shopping spree !!

Went on a shopping spree today and bought $100,000 worth of imaginary
stocks :D ! So now I am an imaginary owner of some really big companies.
I used the features in yahoo to make my portfolio and it'l be fun
tracking its progress down the road.

The financial world has become so complicated and competetive that it is
impossible for a small investor to make very large returns. The stock
market is still the best bet for getting returns ... but nobody should
expect miracles. The Catch phrase it "You cant beat the market", there
are thousands of analysts in big investment banks and hedge/mutuaul
funds who spend the better part of their day tracking investment
opportunities, so every individual investor should realise that he will
never be able to spot something in the market that'l make him load of
money instantaseously. The fundamentals are 1. Be reasonable with your
expectation, 2. Realise the risks involved and be ready to take hits 3.
Aim at the long term 4. Diversify !

Anyways ... my procedure for choosing stocks was simple- Go for the
really big companies with known track record. Diversify by choosing
companies from different segments. Most of my companies are taken right
out of the S&P500 and DJIA. These include google, microsoft, amazon,
verizon, intel, shell, best buy, wallmart, catterpillar, american
express, dow jones, johnson and johnson, nike, morgan-stanley, MMM,
Hershey. Thats $100,000 right there !! cool.