Apple in Trouble?

A lot of investors are worried after Apple's Q4 earnings report.  Their revenue still surpassed what they have done in the past , but investors are worried about the recent commodization of iPhones with more and more customers leaning towards the older and now budget models of the iPhone (4S, 4, etc.).  Apple's stock has dropped as of market close on Friday 1/25/2013 to $439.88 which is a huge decline of where they almost peaked at $700.  Others have concern that Apple will transition from a growth to a value story like other tech giants such as Intel and Microsoft.  I am on the fence on whether Apple is going to be a value stock in 2013 or not.  Regardless, at $439.88 the stock seems absurdly cheap, and it appears that investors  have overreacted like they typically do.  However, I am sure a lot of growth investors just want to collect on their gains.  Whether growth investors come back in or Apple needs to draw value investors depends on what Apple does next over the next 6 months.  Still either way you roll, the current stock price seems like a good bargain.

Get What You Want But Be You

I am always one of those people who wants to go for it and obtain whatever will make myself happy.  However, sometimes these things whether they be people or possessions have a cost to them.  I think this quote from the Bible sums it up:

 Luke 9:25 

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

So be ambitious and be strong but remember the cost to obtain something.  Whether it is time or the core of your being, determine whether what you need to have is worth the price.  Because NOTHING is free in this world.

Dividend Investing

Dividend investing is one of my favorite types of investing, and I probably will not do it justice with this post.  Needless to say, I will talk about this more in the future because I think dividends are a great source of income now that banks do not pay any interest for savings and checking accounts.  By investing in large cap established mega corps that pay good dividends, one can make a decent return on their money and be relatively sure that their principal investment is not going to be susceptible to great volatility.  For a quick guide on divided investing, I would recommend checking out the The Dividend Guys Blog for his 2013 recommendations.  An  excellent resource for picking out some stocks.  Use your favorite low cost stock brokerage to invest into these dividend stocks.  The good news is that the tax on dividends is still at the lower 15 percent tax rate for most people with the recent legislation that was passed to prevent the 'Fiscal Cliff'.  Only those individuals making $400,000 or $450,000 for couples have to pay a higher 20 percent tax rate which is still much better than the old school marginal tax rates.

The Beginning ....

One of my resolutions for 2013 was to open up and discuss topics or ideas that are interesting to me to a broader audience.  This post is definitely short and not very sweet, but it is a very simple start to something that I hope to build on as time goes and the muse inside of me takes root and starts to grow.  I hope to cover topics on lifestyles, investing, philosophy, and anything that strikes me as cool and extraordinary.