Monday, May 29, 2006

Famous Quotations about the Stock Market and Investing

"I made my money by selling too soon. " Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) financier & economist

"If a little money does not go out, great money will not come in."Confucius (551BC - 479BC) philosopher

"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. "Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) author, printer, inventor, diplomat, scientist

"Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it." Will Rogers (1879 - 1935) cowboy, entertainer, humorist

When asked what the stock market will do, J.P Morgan (1837-1913) (banker, financier, businessman) replied:"It will fluctuate."

"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith."Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) philosopher & mathematician

"Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered." Anonymous

"Don't try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. It can't be done except by liars." Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) financier & economist

The above courtesy of InvestmentTrivia.com Used with permission.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

More Shareholder Freebies

As a followup to my previous blog, there are additional benefits to shareholders who attend shareholder meetings, for certain corporations.

Time Warner has been known to be very generous with a big goodie bag filled with everything from CD's to magazines to books, etc.

Disney used to give out free passes to Disneyland when they held their annual meetings in Anaheim in years passed. The Anaheim Convention Center was filled with families with little kids. The parents were smart enough to by shares in their children's name in addition to their own shareholdings, and every shareholder who walked through the door, even if they were in a stroller, got a Disneyland pass for the day. Then several years ago, Disney started holding their meetings in various cities around the country and stopped giving out passes. The annual meeting this year was held in Anaheim, but I was unable to attend, so I'm not sure if they gave out passes this time or not.

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to know prior to the meeting if a company will be giving out anything or not. But if I hear anything, I will keep you posted.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Shareholder Freebies AKA Corporate Freebies

What are 'Shareholder Freebies' (which are also known as 'Corporate Freebies')? Those are the free things (or benefits) that you get by being a shareholder of a company, over and above any dividends or growth in stock price.

As an example, the local Radio Shack store has informed me that Radio Shack gives a 10% discount to shareholders of Radio Shack, and that to prove ownership, I would just need to bring in a Radio Shack stock certificate or copy of a stock brokerage firm statement showing my shareholdings.

Some recent corporate freebies that have turned up are:

Shareholders of the Boston Beer Company (who elected to receive their annual reports in printed form) received a Samual Adams Talking Beer Bottle Opener.

Shareholders of California Water Service Group (who elected to receive their annual reports in printed form) received twelve recipe cards, for such things as Strawberry-Mango Smoothie, Portuguese Sweet Bread, and Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup.

Shareholders of McDonalds (who elected to receive their annual reports in printed form) received a coupon for an Asian Salad for free at any McDonalds. This coupon appears between page 12 and 13 of the annual report. The company probably places it there to see how many people actually read the report.

I will post other corporate freebies as I come across them.