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Monthly Archives: September 2008

Would You put a Wind Turbine on Your Roof?

September 4, 2008
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An article in today’s New York Times posed a similar question to readers alongside a story about people who have recently installed small wind turbines on their roofs but may never recoup the cost. The installations have been mostly in cities with a lot of wind, like Boston and San Francisco, but the problem is that the turbines might be too small to ever really provide enough energy for their installation to have been cost effective. A few people in the article (even someone from Harvard University) said that they wanted to install the turbines as an outward show...

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Be Flexible!

September 3, 2008
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Be Flexible!

Somewhere along the way, being flexible in the stock market–i.e., selling quickly if you develop a loss, or changing your mind just a couple of weeks after buying a stock–has gotten a bad rap.  If you change your mind, you’re derided for being a “trader,” or for not having any conviction. Nonsense!  While conviction is important, so is being flexible.  You must always be willing to change your outlook–if the market or your stock dictates it. Corning (GLW) provides a perfect example.  We added GLW to the Cabot Market Letter‘s Model Portfolio back on May 7.  At that time,...

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Beware the Ides of September?

September 3, 2008
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“Beware the Ides of March!” was a warning to Julius Caesar in February of 44 B.C. Unfortunately for him, he ignored the warning, and was unmercifully killed on March 15 of that year by a group of Senators opposed to his position of dictator for life of Rome. According to Wikipedia, Ides was simply a term used in the Roman calendar that referred to the 15th of the month in March, May, July and October, and the 13th day of the month for the other eight months; Ides simply referred to a “half month,” and Romans considered it an...

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Emerging Markets Q&A

September 2, 2008
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Cabot China & Emerging Markets Editor Paul Goodwin was recently interviewed about the emerging markets by MoneyShow.com and I wanted to share the Q&A here with you. Question: Emerging markets have been beaten up in the last few months and this Russia/Georgia conflict, unfortunately, points out one of the problems with investing internationally-the uncertainty of government and political actions. Would you please share your thoughts on the precautions that investors in emerging market issues should take to protect themselves from adverse consequences to their portfolios from such actions? Answer: Of course every investor should follow the usual advice that...

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Commodity Boom and Bust

September 1, 2008
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This is the last question in the series. Please feel free to post any other investing questions you have and we’ll be happy to answer them. Question: In a prior Cabot Wealth Advisory, you wrote that commodity stocks were dead, and should be sold.  How did you see that coming?  And what do you think of them now? (Editor’s Note: This refers to the July 10, 2008 issue.) Answer: One key sell rule you can use is this:  If a stock or group has had an extended run-up during the past two, three or more months, and then most...

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