Investor's Opinion

July and August Quietness

2015-08-15T17:09:00.001-04:00

The months of July and August were quiet except for the ledger recording my regularly scheduled deposits, dividend receipts, and a single trade in August. My trade in August was similar to my solitary trade in June. I simply added to an existing position.

My trade was a BTO of PG on the 5th of August. My reasoning for adding to an existing position of PG is simple. PG is a dividend paying stock that I have a level of confidence that it will continue to pay its dividend. It's a non durable consumer goods company that produces personal hygiene products for a civilized world. Although it has gone down with the softened market this summer, the number of personal hygiene products purchased should start going back up because of teachers/professors and students returning to the personal hygiene aisle as classes come back in session. Yes I am suggesting that some people take a personal hygiene hiatus during the summer.
For now that is all I got. I will continue to look for other opportunities to add to existing positions. I will also look to see if any other stocks meet my dividend paying strategy.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page.
http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BTO - Bought/Buy To Open
PG - Procter & Gamble

June Purchase

2015-07-01T12:52:00.003-04:00

For the entire month of June I only had one purchase. I added to my CNK position with a BTO under $40. This trade executed on June 29th of 2015.

I chose to purchase CNK because $40 is a recent support level. It is already one of my existing positions. This stocks dividend payout is in line with my long term income strategy. And summer being a movie going season should see a value increase meaning $40 is closer to the lows.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page.
http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BTO - Bought/Buy To Open
CNK - Cinemark Holdings Inc

My May Purchases

2015-05-24T15:08:00.001-04:00

My last post was for purchases I made in March. Since then I haven't made any purchases in April, but in May I made two, so far. The month of May is not quite over yet for 2015, but that is how I am going to title this post. My purchases this month were for GSK and CNK.

My GSK purchase was made on May 1st and added to an existing position I had started December 23rd of 2014. As of this posting, I'm down a couple percentage points, but I am okay with that as I am far away from my target position size. There is an adage that starts, "Sell in May and go away...", and to me it suggests that I should focus more on accumulating cash and hold off on additional purchases for the summer. However, after analyzing the chart, $44 looks like a great support area to buy more if the opportunity arises.

My CNK purchase was made May 21st and added to an existing position I had started September 21st of 2012. As of this posting, I'm up 4% overall. As I accumulate cash over the summer, I suspect there may be other opportunities to buy more as the stock has been declining since April. After analyzing the chart, a price of $37.50 looks probable as a base for a turn around or a bounce. I'll be monitoring it for my opportunity to increase my position.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page.
http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

CNK - Cinemark Holdings Inc
GSK - GlaxoSmithKline PLC

Why am I still buying ETP?

2015-03-11T18:24:00.001-04:00

On March 10th, I increased my position of ETP. "But why?", you might ask. "ETP is in a downtrend. Their recent earnings report showed a decrease. Oil and gas, the commodity it transports, has been in a downtrend for months before that."

All those points are valid. And if I were a day trader, buying it now would be the dumbest possible move. However, I am not a day trader. I am a dividend investor. An opinionated one, at that.

The immediate outlook on ETP is that it will go down as long as oil prices are at lows that have not been seen for years and the entire energy sector bears that burden. The big picture, is that the energy sector is still among the most lucrative sectors in the long run. However, the reasons for oil prices being at lows that haven't been seen in years are both marvelous and frustrating.

First, we have the booming success of shale oil projects, of which ETP benefited from but is not reliant on. This wouldn't be so bad if it were not accompanied by a fuel consumption decrease. Because of the 2008 financial crisis driving the purchase and development of more fuel efficient vehicles, reserves have been utilized at a net positive rate. In fact, they are almost filled to capacity. Bind that to congressionally imposed fuel efficiency standards to be reached by 2025 and the reserves will overflow much sooner.

Second, we have OPEC not being able to agree on how much to decrease oil production by in order to prop up the price of oil to the benefit of some of its benefactors like Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. And because of sanctions being imposed on Russia and Iran, the USA has no desire to cut production, either. In fact, some members of OPEC are betting on this stance on sanctions to cause the weaker USA shale oil projects to have to shut down because they need oil prices north of $50 to be profitable. But with price just north of $40, they are taking a loss.

The question is who will give in first? OPEC for its benefactors, USA for the shale oil projects, or the shale oil projects. Eventually someone will give in. And whenever that happens, energy stocks will go up again. That eventuality is what I'm positioning for.

As a result of life changes in the previous two years, my position in ETP was extraordinarily low. The losses I take in the mean time will hurt, but not nearly as much if my position was at my target quantity already. Thankfully, I am far from there.

For my dividend income strategy, I require significantly more shares than I have now. And I am not just buying ETP at any price. I setting my orders at previous supports in the stock, or there about. If and when the energy sector rebounds, I will already have a start, plus the dividend payout will help to compensate me and soften the losses.

The process is essentially dollar cost averaging down the value of my position. As the price drops, I am able to buy larger share positions. The higher the number of shares at a lower price I am able to accumulate, the softer the losses become. In addition, the larger my position becomes the better the dividend payout becomes, generation an income to buy even more shares of ETP or another stock in my portfolio. And that works in favor of my dividend income strategy.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP

I added to ETP, and the price dropped; am I missing something?

2015-03-01T00:19:00.001-05:00

I am more than a few days behind on this post, I do apologize. I am trying to keep my posts as close to the day of trade. This, however, is an improvement over my last post.

Excuses aside, on February 23rd, I added to my position of ETP. The price of the purchase was $59.95 per share. This purchase was at the opening of the day following earnings. On the day of the purchase, and the following three days, the price drifted down; but not by much and on below average volume. On the forth day after the purchase, the price went up and closed above the opening price of the past three days; but, unfortunately, still below my purchase price by about 50 cents.

What I am seeing by this price movement is that the market is only accepting earnings and the future prospects as okay. My primary concern for this stock is that it continues to payout its dividend. At 6.69%, I am very happy to accept. As long as ETP continues to earn enough to cover its dividend, I don't see any reason to worry or reconcider.

My philosophy for stock purchases is to curate a portfolio capable of paying for my bills and putting spending money in my pocket. Currently, ETP is a key contributor to that philosophy. If I'm missing something, I am more than willing to review any criticism.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP

First Portfolio Update of 2015

2015-01-31T15:22:00.001-05:00

After my last post on September 4th, 2014, I became remise in my posting. As a result the first post of 2015 is a catch up post.

Since September 4th, I mostly sat back and collected dividends while adding to my cash position. Then on December 3rd I used some of that cash position to increase my position in T at $34. I chose to do so because it fell under the short term support of $34.50, but the attractive dividend influenced me to increase my multiple on it. Since then it has dropped even further to as low as $32.07, but is currently $32.92. Going back 5 years $32 is approximately the current support level, and below that it is about $27.50. As a student of both fundamentals and technicals, I think T is a strong blue chip with a near 6% payout. At the support levels I mentioned I would buy more simply because I'm looking for a stream of revenue, and T is supplying that.

My next purchase was on December 5th for BGS at $28.50. I bought it also because of the attractive dividend (~4.6%) and because it is one of the few stocks I've found that payout in the first phase of the quarter. This purchase added to my already existing position. Currently it is $29.84 and going down. BGS is close to it's trending support. I will be looking into buying more around here.

My next purchase was on December 12th for ETP at $60. This is another dividend based purchase at nearly 6.5%. Currently it is priced at $61.40 and going up from a low of $58.54. This is another one I'm looking into buying more of.

My last purchase of the year was on December 23rd for GSK at $43. This one is an addition to my portfolio. I bought it because of the greater than 5.5% payout and that it is also one of the few that pays out in the first phase of the quarter. The issue to be aware of is that GSK is on a down trend after a 4.5 year up trend. But there were two recent bounces around $41.25. GSK currently sits at $44 and I believe it will be stabilizing in the range of $41-$46.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

T - At&t Inc
BGS - B & G Foods Inc
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP
GSK - Glaxo Smith Kline PLC

Portfolio Update: Added to a position

2014-09-04T12:49:00.001-04:00

Today I report that I added to my position of T. The price of the purchase was at $34.85. My expectation is for the price to break out over $35 as that has been a short term resistance. The risk is that it may fall below $34.50 which is a short term support.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

T - AT&T Inc

Portfolio Update: Back in the Game

2014-07-26T11:52:00.001-04:00

Hello, World! I'm back after a long hiatus. My situation has settled down, so now I have the liquidity to make some trades, and therefore posts. And for my first trade I purchased shares of BGS at $29.45, rounding up the fractional cents.

While I've been away I've still been watching my positions and the fundamentals are still good for all of my dividend scheduled positions (BGS, CNK, ETP, JNJ, MCD, PEP, PG, T) except one, AGNC. AGNC is just OK, but the dividend and placement in my dividend schedule makes it hard to give up on it.

Regarding the charts, the price of BGS has come down to levels where the buy price is low and I can get more shares for my money. This increases my dividend payouts by giving me a higher dividend multiplier. With an increased dividend payout, I can also increase my reinvestment over a shorter period of time until the account becomes self-funding. And that is the ultimate goal. Have the account pay me and not me paying into it.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp
BGS - B&G Foods Inc
CNK - Cinemark Holdings Inc
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP
JNJ - Johnson & Johnson
MCD - McDonald's Corp
PEP - PepsiCo Inc
PG - Procter & Gamble Co
T - AT&T Inc

Portfolio Update: Change of Situation Resulting in a Change of Plans

2013-10-25T00:18:00.000-04:00

My situation has changed and so must my financial plans. Currently I have to liquidate some funds, so on Thursday the 24th I put in orders to sell my loosing positions, AGNC, GLD, and TLT. On the same day, all three orders executed and I have the following report to make.

My GLD order executed at $129.41.

My TLT order executed at $108.63.

My AGNC order executed at $24.05.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp
GLD - SPDR Gold Trust
TLT - iShares 20+ Year Treasury

Portfolio Update: Added to an Existing Position

2013-08-13T01:08:00.003-04:00

On Monday, August 12th, I added to my existing position of T. My reason for that was because I believe the price to be in the right range for a purchase. Here is how I came to that conclusion.

Fundamentally T is a top rated telecom with high growth, EPS, and revenue with the expectation of continued growth in the coming years. In addition, it has a very attractive yield that, at the time of this post, was above 5%.

The stock has pulled back more than 10% from its 52-week high of 39 USD made on April 23rd. The stock has also created two short term tops on June 13th and July 17th, putting a resistance just below 36.50 USD. At the same time the stocks price has approached and seems to be bouncing away from the upward trend line I charted for it from January 18th through June 21st. As far as other technical indicators, the daily and weekly stochastic and MACD indicators (which are trailing and confirmation indicators) both show that the stock is becoming oversold. Instead of waiting for confirmation, I chose to pull the trigger now for what I think is the lowest price I will possibly get this time around.

Not having a lot of excess cash available I purchased all that I could. It is my belief that this should turn out to be one of my better timed purchases. If not, I still plan on buying more if more funds become available and T remains in this setup. That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

EPS - earnings per share
MACD - moving average convergence divergence
T - AT&T Inc
USD - United States Dollar

Portfolio Update: Continuing the Plan

2013-08-06T01:43:00.002-04:00

Since my last portfolio update in June 2013, I have been collecting dividends from my investments and waiting for my next opportunity. Friday, August 2, 2013 was my opening. On that day I BTO an additional 5 shares of AGNC. Doing so has three benefits.

The first is that it reduced my cost average of my position in AGNC. The second is that it brings me closer to an option eligible lot size. And third, it puts me in a position with an increased dividend payout for the next distribution. It is my belief that the stock has bottomed and that a reversal is possible at this price. That's my opinion. What's yours?

Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp
BTO - bought-to-open / buy-to-open

Repost of "My $DELL chart analysis for July 8, 2013"

2013-07-08T22:57:00.002-04:00

I posted this on my Facebook fan page BJLB Enterprises. To get a little more exposure I am also posting it here. Enjoy!

My $DELL chart analysis for July 8, 2013

Here is my analysis on $DELL. In regards to the news, there is murkiness because of the buyout noise between Carl Icahn and Michael Dell. I don't like to speculate because of that. However, the chart is interesting.

On the daily chart we have a gap down on April 19th that has since been a ceiling of resistance (indication of a move setup). It has breached $13.50 a few times since April and significantly on June 18th, but has not closed above that with strength. On the 5th of July it plunged below $13 but closed above, created a long tail that is over 100% the length of the body (bullish indicator). Today it had a bullish day in which it closed above many of the consolidated moving averages (8ema,13ema,20sma,50sma). This is support for the previously mentioned bullish indicator.

Now I would like to mention the off chart technical indicators. All three of the daily ones that I am showing here (top to bottom: slow stochastic, MACD, ADX) indicate that $DELL has consolidated in oversold territory and is ready for a reversal. The next two weekly ones that I am showing here (top to bottom: slow stochastic, and MACD) also indicate that $DELL has consolidated in oversold territory and is ready for a reversal.

My hypothesis is this, if $DELL breaks above $13.50 tomorrow (Tuesday, this years hotest day to trade on average), I believe a safe first target will be $14.00, followed by the 52-week high around $14.50. Because of the buyout talk, I don't want to make a long term trade or investment in $DELL. 'Cloudy its future is.' (So Yoda would say.)

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

Portfolio Update: Successful Option Trade.

2013-06-17T11:15:00.001-04:00

My last option trade was a success. On Friday, June 14th, I STC the $35 August 17 2013 Calls I purchased 8 days before. My plan was to sell at a specific price after the underlying stock, BGS, reached above $32. Even though it had breached $32 the day prior, it didn't hit my price until the 14th. The result of the trade was nearly a 200% profit after commission. As of this post BGS is still going up and the option value is going up as well. But as the expression goes, "No one ever got hurt taking a profit."

I believe that BGS may continue to go up for another dollar, but I believe I got out at a good price. I am expecting that BGS will come back down to about $28.75-$29.25. I want to then BTO stock or attempt to trade options on it once again. I haven't yet decided. That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BGS - B&G Foods Inc.
BTO - buy-to-open / bought-to-open
STC - sell-to-close / sold-to-close

Portfolio Update: Option Pick

2013-06-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

Today I am posting about my latest transaction. This transaction is a bullish option trade on BGS. The options I BTO are the $35 August 17, 2013 Calls. Normally, one would want to buy the options ITM to take advantage of the immediate leverage. Unfortunately, I am playing with a minimal amount of free cash so OTM Calls were my only choice.

The trade processed as the second half of a contingency trade. When BGS traded above $29, I bought the options at $0.10 per contract share ($10/option) . I chose the $35 strike because my target for BGS within the next couple months is about $32. And the available intervals for the August Calls are $2.50 apart.

My plan is that when it breaks $32 I am taking the money and walking. I think this is likely. I probaly should have set my purchas for $0.05 per contract share as the following day that was the last purchase price, putting me behind already. I still thik profit is possible. That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BGS - B&G Foods Inc.
BTO - buy-to-open / bought-to-open
ITM - in-the-money
OTM - out-the-money

Portfolio Update: Catching Up.

2013-05-12T13:15:00.001-04:00

I fell behind some, so this post might be a bit longer than usual. There haven't been a lot of changes. The changes just haven't been posted in a timely manner. So here we go.

I temporarily had to stop funding my account, but will recommence doing so shortly. The last of my funds in the account have been used to make the following purchases in order to increase the payout of my dividend schedule.

On May 3rd, I added to my position of AGNC. My reasoning here is that because it pays out at such a high yield with a lower investment, I can leverage that to help fund the purchases of my other positions. The risk is that the market value is dropping because it missed the last quarter expectations. For that reason it might actually be smarter to move the entire position over to either NLY or CIM. But in those two the focus would be on equity growth where as my focus is more on income with the side effect of growth due to planned reinvestment.

On May 8th, I added to my position of ETP. My reasoning here is much the same as AGNC. There may be better options for growth, but growth isn't my first priority, as was mentioned above.

The market has shown that investors are ignoring the "Sell in May and go away..." rhyme and are continuing to invest. But of course, it is only the middle of may. The second half may turn out differently, but only time will tell. That's my opinion. What's yours.

Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion. blogspot.com

AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp
CIM - Chimera Investment Corp
ETP -Energy Transfer Partners, LP
NLY - Annaly Capital Management, Inc

New Tag Line to End Future Posts!

2013-04-16T22:02:00.001-04:00

Starting with the next post, I will have a new tag line. Instead of being so brash at the end, I'm going to be inviting. The new tag line will be:

~~"That's is my opinion, what's yours?"~~

"That's my opinion. What's yours?"

Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

Portfolio Update: Two Transactions

2013-04-16T21:39:00.001-04:00

April is half over and I've neglected to mention my activity so far. Shame on me. Now I'm going to rectify that.

On April 4th, I STC my entire position in VZ. I originally had two telephone communication companies in my portfolio. But after much consideration, I no longer saw the need to have two telep-co stocks in my portfolio. I chose to keep T and let go of VZ since T had a slightly better yield.

On April 9th, I BTO more of ETP. My reasons for buying more of this one over any other were that it was approaching it's ex-dividend date for the second phase payouts, and the yield was the highest of all the second phase stocks in my portfolio.

Those are my reasons for my actions so far this month. If you would like to question it, please do. But in keeping with my moto, which could be the reason I don't get any activity, that is my opinion, you can take it or leave it.
Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BTO - bought-to-open/buy-to-open
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners, LP
STC - sold-to-close/sell-to-close
T - AT&T
VZ - Verizon Communications

Portfolio Update: Nothing New

2013-03-31T17:33:00.001-04:00

Today I post on the final day of March. Unfortunately there is nothing to report in regards to my portfolio. March was a good month for the stock market, in the US anyway.

The market was so good that all of my limit orders expired because my price was too low for anyone else to accept. I am not discouraged though. I will continue to hold what I have and put in orders at prices I deem acceptable to me. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it.
Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

Portfolio Update: Position Increased

2013-02-21T10:03:00.001-05:00

This post is going to be one of my shorter ones. With the market sell off the day before, I added to my most recently acquired position, BGS. The part I didn't expect was how much BGS would pull back. If I had, I would have put in the order with a lower limit price. I will continue taking advantage of any further sell offs as often as possible. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it.
Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
BGS - B&G Foods, Inc.

Portfolio Update: First Trade of the Year

2013-02-16T17:29:00.001-05:00

The date of this post is the 16th of February, and it has been a while since my last post. About a month and a half. The reason being that I haven't had an order execute this year until yesterday.
Yesterday's order was for BGS. A company with a portfolio of grocery items. I chose this one to add to my portfolio because it has a dividend yield of 3.8% and pays out on the first phase of the quarter. This is particularly good because I only had one other stock that paid out on the first phase of every quarter, AGNC. Other than that, I also collect the monthly distribution from the TLT.
Recently, BGS had a quarter that was below expectations, but I am confident that it is not too serious of an issue. I am actually looking forward to a little more of a short term decline in order to increase my position at lower prices. This lower price will also increase the yield amount for this stock. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it.
Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com
AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp
BGS - B&G Foods, Inc.
TLT - iShares Trust Barclay's 20+ Year

Portfolio Update: Catching up.

2013-01-01T17:02:00.002-05:00

So here is the update. In my last post I wrote about rolling my call option on SAND. Since then I have allowed the option to expire worthless. My reasoning being that I lost my faith in it and I want to increase the payouts of my dividend schedule plan further. Because of that I used all further funds in the account to buy more shares in my current positions. But I also sold my position in a low yield stock that I held.

On the 23rd of November, I sold my shares of YUM because I believe the yield is too small for the dividend schedule plan I have for my portfolio. For my plan to work I need bigger payouts. These payouts and the additional funds from the sale of YUM stock will help to accelerate the purchase of more shares of the same stocks I currently hold and a few others I want to add to my portfolio.

On the 27th of November, I bought shares of JNJ. This purchase increased my dividend payout for the third phase of every quarter, which is currently the weaker of the three phases. It also increased my current position of JNJ, a stock I already own.

On the 21st of December, the SAND $15.00 Call option expired worthless. This was a disappointment. I believe the failure is that I bought into it being a cheaper play on gold while gold has been on a three month down trend that has yet to reverse. The hustle over gold might be over since the Mayan Apocalypse didn't happen and there might have been a lot of gold investors who believed in that foolishness.

On the 28th of December, I bought shares of PG. This purchase increased my dividend payout for the second phase of every quarter, the second weakest of the three phases. It also increased my current position of PG, a stock I already own.

The three phases of every quarter are much closer together in strength, now, but maintain their sequential order of strength. My available funds have almost all been depleted as I wait for a scheduled order to be triggered. I will be continuing to fund the account with cash from my day job and monitoring the market for additional investments to add to my portfolio.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

JNJ - Johnson & Johnson
PG - Procter & Gamble Co.
SAND - Sandstorm Gold Ltd.
YUM - Yum! Brands Inc.

Portfolio Update: Option Rolled

2012-11-15T00:33:00.002-05:00

In my effort to keep this blog up to date with my trade activity, I have something I need to report. This week, on the 13th of November, I rolled over my SAND option position. The action of rolling simply means that I swapped one position for another with a later expiration, sometimes also changing the strike price and/or direction.

Prior to this change, I held the SAND Nov 17 2012 15.00 Call. I rolled it over into the SAND Dec 22 2012 15.00 Call. This was at a cost to me of an additional $46.32 after all fees and commissions were applied. So I will be looking for a brake-even point of $1.52 per contact share or better.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

SAND - Sandstorm Gold Ltd.

Portfolio Update: Long Over Due

2012-11-09T12:44:00.000-05:00

It has, once again, been too long since my last post. In the time that has passed there have been seven changes to my portfolio. I have made 5 purchases, 1 sale, and had an option position expire on me. The 4 of the 5 purchases and the one sale were strategic moves to my portfolio. The remaining 1 purchase and option expiration are my speculation plays.

To start I BTO additional shares in my ETP position. This purchase added to my dividend payout for the second phase of each quarter. This was done on the 3rd of October.

On the 8th of October, I BTO a SAND Nov 17 2012 $15 Call option position. This was done as my speculation play. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the decision to get in was poorly timed and selected. I should have waited for the pull back and then choose an expiration further out. As of this post, it is in the red but seems to be showing signs of improvement. I will be holding it until my profitable sale trigger is hit or it's expiration, which is a week away from this post.

On the 19th of October, my speculation play for FB Oct 20 2012 $15 Put options locked and expired. This was again an unfortunate speculation gone wrong. In hinds sight I should have taken my profits when I had them or probably should have chosen to purchase one option closer to the money instead of three so far out of the money. I still think FB is over-priced, but it seems that they are finally accepting that they have to make revenue in order to attract investors and are making changes that will actually create revenue even at the expense of loosing some of there ~1 billion users.

On the 31st of October, I STC my entire position of DE. I made this decision because DE did not fit the minimum yield requirement of my strategy of holding high dividend yielding stocks. Fortunately, I was able to get out with a very small profit.

On the 2nd of November, I BTO additional shares in two of my existing positions, T and VZ. These purchases added to my dividend payout for the second phase of each quarter. As a result I am almost 70% of my phase one dividend payouts, which are currently the largest.

Finally on the 7th of November, I BTO additional shares in my MCD position. This purchase added to my dividend payout for the third phase of each quarter. As a result I am almost 50% of my phase one dividend payouts.

Despite the fact that falling over the "Fiscal Cliff" will result in an increase of the dividend tax rate, I am not going to change my core strategy of building a portfolio of dividend paying stocks. My portfolio is not currently generating enough income to alter my effective tax rate significantly. I will, however, use the fear in the market to build up my positions.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BTO - buy-to-open/bought-to-open
DE - Deere & Co.
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP
FB - Facebook CL A
MCD - McDonalds Corp
SAND - Sandstorm Gold LTD
STC - sell-to-close/sold-to-close
T - AT&T, Inc
VZ - Verizon Communications

Portfolio Update

2012-09-26T12:26:00.003-04:00

In this post, I only have one thing to add. My position in CNK has been added to. This addition increases my dividend payouts for the third phase of each quarter (i.e. March, June, September, and December). This is in line with my current, and most self-relevant, investing strategy.

This strategy quite simple. It is to have a portfolio of dividend paying stocks from well run companies. The dividend payout of each of these stocks have generally predictable payout dates which allow me to spread my picks out into the three phases of each quarter so that I can eventually equalize my expectations.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

CNK - Cinemark Holdings Inc.

Real Economical Solutions Based on Basic Economic Principles

2012-09-26T12:03:00.002-04:00

Republicans and Democrats still can't agree on how to fix the economy. As a result, nothing gets done so the Federal Reserve, caught in the middle, ends up doing the only thing they can do, print currency and then lend it to banks for free and use it to buy up the bad mortgage backed securities (MBS) the banks themselves created. The result is that unemployment is still high, the housing market is still lethargic, and home prices are finally going up, but slowly.

The problem I see is that the majority of the politicians are self-serving to their own party so that they can get re-elected verses focusing on the final objective. That objective being to support an economic environment that allows for companies to grow in both financial and employee numbers while protecting the common good of the employees by expecting companies to provide a safe work environment at fare wages. Government has no other duty to perform in this situation at this time.

To accomplish this there is no one simple answer, but there is a list of simple solutions that, when put together, will see results. You will see things that might have benefited you in the past taken away, but you will see others things that will benefit you in the future. Before going any further you must remove yourself from the equation and let all of it sink in.

First, put all the pre-Clinton financial regulations back in place. They were there for what should be, now, obvious reasons. To put it simply, protect the markets up-side bias. The principle of supply and demand will take care of the rest.

Second, simplify the income tax code. A single tax rate, no matter the number, is all that is needed to get those who earn more to pay more. For example, 10% of $100,000 ($10,000) is already 10 times more than 10% of $10,000 ($1,000). Let me put this simply. There is only one reason you shouldn't pay tax. You didn't earn any income to start with.

Third, all taxes should be collected by the state you live in. The states responsibility is to pay their tax to the union. That is the constitutional way according to the general interpretation of the line, "no taxation without representation." A copy of your taxes should go to both the state and federal IRS as a matter of accountability and auditing between your state and the union so that national expenses that serve and protect the public good can get paid, like defence, infrastructure, and routine medical services (antibiotics and band-aids to vaccinations and x-rays; emergency surgery for accidents that created a life-n-death situation is an exception that should also be included). The rest is up to the individual to pay for. Get your own insurance or suffer the consequences. Government medical care is something that should be, and will have to be, weaned off of.

Forth, only charge import tax on non-raw materials. Raw materials still require man hours to make into a final product. And because of that, jobs will have to be created here in the US. Also, the tax can then be collected from the new worker as income tax. As regards to exports, I currently have no solution but I am open to suggestions.

Fifth, and probably one of the most important for individuals and tax revenue, is to increase minimum wage. If lower income wage earners have more income they will be less inclined to need assistance and more inclined to spend more. They see what the "Jones'" have next door, and by default they will try to "keep up." They will be able to feed themselves and still have enough to buy more.

Sixth, and only as minimum wage gets increased, restrict entitlements slowly but drastically. This includes "Obamacare." Now that the "playing field" is leveled, there is incentive not to be sitting at home collecting a check. People will know that if they want something they will have to work for it. People will know that they will have to be responsible for themselves.

The answers to these problems are literally elementary. Essentially, everything is fair and balanced. Everyone pays a fair tax for every dollar they earn. Companies are allowed to hire knowing that their only burden is to pay a fair wage to their employees and all employees know they are to be responsible for themselves. If you think I say this as some self-entitled rich person with a silver spoon in my mouth, you'd be wrong. As of this writing I'm a lower middle-class wage earner that paid, in 2011, an effective tax rate of around 15.3%.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com