Squalebear's Account Talk

[Steadygain]

...legalize marijuana...

Amazingly enough...back in the days when a huge ounce of Panama Red - Columbian - Accapolo Gold went for $15 dollars or 4 for $45 and my friends and I went through an ounce like nothing...

I use to say and think- one of these days I'll be telling my kids "I smoked this stuff way back when it was illegal".

Now I live in the most straight laced family you could imagine, where the wife and kids never even tasted alcohol or had a puff of anything.

But if my vote was the "tie breaker" - Marijuana would definately be legalized. I have no personal interest in it - but I'm fully convinced that's the most practical move.

Hope that doesn't offend ya SB - just happen to come up.

 

[DCguy]

the market's up almost 4% in 2 days. I think this tells me it's time to get out with cash and wait for another bounce.

 

[Steadygain]

the market's up almost 4% in 2 days. I think this tells me it's time to get out with cash and wait for another bounce.

Probably not a bad idea for most of the MB who trade frequently.

The main problem at this point, however, is that the 4% gain took off from more of "a bottom" - so it may consolidate (at the worse) and continue an upward trend.

 

[Guest2]

1:18PM - I'll be back later this evening to post the O/D Tracker
results. In the mean time, here's hoping the market rebounds back up.

I take no credit for the rebound that started 3 minutes after I logged
off. The question is, did I spend those 3 minutes doing mass purchases
of stock and send rumors across the internet to drive the market upward?
Or, did I simply go to sleep? Ok, ok, I don't have THAT much money ! :toung:

O/D Tracker Update Next.

 

[Buster]

Thanks for whatever you did..do the same tomorrow..please

I gotta wait in S till I hit this magic number 19.6200/share..at that point I will be even with my June 3rd entry point....almost there

 

[Frixxxx]

I take no credit for the rebound that started 3 minutes after I logged
off. The question is, did I spend those 3 minutes doing mass purchases
of stock and send rumors across the internet to drive the market upward?
Or, did I simply go to sleep? Ok, ok, I don't have THAT much money ! :toung:

O/D Tracker Update Next.

Sure, I bet you made a monetary sacrifice to the Wall Street Gods and burned incense and chanted the "MO' MONEY" mantra......

 

[Corepuncher]

the market's up almost 4% in 2 days. I think this tells me it's time to get out with cash and wait for another bounce.

I'm glad we rallied hard at the close today. Two big up candles in a row...maybe a spinning top then a move downward after that. I assume we'll hit the 20 SMA again, which is mid 1250's. Shouldn't we?

GDP expected to be "inflated" due to stimulus checks tomorrow. If it beats expectations, then I believe the market will pop but then drop as the news is sold. ADP set the bar of employment high for Friday, but I think that report absolutely stinks and tells you nothing. I am going to bet the jobs report is highly negative again Friday. An elevated initial claims number on THU may > 380K or especially > 400K may be your warning to get out COB Thur.

Either way, there is no way that all the news and OIL will be bullish for stocks...somethings gonna give. I am hoping for a big down day Friday (or Thur and no rebound Friday) so I can buy at a discount to where I last sold (1282 and 1284).

And by the way, Jim Cramer is "calling the bottom", he says the next pullback could be your last chance to get in before the bull. <hahahaha>

 

[Guest2]

That was fun ! Now lets check and see how the Shares Came Out. ! :toung:

 

[Guest2]

The (I) Fund outperformed the EFA by a small margin. This result in the
upward move within the tracker (Bad) however, the payout today must
make some (I) Funder's extremely happy. Good for you guys ! Like I said
yesterday, days where the Fund Managers can't fall to much behind for
the year will force a payout to equal the EFA results. Today's slightly
over 0.25% difference gave some long awaited (I) Funders a little relief.
Be careful now, the tracker is still in the red zone.

As a final note:
The (C) and (S) just turned positive for the month of July. Patience
has paid off for many of you. Congratulations ! The (I) is still down for
the month at approximately -2.52% with one more day left in the month.


......DATE.....DLY % DIFF.....YTD TSP CENTS.....
(7/07/08)+0.802% -0.5058 tsp cents
(7/08/08)-1.1409% -0.2585 tsp cents
(7/09/08)+0.794% -0.4264 tsp cents
(7/10/08)-0.786% -0.2592 tsp cents
(7/11/08) +0.457% -0.3527 tsp cents

......DATE.....DLY % DIFF.....YTD TSP CENTS.....
(7/14/08) +0.397% -0.4372 tsp cents
(7/15/08) - 0.508% -0.3229 tsp cents
(7/16/08) -0.3206%-0.2605 tsp cents
(7/17/08) -0.2940%-0.2013 tsp cents
(7/18/08) -0.2422%-0.1504 tsp cents

......DATE.....DLY % DIFF.....YTD TSP CENTS.....
(7/21/08) +0.7334%-0.3109 tsp cents
(7/22/08) -0.7174%-0.1553 tsp cents
(7/23/08) +0.5982%-0.2868 tsp cents
(7/24/08) +0.4519%-0.3797 tsp cents
(7/25/08) -0.5288%-0.2868 tsp cents

......DATE.....DLY % DIFF.....YTD TSP CENTS.....
(7/28/08) +0.4966% -0.3660 tsp cents
(7/29/08) -0.3038% -0.3039 tsp cents
(7/30/08) +0.2671% -0.3650 tsp cents

THE KEY:
------------------------------------------------- WE OWE THEM ----
- .4000 thru -.3000 High Overpayment (Debt Payment Imminent)
- .3000 thru -.2000 Meduim Overpayment, (Flip A Coin)
- .2000 thru -.1000 Low Overpayment (Goal is Met)
- .1000 thru -.0000 Not Seen For A Long Time (TBA)
-------------------------------------------------- THEY OWE US ----
+.0000 thru+.1000 Low Deficit (Goal is Met)
+.1000 thru+.1500 Medium Deficit (Flip A Coin)
+.1500 thru+.2500 High Deficit (rarely goes higher)
+.2500 thru+.3000 Windfall Coming !
---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[JTH]

And by the way, Jim Cramer is "calling the bottom", he says the next pullback could be your last chance to get in before the bull. <hahahaha>

That was so funny! I usually watch the first 5 minutes of Cramer to see what him and his minions are thinking. As with everyone, I welcome their advice and input, but I'd never let him handle my money!!!

I don't know if you should stop totaly. Many say to put in (at least) enough to get that full 5% matching funds.

SB, I should have pointed this out before, but us military folks don't get matching funds and part of my decision to stop contributing is based on this. But most of my decision is based on the fact that without TSP's hindering rules, I believe I'd do much better. That's not to say I don't plan on contributing in the future, I just want to establish another account first.

 

[Guest2]

That was so funny! I usually watch the first 5 minutes of Cramer to see what him and his minions are thinking. As with everyone, I welcome their advice and input, but I'd never let him handle my money!!!



SB, I should have pointed this out before, but us military folks don't get matching funds and part of my decision to stop contributing is based on this. But most of my decision is based on the fact that without TSP's hindering rules, I believe I'd do much better. That's not to say I don't plan on contributing in the future, I just want to establish another account first.

I believe your right on track. No matching funds makes a tremendous
difference. Thanks for clearing up the Military aspect for me. I didn't know.

 

[Guest2]

Upon looking at the recent data, I was wondering if those who stop by my
thread would care to express their feelings about the upcoming month of
August, concerning the TSP returns within each individual fund available.
Brief or detailed thoughts are more then welcome. Some of the newbies
might enjoy the reading too.

 

[Guest2]

Today being the last day of the Month (July), here are some stats
which (obviously) do not include today;

TSP - Month to Date Results:
(F) = -0.33%
(C) = +0.48%
(S) = +0.11%
(I) = -2.63%

ETF/INDEX - Month to Date Results:
AGG = -0.48%
SPX = +0.55%
DWCPF=+0.03%
EFA = -2.25%

 

[Guest2]

upon looking at the recent data, i was wondering if those who stop by my
thread would care to express their feelings about the upcoming month of
august, concerning the tsp returns within each individual fund available.
Brief or detailed thoughts are more then welcome. Some of the newbies
might enjoy the reading too.

any thoughts ?

 

[Guest2]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The economy grew at a faster pace in the spring, but not quite as fast as expected, according to a government reading likely to spur further debate over whether the economy has fallen into a recession.
DEBATES HAVE THEIR PLACE, BUT NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION. NOT SQUABBLING.
The gross domestic product, the broad measure of the nation's economic activity, grew at an annual rate of 1.9% in the three months ended in June. That's up from a revised 0.9% growth rate in the first quarter. Even with much stronger growth, the reading was weaker than expected, as economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast growth of 2.3%. Growth was helped by more than $140 billion in economic stimulus checks sent out to taxpayers during the period, which helped support spending in the face of higher prices.
SOME ARE CALLING FOR A SECOND ROUND OF CHECKS, BRING THEM ON !
But some economists, most notably Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, have worried that with those checks already cashed, spending and economic activity could now slow in the second half of the year.
I WAS WORRIED TOO UNTIL THEY MENTIONED "OBEWON"
The first quarter reading was revised lower from a 1% growth estimate a month ago. The Commerce Department also revised the fourth quarter 2007 reading to -0.2%, the first reading below zero since the 2001 recession. The previous fourth quarter reading was 0.6% growth. Many people wrongly believe that a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of GDP below zero.
SOUNDS LIKE A NUMBERS GAME, REVISIONS TELL YA NOT TO BELIEVE ALL THAT YOU INITIALY SEE.
But the body that determines when the economy is in a recession, the National Bureau of Economic Research, does not consider GDP and instead looks at a variety of other economic measures, including employment and industrial production. It generally does not declare a recession until at least six months after it begins.
WE'LL FIND OUT NEXT YEAR,,,,,MARVELOUS !

 

[EEK! 5 YEARS TO GO!]

upon looking at the recent data, i was wondering if those who stop by my
thread would care to express their feelings about the upcoming month of
august, concerning the tsp returns within each individual fund available.
Brief or detailed thoughts are more then welcome. Some of the newbies
might enjoy the reading too.

life investment
by brittany r. Ballenstedt

on aug. 1, the thrift savings plan will celebrate the three-year anniversary of its newest investment offering: The life-cycle (l) funds.
The l funds are a blend of the five basic tsp funds -- international stocks, small and large domestic stocks, government securities, and fixed-income bonds -- that automatically shift participants' money from a mix of higher risk to more conservative investments as they age.
About 600,000 of the plan's 3.9 million participants are investing in the l funds, up from almost 215,000 at the end of 2005 when participation was first measured. Participants have poured almost $23.6 billion into the funds. About 11 percent of employees in the civil service retirement system participate, along with 15 percent of those in the federal employees retirement system -- which relies more on the tsp for retirement savings.
So far, investing in the l funds has been a wise choice. Since their inception, all the l funds have outperformed both the government securities (g) fund and the common stocks (c) fund, where the bulk of tsp participants' money is invested. The l income fund, designed for employees with planned retirements in the very near future, has outperformed the g fund by 35 basis points annually.
The l 2040 fund, which is designed for participants with an expected retirement date around the year 2040, had a 6.18 percent rate of return since its 2005 inception. The l 2030 fund had a 5.98 percent return. The l 2020 earned 5.94 percent, while the l 2010 6.02 percent and the l income had a 4.99 percent rate of return since its creation.
By comparison, the g fund posted a 4.64 percent return in the same period and the c fund gained 3.22 percent.
Recent market volatility, however, has made it a tough year for the l funds. At a monthly meeting of the federal retirement thrift investment board last week, officials said the l funds experienced their worst month yet in june. The same could be said for the year-to-date performance of the funds -- which have ranged from a loss of 0.67 percent for the l income fund to a loss of 8.39 percent for the l 2040 fund.

ewwwww. TSP Limits, L Funds and automatic enrollment. What a combination.

 

[Guest2]

ewwwww. TSP Limits, L Funds and automatic enrollment. What a combination.

Yep, the (G) Fund is beating every fund (including the L's) YTD.
Automatic enrollment can be looked at in many ways. I lean toward
it being a positive, but they should be putting the money (automatically)
in the (G) and educating the participants about the value of moving their
monies into other funds.

 

[EEK! 5 YEARS TO GO!]

I read that HR5500 TSP bill posted under the TSP News thread and it does propose G fund for the default fund and an opt out clause, as well as default contribution of 3%. What it lacks is a clause for mandatory education of new hires being automatically enrolled.

 

[Guest2]

H.R.1108

Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House)

SEC. 402. AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENTS.

• (a) Automatic Enrollments-

• • (1) IN GENERAL- Section 8432(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraphs (2) through (4) and inserting the following:

• `(2)(A) The Board shall by regulation provide for an eligible individual to be automatically enrolled to make contributions under subsection (a) at the default percentage of basic pay.

• `(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the default percentage shall be equal to 3 percent or such other percentage, not less than 2 percent nor more than 5 percent, as the Board may by regulation prescribe.

• `(C) The regulations shall include provisions under which any individual who would otherwise be automatically enrolled in accordance with subparagraph (A) may--

• • `(i) modify the percentage or amount to be contributed pursuant to automatic enrollment, effective from the start of such enrollment; or

• • `(ii) decline automatic enrollment altogether.

• `(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `eligible individual' means any individual who, after any regulations under subparagraph (A) first take effect, is appointed, transferred, or reappointed to a position in which that individual is eligible to contribute to the Thrift Savings Fund.

• `(E) Sections 8351(a)(1), 8440a(a)(1), 8440b(a)(1), 8440c(a)(1), 8440d(a)(1), and 8440e(a)(1) shall be applied in a manner consistent with the purposes of this paragraph.'.

• • (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT- Section 8432(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the parenthetical matter in subparagraph (B).

• (b) Default Investments- Section 8438(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

• `(2) If an election has not been made with respect to any sums in the Thrift Savings Fund which are available for investment, the Executive Director shall invest such sums in--

• • `(A) the Government Securities Investment Fund; or

• • `(B) such alternative fund or funds (in lieu of the fund under subparagraph (A)) as the Board may designate in regulations.

• The designation of an alternative fund by regulations under subparagraph (B) may be made only if, in the judgment of the Board, such designation would be in the best interests of participants. Any decision under the preceding sentence shall be made after consultation with the Employee Thrift Advisory Council (established under section 8473).'.

SEC. 403. QUALIFIED ROTH CONTRIBUTION PROGRAM.

• (a) In General- Subchapter III of chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8432c the following:

`Sec. 8432d. Qualified Roth contribution program

• `(a) Definitions- For purposes of this section--

• • `(1) the term `qualified Roth contribution program' means a program described in paragraph (1) of section 402A(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which meets the requirements of paragraph (2) of such section; and

• • `(2) the terms `designated Roth contribution' and `elective deferral' have the meanings given such terms in section 402A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

• `(b) Authority To Establish- The Board shall by regulation provide for the inclusion in the Thrift Savings Plan of a qualified Roth contribution program, under such terms and conditions as the Board may prescribe.

• `(c) Required Provisions- The regulations under subsection (b) shall include--

• • `(1) provisions under which an election to make designated Roth contributions may be made--

• • • `(A) by any individual who is eligible to make contributions under section 8351, 8432(a), 8440a, 8440b, 8440c, 8440d, or 8440e; and

• • • `(B) by any individual, not described in subparagraph (A), who is otherwise eligible to make elective deferrals under the Thrift Savings Plan;

• • `(2) any provisions which may, as a result of the enactment of this section, be necessary in order to clarify the meaning of any reference to an `account' made in section 8432(f), 8433, 8434(d), 8435, 8437, or any other provision of law; and

• • `(3) any other provisions which may be necessary to carry out this section.'.

• (b) Clerical Amendment- The analysis for chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 8432c the following:

• • `8432d. Qualified Roth contribution program.'.

SEC. 404. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH SELF-DIRECTED INVESTMENT WINDOW.

• (a) In General- Section 8438(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--

• • (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking `and' at the end;

• • (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and

• • (3) by adding after subparagraph (E) the following:

• • • `(F) a self-directed investment window, if the Board authorizes such window under paragraph (5).'.

• (b) Requirements- Section 8438(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

• `(5)(A) The Board may authorize the addition of a self-directed investment window under the Thrift Savings Plan if the Board determines that such addition would be in the best interests of participants.

• `(B) The self-directed investment window shall be limited to--

• • `(i) low-cost, passively-managed index funds that offer diversification benefits; and

• • `(ii) other investment options, if the Board determines the options to be appropriate retirement investment vehicles for participants.

• `(C) The Board shall ensure that any administrative expenses related to use of the self-directed investment window are borne solely by the participants who use such window.

• `(D) The Board may establish such other terms and conditions for the self-directed investment window as the Board considers appropriate to protect the interests of participants, including requirements relating to risk disclosure.

• `(E) The Board shall consult with the Employee Thrift Advisory Council (established under section 8473) before establishing any self-directed investment window.'.

 

[luv2read]

This is the specific TSP Bill H.R.6500. Did they change it to be part of the smoking bill? I don't find the TSP stuff in H.R.1108 when do a web search on it.

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...6500ih.txt.pdf