YOU'RE AN IDIOT RECAP

On October 19, 2008 I wrote in a blog, "stocks are on a blowout clearance the likes of which we have not seen for at least a couple of decades." I went on to say, "this, the great economic crisis of 2008, will have historically proven to have made the riches of those who dared to proceed contrary to the current sentiment." I was referring to the natural tendency of people to panic in a crisis and throw in the towel. I was saying that it was time to buy stocks. Not to sell them. And then I wrote another blog on November 14, 2008 entitled, "In Judge Judy's Words, You're An Idiot." And of course followed that title up with "if you are selling stocks right now." I didn't want to get anyone's panties into a bunch before they even got into my first paragraph.

I think, if you look back, the stock market has rocketed since. If you bought shares in nearly any company you'd have made money. And in my "You're An Idiot" blog I mentioned 7 stocks in particular that I liked, and that I thought would do rather nicely. And so I thought I'd revisit those to see how things went. For each of them I've assumed the value at the close of trading November 13, 2009 had you invested $1,000 on the day I recommended them. And in the interest of full disclosure, I have since sold all of my shares in these stocks with the exception of WSBF.

• WSBF $431.19
• JPM $1,244.56
• MCD $1,132.73
• MCS $1,038.56
• WWE $1,247.18
• MRO $1,298.33
• FMX $1,549.69

Considering the year we've had, and that during the period of time in which these stocks are being evaluated, we had higher levels of unemployment, the banks still haven't gotten their act quite together, the credit crunch is still on to some degree and consumers haven't loosened their wallets, these stocks performed rather well. WSBF is, of course, another issue.

What stocks do I like now? Ford Motor Company (F), Sony Corp. (SNE), Brinker International (EAT), Nuveen Equity Premium Opportunity Fund (JSN), Amazon.com (AMZN), Apple Inc. (AAPL), and I still like Marathon Oil (MRO). I do not currently own shares in AAPL, AMZN or MRO.

And for a speculative play, I like a bulletin board stock that presently trades for around 90 cents a share. China Tel Group Inc. (CHTL). Definitely one to watch. For full disclosure, I own shares.