HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet)
Subject: Re: Buying stock with a friend
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories,  Columbus, Ohio
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 20:30:52 GMT

In article <By6GCu.qK.1@cs.cmu.edu> tjochem@d3.ius.cs.cmu.edu (Todd Jochem) writes:
>A friend of mine and I are thinking about buying a stock togther but we have
>some questions. He works at a financial service company which operates a 
>brokerage house and can get really cheap commissions, the only thing is that the
>purchase must be in his name. I don't mind if the stock is in his name but we are
>concerned about how taxation will occur if we follow this course.
>
>Does anyone have any suggestions about this situation??

Sounds strange that they won't allow him to open a joint account.

I suppose you can draw up a contract in which you have an equal
share in this account.  Could be trouble if you disagree later.
If he has possession you would have to sue him, and that could get
expensive and time consuming.

But it really boils down to trust.  If you trust each other, draw up
an agreement, and work it out.



Taxes are the least of your concern.

Assume the form 1099s all go to him.  On his tax form he says:

   To Nominee Taxpayer ID nnn-nnn-nnnn     ($nn.nn)   and deducts
                   that amount.  On your tax return you say:

  From Nominee Taxpayer ID mmm-mm-mmmm     ($nn.nn) and you add it
                       to your return.



-- 
Art Kamlet  a_s_kamlet@att.com  AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Subject: Re: Mutual Funds, year end distributions, Dec. withdrawals
Organization: Unocal Corporation
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 22:41:37 GMT

In article <1992Nov23.194359.29833@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> troy@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Troy Cauble) writes:
>
>I have some Mutual Fund shares that (typically) have cap gains
>distributions at the end of the year.  It's appeared in the
>past that the distribution is subtracted directly from the
>share price, so that suddenly you owe taxes even though you've
>had no net gain (as compared to the day before).
>
>Is this correct?   It makes a kind of sense to me.
>
>Anyway, I'm thinking of withdrawing a sizable amount soon for
>a new car purchase.  Would it be to my advantage to do this
>before the distribution as opposed to after?  Or will I somehow
>be taxed for this "gain" anyway.
>
Selling timing makes little difference under the current tax code.
You are taxed according to the difference in buying and selling price plus
the distribution.

The timing of buying makes a little difference.  If you bought in November,
you'd be taxed for the distribution in Dec, which would probably be higher
than the gain in the fund.  However, you'd get that back eventually when you
sold the funds, or in distributions in future years.  However, Uncle Sam
would be getting this money earlier than average, instead of it working for
you.

Not all funds have large distributions in the same way not all stocks pay
dividends.  Some funds are designed to buy low-dividend stocks (low yield
distributions) or not to sell stocks very often (defer selling gains).
Read your prospectus for the investing philosophy.

>If this "works", what keeps a person from repeatedly selling
>before distributions and buying back after?  (Assuming a no-load fund.)

(1) Wash-sale laws saying you can't declare tax benefits on repurchases
too soon after sales.
(2) Short-term gains penalties (currently not in effect), but have traditionally
been six months.


Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: billj@b11.ingr.com (Bill Johnson)
Subject: Re: Need ph. number of a discount broker
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 18:42:59 GMT

In article <2403@h.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu>, smp@cs.wvu.wvnet.edu (Shailesh M. Potnis) writes:
|> 
|> 	I am looking for a telephone number of a discount broker, Robinson &
|> Co.  I have delt with them in the past but do not seem to locate them now.
|> Are they still in the business?.  I would also appreciate any suggestions of
|> discount brokers.
|> 
|> BTW	Nobody actually answers the 800 number of Brown and Co.
|> 
|> 	All comments and suggestions are highly appreciated.
|> 
|> 	Thanks in advance.
|> 
|> 	Shailesh

I use OLDE Discount Broker.  I have received excellent service to date, and their
commission schedule is very reasonable, considering the service.  I use the
office in Raleigh, NC.  THe number is 1-800-672-9777, talk with Jack Vitale.

Here's the commission schedule as published in their latest "Stock Research
Update":

Stock Price            1-100 shares    200    300     400    500
$ 1-5                     $20          $25     $30    $35    $40
$ 5-20                    $40          $50     $60    $70    $80
$ > 20                    $40          $60     $80    $90    $100

OLDE is offering a free stock trade for anyone that transfers their current
brokerage account to OLDE.


Bill


Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: jxm@engin.umich.edu (John Murray)
Subject: Re: buying foreign currency for the little guy
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 19:13:12 EST
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor

In article <1992Nov17.030838.8906@informix.com> proberts@informix.com (Paul Roberts) writes:
>
>I believe that some large US bank (Citibank?) offers an account
>whereby you can switch between different currencies whenever you
>wish, PLUS you earn interest on your foreign currency holdings
>at a rate comparable to interest rates in the "target" country
>(ie generally higher than in the US).
>
>I think this only recently became possible due to some change in US law.
 
Yes, this is true. US residents used to be prohibited from holding
accounts in foreign currencies, domestically anyway. I believe Fidelity
offers several currency mutual funds (not no-load) which you can switch
between. Currency funds are quite common in Europe, but they are still not 
allowed to accept customers in the US. However, I think regular bank
non-resident savings accounts can be opened, but I don't know of any
which will do currency switching easily. If anyone knows of the US bank
mentioned above, I'd be interested in hearing about it. 

John Murray
Univ. of Michigan
From: chedley@carthago.intel.com (CHEDLEY_AOURIRI)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: More Opetions.
Date: 19 Nov 92 02:21:11 GMT
Reply-To: chedley@carthago.intel.com (CHEDLEY_AOURIRI)
Organization: Intel-Corp,_Hillsboro,_Oregon

In article <Ef2LBQz0Bwx5E0vZU7@transarc.com>, Jim_Laredo@transarc.com writes:
|> So assume that I wrote 10 call contract options due in March at a strike price
|> of $15, and therefore I got a premium of 10x$Y =  $X right away.
|> As we approach march, the stock has gone down a bit in price and the market
|> is trading those call options at $Z per contract, where $Z << $Y, so it makes
|> sense to go ahead and buy 10 contracts at $Z each and eliminate all the risk
|> involved in this transaction.
|>...

When you buy back the 10 contracts, your position is closed
and you are off the hook. Essentially, you sold 10 contracts and
then bought them back when their price dropped.!!
To play it safe, make sure you ask your broker to close your 
position when you place the buy order.

Then, you will NOT be called no matter what happens to the stock's price.

-- 
..CHEDLEY..
..!{uunet|tektronix|ogicse}!littlei!chedley    chedley@carthago.intel.com     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard Disclaim: The above statements and opinions are strictly mine,
and do not represent any company or organization's position.
......................................................................

Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Inflation Coming? (Gold?)
From: gary@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 19:11:31 CST
Organization: Garys' Home for Obsolete Computers

lib@cbnews.cb.att.com (Lib) writes:

> In article <24560004@hpgnd153.grenoble.hp.com> errol@hpgnd153.grenoble.hp.com
> .......
> >If you still want to play it, go with gold stocks.  Gold stocks are cheap
> >(Homestake Mining - $11) so in the short term, you might make some money.  L
>    
> Is it the price of the stock that determines whether it is cheap?

No. Price relative to the stocks' potential return, or to it's book
value.

If price alone were the criteria, penny stocks would be an incredible
deal. They generally are the *worst* value...

Gary Heston, at home....
gary@cdthq.uucp
From: jb6k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joel Bloch)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Dean Witter brokerage
Date: 23 Nov 92 05:53:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.Uf4Dtu_00iUz02jsFS
Organization: Doctoral student, English, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

I've dealt with Dean Witter for a number of years and I've never seen a
fee schedule, but they are comparable with other full service brokers. I
had originally posted last summer that I was able to buy one share of
stock for $5 commission but that was not a company policy but what I
arranged with my own broker.
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: mcdonald@cs.sfu.ca (Ken Mcdonald)
Subject: Re: Warrents
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 21:00:25 GMT


From a previous post:
>>>
I don't get it. Options are insurance policies. Options
on options are reinsurance. What is the objection to
either, and why shouldn't they be traded as securities?
<<<

The idea of insurance is fine; the problems arise when one starts getting
enough options volume so that the options must be considered as commodities
(items in their own right), rather than as a minor cost associated with
stabilizing a portfolio.  In such a case, the amplifying effect of options
can be very dangerous.  Consider a bull market, where people are speculation
(not hedging, speculating) in options by buying calls.  If for some reason
a bear market, even a minor one, occurs, a great many people may find that
they have lost ALL of their money--not just the one-fourth or one-third they
would have lost if they'd been holding the stocks.  Under the right
circumstances, this may trigger selling, and turn a minor bear into to
major one.

This problem is yet another case of the more general economic problem that
is usually seen with credit, but is more correctly termed a problem of
unsupported expectations.  In stable or predictable (which generally means
good, i.e. UP UP UP) financial markets, people gradually lose sight of the
fact that bears do come wandering buy, and spend/invest ahead of their
guaranteed means.  (Think of all those people who thought that house
prices would rise forever.)  When the market goes bad, a whole slew of
people--possibly even a majority of the investing public--are suddenly
faced with the realization that they are in way over their heads.   The
result is a precipitous drop in their spending, and possibly other
money-saving activities (in the extreme case, bankruptcy), which has the
effect of disrupting the smooth flow of capital in the economy.  The result
is a degree of turbulence which, if it gets bad enough, can take down
even prudent businesses and individuals, as well as those who were
speculating.

Ken McDonald
mcdonald@cs.sfu.ca
From: bd670@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Russell I. Dyreng)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Variable Annuity Life Insurance Plans...
Date: 23 Nov 1992 23:32:53 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


>I would appreciate some pointers on Life Insurance plans that I 
>have heard called "Variable Tax Deferred Annuity" plans.  A 
>Prudential sales-critter is pushing us towards one.  I am 
>self-employed and this seems like a good way to bury a little 
>cash white "covering my a**".  Is this true?
>
>I know you have to look out for the "Modified Endowment" 
>clauses.  Outside of that are there other things we should be 
>asking this guy?
>
>Are there other companies offering better plans than Prudential 
>has?
>
>What tax benefits / problems am I looking at?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Karl  

Some things that I would personally look at are:

1.  The types of funds that you can move your money in and out
of.  Are they good, solid, well managed funds?  Also in the same
vein, do you have a variety of funds available?  I would want 
one that allows me to move my money between stock funds, bond 
funds and money market funds, not just a variety of bond and 
balanced funds.  I have understand that one time Prudential
didn't offer a stock fund.  I don't know if this is still the 
case, but I would check it out.

2.  What types of loads and commissions are there?  With 
annuities you particularly have to watch for back-end fees, such
as surrender fees.  Some companies charge as high as 10% in the 
first year, and then decline annually by one percentage point 
for the next TEN years.  Most have some sort of a surrender fee.
I would try to find one as low a surrender fee as possible, also
one with a short term.  You may not like the company, or even
find a better deal after a while.  

I have noticed a direct correlation between the agressiveness 
of the sales person and the amount paid by the "stickee" in 
commissions.  

I know of a few companies that have reasonably good variable
annuities with relatively low fees.  I don't have them in front
of me right now though.  If you are interested, drop me a line.

Good luck.
-- 
Russ
bd670@cleveland.freenet.edu
Remember-any advice that I give you may be worth exactly what
you paid for it.
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: tdubois@nis.Naitc.Com (Tom Dubois)
Subject: Sogen International
Organization: AC Nielsen Co., Bannockburn IL
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 19:10:10 GMT

Sogen International looks like an excellent "World" mutual fund.  However it hasa 3.75% load if purchased from Sogen.  I've heard you can get it as a no load 
through some brokerage service.  Does anyone know how to get Sogen without a 
load?
From: arun@natinst.com
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: NEED ADVICE-IS IT WORTH TO SPEND MONEY ON HUME's Series
Date: 19 Nov 1992 14:18:44 -0600
Organization: National Instruments, Austin, TX
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: falcon.natinst.com

SUB:  NEED ADVICE- ARE HUME's SERIES OF LESSONS ON MONEY MATTERS GOOD


Dear Netters:
	I am posting this for a friend who does not have access to the net.
Please e-mail to this account, since I rarely read news.  
Thanks a lot in anticipation.

	My friend is wondering if the Hume's Series of Lessons (Atlanta, GA)
on successful money management and their other three categories of lessons 
are useful and worth the money.
Any experiences or suggestions will be greatly appreicated.

arun

Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: floydb@rpi.edu
Subject: Re: Writing options
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 15:26:25 GMT

Anyone regularly writing out-of-the money put or call spreads?
(1 put at X strike price Y expiration and 1 call at same X & Y)

I am interested in moving on from buying puts and calls to 
writing options, and spreads seemed to be the least risk oriented
first step (vs naked puts or calls). Any opinions?

A spread would seem to be a good way to bet that the market
or stock is going to move side-ways for a while (until expiration),
vs up or down. Correct?

If you bet wrong and the market or stock does move up or down more
than the strike +/- premium what is the best way to close the 
position? buy back both options, buy back the losing option, buy
stock/sell stock short, etc.? Opinions?

e-mail or post, please

barry
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: December wash sale effect
Date: 18 Nov 92 16:29:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: unocal.1992Nov18.162951.24724
Distribution: usa
Organization: Unocal Corporation

In article <1992Nov18.034808.7494@Happy-Man.com> Irving_Wolfe@Happy-Man.com writes:
>In <1992Nov17.153144.6729@bostech.com> fardad@bostech.com (Fardad Farahmand) writes:
>
>>Is it true that historically when price of a given stock falls
>>dramatically ... that the price is
>>likely to fall during December due to selling for tax benefits?
>
>It's true that the price in the last days of the year is likely to
>be lower, due to tax-motivated selling, than it would otherwise be.
>Some years ago, the price-depression was most evident in the last
>few days of the year, but in the past few years, it seems that more
>of this selling took place early, leading to some recovery in the
>last week (or before).

Agreed.  I've been in mutuals the past five years.  2 and 3 years ago I
noticed a January rise that I thought was due to above mentioned tax
purposes.  Last I timed some buying in December on the day my fund family
went dividend and caught the earlier than usual rise of about 10%.
It is kind of tricky with my fund family.  They usually declare about
two weeks before issuing the dividends.  The dates are not the same from
year to year nor from fund to fund.  If I am lucky, I'll see the "x" in
the paper, but it is better to call to be sure.
From: venky@thelonious.bellcore.com (G A Venkatesh)
Subject: Re: Neural Nets Based Systems
Reply-To: venky@thelonious.bellcore.com (G A Venkatesh)
Organization: Bellcore, Morristown NJ
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 18:56:52 GMT

In article <1992Nov9.150959.26529@philabs.philips.com> ehf@philabs.philips.com (Eberhard Fisch) writes:
>
>I am interested in investigating the potential of neural networks for forcasting
>markets. Im looking for articles or books dealing with the application of neural
>nets for forcasting market moves or finding patterns that occur in markets. I
>am not looking for, nor do I expect, neural nets or any other model for 
>market analysis to be a magic solution. I just want to see whether neural network
>based systems have merit. 

I don't know where you could find more information about them but there are
at least two mutual funds (Fidelity Disciplined Equity and Fidelity Stock
Selector) that use a neural net program to help with their buy/sell decisions.
They seem to be doing well but I don't know how much the programs help.

venky
From: al037@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dave Polewka)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Wang Labs -- any info?
Date: 23 Nov 1992 05:16:37 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: al037@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dave Polewka)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc4.ins.cwru.edu



Can it make a comeback?
Someone said Wang owns the rights to the SIMMS chip,
and has an infringement lawsuit in progress. ??????
-- 
=======================
"Endeavor to persevere"
=======================
From: alvin@zany.mti.sgi.com (Alvin Oga)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Careers in reverse mortgages
Date: 24 Nov 1992 04:44:38 GMT
Organization: Mips Technologies, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: alvin@zany.mti.sgi.com (Alvin Oga)
NNTP-Posting-Host: zany.mti.sgi.com

In article <168A4D0F8.RKSHUKLA@SUVM.SYR.EDU>, RKSHUKLA@SUVM.SYR.EDU (Ravi Shukla) writes:
|> One of my students sent me the following query.
|>  
|>   I might have a chance to get in on the ground floor of the reverse
|>   mortgages market working with one of the leading national figures in the
|>   area (I'm friends with his kid). What kind of a future do you see in
|>   this area?
|>  
|> Since I do not have any practical experience in reverse mortgages, I am asking
|> your help in providing some lead to the student.
|>  
|> Thank you
|> Ravi Shukla

CAUTION...CAUTION....

Reverse mortgages have been around for 5- 20 years...depending on how
you count....It's only recently that it became very popular 'gimick' to
convert some equity into cash...

There are some very reputable companies providing such services..
However, there are far more 'marginal brokers' providing such
services or lack thereof....

Furthermore, in some states, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A REAL
ESTATE LICENSE TO PROVIDE SUCH SERVICES....not that
the license is  hard or meaningful...just another way to get some money
for somebody...

Before jumping into any 'business venture'....ALWAYS DO YOUR OWN
INDEPENDENT HOMEWORK....

My $0.2 worth... I think that most of these 'scams' will hit the fan when
people find out that they lost their equity in their homes, because of 
improper consultations and mis-guided poor devils....

Oh well...
alvin		alvin@mti.sgi.com
(408)988-8500
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet)
Subject: Re: Writing options
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories,  Columbus, Ohio
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 21:39:46 GMT

In article <q6y1xla@rpi.edu> floydb@rpi.edu writes:
>Anyone regularly writing out-of-the money put or call spreads?
>(1 put at X strike price Y expiration and 1 call at same X & Y)
>
>I am interested in moving on from buying puts and calls to 
>writing options, and spreads seemed to be the least risk oriented
>first step (vs naked puts or calls). Any opinions?
>
>A spread would seem to be a good way to bet that the market
>or stock is going to move side-ways for a while (until expiration),
>vs up or down. Correct?

Well, out of the money writes can be spread easily:

Limited (LTD - NYSE) had been floundering between 22 and 24 for a
while, but was the 3rd most traded issue Wednesday, and is above
26 today.


Which is good because I had written:

  LTD Nov 25 puts
  LTD Nov 30 call

That's really not wide enough for comfort, but it looks today
(Thursday pm) that I'll make out on both sides.


A more comfortable spread -- if it existed, would now be to write

  LTD Feb 20 puts
  LTD Feb 35 calls   -- possibly 30 but I have too much hope LTD
                          will trade over 30 by February


>If you bet wrong and the market or stock does move up or down more
>than the strike +/- premium what is the best way to close the 
>position? buy back both options, buy back the losing option, buy
>stock/sell stock short, etc.? Opinions?

When I do this I usually close both sides at once.  What I lose on
one side I usually make back on the other.

-------

Having admited to this secret vice of mine, I should add that I
usually -- most of the time -- restrict myself to writing covered
calls.   This naked and spread stuff keep me watching the small
print too much.  (Some of my Limited calls are covered, BTW :^)
-- 
Art Kamlet  a_s_kamlet@att.com  AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: strick@cedar.hao.ucar.edu (Douglas Strickland)
Subject: Virtual Reality company stocks
Organization: High Alititude Observatory/NCAR, Boulder CO
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:18:49 GMT


Hello:

      Does anyone know of any up-and-coming VR (Virtual Reality) companies
that offer stock shares to the public? I am very interested in investing in
this field.

      Any information is appreciated. Please share your opinions in this
matter.

      E-mail or post are both welcome.

Mike Shen
shen@euler.cpi.com


Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: jli@bingham.utah.edu (Jianliang Li)
Subject: ~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON COMPANY MUTUAL FUNDS ~~~~~~~~~~ 
Organization: University of Utah
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 04:21:58 GMT


	I need your comments and advice on Boston Company mutual funds.
What is good and what is not good about the BC funds?  I plan to invest
but have no idea about the company.  Therefore, any ideas, comments and
suggestions on any fund are warmly welcome.  Please e-mail to me:

	JLI@MINES.UTAH.EDU

	Thanks in advance.


Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: brian_h@tharil.dev.cdx.mot.com (Brian Hodgson)
Subject: Newbridge
Summary: Info/Rumours
Keywords: Newbridge, P/E
Organization: Motorola Codex, Canton, Massachusetts
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 19:25:11 GMT

Does anyone know why Newbridge has increased so dramatically in the last
couple of months (year)?  The stock has gone from $6 to $30 in the last
12 months, and from $18 in August (I think).  I know they have turned
around from a loss scenario, but are they making mounds now? Does anyone
know their expected earnings for this quarter, year? Any big deals
recently signed?


Newsgroups: misc.invest