HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mcaldon@igc.apc.org (McAldon International Inc.)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Writing a Book
Date: 23 Jan 93 04:52:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #R:1993Jan20.184437.24452@iplmail.o:-376487661:cdp:1426500340:000:1423
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!mcaldon    Jan 22 20:52:00 1993


>   One goes through life trying to find the funnest way to become wealthy.  We
> I thought I 'd write a book.  I was just wondering.... once one has written a
> book, how much money does one dish out to a publisher, what percentage of sal
> come back (on the average) and are successful authors rich?

About four or five years ago I was editor and literary agent for a book 
sold to Harmony Books, now a division of Random House.  The agent 
negotiates the deal with the publisher.  Everything depends on prospects
for the book.  Somebody with a big name or with a lurid background can
get a big price.  Mine (ours) was one of many on Walt Disney.  We got
10% of the gross for hard cover; paperbacks bring about 8%.  We did not
put up any money. (That's a gimmick by so-called vanity publishers who
make their money by poorly printing books by eager authors who can't
sell to the legitimate publishers.)  Writing books is no way
to get rich unless you're a terrific writer (or have a great book idea)
and have a good agent.  I don't know anything about text books.  BTW,
there are some great books on how to get published.  
                           
|       DMcKenzie        |      "Time is the best teacher.      |    
|    mcaldon@igc.org     |    Unfortunately, it kills all its   |
|                        |    pupils."   Hector-Louis Berlioz   |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: rs69@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Rong Shen)
Subject: be a floor trader
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 20:59:23 GMT

Hi:

	I am just curious. What does it take to be a floor trader?

	Thanks for any hints.

Rong
--
rs69@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu
Newsgroups: misc.invest,news.answers
From: watanabe@cs.uiuc.edu (Larry Watanabe)
Subject: Re: Short Squeeze on Federated Dept. Stores
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 03:25:12 GMT

etpeters@dal.mobil.com (E. T. Peterson(Eric)) writes:

>In article <tnickles.727391452@beagle>, tnickles@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Tim Nickles) writes:
>|> Dave-M@cup.portal.com (David Russell Mottern) writes:
>|> 
>|> >This is probably a dumb question, but where can I look to find out the short
>|> >position of a given stock? Where did YOU get this info?
>|> 
>|> You can get that info in pretty much any financial paper.
>|> Look under the options section and look at the "open interest" for
>|> the puts of that stock. OI is the number of put (or call) options
>|> currently held by investors.

The short position is not necessarily a good indicator of
anything, because people might short for different reasons.

For example, in December someone posted asking about
Stoneridge Resources (now Acceptance Insurance) trading at 2 7/8, 
and was wondering if he should sell. 
The company was going to do a 1-4 reverse
split, and rename itself to Acceptance insurance. Current
holders of stock would get rights to buy a unit, where a unit
consisted of 1 share of the new stock at $8 and a 4 year
warrant to buy at $11.

My suggestion was to short 1-3 shares of Stoneridge for
each share that he owned. The reason being: if the stock 
rose in price, he could cover his short using his share,
plus ($8 + $11)/4, using the unit, for a cost of $5 at most.
By shorting 3 shares, he would get 3 * 2 7/8 = 8 5/8,
making a profit of 3 5/8 or more per share.

If the stock dropped, then he would have a wash on the 
1 short sale and the shares he owned, but would make
a profit on the other two short sales. He would make
$2 for every point that the stock dropped in price.

Unfortunately, you cannot short a stock under $5.

Which goes to show there's no free lunch.
But if it HAD been over $5, then this would have 
been a great way to make money, risk free.
You would make money no matter what price the
stock finished at.

-Larry Watanabe watanabe@cs.uiuc.edu
From: dbernard@clesun.Central.Sun.COM (Dave Bernard)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Akers removal from IBM
Date: 27 Jan 1993 15:34:27 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: dbernard@clesun.Central.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: clesun.central.sun.com

>What is the significance in the removal of Akers as IBM's CEO?

>Is this just a symbolic action -- signifying to shareholders that IBM is really 
>committed to change?

>For just how much of IBM's reluctance to modify do _you_ believe Akers was
>responsible?

>What effect do _you_ forsee this having on investor confidence and share price?



>I feel that in a way IBM is firing the coach after a really tough season.  It 
>may not be entirely his fault, but someone has got to be blamed and "punished."
 
Given that it's Aker's job to make sure value is returned to the shareholders,
and given that this is what he is (well) paid for, the fact that value hasn't been
returned, but in fact has been lost, I'd say that Akers has failed in his job.
It's one thing to give someone another chance, but he's been in charge for a
long time, each year promising that things are together now, and each year has
been worse.  Getting a new captain signifies that the company is serious about
turning the ship around, and the market will take this as a good sign... just as
it did when Mr. Olsen left DEC.
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: scott@geta.life.uiuc.edu (mrh)
Subject: Re: Dreyfus Funds
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 03:46:08 GMT
Keywords: Dreyfus mutual funds

I'm pretty happy with the Appreciation Fund- they pay a reasonable yearly
Dividend, have a respectable manager, and slow, but steady improvement in
their stock prices. Their strategy appears to be value centered.

On the downside, its fee structure reminds me of a typical Fidelity fund-
complex enough to preclude easy calculation of management fees.
All told, they rake off about 10-15% of any profits via 12b-1 and expenses.

Count on making 9-11% in an up year and losing 3-5% in a bad year.

Get an annual report before you decide to go in, because as you said,
the Prospectus doesn't say squat.
--
Coffee Facts from Dr. Science:
1) You can never brew coffee too strong.
2) You can never drink too much coffee.
3) Coffee does not make you nervous.  Your own inadequacies do that.
   Coffee merely increases your perception of your own inadequacies.
4) Tea is to coffee as ginger ale is to Scotch.
From: corbetew@cco.caltech.edu (Corbet E. Wilcox)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Zeos International
Date: 22 Jan 1993 22:27:57 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: alumni.caltech.edu


Zeos (otc) is a computer maker/mailorder company who seem to get high
marks for their computers (In _PC Magazine_ anyway).  THey were keeping
pace with Dell's growth rate until about 9 months ago when they lost 
a few million bucks.  The stock fell from about $24 to about $2.5.
For the last couple of months it was between 3.5 and 4 untill 3 days ago
when it jumped to $5.5.  Anyone know if earnings are due out soon, could
this be insider buying anticipating good news?  With Dell doubling their
sales in '92, I can't help but think that Zeos, with computers advertised
in the same places for comparible prices with equal quality, will be 
turning around their profit picture soon.
-- 
Corbet Wilcox
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: jhsu@ih-nxt05.cso.uiuc.edu (Jason Hsu)
Subject: Re: mutual funds
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 01:51:37 GMT

In article <1993Jan23.194944.15424@unocal.com> stgprao@st.unocal.COM  
(Richard Ottolini) writes:
> All you people that have been splitting hairs the last couple weeks 
> over which fund to invest in have missed a five percent turnup
> in the aggressive funds.  That is two years of bank interest in
> three weeks.  Don't over-contemplate in a bull market.
How will you know when the overheated small-cap market will tank?   
Remember 1929, 1962, 1972, 1983, 1987, and the tulip bulb mania in 17th  
century Holland?
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: brownwm@aplcenmp.apl.jhu.edu (William G. S. Brown)
Subject: WealthBuilder Data
Summary: Looking for Wealthbuilder historical data
Keywords: WealthBuilder Wealth Builder historical data
Organization: Johns Hopkins Continuing Professional Programs
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 16:10:34 GMT

I'm trying to evaluate the use of common filters in selecting stocks.
(e.g. low PE, high yield, etc). To evaluate I need past data upon which
to apply the filter and later data to see how the selected stocks did. 

I am looking for historical data for the WealthBuilder ssoftware (by
Money Magazine - produced by Reality Tech). 

Any data via e-mail, uucp, diskettes (US Mail) would be appreciated.

Thanks.
From: johna@psdcae1.gvg.tek.com (John Abt)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Question: Is the market predictable?
Date: 23 Jan 93 19:02:38 GMT
Organization: Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA

The problem with technical analysis, (prediction based on mathematical
analysis with lots of charts, graphs, and ratios) is, of course, that
even world-class robust models are subject to breaking the day after
you buy in. 

Not to say that analysis is worthless, it's just that almost anything
is possible and the market is always changing. Just ask the technical 
analysts who shorted Intel and bought IBM in December   1/2 :-).

Another risk of technical analysis: over analysis. You may dig some
trend out of the noise level that is patently bogus. You may do
something you'll regret. 
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: yozzo@watson.ibm.com (Ralph Yozzo)
Subject: Re: Bankruptcy by 1995..
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 02:36:14 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <4259@master.CNA.TEK.COM> mikeq@freddy.CNA.TEK.COM writes:
>Actually, isn't it a wee late to even start trying to pay off a $500-trillion
>debt in just two years? It will take at least that long for us to fight over
>whose taxes to raise and whose subsidies to cut!
>
>How about just letting the whole system collapse and see what rises out
>of the ashes?  There's a buck to be made in any economic situation, even
>national economic/social disintegration!
>
>Besides, American democracy can't possibly survive anyway. Our problems
>are too overwhelming; our people too ill-educated, nonproductive,
>dependent, and apathetic; our government too corrupt and self-serving.
>
>Okay, call me an optimist!
>
>Mike

If America does not watch out, then it might be the target of a
hostile take-over.  Just think of it... The hostile firm could
take over America, kick out all the upper management, and sell off
all the assets.  Of course, leaving all the debts to the minority stockholders.
;-)

-- 
 Ralph Yozzo (yozzo@watson.ibm.com)  
 From the beautiful and historic New York State Mid-Hudson Valley.
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: frazier@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Gregory Frazier)
Subject: Re: IBM Dividend -- Speculation, please!
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 20:45:53 GMT

Benjamin Yu (byu@sys.toronto.edu) wrote:
: In article <1993Jan22.162634.20563@ann-arbor.applicon.slb.com> jackson@mailhost.aa.cad.slb.com (Jeff Jackson) writes:
: >
: >    Well, IBM is scheduled to announce what it will do with its dividend
: >    next week (Jan. 26 is the actual date, I think).
: >
: >        1) Will IBM cut its dividend?  If so, by how much?
: >        2) What effect will this action have on IBM share price?
:  
:      I think:
: 
: 	 1) IBM will cut at most 50% on the dividend since one of their
: 	    business philosiphies is commitment to the shareholder.
: 	    Cutting more than 50% is too much of a shock, I imagine!

If this is true...

: 	 2) I expect stock price will go up after the announcement since
: 	    it will regain the confidence of investors.  I think many (?)
: 	    expected IBM to cut the dividend a few years back already.

Then this conclusion is exactly wrong (in my opinion).  Analysts have
said that IBM *needs* to cut its dividend by *at least* 50%.  If IBM
cuts it by less (a) institutional investers, while they may continue
to hold their stock for its dividend, will not sell it and (b) individual
investers will dump it, knowing that IBM is making a stupid business
move.  Similarly, if IBM cuts the dividend by as much or more than
analysts think it should, institutional investors will dump it.  I
don't know enough about the market to know if individual investors
have the buying strength to prop up the price via bottom fishing when
this happens....  Actually, I know very little at all about stocks,
buy happily talk is cheap.

--
"They thought to use and shame me but I win out by nature, because a true
freak cannot be made.  A true freak must be born." - K. Dunn, _Geek Love_

Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
From: rlcarr@animato.network23.com (Rich Carreiro)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Olde Discount Brokers?
Distribution: usa
X-NewsSoftware: GRn 1.16f (10.17.92) by Mike Schwartz & Michael B. Smith
Date: 21 Jan 93 08:26:11 EST
Organization: The Other Side of Life

In article <19JAN199312173909@csa2.lbl.gov> schindler@csa2.lbl.gov (AARON SCHINDLER) writes:
> gossain@valhalla.sps.mot.com (Raj Gossain) writes...
> 
> >Also, can someone tell me how difficult/expensive it would be
> >to transfer my brokerage account (or only part of it) from Schwab 
> >to Olde, Kennedy Cabot, etc.  
> > 
> >--Dhiraj
> 
> If you want to transfer a portion of your holdings to a different brokerage 
> firm, just ask for delivery of those equities (if you haven't already) and 
> then when you want to sell them, send them in to the new brokerage firm. 
> There is no requirement that you sell securities at the same firm that you
> bought them at.

You need not do this.  Besides, this'll freeze your stocks for a few weeks,
since it takes a while to have them registered and mailed to you.
You can use a brokerage account transfer form to transfer ALL OR PART of
your account to another firm.

-- 
Rich Carreiro                                  Home: (401)841-8514
rlcarr@animato.network23.com
uunet.uu.net!animato!rlcarr
From: mikeq@freddy.CNA.TEK.COM
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Bankruptcy by 1995..
Date: 25 Jan 93 21:31:14 GMT
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Redmond,  OR.

Actually, isn't it a wee late to even start trying to pay off a $500-trillion
debt in just two years? It will take at least that long for us to fight over
whose taxes to raise and whose subsidies to cut!

How about just letting the whole system collapse and see what rises out
of the ashes?  There's a buck to be made in any economic situation, even
national economic/social disintegration!

Besides, American democracy can't possibly survive anyway. Our problems
are too overwhelming; our people too ill-educated, nonproductive,
dependent, and apathetic; our government too corrupt and self-serving.

Okay, call me an optimist!

Mike
From: mincy@think.com (Jeffrey Mincy)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Banner Fund International
Date: 28 Jan 1993 16:49:38 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: mjolnir.think.com

In article <1k6uh6INNrpf@hpfcbig.sde.hp.com> fritz@fc.sde.hp.com (Gary Fritz) writes:
>Jeffrey Mincy (mincy@think.com) wrote:
>: I hope you aren't seriously expecting 20% return per month.   20% per
>: month means that your money goes up by a factor of 9 each year.
>: The best mutual fund returns for 92 were in the 30-50% range.  

>I'm fully aware of that.  This wasn't a mutual fund.  This was a
>somewhat shady-sounding "offshore trust".  As such I consider it
>extremely risky, and expect a superb return in exchange.

>They actually talk about 300% or so return annually, but use
>15% per MONTH in their sample projections.

The point I'm trying to get at here is that stock mutual funds have 
a certain level of risk and the best funds returned 30-50% last year.
Any investment projecting 300% annual returns is way out on the risk
curve.  If they were so sure about the 300% return why would they let 
you in on it?  They are transferring their risk to you, which is good 
for them.  

Basically, a 300% annual projection strikes me as so far out as to be 
essentially bogus.

On the other hand, I havent read a prospectus from banner.  How exactly
are they claiming that they can make such stellar returns?
-- 

-- jeff
mincy@think.com
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: bucknerb@bnr.ca (Brent Buckner)
Subject: Re: Covered Calls:  Less Risk - High Returns.
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ontario, Canada
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 19:11:08 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.183018.10953@mobil.com> etpeters@dal.mobil.com (E. T. Peterson(Eric)) writes:
>Consider a covered put position:  short the stock at $40 and sell the $35 put

Aside:  doesn't a covered put position consist simply of having
an account balance sufficient to pay for the stock at the
price of the put?

-- 
at Bell-Northern Research
voice:        (613) 765-2739
Canada Post:  P.O. Box 3511, Station C, Ottawa, Canada, K1Y 4H7
I do not claim that BNR holds these views.
From: kkellar@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Kevin Kellar)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Market Data for Electronic Analysis - where?
Date: 22 Jan 93 17:02:25 GMT
Organization: NCR Engineering and Manufacturing Atlanta -- Atlanta, GA


I hate to sound like one of those weenies looking for GIF files or 
new sounds for their PC, but I *am* looking for an FTP site.

Does anyone know a place that posts (daily, weekly, monthly) market data
in a neutral format.  I would be able to ftp files by ticker symbol for 
analysis.  I realize that many information $ERVICE$ can provide this info,
but I would prefer an ftp site.

Thanks in advance for your help.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Kellar, NCR-Atlanta, (404)623-7863  (404)381-1874
Kevin.Kellar@AtlantaGA.NCR.COM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: kevinc@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca (Kevin Crocker)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Question: Is the market predictable?
Date: 21 Jan 93 04:32:50 GMT

scc26mf@carina.unm.edu (Mark Fleharty) writes:

>Is the market predictable?  This is a question I have been wondering for
>quite some time.  I have been fooling around with moving averages, AI, and

Depends on whether you subscribe to the predictability of stoichastic
processes theory. Are random walks really random? Are markets truly
efficient? etc etc.

Since I'm on the other side of the fence (I don't believe that markets
are efficient) all I ever see is traders making money off of the
inefficiencies and inherent lags in market activity.

I believe that prices are both endogenous and dependent, thus the
question of randomness and predicatbility have totally different
genre's for me.

Anyway, I've developed a theory about (what I consider to be) the real
drivers in markets. Even had it accepted at a few international
conferences but no journal will publish it as it strikes at the heart
of some of the most fundamental axioms in finance and economic theory.

Oh well, at least this newsgroup is interesting.

Kevin
--
Kevin "autark" Crocker (Athabasca University)
kevinc@cs.AthabascaU.CA  -or-  risk@cs.AthabascaU.CA
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: pag@aurora.hao.ucar.edu (Peter Gross)
Subject: Re: Good 'Till Cancelled order processing
Keywords: NYSE, bid/ask????
Organization: Malco Partners
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 02:44:23 GMT

In article <5424@ceylon.gte.com> rv01@harvey.gte.com (Robert Virzi) writes:
>I have a good until cancelled order to sell some GTE stock @ $35.
>GTE is traded on the NYSE and usually has about a 1M shares volume
>in a day.  Since the order was placed, GTE has touched 35 twice,
>but the order has not executed.  This is not in itself unusual, but
>the explanation I got from one Olde Discount Broker droid has me
>puzzled.  Here is his explanation:
>
>"When NYSE intra-day highs/lows are shown, as in the WSJ, the high is
>always the ask side, while the low is the bid side of a spread, typically
>1/8 pt for a stock like GTE."

That is incorrect.  Your droid don't know sh*t from shinola.  For NYSE and AMEX
stocks, traded on specialist markets as opposed to the market maker system
of NASDAQ, the daily hi/lo prices reflect actual traded prices NOT bid/ask.
Your GTC order may not have been executed because:
    1.  Not enough shares traded at your limit price (35) to reach your order
    on the specialist's book.
    2.  The trades at 35 occurred on regional exchanges, not NYSE.
    3.  A very large block traded at 35, which "sized out the book", ie.,
    was for more shares than were offered.

In any case, get a droid who knows what's going on.
--
--peter gross
pag@scg.boulder.co.us
(303)-447-1374
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: manoj@i88.isc.com (Manoj Dalmia (STG))
Subject: Re: Raymond James and Associates
Organization: INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Naperville, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 17:20:26 GMT

There is also an article on Raymond James Assoc in the 1/25/93 (mon)
issue of the Wall Street Jl.

Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: linden@adcalc.fnal.gov
Subject: Re: Charles J. Givens Info
Followup-To: carp@iastate.edu
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 13:15:34 GMT

In article <C16ALD.CFx@news.iastate.edu>, carp@iastate.edu (Jeff Carpenter) writes:
> I am an independent representative for the Charles J. Givens Financial
> Organization.If anyone would like some information about this organization
> please respond to me and I will email you with information
> 

keep the damn advertisements off the net

BTW,  Givens is a rip off

Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: cctr114@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz (Bill Rea)
Subject: Re: Writing a Book
Organization: University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 20:03:09 GMT

Natalie Day (natd@iplmail.orl.mmc.com) wrote:
> Hi!
>   One goes through life trying to find the funnest way to become wealthy.  Well,
> I thought I 'd write a book.  I was just wondering.... once one has written a
> book, how much money does one dish out to a publisher, what percentage of sales
> come back (on the average) and are successful authors rich?

I once knew a sucessful author of the Mills and Boon lovey-dovey pulp
fiction type books. She churned about about four books a year and made
reasonable money at it. She wrote about 6-8 hours a day. So it was  a
full time job and she made a little bit more money than I do on average.
She only got paid once every three months and if sales had been slow
her budget was rather tight for the next three months. It was a living
but rich she was not.

                                                                     ___
Bill Rea                                                            (o o)
-------------------------------------------------------------------w--U--w---
| Bill Rea, Computer Services Centre, | E-Mail   b.rea@csc.canterbury.ac.nz |
| University of Canterbury,           | or     cctr114@csc.canterbury.ac.nz |
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