some very good stocks being let go today..., page-20

"the idea for me has been to funnel some of the gains I have made into other blue chip companies that are actually producing and selling goods such as BHP, WOW etc that I still think have growth potential. Sort of a safety net I suppose."



Let me get this straight.
You want to stuff around with hopeless, worthless cr*ap companies, risking going bust, but if you somehow manage to fluke a profit you will start investing *properly* in companies like BHP and WOW.

Obvious question : Why dont you start investing *properly* to start with ? You have already arrived at the conclusion that ultimately the only companies which generate value are those which are profitable.

Do yourself a favour.
* Concentrate on your career to gain commercial knowledge and create capital
* Use investment as a means to preserve and grow your capital.
* Start learning what matters in investment : Try reading the following books :

1. The Essays of Warren Buffet: Lessons for Corporate America, Lawrence A. Cunningham (Buffett in his own words, enough said)
2. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, Philip A. Fisher (Buffett’s inspiration, a classic)
3. Random Walk Down Wall Street, Burton G. Malkiel
4. Money Masters of our time, John Train (good yarn, all the big names are featured)
5. The Intelligent Asset Allocator, William Bernstein (also recommend his other 3 books)
6. How to think like Benjamin Graham and invest like Warren Buffet, Lawrence A. Cunningham
7. Stocks for the Long Run, Jeremy J. Siegel (worth reading for the market stats alone)
8. Treasury of Investment Wisdom, Dean LeBaron (pros and cons of all major investment styles)

… and if you want to get into some hardcore valuations, start with these :

9. The Numbers Game, Trevor Sykes
10. Finacial Statements Demystified, David Hey-Cunningham (you need to learn the language of finance, this is an Aussie writer)
11. Investment Philosophies, Aswath Damodaran (can be downloaded free from his website)
12. Investment Valuation, Aswath Damodaran (can be downloaded free from his website)