As goes January, so goes the year! Or so the January Effect saying goes. If the first few days of 2012 is a sign of things to come, we’re in for a good year. At least that’s the hope.
Better 2012
The folks over at Betterment have put on a Blogging For A Better New Year event. It’s an article a day about the importance of setting goals for your life and investments, written by some of the best finance bloggers out there. How I was included is beyond me. Most likely just a filler, but proud of the opportunity nonetheless. Mostly because I finished writing it three weeks in advance. The collection has been great reading so far. Check it out.
Money Pro Challenge
A stock picking challenge is being had over at Money Pros and I tossed my picks into the fray. The rules are fairly simple: pick 3 stocks that you think will do well in 2012, submit them, and wait.
I thought I’d put my money where my mouth is and submit 3 stocks I own (but reserve the right to sell at any time). Here’s my picks:
- New York Community Bancorp. (NYB) – The lone bank stock and dividend play of the bunch.
- MGM Resorts (MGM) – MGM is a play on an economic recovery in the US, specifically Vegas.
- Whiting Petroleum (WLL) – Energy is always a good play and oil is king.
Being a competition I’d like to point out I’m up almost 8% for the first week. Too bad we can’t take profits along the way.
Disclosure: I own shares of NYB, MGM, and WLL.
Last Call
I have to say finding recommendations the first week of the year is difficult. My feed reader was bulging with new posts to read but 95% of them were about goals. Which is good, it’s January, a new year and resolution time. Having goals are good. Reading about them all week, not so much. Here’s some goalless reads to check out:
- As a stock nut I found this interesting. Thousandaire asks what do”experts” know about stockpicking? He’ll be comparing expert stock picks against amateur and simply ridiculous picks. I’d bet against the experts.
- I don’t drive or have a license, but apparently some people do. YFS tells us how to get out of a speeding ticket. A possible New Years resolution?
