Blackjack

    On Wednesday, the Free Enterprise classes participated in friendly games of blackjack. 
When the series of games began, I was completely oblivious to what was going on. My skills remained finite until about the third hand. At that point, I began to understand the concept of the game. Throughout the experience, I learned that you won't gain as much when your emotions come into play. You shouldn't play a game you don't understand in real life situations if you're not willing to lose money. 

Stock Portfolio

     I purchased one share of Apple as an investment. Apple currently pays a quarterly dividend of $3.05 per common share. Over the past years, the dividend has increased at a steady rate. Due to Apple's current popularity and technological advancements, I think that the stock will continue to increase at a steady and constant pace. If this stock reaches above 10-20%, I will probably consider selling a stock or two. 

    Recently, I have invested in EOG resources. EOG currently pays $.19 per common share. Gradually over the past years, the dividend has increased. I think the stock will continue to do well because of the high demand of oil and gas. EOG Resources, Inc. is one of the largest independent crude oil and natural gas companies in the United States. Similar to my plan with Apple, if the stock reaches above 10-20%, I will consider selling other stocks. 

Trades VS. Investments

In terms of the market, trades and investments are two completely different methods for making profit. When making an investment, the initial goal is to make a financial gain over a long period of time. Investments are commonly held for years, taking advantage of interest, dividends and stock splits. Trading only regards the gain of wealth over a short span. Trading profits are done by buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price within a relatively short time. Catalysts relate to events that have either occurred or haven't occurred. If the events are taking place and your products are within that event, you'll want to sell your stock. If they haven't happened, people will either want to buy them..or wait. When you short sell, you buy stocks from other companies and you sell them individually to other buyers. You are able to receive the difference between the price that you sold them for and the original price. 

Thursday Event

When I first entered the room, complete chaos unfolded around me. The blaring sound of videos engulfed the room and students scattered across the room to gather various pieces of candy that was placed throughout. The race to pick up the most candy diminished within about thirty seconds. After, we all piled up our candy on top of tables in the classroom. After Mr. Kapptie established what was going to occur, the chaos began. Every few minutes, a stock on a type of candy was updating and we would all frantically update the rankings. The whole atmosphere was actually quite intimidating for me. The whole idea made me kind of timid because everyone else was superior to me because they had obtained more candy than I had.