{"id":40581,"date":"2013-08-02T05:35:22","date_gmt":"2013-08-02T09:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/forex-news\/?p=40581"},"modified":"2013-08-02T05:35:22","modified_gmt":"2013-08-02T09:35:22","slug":"charting-my-three-worst-recommendations-of-the-last-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex-news\/2013\/08\/02\/charting-my-three-worst-recommendations-of-the-last-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Charting My Three Worst Recommendations of the Last Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a> <\/p>\n

It’s Friday in the Wall Street Daily Nation<\/em>. That means it’s time for some charts.<\/p>\n

And it’s also time for “just a bit of a break from the norm \/ just a little somethin’ to break the monotony,” as D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince famously put it.<\/p>\n

Let me explain…<\/p>\n

A New Kind of Bragging Right<\/b><\/p>\n

Most analysts in the blogosphere and newsletter industry happily (and all too frequently) tout their winners. And only<\/em> their winners.<\/p>\n

Their marketing departments love to engage in the same chest-thumping exercise, too. It’s what sells subscriptions, after all.<\/p>\n

Don’t act shocked. The average investor (i.e. – you) is exactly the same way. Do you ever go to dinner parties and share the worst<\/em> investment you ever made? My point exactly. It’s just the winners that get acknowledged.<\/p>\n

Well, last night I received my July issue of Mossberg’s Investor Digest<\/em><\/a>. And right there on pg. 2 were all <\/em>the goods. It broke down the performance of every single investment idea that Editor Dave Mossberg shared over the past 12 months or so. The good, the bad and<\/em> the ugly. (FYI – There’s only one ugly pick on his list, which is why I’m a loyal subscriber.)<\/p>\n

It got me thinking, too.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, I bragged a little too much about being one of the first to bet on Europe<\/a>. I’ve done the same thing with my calls on Japan and U.S. real estate, too. Collectively, the bragging paints a picture that I think I’m so<\/em> smart.<\/p>\n

But I’m not.<\/p>\n

To prove it, I want to share three charts that demonstrate my lack of brilliance, what I’ve learned from the mistakes – and, most importantly, what you need to do to protect yourself from my occasional bouts of suckiness…<\/p>\n

Print is Dead! Or Not<\/b><\/p>\n

Back in February, I boldly proclaimed that print media was on its deathbed<\/a>. Since then, the evidence in support of my viewpoint continues to pile up. Like when PC World<\/em> magazine decided in July to join the likes of Newsweek<\/em> and go all-digital.<\/p>\n

Despite the obvious signs of a terminal decline, shares of the two print media dinosaurs that I told you to bet against – The New York Times Company <\/strong>(NYT<\/a>) and Gannett Co., Inc. <\/strong>(GCI<\/a>) – keep defying gravity.<\/p>\n

Each stock is up about 40% year-to-date, more than doubling the return of the S&P 500 Index. Death never looked so good. Especially when you consider that “death” actually occurred all the way back in 2002, when NYT shares topped at $51.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s give the CEO major props for resurrecting the company.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Lesson: When we sell a stock short based on the impending obsolescence of the company’s products, we need to be committed<\/em>. I’m taking about “until death do us part” commitment. Or we shouldn’t bother. Because no matter how sickly the company, it could take a while before share prices finally kick the bucket.<\/p>\n

The Wrong Way to Play the Natural Gas Boom<\/b><\/p>\n

Last February, I teased you with a killer “pick and shovel” company in the fracking services space<\/a> that I had just recommended to WSD Insider<\/em> subscribers. It was a company that was growing sales and earnings at an insanely fast clip. And it paid about a 10% dividend, too.<\/p>\n

How could you resist? Be glad that you did.<\/p>\n

In August 2012, I finally caved and shared the identity of the company with you: Poseidon Corp.<\/strong><\/a> (PSN.TO<\/a>). And it ended up being a killer idea, all right. A wealth<\/em> killer, that is.<\/p>\n

After reporting an unexpected 45% drop in profits, shares plummeted 62% in a single day. Now the company is defunct, after a special committee found egregious accounting errors (i.e. – fraud).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lesson: When the growth appears too good to be true – and management keeps making boasts like “our addressable market keeps getting larger [and we’re a rare], growth-oriented, yield investment” – run for cover. Because it is <\/em>too good to be true.<\/p>\n

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow<\/b><\/p>\n

After correctly panning Zynga<\/strong> (ZNGA<\/a>), Groupon<\/strong> (GRPN<\/a>) and Facebook<\/strong> (FB<\/a>) before their historic IPO flops, I tried my hand at predicting the ultimate fate of SolarCity’s<\/strong> (SCTY<\/a>) IPO.<\/p>\n

I dedicated two entire columns (see here<\/a> and here<\/a>) to tearing apart its business model, too. Boy, do I wish I spent my time doing something else.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The stock is up 250% (and counting).<\/p>\n

Lesson: When it comes to evaluating renewable energy investments, I can’t underestimate consumers’ unwavering commitment to “go green.” It’s a powerful force, sometimes more powerful than economics.<\/p>\n

The Best Defense Against Bad Advice<\/b><\/p>\n

Full disclosure is always the best policy. And with that in mind, please know that I get it way<\/em> wrong sometimes.<\/p>\n

Let that be a friendly reminder, though, that we need to put safeguards in place to protect against my bad calls blowing us all up. Specifically, trailing-stop and position-sizing disciplines.<\/p>\n

Now, if you choose to ignore that advice – and blindly follow my lead – well, you get to share in the blame for the impact of any bad recommendations. Trust me, it’s much more therapeutic when you get to blame me for everything.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, feel free to sound off on any of my bad calls – or any of our work here at Wall Street Daily<\/em> – by dropping us an email here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That’s it for this week. On Monday, I’m back to uncovering profitable<\/em> recommendations for you. Count on it.<\/p>\n

Louis Basenese<\/p>\n

The post Charting My Three Worst Recommendations of the Last Year<\/a> appeared first on  | Wall Street Daily<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Article By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Original Article: Charting My Three Worst Recommendations of the Last Year<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com It’s Friday in the Wall Street Daily Nation. That means it’s time for some charts. And it’s also time for “just a bit of a break from the norm \/ just a little somethin’ to break the monotony,” as D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince famously put it. Let me explain… A … <\/p>\n

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