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)

Rumblings of war and the Japanese buying lots of gold have fueled a gold rally.  SGGDX ranks in the top 1 percent in its category for one-, three- and five-year periods. In the 1&Mac221; months before this game started, it gained 31 percent.  Alas, it plummeted 17 percent thereafter. (Nov. 8)

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)

This week was especially volatile for the stock market. The mutual funds that I chose for this exercise have exceptional managers. Even so, the declines in the markets have proven to be a difficult obstacle to achieving positive performance. Should equities have a year-end rally, I believe these funds will perform well.
(Nov. 8)

Last week was packed with developments that impacted the markets greatly. They were an election, an interest rate cut (larger than I expected), and a UN resolution on Iraq. Talk of deflation (decline in general price levels, often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit) is somewhat worrisome. (Nov. 8)

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 is very well-managed, maintaining healthy margins of more than 65%. COST announced 2% same store sales increases for October. It remains the best positioned retailer in its market segment. GE: Analysts speculate that the company may have to provide up to $5 billion to its financial services division. TMEN: continues to trade lower as it awaits acceptance of its technologies. (Nov. 8)

The larger-than-expected 1/2 percent interest rate cut is seen by many as a sign that the U.S. economy is vulnerable. Employment and consumer confidence are in fact weakening. Howver, Fed policy, inflation and productivity remain accomodative. I am cautiously optimistic.   Barring any geopolitical surprises, I expect to see economic growth sometime in mid-2003. (Nov. 8)

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)