Personal Finance Questions and Answers for Young Professionals

Think its a good time to Dollar-Cost Average?

pbucelwicz — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:29:03 +0000

The markets have dropped about 40% since I made most of my initial investments. Think its a good idea to double up my investments now to cut my Dollar-Cost Average in half almost?

With the prices so low I feel like I shouldn’t miss this opportunity. Or am I just being greedy and should put my money somewhere safer?

V, NVDA, AAPL are my current holdings.

Health Benifits! Open enrollment: So many choices

sergik12 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:45:11 +0000

I hate picking my benefits every year but we all have to do it. This is a good article on the topic but at the end of the day you are really on your own

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/15/pf/open_enrollment.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008102009

Buffett Says Now Is the Time to Buy U.S. Equities

sergik12 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:06:09 +0000

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=apDKZD4TIAKQ&refer=home

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett said he’s buying U.S. stocks and, if prices stay attractive, his personal investments, as distinct from his stake in Berkshire Hathaway Inc., will soon be wholly in American equities.

The meltdown’s silver lining - cheap oil

sergik12 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:06:41 +0000

In a new report Friday, Deutsche Bank uses a number of interesting yard sticks to suggest crude is currently way too expensive and may fall to the $60 a barrel range as the economy worsens.

Full Story

In the Long Run, the Dow’s 40% Nosedive May Actually Turn Into a Safe Landing

sergik12 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:06:06 +0000

With the near-record 678-point plunge yesterday (Thursday), the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plunged from its all-time-record high of 14,280 to below 8,600 in just one year’s time. To those accustomed to a five-figure Dow, this 40% freefall represents the unexpected descent of the stock market into a gigantic pit that signifies the dawn of the second Great Depression and an end to the free market system. However, for those of us who believe in fundamental stock-market valuation, the outlook isn’t dire at all – indeed, the stock market’s long-term outlook is as upbeat as it’s been for some time. This painful stretch actually represents a very necessary descent from a turbulent balloon journey through multiple thunderstorms to a relatively safe landing – with only a moderate amount of damage to the actual balloon, itself.

Fed joins 5 central banks - cuts 1/2 point and cites ‘intensification’ of crisis.

sergik12 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:01:17 +0000

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve, working in coordination with other central banks worldwide, enacted an emergency interest rate cut on Wednesday. The Fed lowered its fed funds rate by half of a percentage point to 1.5%. The central bank's statement said the move was necessary because of the worsening crisis in global financial markets. "The recent intensification of the financial crisis has augmented the downside risks to growth and thus has diminished further the upside risks to price stability," the Fed said.

Hot Commodities you Don’t know about!

CraigTS — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:54:06 +0000

Know some hidden “gem(s)”?

Here’s an article I found on Fortune:

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0810/gallery.demos_commodities.fortune/index.html

Fed to Purchase U.S. Commercial Paper to Ease Crunch

sergik12 — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:43:21 +0000

Full Story

Going a little to far? or not far enough?

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve will create a special fund to purchase U.S. commercial paper after the credit crunch threatened to cut off a key source of funding for corporations.

The Treasury will make a deposit with the Fed’s New York district bank to help set up the special purpose vehicle. The central bank will also lend to the program at policy makers’ target rate for overnight loans between banks. The Fed Board invoked emergency powers to set up the unit, the central bank said in a statement released in Washington.

What Investors Should Do now (article)

CraigTS — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:09:19 +0000

Fortune magazine:

What investors should do now

Wells Fargo Trumps Citigroup’s Offer to Buy Wachovia

pbucelwicz — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:52:51 +0000

Wells Fargo Agrees to Buy all of Wachovia for about $15.1 billion in stock, keeping Wachovia intact and needing no U.S. assistance. Citigroup offered to buy Wachovia’s Banking operation for $2.16 billion, which would relied on financial backing from the FDIC and leave behind the A.G. Edwards Inc. brokerage and the Evergreen mutual-fund family.
.
.

What does this mean for Wells Fargo and Wachovia share holders?

Wachovia shareholders get 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo common stock for each share they own. Wells Fargo expects charges related to the acquisition of about $10 billion, and the company said it will issue as much as $20 billion of new securities, mostly common stock.

What happens to a company’s stock if they are bought out?

This deal values Wachovia at $7 a share. You can expect that the price of Wachovia stock to jump to at least that. My guess is that Wachovia, and Wells Fargo shares will go up in value with Wachovia’s in a steeper climb.

What do you think?

Source: bloomberg - Wells Fargo Agrees to Buy Wachovia for $15.1 Billion