Talking Stocks

Moving on from my last blog post about technology, I am going to blog today about stocks and the stock market, another interest of mine.  The most important thing to remember about the stock market, in light of recent events like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropping significantly for several days in a row, is not to panic and sell when there is a big drop.  Hold on for the long term, invest in companies that have good products and services that you believe in, and -eventually - watch the gainful returns come in!  

Regarding particular stocks, I have a bit to say.  Some of the favorites that I follow are Visa (V), Apple (AAPL), Starbucks (SBUX), and Tesla (TSLA).  These stocks span across different categories of companies, from payments to technology to discretionary food service, and finally to automobile companies.  The stocks I just mentioned are not "cheap," ranging in price from $66.85 per share (as of today's close) for Visa to $220.03 per share for Tesla Motors, but they are companies that I believe in with good products.  Hopefully they will be around for the long haul, and I can accumulate gains from them in a buy-and-hold strategy.  

As will all investors in the stock market, I do not always pick winners (I wish I did, but no - that is not the case).  Groupon (GRPN), the Chicago-based daily deal and e-commerce website, has been one such dud that I thought would do well when I first looked into it about 2 years ago.  However, the price has dropped from over $10 per share about 2 years ago, to a measly $4 per share in today's market.  All I can say is that, ouch! - that stock price drop hurts.  At this point, though, it is best to hold on in hopes that either A. the company turns around its business and starts creating returns for investors, or B. Groupon is acquired by another big tech firm, such as Google or even Amazon (although I think the share price would have to drop even more for this to happen).  Roundy's (RNDY), another Midwest-based company (this one with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) in the grocery store/supermarket business, has done dismally with its stock.  Roundy's is considered a small-cap stock (with a market cap. of only $107 million or so), and includes the Mariano's brand that has been expanding in the Chicagoland region.  It is clear the Wisconsin part of the business is not doing as well as the Chicagoland/Illinois part, and in that lies the crux of the problem with this stock.  From where RNDY was about 2 years ago, just a smidge above $10 per share, to where it is today at a dismal (and I mean dismal) $2.24 per share, it all just shows red ink and a net loss for many investors like myself.  Roundy's should and needs to turn around as a company.  Maybe, it can spin-off the Mariano's part of the business into a separate stock.  Now, that would be nice.

Moving on, in general resources regarding the stock market, there is a lot out there to research.  I prefer Google Finance.  There are databases that you can access through your local public library such as Morningstar (a good one), and ValueLine as well.  Valuable periodicals that follow investments include Forbes, Fortune, and Bloomberg Businessweek - a personal favorite of mine when researching stocks and the investment field in general.  Following investment companies, stock-picking and watching individuals, investment commentators, and the such on Twitter is also recommended.  I tend to tweet and re-tweet about investments, stocks,  and businesses under my Twitter name, BTrzop23, quite a bit as well - so check me out on Twitter (a shameless plug, lol)!  I believe that doing all of this reading and research gives one a certain edge regarding the stock market.

So, that is all for now.  Thanks for reading, and...Happy Investing! :-) 

-BTrzop

http://btrzop.blogspot.com

New Topic: Let's Talk about Tech!

Now that I work at the "tech help desk" of a local library, I feel inclined to write about technology and the technology industry as it now stands.  I am definitely a "fan" of tech - from Facebook to Twitter, with a little Pinterest and (the new) Windows 10 and Apple iPhone 6 in there as well.  I tend to periodically check some great tech websites like www.theverge.com, www.techcrunch.com, and www.mashable.com just to name some of the sites.  When it comes to Apple or PC, I use both...although I am definitively more comfortable on a Windows-run PC than an Apple MacBook with iOS - whatever version of the operating system on it.  I have even dabbled at using Ubuntu, which is a form of the Linux operating system.  Lately, I have stuck to learning the "ins and outs" of Microsoft Windows 10 on my laptop, which came out very recently (July 29th).  

Besides using a laptop, desktop, and iPad tablet, I constantly am using and exploring my Apple iPhone 6.  I really did pay too much for it, but it is definitely quicker in processor speed and sharper in image than my previous cell phone, the iPhone 5.  This all proves that I enjoy tech in its many forms.  

Lately, I have also begun to delve into my old mp3 collection from college and post-college on my external hard drive.  There are really some gems in there, including the Incubus song "Nice to Know You" and Eric Clapton's song "Tears in Heaven," among many, many others.  I am really impressed at how far music and tech has come along from vinyls (some of which I do own - think Beach Boys and Tom Petty for starters) to cassettes to CDs to mp3s, and finally to streaming music on smartphones and tablets.  I enjoy listening to Spotify as I prepare for work, while Sirius XM satellite radio beams music and political/financial talk radio to me as I drive to work.  Here, you can see the intersection of technology and music in my life.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  

I have to say that another interest of mine, analyzing stocks and the stock market, has been helped by my use of technology.  Google Finance, which can be found at http://finance.google.com, is one of my favorites.  Google in general is a great resource, from Drive to Gmail to Finance, and back around to Google News (which collects news information on a variety of topics and categories, which can be customized to you the user).  The recent financial news that Google's "non-core" businesses will be part of the new "Alphabet" Company is a welcoming development.  It caused Google stock to shoot up in trading (the stock can be found at ticker symbols GOOGL and GOOG, depending on which share class one is looking for), and for it's shareholders that is a good thing.

There are other areas I could talk about regarding tech, but I feel this is enough for now.  I hope the readers out there have enjoyed this tech blog post.

-BTrzop

(http://btrzop.blogspot.com)

A new kind of music discovered... electro swing!!

So...this is the first time I have written a blog entry since last summer, summer 2011.  I am definitely overdue, so here it is.  I have a genre of music on my mind, and that is electro swing! :-)  It is a combination of electronica/dance music, and swing music that was popular in the 1930s.  I first learned about it from my cousin, so I have to give him credit.  Upon reading about the genre in Wikipedia (of course), I learned that electro swing has its origins in the UK and is popular mainly in Europe.  Here's to hoping that the music becomes more popular here in the US!  The Wikipedia entry for electro swing music is as follows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_swing .  So far, the leading artists in electro swing as written by Wikipedia - Caravan Palace and Parov Stelar - have sparked my interest.  Here is a YouTube video of a Caravan Palace mix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sBZdSHAIZI&list=FLaKh1wyO4hCm9m4LSiSrfkA&index=11&feature=plpp_video ... and, to not be excluded, here is a YouTube video of  a guy named TSC-Forsythe dancing to the song Catgroove by Parov Stelar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twqM56f_cVo&feature=BFa&list=FLaKh1wyO4hCm9m4LSiSrfkA&lf=plpp_video ... not only is the music great, but the guy's moves are amazing...lol...If anyone is interested in buying the music of Caravan Palace or Parov Stelar, I found MP3 albums of both artists at Amazon's MP3 website, http://mp3.amazon.com for reasonable prices...check it out!

Thanks for reading...I hope you enjoyed this as a reader!

-Brian
http://btrzop.blogspot.com

"A Better Life" movie review

I have to say that upon seeing the film "A Better Life" in the movie theater today with a good friend, I was prompted afterward to write a review...the reason is the movie was that good.  First, before I begin I have to share the link for the trailer that first prompted my interest in this film.  It is http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi105093657/. Ok, now for the review...this movie is about an illegal Mexican that raises his American born teenager in modern day Los Angeles, in the barrio of the city nonetheless. It really is a heartwarming story of a single dad trying to do the best for his son and his family, and all the things both good and bad that happen because of it. Of course, there is the political aspect of the film, namely illegal immigration in this country from Mexico...but the film really makes you think, and it is quite the tearjerker (which are the type of movies I typically like...I know...haha). This movie is so good that I will consider buying it on blu-ray when it comes out. That's enough for now on the film "A Better Life."


-Brian
http://btrzop.blogspot.com

CCM music (Contemporary Christian Music)...a positive commentary

So here goes my second blog post on blogspot.com...I wanted to write something about one o-f my great enjoyments in life...CCM music...the common abbreviation given to Contemporary Christian Music...Ever since I was 18 years of age, I have been a fan of Christian music, of the pop, rock, and worship variety.  Positive and encouraging K-Love, which is 94.3 FM in the Chicagoland area, is the type of top-notch Christian radio that I just love to listen to.  Listening to the stuff has gotten me through the "best of times and the worst of times" in life. I owe a lot to the positive and encouraging operation that is K-Love radio...The great website for that radio station, which is available nationally on different FM radio frequencies, is www.klove.com ... check it out if you have the chance!  Some of my favorite Christian artists are Casting Crowns (I have been listening to them since 2003 when their platinum selling album Casting Crowns came out and the band toured with Steven Curtis Chapman...I have seen them perform at a few Christian music festivals, along with when I first saw them at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago when they first started to get big in the Christian music scene), BarlowGirl (this band of three sisters started at Willow Creek Community Church, so I have to give a shot out to Willow Creek), and Michael W. Smith (or Smitty, as his fans affectionately call him).  I have been to more Christian concerts than secular ones, and they truly are a good time!  Overall, I think that CCM music really reaches out with Christ's message to my generation, the twentysomethings that are usually looking for meaning in life (aren't we all, though).  Ok...so that is just a bit about my love for Christian music...a great place to find Christian music tickets for anywhere in the US is www.itickets.com, in case anyone is wondering.  And of course, pretty much any Christian music song, and all the popular artists that I mentioned, can be found on YouTube...it just takes a little searching.

That is enough for this Tuesday evening blog...I hope you enjoyed it.

-Brian
http://btrzop.blogspot.com

Welcome to my new blog!...first post: let's talk about Facebook!

Hello out there, Internet world!  After signing up to have a blog, I finally decided to post something on it.  It only took about half a year, lol.

The first thing I want to blog about is the book that I just finished reading, The Accidental Billionaires, a book by the business journalist Ben Mezrich about the founding of Facebook.  The Amazon.com link to this book, where you can find others' reviews on the book, is http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Billionaires-Founding-Facebook-Betrayal/dp/0307740986/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310301160&sr=1-1 ...  This book is the basis of the movie that came out not too long ago, the Social Network, which starred Justin Timberlake as the supporting Sean Parker character in the movie.

Below is a link to the trailer for that movie:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4152690201/

Overall, the book was a great read on my Kindle.  It was slow starting to read it, but once I got into it the virtual pages just flew by!

Which leads me into my next segway...so what is the future of Facebook, Inc.?  Does it have the staying power of, say, an Amazon.com, or will it fade like MySpace and Napster did?  I think Facebook will be here to stay, although it might eventually diminish a little in popularity.  I know that there are rumors that Facebook will go public as a company in the first quarter of 2012...which is exciting news.  Once Facebook, Inc. is out there on the public market, I hope to get a "little piece of the action" myself, maybe a few shares.  Will Facebook lead to big profits as a public company?  I guess only time will tell...