It’s a confusing time of the year for me.
I hate weeks like these. There are so many reasons why a stock my rise or fall in the last two weeks of the year. Stocks like Hansen Naturals (HANS) seem to be falling not because of their fundamentals, but because funds needs to balance out their portfolio. On the other hand, stocks like Google (GOOG) are rising because of terrific news that will impress their fundamentals. I want to avoid stocks like HANS this week because it’s tough to predict where they’re going. I hate to avoid stocks like GOOG because I wish I where going where they’re headed with them.
Sure, I could short HANS and go long in GOOG, but what’s the point? I feel a lot less certain of any move I’d make at this time of year. My current thinking is to not worry about it - I’ve had a great year so far. I could just sit on the sidelines and find as many stocks like HANS that I think will be poised to rise once 2006 starts. I could try to catch up on the backlog of a investment and financial books I’ve collected over the year. Shoot, maybe I ought to just stay away from the market altogether!
Times like these it’s important to remember that you don’t have to be making money in the market to enjoy it. Times like these are great for the research or clear headed diversions from the market that are so readily available. My best guess is that I’ll spend mine finding new stock picks and honing my chart reading skills. Whatever you do, just make sure that what you’re doing is designed to make you happy. There are a lot of great things going on around this time, all of which outweigh the stress that the stock market offers.
I’m sure I’ll post before then, but Happy Holidays to all of you!
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