I am going to talk about a couple of stocks on my watch list that I wasn't stupid enough to buy (but never fear, I was stupid enough to buy some others that are now down 15-20%). Hey, come to think of it, whenever I put a lot of money in the market, the next thing that happens: market tanks. It may take a year or two for that to happen, but since I am a buy and hold investor, I will lose sooner or later. Sense that something is up? Why, yes. The little guy is getting screwed.

I'm about 75% positive at this point that index investing with dollar cost averaging is the only correct way to invest. I am still young and I will recover from my losses (again - see 2001 for the first time), and will use this wisdom for the rest of my life.

Citigroup

Citigroup's CEO Prince resigned on Nov 4 following announcements of massive (as in $8 billion this quarter) losses due to the subprime mortgage fallout. The company plans to lay off 45,000 workers. The chart shows the share price behavior during the last three months. I see a turnaround in Citigroup's future. It may take several years, but if you have the stomach for it, a buying opportunity will present itself in the next 6 months to one year. I won't be buying it because I am tired of losing money, and if I did buy it, the share price would immediately sink to $5. If you buy it, however, the share price will double in two years.

Emageon

Emageon is a local Birmingham company that provides imaging systems to hospitals and other medical facilities. The product sounds pretty good, but potential customers don't seem to be buying it. A decision like that costs mega-bucks and is made once in a blue moon. So, Emageon had a hard time with earnings about a year ago and their stock value was halved (from 16 to 8). And a month ago, they had another not-so-good earnings report and their stock price was halved (from 8 to 4). Since then, the share price continues to decline. In 2001, a company like this would have had a share price of $250 and a P/E ratio of 8000. However, it appears that the market has sufficiently learned a lesson from the 2001 tech bubble burst. Also, this is a lesson that the product CAN be good, but if it doesn't make money, then investors do not want to buy the company's stock. Who knows when the bleeding will stop? I wouldn't be brave enough to buy this one. I might make some of the stupidest investing decisions known to mankind, but I can at least give myself credit for having one logical, boolean brain cell.