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• Are junk stocks really dogs? by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Are junk stocks really dogs? by Bill Dunbar Why this article? In spite of what my wife says, I do follow my own advice, at least part of the time. In some of the past issues of Stocks & Commodities I have promoted bottom fishing, not to catch healthy corporations, but those that are in trouble. However, so many are available in that category now that I am having trouble limiting my investments. So I ask myself, how far should I go? I've had good luck with junk stocks in the past, but it could have been just that--luck. Maybe I have been shooting off my big mouth based on experience that's too ...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: SEP 1986

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• Part 2: Are junk stocks really dogs? by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...part 2: Are junk stocks really dogs? by Bill Dunbar This is the second part of an article by the same title published in a previous issue of Stocks & Commodities. In the first half, my question was related to investment in junk stocks near the peak of the market cycle. The question was: what is the risk in a portfolio of junks under such circumstances? The answer was: on the average, less risk than in a portfolio of respectable stocks. The part that was missing was what the relative gains were if the stock had been purchased just prior to a healthy bull market. Since it required a different s...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: NOV 1986

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• Mutual funds by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Mutual funds by Bill Dunbar A basic look at mutual funds: who they are for, how to choose one, why and when to switch. Also included are several sources of information to use to get specifics when deciding on a mutual fund. In the past, critics of the Dow Theory have said, why worry about the averages--you can't invest in the averages. Well, you can now, of course, by putting your money into index options or futures. But, with options, the house takes a big bite and you have to guess not only what the market is going to do, but also, within a few months when it is going to do it. That's a pr...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: FEB 1986

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• The handbook for no-load fund investors by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...The handbook for no-load fund investors by Bill Dunbar This book is up-to-date and effective in almost all respects. I'd say it's well worth the money to anyone interested in mutual funds. Also, if there is an investor left among us who still thinks he is deriving some benefit from a loading charge, he shouldn't have to read beyond the Preface to be relieved of such fantasies. Though it treats the entire span of investment objectives, the emphasis is on ""aggressive growth"" and on switching funds every 'one to four years' as required by the rise and fall of individual funds and by the ups an...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: FEB 1986

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• How Good is The Dow Theory? Part II by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...How Good is The Dow Theory? Part II by Bill Dunbar I had just sat down at my desk in Advanced Design when Cliff walked In. ""Ya hear the news?"" he asked. ""What news?"" ""The rails confirmed yesterday!"" He announced it like he expected me to stand up and cheer. ""Oh, yeah?"" I was faking it--I didn't know what he was talking about, though I had a vague idea it was something about the averages. Cliff was great on theory but I don't think he ever put a dime into the market. I made up for him though by sticking my life savings into stocks without knowing a damn thing about it. That was in 1...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: JUN 1985

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• Stock Market Double-Header? by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Stock Market Double-Header? by Bill Dunbar On the long side it's easy to make money in stocks at the beginning of a well-defined bull market. If you pick your issues by throwing darts or consulting your astrologer, or even listening to your investment advisor, you can hardly go wrong. The chances are on your side. But it's possible to improve your performance if you're in the right industry group. Usually all groups rise during the first few months of the bull market, but then some go on to higher ground, some start pitching about and some keel over and slide down the river. If you pick your ...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: FEB 1985

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• How Good is The Dow Theory? PART I by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...How Good is The Dow Theory? PART I by Bill Dunbar An excellent article on the Dow Theory appeared in the December 1984 issue of this magazine, written by Timothy A. Maguire. The present article may be looked on as an extension of that one but since Maguire and I are two different people, you can expect from me a different treatment and a different viewpoint. The whole Dow Theory idea started from a series of editorials appearing during the years 1900-1902 in the Wall Street Journal, written by Charles H. Dow, one of the founders of the Dow Jones Company and the first editor of the Journal. H...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: APR 1985

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• Is The Stock Market Random? by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Is The Stock Market Random? by Bill Dunbar Professor Aikinheit of the Economics Department strokes the bottom of his mustache up out of the way, tips his martini glass and drains the last precious drops. ""Have another?"" Joe Grubber licks his upper lip and belches, ""Yeah!"" The professor leans forward with fervent intensity. ""As I was saying, you take this drunk and turn him loose in the middle of a football field, right on the fifty yard line, see, then watch him stagger around. As he lurches this way and that it's a good imitation of stock prices. If he staggers toward the east goal it...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: SEP 1984

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• Stock Market Business Cycle by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Stock Market Business Cycle by Bill Dunbar Bottom fishing should be peaceful. If you're a bottom fisherman you like to recline in an open boat in the cool of the morning or sit with your back against a mossy bank in the gathering dusk and watch the leaves drift by. Sure, you want to catch fish, but not the athletic kind that makes it a big exercise. Too much bother. Chasing high flyers and hot tips is for the jocks who think it's great kicks to pitch around on the brimy, trolling for marlin. True, you can't make money in the stock market without experiencing some anxiety but you'll probably...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: NOV 1984

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• THE INSIDE MAN by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...THE INSIDE MAN by Bill Dunbar Inside Broker: Listen now, Charley, that stock moved up 5/8 yesterday and 1/2 the day before! You better grab it before it gets outa reach. Charley: Do ya really think I should? I haven't even plotted the price ranges over the past couple of months. Inside Broker: Hell, by the time you get all that done, it'll be gone, man, and you'll be left dancing around at the starting gate. That company is sure to earn four dollars a share this year and seven the next. Charley: What kind of business are they in, anyway? Inside Broker: Who cares? Didn't you hear what your...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: MAY 1984

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• WHY I BECAME A JUNKMAN by Bill Dunbar

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...WHY I BECAME A JUNKMAN by Bill Dunbar IN THE BEGINNING My wife hurled the folder into the air, scattering it all over the family room. ""Take your damn stocks!"" she screamed. ""I'll never look at another one again!"" Promises, promises. I stomped out of the room and slammed the door almost before she started picking up the pieces. That wasn't our first fight over the stock market nor our last, but their violence subsided from then on because we decided at that point to settle out of court with a ""financial divorce,"" dividing up the various issues as if we were picking players for a bas...

AUTHOR: Bill DunbarDATE: JAN 1984