What We Learned

I did many things for our group. We all did our share of entries and varied which person did the review of the market and of our portfolio. We all did equal amount of work and comments. The biggest thing I learned from the Stock Market Game was not to invest into the stock market in the short term. The stock market would be a good long term investment because if you have longer time it gives your money a chance to rebound. I would change the stocks we invested in because they were all really high risk, but we did this because it was not real money and it would give us an actual chance to win the game. I would not do this in real life however. I would not keep anything the same because we invested in high risk stocks if I were to do this in real life I would put my money in lower risk areas of the market. This game has however taught me the importance of investing money into vehicles that will make a good return for you.

Review

I have learned many different things throughout the stock market game.

I helped my team make the decision of buying and selling the stocks that we chose. I also did my fair share of all of the posts. I made sure all of them were done.

I have learned that you must take some risks in the stock market if you really want to make money. You can't be too conservative if you are only it for 10 weeks.

I would invest in less riskier stocks. We invested in high risk stocks because we knew we weren't making any money anyway. I would still be somewhat risky. I just wouldn't be as risky as I was. I would invest smarter the next time.

I would invest in some of the same stocks that we did because some of them did make some good money. I would do more research before buying or selling any stocks though.

I have learned a lot through the stock market game, and I hope this will help me in the future.

Review of our Portfolio December 14 to December 18

We did make a short sell this week. We short sold QID not making any gain off of it at all. We lost a total of $2022.00 off of the short sale. This was not a good investment for us. We made no other transactions this week however. Our final equity was $99,125.49 leaving us 387th place. We did not make any money off of the game, but we learned many lessons including not to invest in the stock market in the short term.

What I've Learned

I believe our group participated equally in the Stock Market Game. We split up the posts evenly by rotating duties each week.

I have learned many things while playing the Stock Market Game and blogging about stocks in general. Some of the most prominent things I've learned include the difference between high risk and low risk stocks, as well as the different characteristics one must look at when planning to invest in long term stocks in comparison to short term stocks, and vice versa.

I would change the way we invested in our stocks. Due to the fact that the Stock Market Game was not played with real money, we chose to invest in very high risk stocks. If this were the case on Wall Street, we would all be out of a job. I would not keep much the same because I do not believe that the Stock Market Game is a very good representation of real-life investing. Furthermore, not many people have that much to invest, and if they did they would not invest it in the stocks we did, due to the risk factor.

Even though I was not high on the real-life aspect of the Stock Market Game, I believe it to be a wonderful learning experience, and I plan to use the information I've learned to propel me into my financial future.

Review of the Market December 14 to 18

Dow Jones-Overall the Dow Jones had a downward trend this week. It started out on the 14 at 10501.48 and continually went down from there. Its worst day was on the the 16 where it plummeted to 10308.26. By the end of the week the Dow Jones has went down to 10328.89.

NASDAQ-The NASDAQ fell this week by only one point. However, at its lowest point this week it went all the way from 2212.10 to 2180.05. The overall trend was down until the last day where it jumped back up to 2211.69.

S&P 500- The overall trend of S&P was downward this week with no substantial rebound. It started off at 1114.11 and ended at 1102.47. The S&P took a similar trend to that of the Dow Jones. The NASDAQ was the only market that did not lose that much this week.

December 14 - 18 USA Today Post Review

According to a new statement released by USA Today, theives who steal people's GPS units are now beginning to use the systems to figure out where the owner lives. They are able to use the "Home" feature to get the location and route to the owner's residence, where they could potentially theft even more valuable items. People must learn to be more responisble in how they protect their personal belongings. When they leave their vehicle they should disconnect the GPS unit and put it in a safe place, such as the trunk or if possible, a locked glove compartment. However, the best option for the owner would be to simply take the GPS with them when they leave their vehicle, much like they do with cellphones or wallets.

Competitors

For the week of December 14-18:

Netflix started the week at 56.41. Netflix went up the first day. Netflix went down the next three days to a total of 53.27. They lost on the week.

Movie Gallery, Inc. began the week at .09. Movie Gallery dropped the first day. Movie Gallery went up the next day and remained at that same level the rest of the week. Their final stock value was .08. Movie Gallery also lost on the week.

Blockbuster Inc. began the week at .72. They lost value the entire week dropping to a total of .66. They lost on the entire week.

Netflix and its competitors all lost on the week.

Review of Markets

For week of December 7-11:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow began the week at 10,390.11. The Dow dropped the first day. The Dow rose the next three days to 10,471.50. The Dow made a gain on the week.

NASDAQ Composite: The Nasdaq began the week at 2,189.61. The Nasdaq dropped the first day. The Nasdaq gained the next two days. The Nasdaq dropped the last day to a total of 2,190.31. The Nasdaq made a slight gain on the week.

S&P 500 Index: The S&P 500 began the week at 1,103.25. The S&P 500 dropped the first day. The S&P 500 rose the next three days to 1,106.41. The S&P 500 also gained on the week.

Overall, all three markets gained on the week.

USA Today Dec. 7 - 11

Accenture PLC, the global consulting firm, has cut ties with golfer Tiger Woods, over his recent sex scandal. Their reason for ending the six year relationship with the world's number one golfer was simply that Tiger is, "no longer the representative." This course of action is the first taken by any corporate sponsor and could be the first of many to come. The $100 million dollar man's empire is in jeopardy of crumbling to the ground. Hopefully Tiger's indefinite leave from golf will allow for him to reshape his now tarnished image, and might allow for him to keep some sponsors on his side.

Review of Our Portfolio

For the week of December 7-11:

We did not buy or sell any stocks on the week. Our total equity on December 14, 2009 is $101,043.42. We have gained money from our last review.

Netflix Rumors

Netflix is on the up and up because of the new rumors that the tech giant Amazon is expected to take it over. Netflix in general has revolutionized the way to rent movies in America. People no longer had to leave their home but simply had to mail in movie requests and return them when you are done to receive another one. However, both Amazon and Netflix declined to acknowledge the rumors leaving the public to rely only on opinion. But they did not say that it was false so in fact stock for Netflix will be expected to rise if the two companies decide to merge. This is great news for our stock because if Netflix does go up we will most definitely increase our rank in The Stock Market Game.

Market Review Nov. 30 - Dec. 4

Dow Jones - The Dow Jones began on its lowest note in recent times, starting at 10344.84. It rose December 1st however, finishing at 10471.58. The Dow then took a tumble, but eventually evened out on the third, finishing the day at 10366.15. The Dow Jones finished the week at 10388.90.

NASDAQ - The NASDAQ began the week at 2144.60. While it continued to rise throughout the week, the NASDAQ hit a bump on the third, but finished the week at 2194.35, which would prove to be its high point for the week.

S&P 500 - The S&P 500 began at a low point, like the Dow Jones, at 1095.63. However, it underwent an increase on the second. Although, this increase ended up being short lived. On the
third the S&P 500 decreased to 1099.92. the S&P 500 finished the week on a strong number of 1105.98.

Portfolio Review Nov. 30 - Dec. 4

We made no purchases or sales this week. We believe that our stocks will rise due to the approaching holiday season, most notably Hasbro. As of December 4th, our equity rose about $200.00 from the previous week. Our total equity is currently at $98,974.09. We are ranked 432 out of a possible 962 contestants.

Competitors

For the week of November 30, 2009 to December 4, 2009:

Hasbro Inc. began the week at 29.65. They spiked on Wednesday to 30.51. It ended on Friday at 30.18. Hasbro Inc. did make a gain on the week.

JAKKS Pacific Inc. began the week at 12.06. They rose slightly on Tuesday. JAKKS dropped the rest of the week to 11.70.

Mattel Inc. began the week at 19.46. They rose drastically on Tuesday to 20.00. It ended the week at 19.89. Overall Mattel Inc. gained on the week.

Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. both gained while JAKKS dropped.

Certain Toys Deemed Unsafe

One of the most highly anticipated sells as a toy this holiday season has been named unsafe for children by a U.S. group. However, the company defends its toy saying that it has passed rigorous testing and was claimed safe by their own standards. The group declines this notion nevertheless because of their finding of higher than allowed levels of antimony on the toys nose. Sales have dropped dramatically after the research done. This relates significantly to our own stocks because we own Hasbro which is also a toy producer so if the company producing this certain toy is not doing so well customers are more likely to buy toys from our company. This will only help our rankings in the stock market game if Hasbro gains more sells from this reduction in sales of the other toy producing company.