Hey Look, I'm being responsible with my Money!

[Ice]

Heh,

Microsoft was up 4.26% today .

[Odin]

Heh,

Microsoft was up 4.26% today .

Microsoft is a good investment Ice, again market share.

[John86]

Microsoft is a good investment Ice, again market share.

MSFT has been flat for years. There are so many numerous stocks with a rewarding dividend and growing share price one could invest in which would be far more rewarding than MSFT. Perhaps I'm missing something. Please explain to me why MSFT is a good investment?

[Odin]

Please explain to me why MSFT is a good investment?

no, I dont desire too.

[Subedei]

Renewable energy all the way...look at the companies very closely....German ones are pretty cutting edge, but may be too high already.

u may wanna look here....http://www.renewables-made-in-germany.com/en/

I am working in the field...so I know my way round a bit...just a bit u know.....One of the most important rules: in this business, stocks is wht I am typing about, no one really knows s***, but talks a lot of it....

[Don Corleone]

Here's my personal rules for investing....

-Look for stocks that are selling at a discount. So if everybody is buzzing about a particular stock, I avoid it. Chances are, by the time you've heard about it from word of mouth, so has the rest of the investing world and its already recognized its upside potential.

-Do your homework. Review the company's financials for the past couple of years (their balance sheet and their summary sheet). Companies can play tricks like transferring assets around to make it look like they're growing, but in reality, it was just an internal transfer of cash. Cash flow statements make this impossible to hide.

-Invest in growth. Look for companies with a high PEG rate. What is a PEG rate? P/E ratio normalized by the companies per year annualized growth predictions over the next 3 years. If you don't know what a P/E ratio is, stick to the mutual funds.

-To look for bargains, look for somebody who's recently suffered a black eye. Most blue chips will recover. The pharmaceuticals were being called 'dead and not coming back' in the late 80's and early 90s. Now I warn you, it is very possible that a particularly bad event may cause a downward spiral. The company has to have solid financials prior to this event. This method actually had me looking at MSFT for once, in light of all the EU judgements. But their PEG ratio doesn't meet my threshold.

-Don't overlook foreign markets. China is already a bit played, but Brazil has some attractive options, as does Turkey. I'd recommend you look for an emerging markets mutual fund, not invest in individual concerns, because many of these countries don't use accounting principles we recognize.