's going to take at least 2 years under "good" economic conditions, which we all know isn't happening.


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## Trip (Aug 12, 2002)

Ok, Ok...maybe it's the fact I grew up without a father, maybe it's the fact I just never took the time to ask anybody, or maybe it's the fact I didn't care until now. But I'm turning 16 shortly and I still have no clue what stock is and how this thing works. lol, somebody want to fill me in?


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## chemistry_geek (Aug 12, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Trip _
> *Ok, Ok...maybe it's the fact I grew up without a father, maybe it's the fact I just never took the time to ask anybody, or maybe it's the fact I didn't care until now. But I'm turning 16 shortly and I still have no clue what stock is and how this thing works. lol, somebody want to fill me in?  *



Stock is partial ownership of a company.  The easiest way to "get into" stocks is to buy mutual funds.  A mutual fund is partial ownership of many companies, usually within a certain sector of the economy, or that meet specific investment goals set by the mutual fund manager.  The mutual fund must by law consist of at least 20 different companies.  Usually the fund managers are Ivy-League Financial Rocket Scientists.  These guys eat, sleep, and breath money.  Mutual funds are groups of stocks, bonds (government and corporate), and possibly other financial vehicles that have certain investment goals.  Some are growth funds, they increase in value by relying on the increasing share price of the individual companies.  Others are primarily concerned with paying out dividends from very large companies like IBM and Micro$oft.  The earlier in life you get started in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, the better your chances are of living a little (or a lot) better off than you were before.  If you do decide to get into mutual funds, talk to a financial advisor, and diversify your money, and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS purchase CLASS-A shares in mutual funds.  NEVER EVER purchase Class-B funds.  Your money will grow faster with Class-A shares no matter what the financial advisor tells you.

Many mutual funds have a minimum initial investment of $100, $300, $500, $1000, $5000, $10,000 and subsequently have minimum monthly purchases if you choose monthly purchases.  Some minimum monthly purchases are $25, others are $100, or $500.  The reason they have the minimum requirements is because the fund manager's goal is to make money, if the stock trade and paper work cost more than the money made from the trade, there's a loss, which is bad.  Some mutual funds do very well, and the fund managers close the fund to new investors, that happened to me twice while trying to get into one.  I finally made it into the one I wanted, and it's paid off OK, but the current economic climate has made thigs difficult.

I would recommend that you go to the local library and start reading books by The Motley Fool.  Don't buy their books, that's how these guys make money, just check them out from the library.  They put the stock market in plain-easy-to-read English.  They also cover some of the laws and taxes encountered in owning mutual funds.  And yes, your income tax can be horrifically complicated when you start investing, which is why I recommend you go to an accountant at tax time.  The most it COULD cost you is $80/year in taxes.  And save EVERYTHING related to mutual fund statements, etc... that comes in the mail from the mutual fund companies.  This past year I went to http://www.turbotax.com/ and did my taxes (mutual fund stuff included) for $40.


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