Ouch! Stock Thoughts.

Someone asked me recently why I matched the contributions in the charity raffle at the DC Blogger Happy Hour. There were two reasons. 1) Catholic Guilt; and 2) Ninja Stock Picks (tm) have been doing remarkably well over the past 6 months. I was actually up about 22% in the past 6 months on my Ninja investment strategy. So I donated a bunch of money to other charities and I figured the Karma from one more donation donation couldn't hurt. Anyway, most of you should skip most of this post and get to the point, which will be in the last paragraph, or you can read my babbling for a bit.

Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, my largest holding (Smith & Wesson) is down considerably in the past 2 days. I would say that it's getting killed, but it's a gun manufacturer, so I think the joke is in poor taste (unlike my jokes about the Pope and Dead Hookers). I'm still up about 40% on it, but that's down from 75%. I had a feeling that I should sell, but I didn't want to sell 'till next year because I didn't want to pay taxes on it. I guess I got greedy. Anyway, I'm glad to report that all my other current holdings (except for Endo) are still positive. This includes my two housing/construction related stocks that my friends said I was crazy for buying.

ADVANCED ENVT RECYCLING TEC (AERT) up about 20%
ENDO PHARMS HLDGS INC (ENDP) down about 9%
HANESBRANDS INC (HBI) up about 18%
HOVNANIAN ENTPR INC CL A (HOV) up about 20%
PATTERSON UTI ENERGY INC (PTEN) up about 25%
PRAXAIR INC (PX) up about 11%
SEABOARD CORP DEL (SEB) up about 43%
SMITH & WESSON HLDG CO (SWHC) up about 40% (down from 75%)
USG CORP (USG) up about 16%

When I get my Investing Ninja blog up and going, I'll explain why I invested in these. I think now may be a good opportunity to buy some Smith and Wesson, but I think I own enough of it so I'm not buying more (yet).

If I were to buy more, it would be:

Owens Corning (which I own in my retirement account, and will do well now that it has gotten rid of its asbestos liability in bankruptcy).
Hanes (now my largest holding, and cheap relative to other apparel makers)
Seaboard (still undervalued compared to Smithfield, its competitor).
Patterson UTI (natural gas drillers will do well when this winter proves to be colder than people anticipated).

Anyway, after the new year I'll set up the ninja investing blog with specific entry and exit points so I can brag about my awesomeness in a new forum. I don't think one blog is big enough to house my ego, so my blog empire must grow like a powerful skin rash until it's all over the internet and people can't help but look at it wonder "isn't there something you can put on that to make it go away...it looks disgusting."

NOW: THE POINT

Well, my point about this has to do with Endo, my down stock. Many of you may have stocks that are down this year, and if you do, then you should sell...NOW. If you hold onto the winners, you don't pay taxes on them until you sell. But if you sell the losers, you can claim a tax deduction this year, which is like cash in your pocket. If you still like the stock (even though it lost you money), you can re-buy it back after 30 days in your regular account or immediately in your IRA account and you can still claim the deduction, but end up owning the stock. Also, if you are doing some home renovations, remember that certain home improvements having to do with insulation or energy-efficient windows and doors are eligible for tax credits under the new energy bill. So...if you did buy energy-efficient windows or install insulation, be sure you get some money back on your taxes.