Commission wars- E Trade and others drop to $0 and stocks DROP- hornets in the garage!

[Matt Gruber]

Does that give anybody here any ideas

 

[markz]

There has got to be some sort of angle, some kind of snag to the $0 trade transactions.

 

[Matt Gruber]

mark
that is a great Q :thumb:
i had to think about that.
i could answer a dozen ways. here is my view of the big picture:
there are 2 types of people, in general: savers and borrowers. The BIG profits come from lending $, for cars, houses, and for credit cards and margin loans for stocks. Due to deregulation the brokers now do banking And that is where the profits are. So where do they get money to lend? A lot comes from cash balances in your trading account! So yes, you can trade for free, but that takes $$$$$$ and they need $$$$$$$ to lend, so they can make money. They also sell many other products where they make money, so what they are after is AUM -Assests Under Management.
.
or think of it this way:
it is like free shipping- why do merchants offer free shipping?
They want your business!

 

[Matt Gruber]

I see to move to 0 as serious competition to grab business from banks. Fidelity pays 1.58% on cash, so why go to a bank? They do offer FDIC insurance, but not much else.
Now anybody, even lottery ticket buyers can invest the money. Tho only hurdle is saving up the minimum $ needed to open an account.
Anyone can buy say, a dozen stocks, and not have fees siphon off their money. This is a huge advantage over the long run. And you know what you own and why you bought it. it is a lot more fun

 

[Matt Gruber]

got Nautilus NLS at 1.71
they came out with a new Bowflex exercise bike connected to the internet
as i read the 10-q, i really liked all i read. It was 1.80, so i put in another order at 1.69, just in case it dropped back. 58 seconds later it filled then it turned up, on 7 million shares closed at 1.84 was 1.29 before noon, so a LOT of action today. i like that 8)
Last year NLS bought back 75,000 shares at 13.33, so i did not mind the pop up today. could be $20 in a year or 2 if the new products sell well. Has a new CEO, etc. Worst case they go bust and i lose it all :lol:
You guys can watch me make or lose $$ :lol:

 

[MJSfoto1956]

There has got to be some sort of angle, some kind of snag to the $0 trade transactions.

They make money on the float.
Basically exchanging electrons for micropayments.

 

[Matt Gruber]

Here is 1 you guys might like
https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17693504-electrameccanica-reports-third-quarter-2019-financial-results
OK it is a LONG shot. but it will be the cheapest EV car sold in the US and canada, under 20k
i bought 200 warrants at .35 so $70 total NO commission 8) SOLOW
give the right to buy common stock SOLO for $4.25 until 8-2023 when they expire. very exciting
Another 1,
Gordmans turnaround SSI
very scary, but could be a 10 bagger if they pull it off.
only in for 25 shares at 2.91, SSI because of the recent run up. in for $73, NO COMMISSION 8)
edit
Added another 25 SSI at 3.22 11-22 and it hit 4.68 an hour later :lol:

 

[Matt Gruber]

so i sold NLS; i still like it, but i need to see higher sales. made 3% this is where no comm. lets me change my mind without it costing $
piled into CXW and GEO due to increasing EPS and a 12-14% div yield. both could double if trump wins. i don't like trump, so the only way is to make $ off his winning. then i won't be so unhappy
also some SIG due to their turnaround looking convincing and an 8% yield. could triple in a few years. can't get even 8% in any bank :lol:
everything i buy is risky, that is why it is so much fun
12-16-19 update: doubled up on SSI on a pull back to 4.72. GEO moving up faster than expected
Got a little NLS, after thinking it over, at 1.69. i keep changing my mind.
I'd like to double up on SIG. looks good.

 

[Matt Gruber]

Another very valuable feature, that NEVER gets any credit:
They also do all the accounting for FREE
Years ago you had to list EVERY trade for the IRS This could take a lot of time. Now, the IRS accepts your final results (the IRS is sent the details directly)

 

[Matt Gruber]

Got a lot of bargains on Friday. green beans .49/lb, celery .35/lb, carrots .39
and stocks too
Over the last 2 months i started to rebalance got rid of a big loser CBLpfD - cbl suspended the dividend so i sold at 5.55 had paid 13 so a big loss. But i also sold TNK for a 90% gain, and ARCC +40% plus 4 years of 10% div for 81% total gain.
Friday i was ready to buy, and to my surprise(Michael Ashner a new Director just bought 2.7 million shares of the CBL commen for his fund) i'm back in CBLpfD but for only 2.82 the div is cumulative so should they come back from near death it could return to 13 or 5X my cost 8) AT that point i could sell or just collect the $1.84 div a 64% yield. or i could lose the 1/2 again wish me luck.
also got OCN 1.26 a turnaround just starting after years of losses.
CXW 14.59 with an 11% yield could easily double
and PEIpfC 11.42 now yielding 15%, but has a greedy CEO.
And i still have 3/4 of the cash from the rebalance, so should stocks continue to drop i'll be stuffing the freezer with .10/lb green beans, as i've learned they make a tasty snack (cooked)
.
here George Gammon points out how the disruption in supply, plus staying home in fear of the virus could cause a 50% drop in the market https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjEf42R1i-I

 

[Matt Gruber]

Well, this was sure an exciting week
Most everything is iffy due to the expanding pandemic virus scare
i could think of only 1 immune to the virus on my list. CXW CoreCivic. With Joe Biden taking 10 states, and his pro business stance, the worry that a Dem wins and won't lease private prisons, disappears, (at least in my mind). And prisoners won't be scared of the virus and going out less, so revenue should stay the same, which means the $1.76 dividend is safe. And with the fed 1/2 pt rate cut, the 11% yield sounds amazing to me. So i put 90% of the $ i got from selling ARCC for 19.05, which had a 8.4% yield, into CXW on Fri. Too much stress with my other ideas, and a chance cxw could double for big gains; or just the 11% is fine with me 8) ARCC fell back to 17(9.4% yield), but do i want to depend on business to repay their loans? not with this possible pandemic. And get this; the Trump tax cut taxes cxw and other REITS at a lower tax rate.
So cxw is my best idea. 8) (as part of a diversified portfolio)
And today i got broccoli crowns for .39/lb and apples for .29/lb. And for the 1st time ever i wore gloves shopping :lol:
,
94% get some supplies from china, supply SHOCK coming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE6aKTziunE

 

[neptronix]

$0 commissions have been a thing for a while with companies like robinhood.

How they make money is still a mystery to me. AFAIK they collect some kind of interest on cash you have sitting in your reserve when it's not dedicated to stocks.

 

[nicobie]

Anytime anything trades hands money is made. Look at all the $$$ Google makes GIVING away information.

 

[markz]

Time to buy stocks is now, with the omg pandemic going on omg.

 

[Matt Gruber]

Was a punishing week. I felt like a prize fighter going round after round, only to get knocked down every day.
On Wed i "missed" my chance to get GEO 13.31 at the close. Thurs it opened in the mid 11's but my order went unfilled. Circuit breakers stopped trading for 15 min. I cancelled the order. Then it went even LOWER and i got GEO at $10.65 that is an 18% div yield 8) But my average is only 15%, so that was my best trading during the panic. The rest of the day i really missed the lows.
On Fri i decided to diversify into healthcare REITS. Got DHC for $3.42 a 17.5% div yield. They lease medical offices and senior housing. Needed something to offset possible permanent losses in my retail picks, due to the virus.
I'm still in the game, but fear permanent losses. Have not sold anything this month, but the worst are down 90+%
Great fun except a lot of stress.

 

[nicobie]

I read somewhere that, "There is a time to buy, a time to sell and a time to go fishing."

I sold out years ago (except real estate).

 

[markz]

I am using Yahoo Finance to look at stock prices.



https://www.benzinga.com/money/best-stock-charts/
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[Matt Gruber]

Looks like a new Great Depression coming.
Closing stores for 100% safety is crazy. All they need is a greeter doing a temp screen. Send home anyone with a fever.
Same with schools. Have bus driver check temp. Don't take kids to school with a fever.

 

[Matt Gruber]

Remember the guy that returned from vacation and found a hornets nest in the garage? He used a torch to kill the hornets. While a success, the fire spread and his house burned to the ground
This is similar to current gov safety policy. Yes, closing down the economy will stop the virus. But they fail to account for suicide deaths. If, say, 100 million go broke, there could be say, 1-2 million suicides.
if you are not in stocks, GOOD FOR YOU! BUT, will 20% unemployment change your life for the better? Was 3.5%. Millions about to get laid off. You will have time to do those important things!
.
cure for covid 19? 70% cured in 6 days! Control group, only 12.5%
https://www.newsweek.com/hydroxychloroquine-malaria-drug-coronavirus-fda-1493293

 

[Balmorhea]

Taking the worthless froth out of the stock market will be in everybody’s long term best interests. Too bad for everybody who failed to recognize that their savings had been taken to a casino.

Adversity awakens us from our trances, and focuses us on the things that really matter to us.

 

[Matt Gruber]

Yesterday i made 8 buys- now that there is effective treatment for covid19 odds are good that stocks are going UP or at least may be past the bottom.