Future of Bike Commuter ?

On a nice sunny calm day, I can do my 13 miles round trip bike commute to work in 60 mins. I wonder how much time I can save using this technology :)

Trade or Investment - 3D Systems

3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) makes three-dimensional (3D) printers.

I stumbled onto 3D Systems from investor site fool.com and is a company with huge potential. 3D printing is expected to revolutionize global manufacturing and this company is a key player in the market. I bought shares in this company as the share price began to rise and plan for an opportunity to exit this trade with a good gain.

By 2014, DDD was up already big (6-8x bagger) but I still have not sold. I was getting greedy. I wanted more. I wanted at least a 10x bagger so I held on. However since then its performance has not been pretty as you can see from the chart below.

I'm hoping DDD will follow the volatile performances of my 2 biggest mistakes - selling TSLA and NFLX (hindsight examples of Buy and Hold stocks).

This trade turned => investment is not over yet.

I'm still holding DDD on to this day and still aiming for that 10x bagger exit one day! :)

Market CAP: 3.3B  EPS: 0.11

These Are the Happiest Countries in the World

My 2 biggest mistakes - selling TSLA and NFLX

Hindsight is 20/20 and usually a good teacher.

I am a better long term investor than trader.

A few years ago, I bought NFLX (Netflix) and TSLA (Tesla) aiming for long term aggressive growth targets. I was aiming for a 5-10x bagger before I would even sell a single share. Those targets were admirable but I did not follow through with my actions. I sold both for short term gains. Because of itchy trading fingers, I changed from investor to trader and I f*cked up my longer term plan. I hope not to repeat that mistake again.

My 3 Biggest Energy Sector Losers (ESV -33%, FCX -40%, SDRL -65%)

Ouch, talk about catching falling knives - I bought these 3 stocks in 2014 when oil price started falling but since the start of 2015, all them have dropped even lower.

- ESV is down over 33%, dividend cut
- FCX is down over 40%, dividend cut
- SDRL is down over 65%, dividend suspended!

When I bought these 3 energy sector stocks in 2014 after a sharp selloff, I was betting they would bounce back strong this year. Looking back I way too early to buy into the energy sector and also too confident in their ability to maintain dividends. I'm paying the price now for those mistakes. The oil and energy sector selloff continues this year and no end is in sight yet.

Yes, I'm still holding these 3 companies and may be even add more shares if I see real signs of oil price bottoming and recovering. As the saying goes "Buy When There's Blood In The Streets" - Baron Rothschild. Unfortunately some of that blood currently is mine. :((

ENSCO PLC  (NYSE:ESV) is a United Kingdom-based offshore oil drilling company.

Market CAP: 5.5B Dividend %: 2.4 (dividend cut recently)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) is a mining company for mineral assets, oil and natural gas.

Market CAP: 19B Dividend %: 1  (dividend cut 90% recently)

Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL) provides offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry. 

Market CAP: 5B Dividend %: 0 (dividend suspended!)

California drought: Save water, stop buying jeans !?

A Journey: Pho Factory - Milpitas (food review)

A Journey: Pho Factory - Milpitas: Vermicelli with grilled prawn and pork A friend took us out for lunch here on a Sunday afternoon. Read more...

Recent Stock Purchase - AT&T (30 shares, $56 dividend income)

AT&T is a major US telecom company that has been increasing dividend payouts for at least 25 consecutive years. With proceeds from recent sale of YUM, I took this opportunity to add to my existing AT&T position during recent price pullback in the sector. With current yield north of 5.7%, AT&T is an attractive choice for any income portfolio.

Despite an increased competition from other major phone carriers and customer pricing pressures, AT&T still owns big market share and is maintaining strong revenues. With more internet of things like today's launch of Apple watch, large internet providers like AT&T will see increased demand for bandwidth and growth going forward.

This purchase will add $56/yr to my dividend income portfolio.

Basic info:
Market CAP: 170B Dividend %: 5.7 EPS: $1.19

Recent Stock Sale - YUM Brands (40 shares, loss of $65 dividend income)

After years of ups and downs, I finally decided to sell my remaining 40 shares of Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM). Yum owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in over 125 countries.

I bought YUM several years ago for its strong portfolio of global brands and long history of dividends. However it has been an underperforming investment due to reoccurring food safety issues in China and other asian countries. I still like this business sector but currently due to their low yield, I am looking elsewhere for better returns.

This sale will result in a $65 loss to my yearly dividend income but I will use proceeds (~$3k include small gain) to get another dividend payer soon. I'm currently looking at potential buys AT&T, UPS, Intel, Royal Dutch Shell, Diageo Plc.

Basic info:
Market CAP: 34B Dividend %: 2

Check out the rest of my dividend and growth stock portfolio watchlist

The Millionaire Pitcher that Lives in a Van

Where does the money go ?

by creditloan.

Recent Stock Purchase - Microsoft (30 shares, $37 dividend income)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) makes Microsoft Windows that runs a lot of personal computers in homes and offices worldwide. I wrote this post on a laptop that runs Windows 8 and previously I used a laptop that runs Windows 7. Microsoft's past dominance in the software technology space is undisputed and its founder, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine.

For the past decade, increasing competition and the internet has made Microsoft Windows platform dominance a thing of the past. Microsoft had become a technology dinosaur that was slowly going extinct. I believe however with new CEO Satya Nadella and company shift to cloud services, they are starting on a comeback trail to technology relevance again.

After a recent pullback in share price, I took this opportunity to add this dividend payer to my portfolio. Microsoft pays a consistent and growing 3% dividend yield and is promising more shares buyback. I like their prospects going forward and I will happily earn this yield waiting for the company to turn itself around. This purchase will add $37/yr to my dividend income portfolio.

Basic info:
Market CAP: 340B Dividend %: 3  EPS: $2.48

Check out the rest of my dividend and growth stock portfolio watchlist

How Much Fruit is Too Much?

Stock purchase - Ford (80 shares, $48 dividend income)

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) manufactures and distributes automobiles worldwide and has been doing so for more than a century. With oil price staying lower and longer, I'm betting global auto sales will stay strong and Ford's revenues will continue to improve. This company is an attractive long term holding and will provide both income and growth to my dividend portfolio.

Basic info:
Market CAP: 64B Dividend %:  3.77  EPS: $0.81   P/E Ratio: 19.56 (04/01/2015)

Check out the rest of my dividend and growth stock portfolio watchlist