Again, it is decision time. After the sell-off from the week prior, I decided to plow more money into equities on Monday and Tuesday.  I was obviously premature in my actions as the individual stocks I invested in are down about 10% in less than a week of trading. Is August 6 another opportunity to invest in broad indices as they are at such a huge discount? Is it time to jump on some stocks that you think are undervalued?  I would say yes to both questions, but the market might have another tough week. You can’t predict the highs and you can’t predict the lows so you have to determine your own investing course.

Any way you slice it I think it remains a good opportunity to acquire some great stocks at a 5-10% discount. To combat a possible further market downward spiral build a position, and do not jump in the market all at once.  It is impossible to predict a top or a bottom in the stock market so don’t try.  Create an investment plan and stick to it. If the volatility is too much for you simply sit on the sidelines until enough positive economic is presented to solidify the market.

I think Mr. Lampert has been pushing all this negative news in order to push the stock price of Sears down in order to get a better deal on buying back shares.  Sears is having earnings problems and Lampert is taking advantages of them in order to make the company worth more by buying back millions of dollars in shares. 

Sears (SHLD) is tarding in the low 150s after brushing 190 earlier this year.  It seems a masterstrock of genius by Lampert so when Sears’ earnings do bounce back the company will be even more attractive to investors.

This is why I am long on Sears Holdings (SHLD) and I initiated a position last week in it. 

I went to tradeking.com and the account set-up process was easy to understand and a snap to finish.  I signed up for a joint account in addition to a Roth IRA account.  All I have left is to fund my accounts, but so far I am very pleased with the efficiency of the process. Updates will follow.

This sale freed up cash in the international portion of my portfolio so I deemed it necessary to get that money back into a foreign investment.  That money went into Barclay’s Ishares: Malayasia.  This investment is much riskier, but its short-term outlook is much brighter and it is worth the risk.

Obviously, there is risk that is involved when investing in an area like Malaysia.  First, you have political risk with the potential for terrorit actions which could spoil the recent growth.  Another risk is that because of its recent surge it might have reached its apex and is on the downside now. These are acknowledged risks, but the diversification and potential upside of the investment make it well worth the risk.

Below is a list of the top 5 publicly traded companies rated by profit growth, on average of the past 3 years.

1. Gulfmark Offshore (GMRK)
2. Grey Wolf (GW)
3. Houston Wire and Cable (HWCC)
4. Gulfport Energy (GPOR)
5. Applix (APLX)

That 4% taken over the year equals 20-30% return, not bad. I still like Best Buy the company, but I do see retail in general doing poorly short-to-mid-term which will drag BBY as well.  Also, Wal-Mart is currently taking on Best Buy and Circuit City, and Circuit City is paying the price. I do not think BBY will fall apart like Circuit City, but Wal-Mart is a behemoth. Short-term, you do not want WMT to start being a direct competitor; long run who knows what will happen, but BBY will need to adapt or it will be suffer a mortal wound as Circuit City has.