Inside the Stock Market

Last modified Fri Feb 13 22:57:00 2004

This web page offers readers an alternative viewpoint about the stock market, economy, and financial planning. You could call it an alternative financial survival guide. It includes many links to other pertinent web sites. I hope you enjoy reading some of the articles on this web page, please feel free to e-mail your comments to: marketinsider@yahoo.com. Don't forget to Sign the Guest Book and bookmark Inside the Stock Market. Note: the articles on this web site are written over a long period of time, some of the articles are over 5 years old, I still feel those articles are important. However, it's important for the reader to take note of the date the article was written, e.g., you may read an article where I say the market is extremely over valued, but if you look at the date, most likely the article was written when NASDAQ was in a 2,500-5,000 point range.
I have completed my story: The Diary of a Small Investor. I completed it on July 20, 2000. This is a great place for a novice investor to start.
News Brief for February 20, 2004:

A letter to my hometown newspaper:

From your recent editorial, "Hocus pocus isn't going to balance budget..." (February 6, 2004), you stated, "But if the public was given the facts about the budget - without the smoke - decisions on what to cut could be made...."

Granted, Americans are not being given the whole truth about the budget. However, the information that is being given to Americans should be more than enough to convince them that there are serious problems.

Here are a few facts that have been told to Americans: the National Debt is $7 trillion, it will grow by $500 billion this year alone. The President said the deficit will be cut in half in 5 years (that means a deficit each year for more than 5 years).

More facts that have been given to the public: the boomers start to retire in 6 years, Social Security surpluses will be gone by 2015. The interest on the Debt is now around $400 billion and that is with interest rates at 50-year lows. Health care costs are rising at double-digit rates compared to inflation rates of 2-3%.

All this and most Americans lose no sleep over it, and continue to vote for either a Democrat or a Republican. These are the same two parties that have gotten America into this problem in the first place. Neither party has done anything about the problem or offered any mathematically possible solutions. Both parties continue to spend like crazy.

The evidence is overwhelming that Americans feel the same as the media and the politicians do: we're aware of the National Debt problems, but we can't do anything about it, and when severe economic problems do arise, we'll just blame someone else.

Parents are convinced that if they give their children a good education that should be enough. The media is convinced that they are doing their job as long as they run an occasional story on the debt problems along side the numerous stores about Kobe Bryant. And the politicians are the least worried because they will just blame the other party, that has been working well for them for a couple hundred years.

No, no matter how much the public was bombarded with the truth about the National Debt, they would still be more worried about the Bryant case or whatever else happens to be on TV at the time.

To read more News Briefs go to: News Brief Archive.


Introduction to Inside the Stock Market

Table of Contents

What's My Beef?:

  • A List of My Complaints About Wall Street
  • The Diary of a Small Investor:

  • A Diary of My Personal Experiences With the Stock Market (14 Chapters)
  • Most Recent Stories:

    New!
  • Congressman Pete Stark: ERISA Laws Should be Changed, Second Request
  • What I Think about Voting
  • What Does Being Middleclass Mean in America?
  • Congressman Pete Stark: ERISA Laws Should be Changed
  • Fidelity Investments: Mutual Funds Don't Deliver
  • Is There Going to be Another U.S. Depression?
  • An Update on Social Security
  • The Overall Stock Market:

  • NASDAQ 2001
  • The Mickey Mouse Club(s) Staring CNBC
  • Observations of the Stock Market: April 2000
  • The Internet Sector, Valuation, and Wall Street Analysts
  • Microsoft President Ballmer Makes Comments on Tech Stock's Valuation
  • Questions and Answers from MarketInsider E-mail
  • State Regualtors Make Comments About Day Trading
  • Wall Street Week: I Agree, Institutional Investors are the Panic Sellers
  • Wall Street Prophets, Gurus, and Idols
  • Valuation of the Overall Stock Market in April of 1998
  • A Plea to Make Wall Street Accountable
  • Volatility and What it Means to You
  • What Caused the Correction of October 1997?
  • On the Subject of Individual Stock Investing:

  • Why I Avoid the Supercaps
  • Companies Don't Care About Short-Term Stock Prices
  • IPOs: Good Investments or Wall Street Scam?
  • The Truth About Broker Recommendations and Consensus Earnings Estimates
  • Charles Schwab
  • Barrons: Do Companies Care About Their Small Shareholders, NOT
  • On the Subject of Stock Mutual Fund Investing:

  • Fidelity Investments: A Letter to a Fund Manager
  • If You Own Stock Mutual Funds Read This
  • Barrons: Who Determines Cash Positions In Stock Mutual Funds?
  • The Internet:

  • 60 Minutes: Why are You Scared of the Internet?
  • Business Week: Cyber Postings and the Spread of False Information
  • It's All (mostly) Political:

  • Congressman Pete Stark: What's Wrong with the Democratic Party?
  • Congressman Pete Stark: Social Security, ERISA, The Fed, and News Media
  • You, the Stock Market, and the Federal Government
  • Congressman Pete Stark: What the Government Does for Me
  • Congressman Pete Stark: Greenspan, Mutual Funds and the News Media
  • Congressman Pete Stark: Mutual Funds and the Individual Investor
  • Business Week: Why are the Amounts of Soft Money so Small?
  • Politicians, Wall Street, and Corporate Execs
  • NPR: Clinton, the Stock Market, and Clinton's Ratings
  • On Greenspan, Inflation, & Executive Pay:

  • The Price of Oil and Federal Reserve Policy
  • Greenspan Just Keeps Yaking and Yaking
  • President Clinton: Is Greenspan Creating Inflation?
  • President Clinton: Greenspan, Inflation and Valuation
  • President Clinton: A Candid Interview with a CEO
  • Insider Trading and Spreads:

  • Business Week: NASDAQ Spreads Haven't Changed Much
  • Business Week: Wall Street and Insider Trading
  • NASD: Why do some Companies Listed on NASDAQ have Huge Spreads?
  • SEC: How does the SEC Enforce Insider Trading Laws?
  • SEC: More on Insider Trading
  • SEC: Is it Inside Information or a Rumor?
  • Social Security:

  • Business Week: An Opinion on the Social Security System
  • Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Letters to the Editor:

  • The Federal Government has Huge Money Problems
  • WTC
  • On America and the Wealthy
  • Potpourri:

  • About the Author
  • To My Friends
  • Statistically Speaking
  • The Worst Companies for Customer Service
  • Are You a Naive or Gullible Investor/Consumer?
  • What Rights do You have as a Airline Passenger?, Not Many
  • Washington Post DOW 10,000 Story
  • News Brief Archive
  • Questions to Panelists at Strictly Business @ CNBC in Oct/Nov of 1997
  • Did You Know?
  • Just for Laughs

    Google
    Search WWW Search stanford.edu


  • For News and Research

    Yahoo! Finance
    Best place for quotes. Easy to setup quote bank that will show percent change for each stock throughout the day. Can also click again on each quote for more information including information like bid and ask and hi and low for the day. Includes a chart, news, profile, research, and SEC filings. You can also setup a portfolio of individual stocks and mutual funds. The portfolio will calculate change for the day and change for a period determined by you.


    CNNfn - US Stock Markets
    Can get market index updates. Includes a continuously updating of S&P futures.


    Yahoo! - U.S. Stock News and Report Company News
    Continuously updates news on individual stocks such as upgrades and downgrades, and major market news. Yahoo is great because it's rarely too busy to get information for you.


    WSRN.COM - Wall Street Research Net - Main Page
    This is the main page of the Wall Street Research Net that has lots of information on individual stocks.


    Stock Analysis Provided by VectorVest
    Analyzes over 6,000 stocks everyday, gives buy, sell, hold recommendations on every stock everyday.


    Zack's Wall Street Snapshot
    A brief report which includes broker recommendations, earnings estimates and actuals, and rank within the industry.


    Investment Resources for the Independent Investor
    An organized list of the "best" investments websites out there. This website's primary function is to help independent investors do their own stock research on the internet.


    Big Charts
    Big Charts offers you free indraday and historical charts, quotes and research on over 24,000 stocks, mutual funds and indexes.


    CBS MarketWatch Technical Charting
    Graphs for individual stocks and major indexes. Easy to use and graphs come in many different time lengths.


    IRAA
    Investors' Rights Association of America.


    The Options Industry Council
    Information on options and free classes offered all over the country.


    Search SEC EDGAR Archives
    Reports such as 10-Ks and 10-Qs on line. Don't have to wait for the company to send you them.


    American Association of Individual Investors
    For the small investor, provides basic information.


    The Bond Market Association
    Offers information about all types of bonds, has an investor's guide to bond basics and information on the overall bond market.


    CBS MarketWatch Mutual Fund Center
    Offers information about mutual funds including an indepth mutual fund profile.


    Morningstar Home
    Offers information about mutual funds and individual stocks.


    Index Funds Online
    Offers information about index mutual funds.


    Fidelity Mutual Funds
    Performance and other information on individual Fidelity mutual funds.


    Silicon Investor
    Information on technology stocks and a great chat room to talk about specific issues on individual stocks.


    Federal Debt Clock
    Gives an update of the total debt owed by the federal government.

    Back to Table of Contents

    Copyright © 1994-2003 Richard Strozinsky. All rights reserved. This publication or part thereof may not be duplicated or reprinted without the written permission of Richard Strozinsky.

    Disclaimer: This document in no way represents Stanford University. All opinions are mine alone. All opinions are statements of judgment as of the date of publication and are subject to change without further notice. Factual material is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions contained herein. All information concerning a company herein and contained in this publication should be verified independently with such company. No investment recommendations are made or implied. Investors should be cautious about any and all investment recommendations and should consider the source of any advice on investments. Various factors, including personal or corporate ownership, may influence or factor into an expert's analysis or opinion. All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research with regard to their investments. In addition, investors are advised that past investment performance is no guarantee of future performance. The contents of this web page are simply concepts and ideas to consider, they are not meant to be dogmatic truths.

    Please send your comments to: marketinsider@yahoo.com