I still don't get your point, Hub. The cost of Costco stock is vastly greater than many stocks, in general, and Lowes in particular. Its not a decision I ever made in favor of taking a position in. I make other choices.
Picking out one I didn't take a position in, is.... irrelevant.

I missed the Apple IPO that is the only one I ever missed that I cared about.

My eBay has gone from 10 to 33. Not bad. I'm watching it on ETrade trying to decide if I should cut and run and move it into my State retirement fund, where it would be insured and safe.

My Lowes has gone from 1.01 to 60 to 2X Split to 21 (now). Nine more bucks anytime in the next couple years, and I've doubled the balance that went into the split, plus the neary $30 average increase per share in value of my holdings pre-split.

My Amdahl went from 10 to 29 to 2 to 12 before I cut and ran, and rolled it into a 401k. I left 2,800 option shares on the table when I left the company, because my option price was 16 and the stock was selling on the NYSE for 6. In 1997 Amdahl ceased to exist. I saw that coming, with time to spare.

I never said I make all the right decisions, nor do I catch every good wave.

Whats your point?

Here is what I said: a) Lowes WILL go above $30 over the new 2 years, and b) the problem with the economy (and hence the stock market) is not a housing market problem, its a bad President, bad Congress, unsustainable debt problem which is freezing funds in place and damping down hiring drastically.

Only by returning to supply-side free enterprise principles can the problem be solved.. and if the American people are smart in 2012 this will happen. If they aren't smart, well, then they deserve what they get, and I'll cut and run and only make a quarter of a million, which is not what I was planning on having in 2014.

I'm tired of repeating myself, so I'll stop.

In the last 2 weeks, I've made over $15,000 with my stock and bond portfolio.

My Lowes stock is now dead even with cost of purchase, and will, over the course of the next 12 months, add $10 / share minimum.

When I am at 100% net profit on it, I'll roll it over into bonds via my State Employee 401k. That way, when I retire, the State Pension Fund will administer the 401k combined with my pension, and save me paperwork and taxes both.

Heck, even my bond investments are making good money now, and they are pretty darn safe.

No amount of gibberish can stop my investments from paying off handsomely, pretty much in sync with when I want to retire.

Oh right, I forgot, the market was never going to recover.

Privateer wrote:

I predict that by December 2012, lowe's stock will be trading at $26 a share or more. At that point, I will be up $175,000 over the cost of the stock I own.

Heck, by mid-spring 2012 it will be over $26. By early January 2012 it might be over $26. Well ahead of my conservative planning. By December 2012 it might make it to $30 if the summer yields improved house construction starts and better employment figures. I might even let it ride the new economy growth (if we get a Republican President and Congress so they can start paying down the 17 trillion dollar debt the Democrats have run up from a mere 4 trillion when they started) and wait for it to crest $40/share, which is most certainly will do before I retire.

Oh, right, I don't know what I'm doing, Hub knows more than me.

ROFL.

I might make it a cool million (or close enough) across my combined investments, by the time I'm ready to retire.

But I don't know what I'm doing. And Lowe's might go out of business. And it might rain cats and dogs here today.

Lowe's Companies is at $26.14 atm, way before my conservative prediction.

It might retrench some but the trend is clear.

LOW will probably hit $30 / share shortly after the next dividend announcement.

I hope we get a good (new) President and a Republican congress, so we can cut that 14T debt down substantially. That alone will stimulate hiring, and capital investment, and spending in general. Not to mention allowing LOW stock price to increase substantially.

Eventually I'll be able to roll it over to my State 401K which is 50/50 bonds and investment-term (super-safe), which has been my plan all along.

Other stocks I'm hoping for good results on... eBay, IBM, Amazon, Fujitsu (my old Amadahl stock), a couple others.

In the last 3 months my investments have increased account balances by 32%, mostly driven by Lowe's stock holdings.

32%... this is creating wealth that did not previously exist, even considering the economy. By the time I am 62, which is just a few years, I'll have more than enough money in my investments to roll it into my State 401K and let them manage it for me when I retire early. That way I can live well until on the investments until I'm 67 (actually, beyond) and by then, my Social Security will be maxed and my VA disability compensation will be all sorted out.

"If you are invested in the stock market.....it might not be a bad time to think about getting out."

I like ya Kruz, but that was the worst financial advice I've ever seen, or darn close.

If I had gotten out when you started this thread, I would have lost at least $80,000 and probably more.

By being patient, and understanding the cycles and mechanics (macro-economics) of the investment market, I knew the prudent course of action would be to stay the course.

Been there, done it. My position in Amazon is not as large as I should have made it, but its at least 5 years of good income once I retire.

5 here, 10 there, at least 10 more from the State, throw in Social Security at 67 (max) and whatever I end up getting on my VA disability (we are at least 2 years out of a final rating, but it will be significant - probably over $1,500 month tax free and not counting against any tax breaks or anything) and I'll be able to put everything I don't want to sell but don't need in storage, sell the house, ride around the country for a couple years....

Ride around Canada, maybe Mexico if the place ever settles down.

And when I'm done all that, I'll have more money in the bank than when I started.

If I ever can't ride anymore, the VA will take care of me at Charlotte Hall which though a nursing home for vets, is more like an old guy's country club.

I call that a good retirement.

Maybe I can find a job motorcycle related, taking pictures or writing articles, or something. Never know.

The point is, and Hub you always manage to muddy the water and get way off point, is Kruz said the market was going to crash and stay crashed, and everyone should sell their stock.

Which is, irregardless of a bunch of gibberish to the contrary, bad advice, and would have cost me $80,000 in profits lost.

And when Lowe's Companies stock gets above 40, I'll start watching it carefully, because by then I'll be at 125% profit on my costs, and every point above 40 will be another $10,000 on top of the 125%.

* Last updated by: privateer on 3/10/2012 @ 8:45 AM *