ok lets get a debate going.

[john_1]

who thinks we have seen the lows, who thinks the market is going to 12000 lets hear your views, stratergies wishes...who lost money last year who made money..etc..lets get talking

[#2]

I started trading in October (what a time to start) so not so clued up as others on the forum but I say we've reached the lows but probably stay flat for a while over this year. In terms of money made or lost ive lost a lot (in percentage terms) but havent had that much money in and have learnt so much in the losses that it'll probably help me in the long run.... i think

[john_1]

what made you start in October, and what did you learn from losing cash

[PaulC]

I dont think we have seen the lows. I dont know how low we are going to go in fact I have no idea at all. I think once the december earnings seasons number come out a lot of retailers are going to be dissapointing. Also I think many business are still to fail. So far we have seen banks in the US and Euro go under. Credit has all but dried up with people unwilling to lend dispite massive cash injections from the FED and ECB. As lots of business rely on credit to forward order their stocks I think a lot of these business will fail. As such people looking to buy shares should look for cash rich ones. On the upside all this bailout business is ultimatley going to be inflationary and thats good enws for comodities especially precious metals. Although the mining shares do often outperform the metals I think having a good position in gold (GLD for those who dont want to own physical) is a good idea going forward. Dispite those who think its a relic :) Comments? - P

[#5]

I turned 21 so got hold of some cash to get started. Learnt lots about staying in and getting out of markets, trying to block out emotion (as hard as it is), taking profits and not being greedy etc

[nala]

i lost money-going back to school-need to learn philosphy

[PILOT_ROB]

Started mid Oct - made good money (so far mainly on OML - a company I don't really rate, but good volumes and volatility). Made a bit on Amplats. Lost badly on SOL when stop loss kicked in at 10% (this was a particularly tough one as the share went absolutely crazy upwards shortly afterwards) - but need DISCIPLINE. Currently back into OML and bought REI for the long term (very very frustrated with this one). Don't feel I have the expertise to predict the market, but believe the volatility is good for traders. Have sucessful business, but trying trading for a year to see how it goes. Thanks for all the advice to the fellow forumites !!

[dbm]

I think the market is turning. The actual date of the turn was the 20 Nov. Its a great time to pickup Cheap stock. I am going for the Construction Industry and dirt cheap low PE Ratio stuff. ATR ESR MRF MTX PKH SAN. I do believe a pull back will come but not for now. The GLD option is also a good for the longer TERM

[SimonPB]

john, the low is completely unimportant. In fact if part of a trader or investors strategy is based on a low (or a high) they're busted, coz you never know until way after.

now orf, back in another week .

[Blik]

Are predictions not dangerous? I certainly cant make a prediction on a low. But am sticking to what I have at the moment.

[#11]

I started in Oct 2007, started slowly building my positions, making miustakes, losing money on falling stocks hehe. Now that I feel more comfortable with my strategy & methodology of valuing a company, I pushed in a lot of cash buying "cheap" stocks. So far I am sitting at -4.3% (inclusive of all trading costs & excluding dividends). I agree that we have not seen the bottom of teh market, but certain stocks are ready to turn in the next 2 - 3 months. Conversely quite a few sectors that are still to fall far from their pe's of 15 etc.

[Shard]

I sometimes like to see the market as a ratio of Fundamentals and Emotion. The ratio is tending towards the Fundamentals now and shares that were under valued by the dive the market took on emotion are coming back into line. How long will this return to sanity last? I want to say we've seen the bottom of this but I think all we've seen is a slowdown over the festive period with holiday spending proping up and masking the underlying issues in the cash and credit markets. Less activity and small volumes are also something to consider. I think about March we'll see some more downside. Also have to see if this war escalates in Gaza.

[Werner_1]

Still on holidays, but check now and then... I believe 2009 will be a much better year, markets will recover during this year, but economies will take a while longer... I wouldnt say we reached a low or not, thats guessing, but i firmly believe that this year will be a good year and i am well positioned with my long term portfolio and have added to my strategic positions and the rewards will present themselves soon.

[#14]

Started feb 2008. Lost at first. Interesting to note, lost on same shares newbies are touting, ATR, MRF etc. And now the new equivalent REI. But made 25% in last 2 months, SOL, AGL BHP... . Guess you pay for practicle education and nothing can replace it. And I'm still a newbie.