Ho, Fekeg'!
Today I discovered that one of the many ships I'm aboard has a hole and is sinking very quickly. My gamble on Merck stock took a turn for the worse when the verdict from the first trial in the Vioxx litigation came in favor of the plaintiff, awarding her over $250 million in damages for the death of her husband. And they say you can't put a pricetag on life... Texas law caps the potential damages at $1.65 million, however. Bear in mind that the husband was not officially reported to have died from a heartattack--he died from a fatal arrhythmia--and he was only using Vioxx for 8 months when he died--significant increases in the incidence of heart attack have only been observed after 18 months in scientific studies. Accordingly, the stock price fell 7% in the last hour of trading. But don't forget that there are 4,200 more Vioxx-related cases that are pending. Sigh... Maybe it's time to buy more... for the long haul.
Stocks are terrible investments. Why risk money in uncertain investments when you can yield equal returns in more quantifiably risky investments? The stock market is basically a negative sum game and, in general, investors ought to be risk-averse.
So many investors are stupid...
Wait. Many ships? Diversification is bad (in general circumstances).
If you believe in an investment, you should put all your eggs in one basket. If you aren't that confident, then put no eggs in the basket. You shouldn't be investing money you can't afford to lose.
Don't hedge bets against yourself.
Dude, wait until it absolutely tanks. Then, stalk up.
Stock?
Haha. "Stock" up. That's a good one, albeit unintentional.
Wow, that was an absolutely horrible mix-up on my part. And yes, I most definitely did mean "stock," pun unintentional.
Colin, are you suggesting that he sells every share now and reinvests once Merck has gone down say 15% more?
Actually, I know realize that investing in Merck at all is a bad idea, as not only will Vioxx claims come trickling constantly, but also they're about to lose their patents on two more of their blockbuster drugs in a few years. The only thing keeping Merck stock higher than a dollar is fellow bargain-hunters like you.
Know?
Wow, I'm just stunning in my incapacity to type. The "k" and "n" keys are relatively close together; I must have hit the "k" typing the "n." Yeah, that's it, I just hit that key by mistake... You do believe me, don't you?
I lebieve you.
Oops! The "b" and the "l" keys are within critical proximity. You lebieve me, right?
D'oh! I can't lebieve I did it again.