Michie1, There's a lot of information at Yahoo, then click on the "Finance" option. If you enter the symbol (see them listed beside the name of the stock in a good financial paper, e.g. N.Y. Times), it will show you what the current price is, during the day (with 15 - 20 min. delay). If you click on the symbol, it will show you recent information about that stock, plus chart of stock price ranges, over a day, a few days, a month or so, a year, 5 years, etc. In most libraries you can look up information about a whole host of stocks. Very few mutual funds have a long-term track record of much higher than stock market averages. Which are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 7 - 8% annual growth. U.S. mutual fund managers often charge about 1.5% management fee - which is a fairly hefty percentage of your growth for the year. Many Canadian mutual fund managers charge over 2% annual management fee, which is about a quarter of the usual rate of growth. However, if the value of the stocks in their portfolio drops - they still get their fee. There are some stocks that carry a number of stocks as part of their business, so they operate somewhat like a mutual fund. One such could have been bought for $12. in 1965 and recent price was quite a few thousand, as they've never split. Some say that they've not paid out any of their earnings, either - which would have meant that you'd have incurred no tax liability since '65, had you bought shares then and continue to hold them. But the guys who claim that are wrong - they paid out 10 cents in 1967, so shareholders would have had some tax liability that year. I understand that they own more Coke shares than any other agency, plus a lot of Gillette, insurance, candy, etc. Their annual report is written in language that most of us can understand. I'm not suggesting that you should buy any of that company. I own some shares - of the recently issued kind, which are valued at one-thirtieth of the original shares. Good wishes for learning how to make wise investment decisions. ole joyful

Upwards of three years ago I attended a reunion of folks who, as missionaries in Korea, many of us had helped some of the hundreds of thousands of refugees get their lives back in some kind of approximation of order after that horrible Korean War. Some job! One of the activities was a discussion of U.S. foreign policy, with some folks who had diplomatic and military connections. At the end of that meeting I spoke to one of the leaders, moving my hands with opened palms up and down like elevators in a bank of elevators, saying that it had appeared to me increasingly in the time following 9-11 that, had the U.S. treated Israel and the Palestinians in a much more even-handed fashion over the past 55 years or so ... ... that it was my increasing conviction that those airplanes never would have hit those towers. Looking at me rather searchingly, he asked whether our conversation was off the record. When I assured him that it was, he told me, with some firmness in his voice, "I agree with you ... 100%!". When I was in University, I think, I read a book proposing the idea that one can't beat an idea with a gun. You can only beat an idea with a better idea ... skilfully disseminated (and with some perceptiveness and compasssion) ... ... not with a gun. It seems to me that the way to beat Osama is to show ourselves such friends of many of the ordinary people in his part of the world that when he disseminates the idea that the people in that part of the world should kill us, they'll refuse, saying that we've been proving ourselves their friends. Like the Marshall Plan did in Europe, after World War II. ole joyful

Greetings everyone. Some folks may find some useful advice in the posts above. All that I said in the previous post still applies. The guy whose system I spoke of, whose Canadian system, using solid stocks, takes about 2 hours per year to operate, as one can choose a basket of 10, or 5, or 4 stocks and several of the chosen stocks, usually about 6 to 10 of the list of 10, continue unchanged, year to year. The system has a growth rate averaged over 20 years of about 14% ... at low (for Canadian residents) tax rate on current income, plus much of the gain stored up over a number of years till one sells, then there's a tax advantage on the gain, in Canada. But if one puts one's asset into the bank, where it produces interest ... one must pay part of the interest to the income tax people ... and interest is taxed at top rate. The borrowing agency guarantees that the number of dollars that you lent them won't shrink: the parallel guarantee that they never mention is the number of those invested dollars won't grow, either. So folks who put those grow-proof dollars into the bank must put some of the interest with the principal to maintain purchasing power, to counteract inflation. I expect my stocks to increase in value, at least partially offsetting the inflationary costs. I'd rather buy (part of) the bank! Not only have my bank shares' values grown, directly, over those years ... ... the dividend rate grew from a nickel or a dime, 41 years ago, to $3.48 annual rate, last year. Taxed at a low rate in earlier years, but the tax rate on that kind of income dropped again, last year. As that mutual fund manager said, "I like to buy a Dollar ... for 60 cents". I agree - but I'll buy it myself, saving the management fees that he charges. I'm sad that so many investors, when stock prices fall ... rush to the exits, instead of getting ready to buy more, and buying them. Further ... had some of you U.S. guys chosen to buy some Canadian money to have bought those stocks 5 - 6 - 7 years ago, 65 - 69 - 75 cents U.S. would have bought you CAD$1.00. If you were to choose to sell those stocks now (and I don't know why you would) every CAD$1.00 now does not buy only 69 cents U.S. ... but within a couple of cents either way of $1.00. Which would have meant an additional 1/3 - 1/2 growth of your invested asset. In addition to the growth over those years. I've written recently of a guy's mixed Canadian and U.S. system that, running for 16 years, has produced 5 year growth rates averaging 16 - 36% (a difference of 20) ... and 10-year growth rates averaging 19.6 - 29.3% (a difference of 10): note the lower rate of volatiity over the ten-year periods, please. The longer you leave quality stocks ... the better they do. Remember how the skilled advisors say to invest your dollars in good stocks, watch them a little in case the company gets crippled, but don't sweat blood if a $20.00 stock goes down $1.00 ...or $2.00 ... or $3.00 or more. If it's a quality stock, it'll likely recover. In fact, while the market is dropping, remember what a mutual fund manager told a group of us sales people almost 25 years ago ... "I like to buy a Dollar for 60 cents". During a substantial drop in the market, recruit some extra money in addition to the regular investment program that you follow. As you don't know when the bottom will appear, invest some funds from time to time, in a regular fashion. Would you rather buy coffee that's worth $1.00/lb. usually ... ... for $1.20 ... ... or, after a drop in the market - for 80 cents. As long as the quality is there, I like the last scenario the best. How unfortunate that so many investors buy a stock for a Dollar ... and when the market goes down, they get upset, angry and scared ... and sell for 60 cents! Good wishes for learning more about how the markets work, every month and every year. It's a hobby that pays well. Maybe use mutual funds for a while in the early years of your investing program, for diversity, but later learn how to buy various stocks from time to time, building your own diversity? The fees that you pay to regular mutual fund managers are substantial - comparable to the rate of income tax that you pay. And, if you put the money into the bank in "guaranteed" financial products, you must take some of current ernings to add to the principal to keep the purchasing power of your dollars even. When you put $20,000. into the bank 15 years ago, the bank would pay you (rather slim) interest every year, as agreed. If you need your $20,000. now and go to collect it, they'll pay you exactly $20,000. - which would have bought a nice car, 15 years ago ... but not now - cars are more expensive, as are most things. So, you must pay income tax on the current income, and at the top rate, by the way. You must put part of it with the principal to maintain purchasing power. I don't like earning interest! Good wishes to you and yours. And teach your kids about how money works, O.K? Please! They'll use that information every day of their lives! ole joyful

The stock market is not for the weak of heart! LOL I've had stocks for over 40 yrs. and watched it go up and watched it go down. Most of our stock was bought b/c of the dividends they paid--and a lot are utilities. We're always gonna need utilities. People will quit buying a lot of things, but they're not gonna give up their utilities. Sure, I'd love to see it soar like an eagle--but it's a gamble. You just don't put all your eggs in one basket--we've got some CDs paying almost nothing, but they are there. My Daddy, who was a brilliant investor, would be out buying. Right now. Today. My DH sells metal detectors and his business has soared. These folks are finding gold in the lakes in East Texas that are so low, and other places. A lady last week had found thousands of $$$ worth of gold--so much that she upgraded her detector. Maybe we should be doing that!! The market falling isn't gonna turn my electricity off, or take food out of my mouth. You just gotta ride it out. And maybe buy some stuff!!