Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Final Presentation

Your group is going to present to the rest of the class your work with the SMG. YOu will not use Powerpoint to do this group project. You will need to use Google Docs. That way multiple people can edit and revise 1 powerpoint. Here is an example of a google powerpoint presentation I created.

Final Rankings are listed on Moodle
Presentation needs to include:

Stocks
  1. Date purchased/sold (if did sell)
  2. Price paid when purchased/sold
  3. Commision paid when purchased/sold
  4. Why you picked the stock
  5. Amount gained/lost on stock (including commision)
Portfolio
  1. Begining balance
  2. Ending balance
  3. Ranking
  4. Dividends earned
  5. Interest earned
Short Sell
  1. Stock symbol
  2. date of sale
  3. price of sale
  4. commision on slae
  5. amount gain/loss
  6. Why you picked this stock, was it a good choice? Why or Why not
Graphs in Excel - Copy the graph into a regular PowerPoint presentation and then add that slide to the google docs presentation.
  1. All Stocks
  2. Indices
  • Nasdaq Composite
  • S&P 500 Index
  • DJIA
Which one of your stock(s) would you recommend someone to invest in. Why

5 Things you learned through the SMG

3 Things you would still like to know

Monday, November 30, 2009

InvestWrite


Each Student will need to submit an entry to the InvestWrite contest. The topic of the contest is on the InvestWrite website.


Topic for Fall 2009 InvestWrite Essay


With school work and school activities, a job or chores, plus your friends and hobbies, retirement is probably the last thing on your mind. After all, it's still decades away and right now you might be working to have a bit more spending money in your wallet. However, it's important to make investing a priority even when you're young and on a limited budget.

In your essay, discuss the difference in a saving strategy for an immediate want, like a new computer or car, versus a saving strategy for your retirement. Would you select stocks, bonds, mutual funds or a combination of the three for each of those two strategies? Why? Discuss two of following and how they will affect your personal investing strategy for your long term investment or retirement goals: risk, diversification, compound interest. Conclude your essay by describing the most important thing you learned through your participation in The Stock Market Game.



Deadline for Post Entry: December 3, 2009

Here are the rules for the entry.

The entry will be made as an entry on your group blog. Each person needs to complete this assignment as a separate entry. I will know who has created and edited each entry. I may submit up to 5 entries from the class.
  • Each student may submit only one entry with a maximum of 700 words.
  • The title chosen by each student (excluding the author's name) must appear at the top of the first page of the text. If references are cited, include them following the last page of the text. (Please note: only the body of the essay will be included in the word count, the title and the works cited will not count against the 700 word limit.)
  • The format for references or works cited can be chosen by the teacher.
  • Identification of the student or teacher in the essay will result in disqualification.
  • Since the judges will base their decision on the author's understanding of the subject matter, rationale, and writing style, please do the same when you judge. View judging criteria.
  • All essays must be submitted in plain text; no charts, graphs or symbols will be accepted.
What do you get if your are a finalist Nationally?
Fall 2009 9-12th Grade Awards*

1st place (1) 2nd place (1) 3rd place (1)
Student 3 Day/2 Night Trip to New York City and a "Wall Street Experience" Mini Notebook Computer Mini Notebook Computer
Teacher 3 Day/2 Night Trip to New York City and a "Wall Street Experience"

1-Yr Subscription to Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition

$250 Gift Card


1-Yr Subscription to Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition

$100 Gift Card


1-Yr Subscription to Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition
Class Classroom Pizza Party Classroom Pizza Party Classroom Pizza Party
School InvestWrite Trophy InvestWrite Trophy InvestWrite Trophy
Parents InvestWrite Plaque InvestWrite Plaque InvestWrite Plaque

Short Sell Required Transaction

Each group needs to be sure to sell short a stock that they expect that will be going down. Rules on Short Selling for the SMG. Be sure to include in your portfolio review what stock you sold short and every week that you hold that short sell what the current value of the stock is compared to what you sold it short on.

Rankings as of Monday, November 30

204 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ771 $100,384.09
220 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ768 $100,280.36
265 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ772 $100,004.92
388 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ773 $99,169.67
413 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ770 $98,977.25
432 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ767 $98,770.44
859 out of 962 WI_40_ZZ769 $89,179.10

Thanksgiving Week Review

Week in Review – Thanksgiving Edition

Stocks were gobbling up good news today as investors seemed sanguine about the increase in new home sales, better-than-expected unemployment numbers, and a slight rise in the consumer sentiment figure. While the large number of jobless Americans remains a serious concern to economists and the powers that be in Washington, market participants appear to be heading into the holiday season with a positive outlook. May we be thankful for our blessings and hopeful for our fellow citizens that are still struggling through this tough economy.

In this season of tradition, the Stock Market Game has a tradition of it’s own to observe and that is to let you know about some of the top stocks that are fueling the leading student portfolios. The list is compiled from the states with the largest number of SMG teams, so it’s not exhaustive, but it’s designed to give you a peek at some of the best performing companies this semester. The list of the top five stocks and brief descriptions follow.

Top Five Stock Market Game Stocks – Fall 2009

Company

Ticker

9/8/2009

11/24/2009

% Increase

5. A-Power Energy Generation Systems

APWR

10.16

14.59

43

4. Diedrich Coffee Inc.

DDRX

21.5

33.91

58

3. Amazon.com

AMZN

80.9

132.94

64

2. Bon-Ton Stores Inc

BONT

7.88

13.43

70

1. Revlon

REV

5

17.91

258

5. A-Power Energy Generation Systems – This Chinese company’s main business is building onsite distributed power generation systems and micro power grids for industrial companies. They also build wind turbines, proving the green energy play is still popular with SMG students.

4. Diedrich Coffee Inc. – Company brands include Diedrich Coffee, Gloria Jean's, and Coffee People. Its business includes wholesale, franchise, and retail operations. Watch out Starbuck’s, someone might be gaining on you.

3. Amazon.com – Fueled by expectations of strong holiday sales and increasing revenue from the Kindle, the online retailer has been popular with both investors and SMG students this semester. It’s had a nice run, but is now trading at 78 times earnings, so caveat emptor.

2. Bon-Ton Stores Inc. – This company runs independent retail department stores in the US, offering an assortment of brand-name fashion apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other goods. Its stores include Bon-Ton, Bergners, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers. The company recently re-negotiated credit agreements earning it a boost from the ratings agencies.

And the winner is...

Revlon Incorporated – Rising 258% since September 8, 2009 is quite a spike. What did our savvy SMG students see in this cosmetics company? Well, it wasn’t lipstick on a pig. Revlon in recent quarters has greatly improved its finances by cutting costs and increasing market share in the lipstick market, regaining its position as number one in this category. It also conducted a swap of preferred shares for common shares, thus reducing the number of common shares available – always good for the common share price. Congrats to the SMG students who recognized Revlon’s inner beauty.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Different Ways to Make Money on the Market

So what are some ways to make money on the stock market. Buy stock today at $12 and then hope the price goes up to $20. That way you make money.

What about if I sell Short stock at $20 and buy it back at $12. I also just made money! What the stock went from 20 to 12, how do you make money that way. Read this explanation on selling short.

If I have no extra cash but I think a stock will be going up I can buy on Margin to get the stock and then pay back the loan. So buying on Margin is also another way to make money.