T Boone Pickins Is Behind Natural Gas And Wind Pow...

photo by Kevin Dooley
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Alternative energy has been in the forefront of the news lately, even with the price of oil dropping more than 50% in the last three months. The issue has become so important that more needs to be done. The problem is that any talk about it has it not making a good enough dent until 2018 or later. Why is it that something that everyone believes to be important isn’t being pushed harder to accomplish it?.
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T Boone Pickens is been putting his money where his mouth is, into alternative energy. Mainly in wind energy as well as natural gas. The plan is to build new wind generating facilities that will produce 20% of this country’ electricity and allow the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel source. He says that these domestic energies can replace over one third of our dependency on foreign oil imports. The best thing is that he said it can be done in ten years.
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I have been a big believer in alternative energy well before it became the “in thing”. When I first started trading in the stock market I invested in alternative energy stocks. Which was a good thing because they have grown into a powerful force in the stock markets. When the idea of alternative energy stocks started to really catch on it helped propel my portfolio by leaps and bounds. One of my best trades of all time was getting in and buying stock in First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) when it was at $35 per share.
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Now that the stock market has taken a nose dive into oblivion, it has caused these stocks to come down from their highs by more than 50% (in most cases). That is exactly what I wanted to see for me to make a more of a foothold in this sector. I have always kept a position in alternative energy stocks over the years and look forward to major gains in this sector. I want to bring some stocks to light that I feel will benefit from the Pickens Plan.
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P.S. Want to learn more about the stock market? take a free two week trail with Jim Cramer from TheStreet.com

Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE:PWR), a company that I’ve spoken about before here and have been a investor of the stock for some time. They are a contracting service company that offers many different solutions to electric power, gas as well as many other areas. These guys I feel will be the ones who get the most of the contracts for installing the transmission cables for the wind turbines.
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Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE:KMP) is a major player when it comes to natural gas companies. They are based in Houston Texas, which is in the heart of the wind corridor that Pickens speaks of and most of their pipelines branch out from that region. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment gathers, transports, stores, treats, processes, and sells natural gas through approximately 14,700 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines and gathering lines, as well as natural gas storage, treating, and processing facilities. On top of everything else that this company can do, their stock at it’s current price offers a 8% dividend yield.
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Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ:LINE) is an independent oil and gas company. The company has oil and gas, and natural gas reserves in Mid-Continent, which includes the operating areas Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma; and Western region comprising the Brea Olinda field of the Los Angeles Basin in California. They are also based in Houston Texas. To make this a more attractive stock to own at this time is that their dividend yield at it’s current price is 15.6% and it’s ex-dividend date is in the first week of November.
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Composite Technology Corporation (OTCBB:CPTC.OB) at the moment they’re the new kid on the block (relatively speaking). The company operates through two segments, CTC Cable and DeWind. Between the two areas they cover the cables and the turbines that will be needed. The ACCC conductors can handle a higher temperature than most to help reduce burnouts and blackouts. This stock is my speculative stock and should be treated as such by anyone looking to invest in it.
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Of course there are many more companies that will benefit for the growth of alternative energy in this company, but I don’t want to have this post go on forever. This sector will have great gains in the next few years and if you have the time to wait you can make out big with your gains.
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*DISCLAIMER* At the time of this post, Billy is long Kinder Morgan and Linn Energy.
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P.S. Want to learn more about the stock market? take a free two week trail with Jim Cramer from TheStreet.com

Tags: Alternative energy, Buying penny stocks, Economy, Stock investments, Stock trading

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Timing Is Everything In the Stock Market

photo by MP Clemens
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Depending on how you look at today’s activity in the stock market, it could be either considered good or bad. What it comes down to is timing. Timing is everything when you want to beat the stock market. If done correctly, you can have a great day when the market has had a lousy one.
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Let’s look at what happened today. The market was oversold so much in the pre-trading hours that they halted all trading until they could calm the situation down. So when the market did open, most stocks were hit pretty bad. If you timed it well you could have picked up some great price on some solid companies. It’s days like this that will earn you some great reward or separate a man/woman from their money real quick if you’re not careful .
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Today was a great day for me because of the experiences I’ve had in the stock market over the years. If you noticed I didn’t say it was because of my smarts, because even some smart people lost some of their capitol today. To help you understand what I mean I will show you some of the trades that I did today.
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The first one I want to talk about is National City Corp. (NYSE:NCC) This stock was worth a hell of a lot more a few months back, but because of the financial sector’s collapse. The stock has been trading within the $1.36 to $5.00 range for the last 3-4 months. The last time it took a dive, it hit $1.36 and four days later it was at $3.51, a gain of 150%. Today news came out in regards to PNC Financial Group acquired National City Corp. for $5.6 billion. That news and the drop in pre-market trading left the stock at $1.85 per share at the open. I put a buy in at $175 and sat back as the price worked it’s way up to $2.33 at one point and closed at $2.06, a gain of 18% at the close. If I had sold near the high of the day, it would have been a gain of nearly 30%
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My second buy was in a stock that I’ve been following for some time. The company is Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE:PWR). This is a great company with a even better future. Because of the beating that Wall Street has been taking, the stocks of Quanta has felt the pain. There is no reason what-so-ever that the share price is under $20, but it is. When I saw what happened to the stock in early trading I put in a limit price of $15 per share because I didn’t expect it to stay. Wouldn’t you know it, the stock opened at $15 and briefly dropped to $14.84 where it immediately went back to $17 within minutes of the trading day. This is a company that is expect to benefit greatly from the Picken’s Plan, so I’m going to hold on to these stocks for some time. So for the one day I have a gain of 16%
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The last one I’m going to discuss is Lynn Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:LINE). This stock didn’t do has good as I expected, but it did go up from where it started the day at. This a company that has an unbelievable dividend yield. At it’s current price of $15.47, the yield is 15.60%. That right I said 15.60% and to make things even better, the next ex-dividend date is November 5th. At the present time my yield is actually 17.5%, I don’t know about you but I’ll take those types of yields any day of the week.
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I’m not trying to brag or anything like that, but I just wanted to show my readers what is possible even on a bad day. It all comes down to timing.

Tags: Alternative energy, Getting Started In The Stock Market, Stock market for beginners, Stock trading

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On Your Mark, Get Set… Go Buy

That’s right, the world is coming to an end and my advice is to go buy shares of the companies that you have confidence in. Confidence? Who the hell has any confidence in any company? Remember what I’ve said in the last few weeks, having confidence in a company is different from have confidence in the stock.
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As we’ve seen in the stock market lately, no one has any faith in the economy, the government as well as the stock market itself, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any companies out there that are doing the right thing while the rest of the world crumbles.
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Overnight there were major declines in most of the markets. Japan taking a 9.6% fall, Germany’s DAX took a 10.8% dive, France shaved off 10% also, while Britain’s FTSE lost 8.7% after the report of it’s third quarter GDP fell 0.5%. All this news caused the U.S. markets to go into panic mode. The DOW was down over 500 points in pre-market trading. Trading was actually halted in pre-trading hours because of the fact that the DOW fell 500 points (which is the maximum that is allowed).
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Now for the good news. The markets at the present time (11:00am) have somewhat leveled off and are in the range of being down 350 point, but I don’t expect it to stay there by the time 4:00pm comes around. There will be some major selling off going on again before we get to the weekend. When that happens you need to be ready to buy the stocks you want. If you are like me, you’ve been sitting on the sidelines with a good portion of you money. Well this is the type of day that we are waiting to take advantage of.
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In some cases, you might be one of those people who have years to wait before you will need that money. Others might not have the time to wait, either way a day like this can help you get some of your loses back. Keep an eye on the market today and you just might get the deal of a lifetime.

Tags: Economy, Getting Started In The Stock Market, How to make fast money, Investments, Stock market for beginners, Stock market news, Stock trading

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What A Wild Ride In The Stock Market Today

photo by Hagerman
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No matter what good news may be out there to trade on, someone else will sell on that same message. The Markets again for the second day trades lower. The Dow closes down almost 6% with most of that lose happening in the morning hours, but at one point it was down nearly 700 points.
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In after market trading Amazon fails to beat the street with their earnings report, while Amgen beats what was expected from them today. Amgen has actually raised guidance for next year. What are you to do with this news? Nothing. For one by the time you’re able to get into Amgen the news will be priced into the stock. As of right now in after market trading Amgen is up $3 per share and the news just came out Secondly in this volatile market that we’ve been seeing, in the next couple off days we could see another major down day and see the stock drop below it $49.73 close price of today.
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Freeport McMoran Inc (NYSE:FCX) Has taken a beating in the last few weeks or so that has the price down to a new five year low. If you have five years to wait before you need you money, this might be the stock for you. In regards to the basic material sector, these stocks have been dealt a blow that will take some time before they really come back to the level that they were at this time last year. If you’re a veteran trader I’m sure that the UltraShort Basic Materials ProShares (AMEX:SMN) is something that you’ve been following if not trading . The stock was at $66 just two days ago and hit an intra-day high of $92.97 in the last 20 minutes of open trading today.
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If you’re going to trade in this volatile market, you need to know how to play both sides of the trading floor. You need to diversify your portfolio and understand what shorting can do for you. It something that I recommend for average traders to do until you fully look into how it’s done.
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In the last two days the Dow has lost nearly 700 point (almost 8%), but because of how I trade and hedge myself, I’ve increased my portfolio over 15% during the same period. Do your homework, double check your research and follow through with your due diligence.

Tags: Commodities, Diversified, Earnings report, Getting Started In The Stock Market, Stock trading

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Not Another Manic Monday

What a day in the stock market. the day started with the big three markets in the green and continued that way throughout the entire trading period. I did expect the day to go quite different on the fact that Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson were due to speak during the trading day. When that usually happens lately, the markets don’t react in a positive way. It was mentioned over the weekend that there will be continued international support for the financial system, with focus being on the effort to loosen the credit lending.
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The basic material sector had a great day today. It assumed that the sector was oversold over the past week and took back some of those loses. The entire sector started in positive territory and continued to tick upward.
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Oil also had a good day by moving up just over $4 during the day. It’s being said that the bottom is starting to show with this commodity. OPEC is expected to cut production after their meeting in a couple of days. As a matter of fact the latest news is now that they might not cut production since they need make up for the revenue from the drop in prices.National Oilwell Vargo Inc. Had a great day with a 24% gain. A stock that was beaten up for last few months after hitting a high of $92.70 back in July of this year and now after today’s gain is at $31.80 in after market trading.
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Early in the day Ben Bernanke spoke with Congress today on the condition of the economy. He did say that he sees the economy to be weak during the next couple of quarters. He also took the time to inform Congress that a second stimulus check is something that should be considered to help the economy. I do have to say that when Bernanke speaks (in english) I still need a translator to figure what he’s really saying to us average Joes.
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The markets looked quite strong today and continues to look that way through after market trading, but be aware that we are not out of the woods yet. Take you time and do your due diligence with any company that you want to jump into.

Tags: Commodities, Federal Reserve, Financials, Stock market news, Stock trading, Treasury Dept.

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Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

photo by Walter rodriguez
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After last week’s roller coaster ride in the stock markets, I look forward to more of the same. The volatility was off the charts (well almost) as the VIX showed through the week. With this much movement in any given stock, the possible gains are amazing. On the other hand the loses could be too much for most of us to handle.
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Going into this week, we need to be aware that we have still not seen the bottom. As a matter of fact I heard some say on Friday that last week was the turning point, but I beg to differ. If any of my readers here follow me on Twitter, you would have seen that at around 1:30pm when the Dow was up about 300 points, I responded to another who said that the markets were doing great and would continue for the rest of the day. My response was to get ready or to start selling because the tide was about to turn. I had a feeling that the DOW as well as the other markets were about to go bad.
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Feelings??? I know I tell my readers all the time that you feelings have no place in the stock market. I wasn’t referring to my emotional feelings, instead I was talking about the vibe of the markets. After you spend enough time trading within the markets, you start to sense when the tide is turning. Add on top that my knowledge and experience tells me that there is a lack of confidence on Wall Street.
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As we go into this week of trading, you need to hope for the best, but expect the worse. Make any trade you do wisely and have your exit strategy ready. Watch the trend, keep an eye on the technicals and leave you emotions at the door. Get ready for another wild ride.
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So in the immortal words of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation)…”Let’s get ready to rumble”.

Tags: Getting Started In The Stock Market, Stock market for beginners, Stock trading, The Week Ahead

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I’m Glad That This Week In The Stock Market ...

What a week we had in the stock market. On Monday the DOW fell 733 points to start off the week and dropped another 127 points on Friday to end the week. The good news is that the the Dow is up over 4% for the week. Go figure.
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That’s right, some how the markets were up even with all that going on. This past week has shown us the intensity of volatility in the markets. I have to say that this was a great week for people who rode out this roller-coaster ride in one of two ways.
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If you were one of the many that didn’t know what you should do with all the “The Sky is falling” news and figured that you don’t need any of your investment money. You decided to just let your money sit where it was at and ride it out. If you were properly diversified you most likely did pretty good. Most of the sector and different markets came out ahead for the week (Friday to Friday). Being diversified is what it’s all about if you want to stay afloat for the rough times so you can maximize your return over the long haul. I commend those of you that are prepared.
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The other way is if you knew what you were doing throughout this period of six trading days and saw the writing on the wall each of those days and at different times of the day. You most likely made a killing. The volatility was off the scale. With days that had over 500 point swings, it was easy to be able to pick up some broken stocks (of not-broken companies) and watch as the investors got back into them after they were oversold. Waiting for those quick returns of 5-10% gains. In some cases, there were returns of 30% a better.
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Throughout the week there was a lot of news as well as action to keep one busier more than one would care to be, but I found it very educational. I do have to say that I’m glad that it’s over.

Tags: Diversified, Getting Started In The Stock Market, How to make fast money, Investments, Stock market for beginners, Stock trading

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Are You An Investor Or A Trader?

photo by rednuht
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Often times people say that they invest in the stock market. Many times I’ve heard people say that they’re a trader of stocks. What’s the difference? It easy to know the answer if you break down the meaning of both of them.
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An Investor is someone who looks toward the future. A person who is looking at the positive outcome of something (ie, stocks, companies, properties). Investors don’t go into anything that they don’t have the full picture of. You will never hear an investor say “I’m hoping for a 10 point jump tomorrow in XYZ”. They don’t look at their portfolio on a daily basis and think of what stock they’ll buy today or sell tomorrow. When an investor gets into an investment, they’re in it for the long haul. The decision wasn’t made hastily and on a whim. He or she has looked over all the necessary paperwork to see if this is a sound and profitable venture. An investor will also look into what the worse case scenario could be and prepares his investment accordingly.
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A trader on the other hand is someone who will ride a trend for a short period of time. He or she is not in it for any long length of time. they see an instant opportunity and make a quick a rapid decision. Yes, they may know the overview of the stock and have an idea on the short term direction of it, but that’s their goal, short term and now. A trader is also known as a day trader for a reason, they will get in and out of a stock with in the same trading day. A trader is looking out for themselves, unlike an investor that may be looking into their future generations as well as their own. A trader doesn’t really care about the future of the company, they won’t be there that long to care.
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It may sound like I’m not too keen on day traders, but I do respect what they do and I’ve been known to day trade myself. I’ve made some good money that way, but I noticed that the more I got into doing it, the less I enjoyed my weekdays. I found myself getting lost in the markets trying to find the next “big hit”. I realized that I wasn’t happy during the trading hours for whatever reason.
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P.S. Want to learn more about the stock market? take a free two week trail with Jim Cramer from TheStreet.com

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I love the stock market and look forward to it everyday, I don’t let myself get lost in it, for if I do, I’d lose myself as well.

Tags: Getting Started In The Stock Market, Help, How to make fast money, Stock market for beginners, Stock trading

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Hedge Funds In Trouble

It’s been rough for hedge funds in the first three quarters of this year. After the average hedge fund lost close to 5% in the first eight months and then to lose another 7% for the month of September alone (according to hedge fund research), It become deadly for many of them in the first week of October.
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At the end of last month, many funds were expecting more than the usual level of requests from their clients/investors to pull cash out. which makes it hard to work on their longer-term trades when they stand the chance of losing capitol to do so. In turn hurting other investors in the fund. The number one reason hedge fund managers have guidelines in getting withdrawals.
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve now heard in the last week that many of these hedge funds are in emergency status trying to raise capitol for their clients that want to pull out their money. In the process they’re running in the negative zone. To make matters worse, hedge funds bolster their returns with lots of borrowed money, which makes it harder for them to do what they do best.
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These firms make up a good percentage of why we’ve seen the decline in prices in the last few days. As a matter of fact, if you were watching Quantas Services Inc. (NYSE:PWR) on Tuesday, you would have seen a spike sell volume of almost 4 million shares in a one minute time frame. It’s believed that that trade was a hedge fund liquidating assets.
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Some funds are also trapped in the Lehman Brothers London Unit, which is now a thing of the past. The volatility in the markets has been accelerated by the failures in the financial sector like Lehman Brothers, AIG and Wachovia bank. Let’s not forget to debacle that went on in Congress recently.
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It’s getting harder for hedge funds to make positive gains. Yes, there are some that have had some good returns this year, but they’re getting few and far between. Most of them are down and could start seeing the writing on the wall of their impending doom. With all that is going on in the industry, there will be less firms out there. Of course the big dogs will survive to fight again, but how much capitol will they be able to raise to invest with is another question.

Tags: Economy, Financials, Getting Started In The Stock Market, Hedge Funds, NYSE, Stock market for beginners, Stock trading

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What Happened To The Stock Market

Today the stock market dropped another 7.33%, bringing the Dow to close at 8,579. For those who want to know how many points the Dow lost, in today’s trading is 678 points. Two days ago the DOW fell below 10,000 and nine trading days ago (Sept. 26th) it was at 11,143. In the last ten trading days the DOW has dropped 23%.
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Most of the lost in today’s trading came in the last hour where traders try to cover margin calls. This market is definitely coming to the bottom. How far from the bottom could be anyone’s guess. According to Jim Cramer, he said about a week ago that the bottom is going to be around 8,350. I hope he’s right because I’m getting itchy to buy some great deals right no, but I’ll hold out just a little bit more.
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Ironically, the Dow and the S&P 500 hit their all time high one year ago today. A decline of 40% in just 365 days. Like they say, “all good thing must come to an end”. I guess we can also say “this nightmare will be over soon”. What a difference a year makes.
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Patience is a virtue and at this time we need to show quite a bit of it. A good investor needs to have this quality if you want to succeed. If you’re day trader, then this type of market is for you, not looking at the market as an investment vehicle, but as an opportunity to make money.
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This is the perfect time for anyone looking to get into the stock market and won’t be needing any of the money for at least 5 years. If you’re sitting on a bundle of cash (that you might have recently removed from your bank) and wanted to know what to do with it, well then you might want to think about where the stock markets will be in 5-7 years. If history has shown us anything, it’s that after a correction like the one we’re experiencing right now, it’s that 5 -10 years later the markets have come back to be stronger than it was before (at least during that time period).

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