Forum seems so quiet...maybe it is a good sign

hi musicwhiz thanks, understood the point u r trying to make here.. so in a sense, investing is also somethink similar to a bet which we place, hoping that those \"chips\" we place down can turn up good cards since we cant even be 100% sure of an investment return due to the ever-changing circumstances of today? Would that have meant that the riskier a choice, the better performance it might turn up over time? To minimise the risks, I have tried looking to companies with supposedly good fundamentals, low valauations. However, if a company keeps showing up poor results in the quarters to come, should I still stick by them, hoping for a turnaround? How do we guage if the related stocks are going out of line? I have read somewhere that when favourable cards turn up, we should add to our bet, and vice versa. Not really sure whether it means to stop adding bets to the losing game or to close up the cards & try for the next game.

thanks gary, looks like im really waist-deep in trouble if this sinks further, hopefully rescue could come in time. All-In this time & hopefully wont live to regret my appetite.

hopefully you have diversified across companies..

Just a crazy idea -- The concern now on the S-chips is whether the cash and cash equivalents is still in the companies. Can the Company just get the bank representative to verify the cash is still in the bank ? Just my 2-cent thought.

Just a demostration of how much all the investors do not trust the S-Chips companies anymore..not even the auditors...wonder where is the SEC?? They will probably do post mortem again and wonder what went wrong...

Back to the topic on hand - yes the forums and generally the public at large has been awfully, painfully quiet. When news of the stock market making new highs or lows hits the front page of the newspaper instead of getting relegated to the back pages, then you know it\'s either time to head for the exits or to pile money in. In the current environment, when fear is so pervasive, the mere mention of the stock market conjures up images of huge losses in Minibonds, failed Lehman Structured Products, Equities, Mutual Funds and other asset classes. Some of these losses are real and very permanent, hence the trepidation faced by the man on the street. Such pessimism is bad for sentiment and one\'s emotional well-being, but it creates good opportunities for acquiring assets on the cheap. Will buy and hold work over the long term ? Haha, I believe so, as long as you buy the right asset at the right price !