I walked into the classroom and Mr. Kapptie handed me a stack of poker chips. Everyone was crowded around one of the half circle tables with their own stack of chips. The bell rang, Mr. Kapptie gave a few basic rules of Blackjack, and started the first round. I played every round but the very last because that was for the people who had a chance to win it. I played 1-3 chips each round. I enjoyed this activity because I actually knew how to play and it was amusing to watch others who didn't. I didn't end up with four stacks of chips but didn't lose everything.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Stock Portfolio
I bought three shares of Microsoft as an investment or a trade. They have a $0.23 quarterly dividend. Looking at a graph of their history, they've had a relative increase over the past year. There was a sharp jump and a couple dollars fall during the summer but since then have continued to rise. I believe their stock will continue to rise throughout the holiday seasons. After the new year, if it has reached a 15% increase, I will sell, therefore making it a trade. If not, but it the stock is still doing well, I will continue and it will be an investment.
I bought two shares of Apple as an investment. They have a $3.05 quarterly dividend. Over the past five years, they have had a constant increase. Over the past 1-2 year(s) it has been up and down, but I believe the stock will continue to increase in the future. Apple isn't a company that is going anywhere. People will continue to buy iPhones and iPads. As schools integrate more technology into their education, there is the possibility of iPads being a part of the integration. The goal for this investment would probably be %15. If the stock reached that, I would consider selling one of my stocks.
I bought two shares of Apple as an investment. They have a $3.05 quarterly dividend. Over the past five years, they have had a constant increase. Over the past 1-2 year(s) it has been up and down, but I believe the stock will continue to increase in the future. Apple isn't a company that is going anywhere. People will continue to buy iPhones and iPads. As schools integrate more technology into their education, there is the possibility of iPads being a part of the integration. The goal for this investment would probably be %15. If the stock reached that, I would consider selling one of my stocks.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Trade vs Investments
Trades are stocks that you buy when they are low, believing that the next catalyst will cause the stock to jump, and then you sell. They are very short-term.
Investments are stocks that you buy for the long term. More research goes into the choice. Of course, you buy when it's low. Instead of selling just because the stock is high, you let your investment continue to make you money and ride out the ups and downs.
Dividends are basically payments from a company to their shareholders. The money comes from the company's profits and can be given in several different ways at different times. The money can be deposited into the shareholder's accounts or they can be paid through shares. The company can have a set time when the shareholders are paid and/or they can give special payments, which are just payments given at a different time than normal.
Stock increases are good for both trades and investments. With a trade, you wait until you think the stock has reached its highest point and then you sell. With an investment that you want to continue with, you get to enjoy that your stock is making you money.
When stock decreases happen, a trader has two options. They can buy if they think the stock will turn around soon. If it is their stock that is decreasing substantially and not turning around, they would probably sell to avoid losing more money. Investers have three options. If it is their stock that is decreasing, they can either ride the drop out or if they deem it a bad investment, they could sell. If they want to invest in a company, stocks decreasing could be a good time to invest.
A catalyst is something large that will cause stocks to either increase or decrease substantially. A trader would buy stock before a good catalyst and sell after. If they were predicting it would be a bad catalyst, they could sell before it occurred. An investor would typically ride the catalyst out.
Short selling is done when a trader believes that certain stock is going to drop. They borrow shares from a broker and sell them. When the price of that stock drops, they buy it back and return it to the broker. Their profit comes from the difference in market price.
Investments are stocks that you buy for the long term. More research goes into the choice. Of course, you buy when it's low. Instead of selling just because the stock is high, you let your investment continue to make you money and ride out the ups and downs.
Dividends are basically payments from a company to their shareholders. The money comes from the company's profits and can be given in several different ways at different times. The money can be deposited into the shareholder's accounts or they can be paid through shares. The company can have a set time when the shareholders are paid and/or they can give special payments, which are just payments given at a different time than normal.
Stock increases are good for both trades and investments. With a trade, you wait until you think the stock has reached its highest point and then you sell. With an investment that you want to continue with, you get to enjoy that your stock is making you money.
When stock decreases happen, a trader has two options. They can buy if they think the stock will turn around soon. If it is their stock that is decreasing substantially and not turning around, they would probably sell to avoid losing more money. Investers have three options. If it is their stock that is decreasing, they can either ride the drop out or if they deem it a bad investment, they could sell. If they want to invest in a company, stocks decreasing could be a good time to invest.
A catalyst is something large that will cause stocks to either increase or decrease substantially. A trader would buy stock before a good catalyst and sell after. If they were predicting it would be a bad catalyst, they could sell before it occurred. An investor would typically ride the catalyst out.
Short selling is done when a trader believes that certain stock is going to drop. They borrow shares from a broker and sell them. When the price of that stock drops, they buy it back and return it to the broker. Their profit comes from the difference in market price.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Candy Stock Trade
I rounded the corner to enter Mr. Kapptie's classroom and was met with a group of my classmates standing around his door. They had their backpacks lined up against the wall and with every new person that joined the group, Mr. Kapptie instructed them to set their backpacks down and take off sweatshirts/jackets. He had a ruffled appearance: his hair in slight disarray, slightly sweaty, and an excited energy. He continued to repeat his instructions until the bell rang and then he gave us a new set. Basically, everything was fair game until you claimed a spot and then theft wasn't allowed. He made a comparison at some point to throwing us in a pool; we would either sink or swim and then told the group to split into two. One group would stay at that door and the other would move down to the other entrance to his classroom. We shifted into position and he told us not to enter until he had both doors open and said we could. On his command, my group jostled into the doorway and as I glanced down the hallway, I noticed the other group was doing the same.
We were met with darkness and constant noise. Various types of candy littered the floor and I heard several classmates voicing their confusion. We all only hesitated a few seconds before grabbing candy off the floor. Once my hands were full I asked Mr. Kapptie if we could claim spots yet and he either didn't hear me or ignored my question. I decided that I was going to and set my candy down on a desk and continued to grab candy. As I moved around on my hands and knees, I noticed my classmates doing the same. I glanced around the room and noticed projections and laptops set up with some sort of video playing that created loud, hectic noise. I had no idea what was happening on the other side of the room. All of the candy was gathered up within in a couple minutes and my classmates and I stood by our piles, waiting for the next instructions.
I brought my pile over to a table where Delaney and Megan had their stashes set up. My attention was pulled to the white boards on the far side of the room. Mr. Kapptie said there would be announcements every two minutes but that was all of the instruction given. On the whiteboards, he had listed each type of candy and numbers underneath. I realized that we were in the midst of a mock stock exchange and the videos that had been continuously playing were of stock exchanges. The numbers underneath the types of candy were their stock prices. I didn't see any trading for the first little bit. It seemed like we had all gathered around the white boards and were just watching Mr. Kapptie change the stock prices.
Throughout the entire class period, Mr. Kapptie made announcements concerning the candy companies. They included the tootsie pops coming out with a new product, two companies combining, and one companies stock splitting.
I didn't trade or buy much. My pile was relatively small, except for my tootsie pops. I had over thirty of those. Very few people were willing to sell when it was good to buy and buy when it was good to sell. For the most part, I went back and forth from the boards to the table with my stash and just observed the people and the stock prices. Mr. Kapptie came up and told me that two companies were going to merge. A couple people approached me and I sold a few pieces and rejected a couple others. I approached a couple people, made a few trades, and was also rejected.
At the end of the period, Mr. Kapptie "closed the market" and wrote the final prices for each stock. The company that had split was worth the most. We totaled up how much we had made; I had around $3300. We didn't have very much time to talk about the activity. Mr. Kapptie asked how many of us thought that the stock split was bad and one word to describe the activity. No one could have the same word. We out the candy in one bag and the money and hints in another. We were allowed a single piece of candy and then the bell rang.
We were met with darkness and constant noise. Various types of candy littered the floor and I heard several classmates voicing their confusion. We all only hesitated a few seconds before grabbing candy off the floor. Once my hands were full I asked Mr. Kapptie if we could claim spots yet and he either didn't hear me or ignored my question. I decided that I was going to and set my candy down on a desk and continued to grab candy. As I moved around on my hands and knees, I noticed my classmates doing the same. I glanced around the room and noticed projections and laptops set up with some sort of video playing that created loud, hectic noise. I had no idea what was happening on the other side of the room. All of the candy was gathered up within in a couple minutes and my classmates and I stood by our piles, waiting for the next instructions.
I brought my pile over to a table where Delaney and Megan had their stashes set up. My attention was pulled to the white boards on the far side of the room. Mr. Kapptie said there would be announcements every two minutes but that was all of the instruction given. On the whiteboards, he had listed each type of candy and numbers underneath. I realized that we were in the midst of a mock stock exchange and the videos that had been continuously playing were of stock exchanges. The numbers underneath the types of candy were their stock prices. I didn't see any trading for the first little bit. It seemed like we had all gathered around the white boards and were just watching Mr. Kapptie change the stock prices.
Throughout the entire class period, Mr. Kapptie made announcements concerning the candy companies. They included the tootsie pops coming out with a new product, two companies combining, and one companies stock splitting.
I didn't trade or buy much. My pile was relatively small, except for my tootsie pops. I had over thirty of those. Very few people were willing to sell when it was good to buy and buy when it was good to sell. For the most part, I went back and forth from the boards to the table with my stash and just observed the people and the stock prices. Mr. Kapptie came up and told me that two companies were going to merge. A couple people approached me and I sold a few pieces and rejected a couple others. I approached a couple people, made a few trades, and was also rejected.
At the end of the period, Mr. Kapptie "closed the market" and wrote the final prices for each stock. The company that had split was worth the most. We totaled up how much we had made; I had around $3300. We didn't have very much time to talk about the activity. Mr. Kapptie asked how many of us thought that the stock split was bad and one word to describe the activity. No one could have the same word. We out the candy in one bag and the money and hints in another. We were allowed a single piece of candy and then the bell rang.
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