NationStates Jolt Archive


Stocks you own

IDF
11-02-2007, 19:43
What are some of the stocks you own?

I own a few mutual funds in addition to shares of Sun Microsystems (which I bought cheap and have made 49% on over the past 12 months), JetBlue, Walgreens, and Wal Mart.

I've made money on every single investment thus far.:cool:
New Burmesia
11-02-2007, 19:43
My parents have some in the Halifax, which has been doing okay since the Bank of Scotland takeover, and the Daily Mirror, as Dad's pension. That's not so good.
IL Ruffino
11-02-2007, 19:47
I don't own any.. but if I've heard correctly, the parents have stock in GM and PPL.. I think.

I'd but stock in Starbucks and Pepsi, but you know me.. well.. no, no you don't. Well, at least, I hope you don't.. WHO ARE YOU?! STOP LOOKING AT ME!!

:eek: :(
Andaluciae
11-02-2007, 19:50
I'm not going to tell you, because you'll laugh at me.

But it's not my fault, I was 14, and my parents thought it was a good idea. I fought them tooth and nail.
The Plutonian Empire
11-02-2007, 19:51
Just stocks of Boeing.
IDF
11-02-2007, 19:52
Just stocks of Boeing.

That stock probably did well over the past year.
The Plutonian Empire
11-02-2007, 19:54
That stock probably did well over the past year.
I've had these stocks since I was a child. :D
The Infinite Dunes
11-02-2007, 19:55
I don't own any stock. It's all in a bank account earning 1% above inflation. What I'd really like to do with it is pile it into a lending scheme operated by zopa. That way I'd feel like I was cutting out the middleman, helping others and helping myself. :)
Deus Malum
11-02-2007, 19:57
The only thing I'm currently invested in is GE, which has been slowly rising for about a week or two.
Vetalia
11-02-2007, 19:59
I don't own stocks per se, but I do run a simulated portfolio. I've made about 20% since last July.

My best performers are Yahoo, Vanguard Emerging Markets, IBM, Cisco Systems, and Sony. I've also got some decent performers (around 10%) like Claymore Macroshares and Intel.
IDF
11-02-2007, 20:02
The only thing I'm currently invested in is GE, which has been slowly rising for about a week or two.

A blue chip like GE isn't the sort of stock you invest in for capital gains. You invest in a stock like that for the dividends. Not to say that capital gains aren't nice to have.
Ashekelon
11-02-2007, 20:03
What are some of the stocks you own?

precious metals (gold/silver), energy (oil/natural gas), and $CDN bonds, plus some TSX index funds.

favorite individual stock is Tanzanian Royalty Exploriation Company; TSX:TNX or AMEX:TRE
Compulsive Depression
11-02-2007, 20:05
Um... There's some OXO in my cupboard...
Vetalia
11-02-2007, 20:08
A blue chip like GE isn't the sort of stock you invest in for capital gains. You invest in a stock like that for the dividends. Not to say that capital gains aren't nice to have.

You can do that with the technology blue chips like Intel or IBM, however. They're volatile enough to make those kinds of gains along with paying a dividend, so you can trade them either way.

Personally, I consider dividends a waste of liquidity that could be reinvested in the business to grow it further or kept on hand for M&A and contingencies, but that's just my opinion.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 20:25
Well most of my socks are black, but I do have some sports socks, and some of those silly house socks made out of microfibre that are so soft and cushy.
Aston
11-02-2007, 20:33
got some shares in Ipswich Town football club, which are basically worthless because no one in their right mind would buy them and you can only sell them though one stockbrocker type whose name i don't remember.

Brought with my heart for the loves of a football team, when they needed a mugs money i was there
Commonalitarianism
11-02-2007, 20:44
HOKU Scientific...
Sarkhaan
11-02-2007, 20:48
Disney, GE, Royal Caribbean, AT&T, Alcatel.

Disney was by far my best move. Over 100% profit so far.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 20:51
Good to see that ethics are apparently not much of a priority for some of our stock holders here.
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 20:52
Good to see that ethics are apparently not much of a priority for some of our stock holders here.

There's nothing unethical about stock ownership.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 20:57
There's nothing unethical about stock ownership.

Bullshit.

You are supporting the company with your purchase. You are, to a limited degree, a PART of that company.

If you owned stock in a company that manufactured landmines, do you honestly think that 'ethics' is not involved?

Take it further why don't you...there is nothing unethical about buying carpets produced by children living in slavery.
The Pacifist Womble
11-02-2007, 21:04
I own stock in Caterpillar, Shell Oil and Halliburton.
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 21:08
Bullshit.

You are supporting the company with your purchase. You are, to a limited degree, a PART of that company.

I guess that's sorta like how I'm supporting the US government by paying taxes, and am therefore a mass murderer just like everyone else here?

No.

Buying stock in a company is nothing more or less than a way to make money. Ethics just doesn't have anything to do with it. I've got ethics and integrity regardless of my stupid stock portfolio.

If you owned stock in a company that manufactured landmines, do you honestly think that 'ethics' is not involved?

Yes.

Landmines don't kill people. People who use landmines to kill people, kill people. It's the same with guns, or with anything else that can harm anyone or anything. If I buy stock in a steel company, I am not ethically aligned with an axe murderer in any way.

Take it further why don't you...there is nothing unethical about buying carpets produced by children living in slavery.

Well, if I don't buy those carpets, then those children are not productive, and their slave masters are not productive, and everyone starves to death or goes to work in the nearby prostitution factory instead. So maybe I'm actually being more ethical by buying. ;)
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:10
I own stock in Caterpillar, Shell Oil and Halliburton.

Wow! That's quite the unholy trinity!

Does anyone know where I can get stock in a company that produces instruments of torture for export to Syria? I bet those stocks would be worth a lot...maybe I could pay for my kid's piano lessons with the profit I'd make!
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:12
I guess that's sorta like how I'm supporting the US government by paying taxes, and am therefore a mass murderer just like everyone else here?
No.
Buying stock in a company is nothing more or less than a way to make money. Ethics just doesn't have anything to do with it. I've got ethics and integrity regardless of my stupid stock portfolio.
Yes.
Landmines don't kill people. People who use landmines to kill people, kill people. It's the same with guns, or with anything else that can harm anyone or anything. If I buy stock in a steel company, I am not ethically aligned with an axe murderer in any way.
Well, if I don't buy those carpets, then those children are not productive, and their slave masters are not productive, and everyone starves to death or goes to work in the nearby prostitution factory instead. So maybe I'm actually being more ethical by buying. ;)
Aww, how sweet. Save the world, one profit at a time.

Landmines don't kill people...that's also sweet.

So if I start buying stocks in a company that hires security guards to rape and dismember women trying to organise a union, that's okay? I can still walk around proud, and ethical?

That's truly pathetic.

In a system where we are told over and over, that 'money talks', and the consumer is king, I don't even think the most die-hard free market liberal can honestly believe that your purchases are devoid of meaning, and utterly divorced from ethics.
Andaluciae
11-02-2007, 21:16
Good to see that ethics are apparently not much of a priority for some of our stock holders here.

Ethics, schmethics.
Sarkhaan
11-02-2007, 21:16
I guess that's sorta like how I'm supporting the US government by paying taxes, and am therefore a mass murderer just like everyone else here?when you own stock, you do infact own part of the company. That is starkly different than paying taxes to use a nations services


Buying stock in a company is nothing more or less than a way to make money. Ethics just doesn't have anything to do with it. I've got ethics and integrity regardless of my stupid stock portfolio.You support a business that does something you ethically are against. You are directly supporting their practice. You contradict your ethics.





Well, if I don't buy those carpets, then those children are not productive, and their slave masters are not productive, and everyone starves to death or goes to work in the nearby prostitution factory instead. So maybe I'm actually being more ethical by buying. ;)
right. supporting slave and child labor is ethical.
Wow! That's quite the unholy trinity!

What's wrong with caterpillar?
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 21:18
Aww, how sweet. Save the world, one profit at a time.

Landmines don't kill people...that's also sweet.

So if I start buying stocks in a company that hires security guards to rape and dismember women trying to organise a union, that's okay?

Depends. Does the stock look healthy or not?

Look, you can make that kind of accusation all you like, but if you're gonna say I'm unethical for owning stock in a company you judge unethical, where does it stop? I'm obviously unethical for paying taxes to a government that is unethical, I'm unethical for buying any product which involved or even might have involved something less than legal on any link in the supply chain. Hey, I smoke cigarettes, second-hand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer, therefore I'm a murderer. I buy a hamburger, I'm a mass murderer of cute cows. I vote Democrat, I'm a terrorist. I vote Republican, I'm a PNAC warmongerer. I vote Libertarian, I'm apparently voting for whichever of the other two parties wins.

I'm just unethical all the time for anything and everything I do - right?

And so are you. You pay taxes, therefore you support your own government's policies. Every last one of them. You also support all your government employees. From every crooked cop to every criminal child molester no one has found out about yet. You support it all. You're unethical. Right?
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:23
What's wrong with caterpillar?

Are you crazy? Do you know how voracious caterpillers are? They ate my entire bean crop last year! How could you support that?

Actually no, seriously...caterpiller bulldozers have become rather symbolic in the West Bank as they merrily knock down Palestinian homes and run over peace activists (Rachel Corrie). Certainly the company is not as embroiled in corruption and human rights abuses as the others, but they certainly know what their product is going to be used for when they sell directly to the Israeli government.
Sarkhaan
11-02-2007, 21:27
Are you crazy? Do you know how voracious caterpillers are? They ate my entire bean crop last year! How could you support that?

Actually no, seriously...caterpiller bulldozers have become rather symbolic in the West Bank as they merrily knock down Palestinian homes and run over peace activists (Rachel Corrie). Certainly the company is not as embroiled in corruption and human rights abuses as the others, but they certainly know what their product is going to be used for when they sell directly to the Israeli government.

ahh...alright. The only argument I'd have against that is that those same machines are used by the Israeli government for legit uses too, and, really, I'd say that is only a very tiny part of their sales
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:28
Depends. Does the stock look healthy or not?

Look, you can make that kind of accusation all you like, but if you're gonna say I'm unethical for owning stock in a company you judge unethical, I'll stop you there. It's a given, ethics are subjective things. So if your ethics allow you to support the arms trade, then by all means, buy stocks in a company that manufactures and sells weapons. But don't then go on to decry the situation, as your grubby hands massage the damp certificates of stock crumpled in your pockets.

If you can live with what the company does, the company that you are now a part owner in, then fine. I still get to call it unethical, but my ethics are not yours.



where does it stop? I'm obviously unethical for paying taxes to a government that is unethical, I'm unethical for buying any product which involved or even might have involved something less than legal on any link in the supply chain. Hey, I smoke cigarettes, second-hand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer, therefore I'm a murderer. I buy a hamburger, I'm a mass murderer of cute cows. I vote Democrat, I'm a terrorist. I vote Republican, I'm a PNAC warmongerer. I vote Libertarian, I'm apparently voting for whichever of the other two parties wins.

I'm just unethical all the time for anything and everything I do - right? Buying stock is a hell of a lot more direct than any of these things you've mentioned. Don't slipperly slope it to meaninglessness to avoid that.

And so are you. You pay taxes, therefore you support your own government's policies. Every last one of them. You also support all your government employees. From every crooked cop to every criminal child molester no one has found out about yet. You support it all. You're unethical. Right?

I pay my taxes, yup. And some of my government's policies I support. The ones that I don't, I fight.

You don't one one hand buy a stock in Disney, and then decry Disney's use of sweat labour in China. To do so would be to actively try to undermine the worth of your stock...and if in fact it's all about profit for you, that would be patently unreasonable.

I can pay my taxes, and fight government policies, and not be contradicting myself, because it's not profit I'm after, it's justice.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:29
ahh...alright. The only argument I'd have against that is that those same machines are used by the Israeli government for legit uses too, and, really, I'd say that is only a very tiny part of their sales

Yup...I wouldn't spend nearly as much time bitching about Caterpiller than the other two companies.
Vetalia
11-02-2007, 21:33
Good to see that ethics are apparently not much of a priority for some of our stock holders here.

The only company I "own" (it's a model portfolio...I don't have enough money to actually invest) that has ethics problems is ExxonMobil. Other than that, I prefer to invest in technology.
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 21:34
I'll stop you there. It's a given, ethics are subjective things. So if your ethics allow you to support the arms trade, then by all means, buy stocks in a company that manufactures and sells weapons. But don't then go on to decry the situation, as your grubby hands massage the damp certificates of stock crumpled in your pockets.

Ethics allow me to pay taxes. And paying taxes supports the arms trade, what with the government being the biggest buyer and user of arms. So, as long as I'm already supporting the arms trade, I might as well make some money off of it in the process. I see nothing unethical about this.


Buying stock is a hell of a lot more direct than any of these things you've mentioned. Don't slipperly slope it to meaninglessness to avoid that.


It's not more direct. Buying stock is buying stock, it is not directly doing things the company is doing. It is as far removed from that as... paying taxes. I know you don't like the comparison, but it's apt, because your accusation of unethics to me is not.

I pay my taxes, yup. And some of my government's policies I support. The ones that I don't, I fight.

But you pay taxes - you finance all of their policies. You contradict your ethics. Yes?

Mind you, I don't agree with this viewpoint or logic.

You don't one one hand buy a stock in Disney, and then decry Disney's use of sweat labour in China. To do so would be to actively try to undermine the worth of your stock...and if in fact it's all about profit for you, that would be patently unreasonable.

Oh? Can I buy stock in Disney, and then say that Disney's movies and products are lame and stupid? Yes I can! And you can decry your government policies, while still propping it up with vast percentages of your time, energy and money.

I can pay my taxes, and fight government policies, and not be contradicting myself, because it's not profit I'm after, it's justice.

Ha! So your real point here is that it's OK to support criminal actions as long as it's not evil business. Evil government is OK. Just say "justice" instead of "profit" and its somehow different, somehow ethical.

Whatever.

I'm not unethical. Full stop.
Zarakon
11-02-2007, 21:37
I own stocks in YOUR MOM!!!

No, seriously. That's where I keep them.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:38
The only company I "own" (it's a model portfolio...I don't have enough money to actually invest) that has ethics problems is ExxonMobil. Other than that, I prefer to invest in technology.

It's come up a lot at home, because my husband wants to invest in Talisman, and I veto it. He wants to invest in uranium, and I veto it. I tell him, go ahead, buy the stocks, but I want no part in it. Not to mention his plan of buying Shell stocks. Jesus. Poor guy got an earful...but then again, he claims to be a socialist, and a supporter of human rights, and anti-capitalist... so fucking stick to your guns!
Commonalitarianism
11-02-2007, 21:39
I invest in clean tech. HOKU produces solar panels, polysilicon, and hydrogen fuel cell membranes. Sometimes you have to play within the system to change it. Some people may hate me for this. I have invested in Hydrogenics, MGPI-- MGP Ingredients, and a few other companies before.
Vetalia
11-02-2007, 21:41
It's come up a lot at home, because my husband wants to invest in Talisman, and I veto it. He wants to invest in uranium, and I veto it. I tell him, go ahead, buy the stocks, but I want no part in it. Not to mention his plan of buying Shell stocks. Jesus. Poor guy got an earful...but then again, he claims to be a socialist, so fucking stick to your guns!

Uranium is an interesting one; I personally would invest in it because I think the environmental cost of producing uranium is less than the comparable cost of remaining dependent on fossil fuels, and much of the uranium produced comes either from developed nations or from dismantling nuclear weapons, both of which are good for me.

But I wouldn't invest in a company like Talisman, what with its involvement in the Sudan and all. That crosses the line for me.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:41
Whatever.

I'm not unethical. Full stop.

Alright then...whatever helps you sleep at night.

Don't ever let me hear you call someone a hypocrite for buying Nike and complaining about slave labour at the same time.
Vetalia
11-02-2007, 21:44
I invest in clean tech. HOKU produces solar panels, polysilicon, and hydrogen fuel cell membranes. Sometimes you have to play within the system to change it. Some people may hate me for this. I have invested in Hydrogenics, MGPI-- MGP Ingredients, and a few other companies before.

I always weight the long term versus the short term. I have no problem investing in something that produces short-term environmental damage in exchange for long-term, even permanent reversals of the damage caused by other sources.

I'd rather produce 1,000 tons of CO2 now and stop producing it later than continue to produce 100 tons of CO2 per year forever with fossil fuels.
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 21:46
Alright then...whatever helps you sleep at night.

I don't think it's about me sleeping at night. I think it's about you.

I don't see either paying taxes or buying stock as supporting, or ethically equivalent to, all the actions taken by that corporation or government. Therefore I don't see either of us as unethical for those reasons.

But I think you do. You think I would be unethical for financially supporting an unethical public (business) organization... and that is just too close (if not exactly the same as) to anyone anywhere being unethical for financially supporting an unethical public (government) organization.

Well, that's just my 2 cents anyway.
Neesika
11-02-2007, 21:55
Well, that's just my 2 cents anyway.

Oh yeah? And where are you going to invest those 2 cents? :D
United Chicken Kleptos
11-02-2007, 22:00
What are some of the stocks you own?

I don't own and never plan on ever owning any stocks. I don't see it as right to make money just because you gave money to a company that becomes/is successful. I don't really know why I do though...
United Chicken Kleptos
11-02-2007, 22:04
Oh yeah? And where are you going to invest those 2 cents? :D

Who knows? The only companies that have stock that cheap are just about to fold.
Itinerate Tree Dweller
11-02-2007, 22:08
United Health Group.

But they've been frozen since that idiot McGuire was caught backdating options.
The Phoenix Milita
11-02-2007, 22:15
Well i have about three pairs of these (http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c102/sunnyday_entertainment/IMG_2548.jpg), 6 pairs of these (http://www.chefwear.com/images/storeitempatterns/thumbs/IP_7940_40.jpg) and maybe a dozen misc pairs of white ones (of various sizes). Then I have 3 pairs of these (http://www.hikingdude.com/i/hiking-sock.jpg) and at least 2 pairs of these (http://www.campusrec.neu.edu/images/Msocks.JPG). :)
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 22:17
Oh yeah? And where are you going to invest those 2 cents? :D

Hmm that depends. What can I really get for 2 cents?

That reminds me, one time I had this girlfriend (well, someone else's girlfriend) and I'd sometimes put a quarter on her dresser. It was an ongoing joke between us, no offense intended or received.

But I think she later became a whore, so it's not nearly as funny. (Or funnier than hell, I can't decide which.) :D
Smunkeeville
11-02-2007, 22:28
I have a few mutual funds....one of them invests in Haliburton.
IDF
11-02-2007, 22:30
Bullshit.

You are supporting the company with your purchase. You are, to a limited degree, a PART of that company.

If you owned stock in a company that manufactured landmines, do you honestly think that 'ethics' is not involved?

Take it further why don't you...there is nothing unethical about buying carpets produced by children living in slavery.

Bye bye Commie. Now run along and get food from your collective farm. oops, I forgot. Collective farms and communism produce jack shit.
IDF
11-02-2007, 22:31
Landmines don't kill people.

Not only is that true, but landmines also save lives. See Korea.
Sarkhaan
11-02-2007, 22:43
Bye bye Commie. Now run along and get food from your collective farm. oops, I forgot. Collective farms and communism produce jack shit.

...this coming from the guy who loves Israel, which has huge numbers of kibbutzim
Pure Metal
11-02-2007, 22:52
none.

nor do my parents i think



never had the money to invest
Greater Trostia
11-02-2007, 22:54
Bye bye Commie. Now run along and get food from your collective farm. oops, I forgot. Collective farms and communism produce jack shit.

:rolleyes:

Neesika isn't a commie and communism has nothing to do with this thread. Come on, you're making me feel dirty here.
The Infinite Dunes
11-02-2007, 22:59
Corporation... oh how I hate the concept of incorporation. Capitalism I'm just fine and dandy with, but incorporation is the first incarnation of evil. That two or more people can get together and be less accountable for the particular actions, pay less tax, and so forth

And don't me started on speculative stock/currency trading. That is the second incarnation of evil. As far as I am aware speculative stock trading was the major factor responsible for the Great Depression. Much in the same way that bank running can cause banks to collapse.

I seem to remember that a certain economist suggested at a lecture that the American economy could not continue on its current trajectory, and that something had to burst eventually. This began a slow panic in which investors (whom many Americans were at the time) began to withdraw their money from the system in an attempt to save their money before the stock market crashes. This puts a downwards pressure on stock and so more people begin to sell as the rumor of a crash spreads. Since money is being withdrawn from the system it is increasingly hard for companies to raise capital through issuing of new stock. As the stock continued to decline many investors were finding their savings been rapidly depleted. Hence their confidence in how well off their are begins to drop and many americans start to spend less in an attempt at thrift. This in turn causes less demand for companies who now are receiving less capital through the issuing of stock and less revenues through the sale of goods, but still have the same costs. They attempt to save money by laying off workers, who then in turn have less money to spend, and thus the system begins to crash even faster, despite there not necessarily being anything wrong with the market.

Markets require confidence to operate, and speculation can both boost that confidence, but can also erode that confidence with dramatic effects. Compare it to money. You trust that your money is worth something and that you will be able to exchange it for goods and services. But really all it is, is a piece of paper or a lump of metal which is of virtually no use to you or anyone else. You can't eat it, it can't keep you warm at night, it won't shelter you from the elements - nothing. But you trust that people will accept your pathetic piece of paper (or even just a magnetic alignment on a piece of metal in large building somewhere), and provide you with the goods or services you need. It's all about confidence and trust.

So in summary. I hate speculative stock/currency trading with a passion.
Maraque
11-02-2007, 23:01
Ford, GM.
Neu Leonstein
12-02-2007, 00:16
I've got some Deutsche Bank, E.ON (an energy provider) and DaimlerChrysler. Though I might get rid of the latter in the next few days.
IDF
12-02-2007, 04:05
...this coming from the guy who loves Israel, which has huge numbers of kibbutzim

There are actually very few Kibbutzim left. Most of those still around stay afloat because they sold most of their land to developers since the farming wasn't bringing anything in.
Naturality
12-02-2007, 04:46
I had some mutual funds at my last good job. Cashed it out after I quit. I regret leaving the job and cashing out. Gah.. what a dumbass!!! Live and learn, and hindsight is 20/20.
The Pacifist Womble
14-02-2007, 02:26
I guess that's sorta like how I'm supporting the US government by paying taxes, and am therefore a mass murderer just like everyone else here?

Dorothy Day says yes.

PS, if you have ethics but do not apply them to your life, then you lack integrity.

Wow! That's quite the unholy trinity!

I actually own no stock. It's too much like gambling to me.

I have a few mutual funds....one of them invests in Haliburton.
Proud of that?

Bye bye Commie. Now run along and get food from your collective farm. oops, I forgot. Collective farms and communism produce jack shit.
What was so objectionable about Neesika's post as to evoke such an aggressive response?
Greater Trostia
14-02-2007, 07:21
Dorothy Day says yes.


How nice for her.

PS, if you have ethics but do not apply them to your life, then you lack integrity.

Yeah, and if I eat babies then I might be committing a crime. Your point?
The Black Forrest
14-02-2007, 07:35
I have a bunch in defense. Paying off rather well right now.

My tech are doing crap.
Delator
14-02-2007, 08:14
I've owned stock in 3M (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3M) (<--link) since I was born...given to me by my Grandfather.

I had to sell some a few years ago (long story), but I still have a nice chunk left...it's not really a long-term thing for me though, more like a safety net in the event something crazy happens...again.

Still, I would definetly recommend 3M for anyone looking for a slow but steady long-term growth investment. You won't lose a dime, and you'll make out pretty good in the end. :)
Anti-Social Darwinism
14-02-2007, 08:56
Livestock. 8 tarantulas, 4 cats, a mouse, a snake and a scorpion.