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Really ought to dedicate February to clearing
out the clutter in this apartment.  When the  
pressure rises to where I can't stand myself  
any longer, I will/ abandon these blogs until
the pressure subsides to a tolerable level.  
                                              
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Sprintedon Migrasaurus, which now has 1021 posts,
has a site map worth perusing and using.  If you  
prefer more specific information, you will need  
to scroll to near the bottom of the page where   
the labels are.  Guess I should put a link in to
them, if I can.                                   
                                                 
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Most of the comments at Money Rho are mine.  
Update stuff.  Entered one at WCG, BAC, and   
CNO earlier.  All of these companies are in  
trouble.  Still, I wouldn't short them.  A
perfect upside trade situation developed at
CNO beginning on November 20, 2008.  That  
was a down day on the market.  CNO closed  
at $1.78 that day.  The stock was trading
from just below $2.00 to just above $3.00
and so could be expected to move back to  
that price or higher.  It's previous high  
above $3.00 was $3.16.  It did move up,   
and when it did, it established a new    
trading range.  On November 28, 2008, an
up day on the market, it closed at $3.38.
It was then the new trading range--above
$2.50 and below $3.90--began.  Analyst   
consensus had it rated a buy when it
was in the old trading range, and that
didn't change.  In December a dividend  
was declared for holders of record as of
December 31, 2008.  Now, I had no idea   
how high CNO's stock would rise, but I  
knew dividends draw investors.  I also   
knew that after December the price of   
the stock would decline.  Circumstances
have me sidelined.  Surprisingly, and   
this is the salient fact, CNO rose to a
high of $5.19 on December 31.  Just do  
the math.  Remember, here is a stock    
which is barely investment grade; yet  
it is outperforming the market by a  
huge margin.  Say you bought a mere   
50 shares at $2.00 a share on 11/20/08.
Do you hold through December so you   
can get the dividend, or do you sell your
50 shares at, say, $5.00?  Of course  
there will be a commission that will
need to be paid upon the purshase and  
again upon the sale.  Say $50.00 is   
that commission.  The dividend was
about 0.10 per share.  100 + 50 = 150.  
250 - 50 = 200.  200 - 150 = 50, a gain 
of 25%; and 50 x 0.10 = 5, a gain of 
5% ($5.00).  The stock would have to
be at $4.90 when you sold it in 2009
in order the get the $50.00 selling it
at $5.00 on December 31 would have
given you.  On January 2, $4.71 was    
the closing price.  Nonetheless, I say:
Take it when you have it.                
                                     
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All the immediately above information 
should have been posted at Money Rho.
Some of it is.  But a surprise email  
arrived this morning, and it is what  
prompted me to make this disclosure.
                                        
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At S M are the song lyrics for sl43,
Dreams Edge.                             
                                         
                                   
                                        
                                        
                                       
                                        
                                       
rho00276