Reading Section Five Questions

Questions that must be answered:
1. Do you think that a large group of people working together at buying stocks can change the price of the stock? Why or why not.
2.Why is the buying and selling time of stocks important?
3. (answer in reading) Why can no market be perfectly efficient?
-Remember to answer the questions fully. After all Kappitie does grade your responses.

Reading Section Four Questions

Questions that must be answered:
1. What do you believe would happen if the market didn't have enough sellers?
2. Do you think the market should be one persons lose another persons gain? Why or why not.
3. Relate stocks to something that is modern amongst people today. Why did you choose this topic?
-Remember to answer all the questions fully. After all Kappitie does grade your responses.

Reading Section Three Questions

Questions that must be answered:
1. What do you personally think it takes to run an efficient market?
2. Why Do you think these things are needed for efficiency?
3. What could make your system not efficient?
-Remember to answer the questions full. After all Kappitie does grade your responses.   

Reading Section Two Questions

Questions needing to be answered:
1. Do you think it is smart to invest in stocks? Why or why not.
2.What do you think it means when the passage says, " Financial markets can be notoriously volatile?"
3. What are your own thoughts on the stock market? It is good, bad, necessary, a waste of time, gambling, anything.
-Remember to answer the questions fully. After all Kappitie does grade your responses.

Section One Book Discussion

Questions needing to be answered:
1. Do you think the market is skill or luck and why?
2. Why do you think the market is or isn't important?
3. Do you think the market works efficiently as is?
-Make sure you answer all questions fully. After all Kappitie does grade your responses.

Stocks

On the stock simulator I first bought a few stocks just to see how it worked and to figure out the basics of the game. After I got a pretty good idea of how the system worked and how I should be buying stocks I started to buy stocks for certain reasons. I bought Starbucks as a stock as an investment, but only a short term one. I did this because the winter months are approaching so naturally Starbucks is going to be selling more coffee as the weather gets colder and people want a warm drink. Also in the December Christmas time roles around and many people give gift cards as gifts. I figured Starbucks would seek quite a few of these gift cards. By march I feel my stock value will go up roughy 12% (from the value I bought it from) and the value will increase 23 dollars. I feel that it will do this because it is currently going up at a constant rate and if it continues this all the way to march this would be the relative value of the stock increase. In the spring however I plan on selling the stock. I also bought the national oilwell varco as a winter investment as well because in the summer gas prices usually increase but more people get around on bikes and walking as opposed to driving cars so gas isn't sold as high of a rate was winter were everyone is driving to get to destination to escape the cold. From this stock if it continues to increase the way it is the stock values will go up 14 dollars by march. 

Black Jack

When coming into free enterprise on Wednesday I was handed twelve poker chips. I new immediately that we were going to be gambling. I wasn't quite sure whether we were going to be playing black jack or texas hold em' but I knew we were going to play one or the other. I waited for the instruction from Mr. Kappitie. He said that we would be playing a card game in which you want your card value to equal 21. I knew that this meant we were playing black jack. I new the rules of black jack fairly well. Everyone verses the dealer. If the dealer gets twenty one we loose it all. If not we have a chance to win. Mr Kappitie said he was playing soft 17, meaning that if his card value was less than 17 he had to hit which helps increase the chance that he will bust if he has to hit. In black jack you can only make a guess as to what cards are on the table. You can be close but you should never risk it all on a guess. Betting small in my mind is generally the way to go because even if you bet one chip and you push or win every one of your four hands you are still going to come out even or making money. You don't want to loose money so play smart so you can win. I broke even after the six hands I played. In poker that's not bad. Many people think you win some you loose some but why loose?

Trade vs. Investment

Trade and investments are two words that are often thrown around in the market and are sometimes used simultaneously even though they are very different. Yes, these are both ways in which the buy/seller is trying to make money but the steps in which the buyer/seller is trying to make a profit is completely different. In an investment the buyer is going to try to make a profit over a long period of time. In this method the buyer can use interest, dividends, and stock splits to help increase their earning value. Trading is used to get fast money. You buy stocks when they are relatively low and sell them when the value increases for higher. Catalysts are events that occur that can change the value of your stock for better or for worse. You want to be aware of these catalysts so you can use them to your advantage when dealing with stocks. Short selling is when you buy a large number of stocks from a company and then sell them individually to other buyers in the market.

Candy Stock Market

        On Thursday we were gathered in the hall. We were unsure as to what was going on but we were told to leave everything thing in the hall way and that we could not enter until we were told. we waited as the last of the students gathered around the door. After everyone had made it we spread out between both the doors and Kapptie hollered to enter. All of the students went pooling into the classroom. The class room was dark and there was a loud video playing on the wall. Scattered all over the tables and floor was candy and monopoly money. As the kids pooled a race began. Every one was running every where picking up whatever they could.
        After all of the contents of the ground and tables had been collected the light were turned back on and the everyone stopped moving. At this point Kapptie explained to us what we would be doing. We were going to do a stock market stimulator with the items that we had collected. All of the items that were found in the room had been posted on the board and that's were you could find the value of these items. Kapptie explained that every two minutes there would be an announcement and he would post the new value of the stocks.
        After the instructions had finished it started another race. Students began running to the boards trying to find out the values of there processions so they new what to sell or trade. For the next thirty minutes every one was in almost constant motion either trying to buy, sell, or trade items, in hopes that they would gain money and in the end walk out with the biggest value. Every two minutes when the announcements were made and the values were reposted everyone would gather around the board trying to figure out their next move. Strategy had suddenly become key in trying to win the gain. You had people who constantly tried to buy or sell for to low or and those you tried to buy or sell for to high. However, every move you made counted and needed to be thought out thoroughly. This way those who collected little at the door were able to gain money by smart investments and those who gained lost coming in lost it all due to poor investments or the other way around.   
       At the end of the period when our simulator had finished we valued all of our items to see how we had done in the stock market. Many people played the game wrong and many people one. It was all in how you played the game.   

20% time

For my twenty percent time I am working on creating a web page. This is going to be an anti-bullying webpage made to reach out to troubled individuals who suffer from a range of problems like, bullying, depression, anorexia and bulimia. This will be a webpage telling the stories of individuals who have dealt with these and a column saying what they went through and how they over came it. This will hopefully show people that they are not alone and that there are people who have been through similar things that can help. I also want to add a question column in case people need additional advice, but are working on a way to have no harmful comments posted. By the end of October I am hoping to have my website up and running while right now I am working on contact people for their stories and building the webpage.