"Calif Bill" wrote in message
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"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
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"BAR" wrote in message
. ..
hk wrote:
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
. ..
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
news
wrote:
On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:50:19 -0500, hk
wrote:
IBM is still in business?
They actually opened a couple bucks higher today. It is still
about
16-17 bucks off the 52 week high. I am still not sure what they do
these days
Except for two stocks, we got out of the stock market years ago and
don't really pay any attention to it, except to chuckle over its
vagaries and the belief anyone pays to its "integrity."
What a silly generalization.
Perhaps you believe in the "generally accepted accounting practices"
of listed companies. We don't.
OK. What investments do you use which have consistently stayed ahead
of inflation?
These days, commercial real estate for income and appreciation, and
some raw land options which we picked up and exercised in the early
1990s. Every couple of years we sell off a lot and at some point, we'll
probably sell the remaining lots to a respectable architect/developer.
We've done very well with the land speculation. :-)
We also bought gold in the low $400s. Not certificates, coins. And we
have some money invested in private businesses, a real speculation on
our part, but the bookkeepers are honest.
Your land speculation is just that speculation. I could take stock in a
publicly traded company and turn it into cash money tomorrow. You land
sale has to wait for a buyer and the subsequent deal to actually go
through.
Why would you buy gold coins? Are you digging a bomb shelter in your
backyard too?
Liquid assets, let me repeat that liquid assets.
For what type of money? Good luck answering this question. Hint: Trump
Trump was lucky. Sort of like the present mortgage meltdown. The
Government is going to bail the people who borrowed too much money. Trump
was able to borrow way over his head. The banks had to work with him to
save his ass. They could not call the loans. If they called the loans,
they had to write off enough money they would not meet capitalization
requirements by the Fed. And luckily for both the banks and Trump, the
economy came back and saved both their asses. Left Trump very rich, but
was more luck than smarts that he ended up rich.
The fact that he had those banking relationships is a perfect illustration
of why real estate is often a time bomb for small players who do NOT have
strong enough financial backing. But, lack of liquidity alone is not a good
reason to avoid an investment. And, some investors add a 2nd definition to
liquidity: "Can I sell without losing my shirt?" You can lose your shirt
selling AAA-rated insured muni bonds in certain situations. They'll sell
fast, which fits one definition of liquidity. But, it will hurt.