You get the face value of a bond on the date the bond matures.On the maturity dates — one, two, five and 10 years from now — I will get $5,000 for each note. Between now and maturity date the price of the bonds will fluctuate daily. (Oct. 25)

One method of diversifying your risk is to buy mutual funds. You can buy stock or bond mutual funds or a combination of both. Mutual funds allow you to buy many stocks or many bonds instead of just a few. There are over 10,000 mutual funds for you to choose from. (Oct. 25)

REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) have performed well: a 13 percent annual gain over the last 3 years versus 11 percent annual loss for S&P500 stocks. REITs must pay out 90 percent of their profits to shareholders annually. CEOs can fudge earnings, but dividends are real cash. My REITs, NFI and HPT, pay annual dividends of 14% and 9%. (Oct. 24)

The hydrogen fuel cell is developing fast and may replace the car engine within a decade or sooner, ending our reliance on foreign oil. Its exhaust is only water.  All major automakers are investing heavily in new technologies, certain that a revolution will occur. Risky, so don't invest too much or too early.  (Oct. 31)

As always, investing short term is risky. Your individual strategy and plan for achieving your goals must be carefully considered. Setting realistic expectations is important for your own financial and mental well being. Capital, interest rate, and currency risk should be analyzed carefully before making any decisions.
(Nov. 1)

Jobs declined by 5,000 in October, marking the first back-to-back loss in six months. Gross Domestic Product was weaker-than-expected and consumer confidence declined. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing indicates further contraction in that sector. It appears that the economy has lost some strength. I believe there will be an interest rate cut Wednesday. (Nov. 1)

Earnings is the key driver of any market. We cannot control corporate earnings, but price dictates action. The key question going through the minds of investors are, is this really an upside rally or a bear hug? We are in a short to intermediate term bull phase of a secular bear market right now. Investors willing to buy in an oversold market have control of the reigns right now. (Oct. 25)

We are seeing a dramatic shift in positive market sentiment. A good phrase to follow is "below the 200 day moving average, bears rule." There will be a price entry that will allow appropriate risk suitable for the individual investor’s needs. For long term investors, price timing isn't that crucial and buying quality investments at fair prices should be the course of action. (Oct. 25)

CSCO should report earnings on Nov. 6. COST appears to be bucking the trend of slowing consumer spending. GE’s $4.4 billion in exposure to airlines that could be written off is insignificant versus its $144 billion securities portfolio. TMEN continues to be the biggest drag on the portfolio. Speculative securities are often extremely volatile and therefor should be considered only by risk-tolerant investors. (Nov. 1)

This feeble recovery appears to be losing momentum which could lead to a 1/4% interest rate cut when the Fed meets this week. That doesn't leave a lot of room for the Fed and so I am reducing my exposure to fixed income. I continue to accumulate shares of leading companies in industries set to benefit from an economic turn-around; which I expect sometime in mid 2003. (Nov. 1)

This relatively quick rise in market values in the last few weeks have obviously hurt the performance of my bond fund and market short fund selection. Despite this, we feel still feel these holdings will continue to do well as a defensive investment. (Nov. 1)

There is still more downside risk in the overall market. We're in a trading range in which active traders would probably do better than the buy and hold investor. Obviously, the limited monthly trading restrictions in this contest prevents active trading. If this is the bottom, then a retest of the recent rise will be needed. There will be ample opportunities for long investors to buy in at lower levels. (Nov. 1)