Beginner having Trouble

[SimonPB]

Stock of a well-established and financially sound company that has demonstrated its ability to pay dividends in both good and bad times.

not to say that a blue chip won't go bust, nor that some big companes go bst or go through bad times.

[Shaun_Siddall]

Ok if you bought the R75k of SOL SSF's sell with your 4% +-R27k (36% in one day) and see what happens in the states on Monday...

[Preston]

RKL Do not feel bad , even Warren Buffet company has recently lost 20% of its share price.

[zeeman]

my portfolio must be better than Berkshire .. i made money !

[#5]

well what your bank had to say about them when they were a darling of the portfolio managers creates a very blue chip picture....

[#6]

THAT last year's top company, Dimension Data, appears once again near the top of the list should come as no surprise. Virtually every year since it became eligible for inclusion in the Top 100 Companies survey, Didata has occupied a position in the top 10. This year it slips to second place, with a total return to shareholders of 104.8%. ....that was just about when they took over Standrd Banks card processing division....not blue chip enough?

[SimonPB]

chartist, nope. not even close to blue chip by any classic definaition. In fact when I do my saturday presentation I use DDT as an example of a company that was not and is not blue chip. Doesn't mean one couldn't make money off it, doesnlt mean it doesn't have contracts etc. But it is most certainly not blue chip.

[ms]

i went through the same thing, lost over 100k because i thought trading futures and long term shares was the same thing. Most important lesson i learnt was to learn about technicals,dont bet the house, and pick up as much knowledge as you can

[#9]

No Simon of course its not blue chip now....my point is it was considered that....the whole point of my post that Blue chip status is no absolute guarantee that you get your money back over time....

[#10]

And Simon's point is that it was never a blue chip. How are you not understanding that? I don't like you, but I never thought you were stupid.

[SimonPB]

it certainly wasn't considered blue chip in 2000 or at any other stage since listing. But we seemingly have a different ideas about what the phrase means.

[#12]

Jezebel ...once again an edifying contribution from you ...I dont know how you do it...you don't contribute much but when you do its really jam packed with useful stuff...Simon...yes there are is no universally agreed definition of Blue Chip....what there is absolute ceratinty is that in its heyday....Didata was often reffered to as Blue Chip...

[Electrox]

I think in most cases, a beginner who starts out alwasys goes into buying shares first with a long term view and after 2-3weeks from reading froums and other peoples opinion, start hearing abouts ssf, low traading costs And the word gearing. This ultimately feeds on their emotions and gets them sucked into becoming a ssf or warrant trader with little if not zero experience in this game. all of a sudden margin calls come in and they have to sell their first bought underlying shares to boost more cash into their account or risk taking the loss. My point is greed causes newbie investors to become active inexpereinced traders.

[SimonPB]

sure, it was going to take over the world. new economy etc. But it was BS and a little common sense at the time showed that perfectly. At one stage the growth of cisco meant it would be worth more then the entire planet by about 2015. However the fact that people bought into the BS and decided DDT was blue chip never actually made it blue chip. just meant many had lost their mind.

[#15]

agreed 100% ...but these ppl that lost their minds were from the big banks and the respected investment community....

[SimonPB]

and it is happening again with sub prime.

[barry_1]

Agree with u Simon,pity though nobody told Nedbank traders that traded on the banks behalf that! heh,heh .At the ime of DDT's rise i was advised by those traders which i shall leave nameless to climb into a blue chip.Thats how the bank landed in trouble and i lost some money.

[striker]

I notice we have'nt heard a peep from RLK since that first posting. Probably totally confused by now ,and gone back to a day job !!!

[#19]

Enron was among the leading blue chip values until its fall. -Enron and Beyond - Julia K. Brazelton

[striker]

Chartist - Just noticed Jesabels comment.I this person your ex-wife or something? If not what's her problem ? Got to say that I have always found your input insightful and whilst contraversial at times mostly accurate.Keep it up !!