How To Invest

In addition, Pat thinks then beginner investors should cultivate two important qualities: a healthy sense of skepticism and patience.

[text_ad]

Investors should approach all investments with a healthy sense of skepticism. This can help keep you out of fraudulent stocks that masquerade as high-quality stocks. It will also keep you out of legally operated, but poorly managed, companies that promise more than they can possibly deliver.

If you are a new investor, you should also realize that losing patience can cause you to sell your best choices right before a big rise. All too often, investors buy a promising stock just as it enters a period of price stagnation. Even the best-performing stocks run into these unpredictable phases from time to time. They move mainly sideways in a wide range for months or years before their next big rise begins. (Stock brokers often refer to these stocks as “dead money.”)

If you lack patience, you run a big risk of selling your best choices in the midst of one of these phases, prior to the next big move upward. If you lose patience and sell, you are particularly likely to do so in the low end of the trading range, when stock prices have weakened and confidence in the stock has waned.

[text_ad]

Read More Close
How To Invest Library Archives
A: Bruker Corp., $65.10, symbol BRKR on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 145.3 million; Market cap: $10.0 billion; www.bruker.com), manufactures high-performance scientific instruments and diagnostic solutions used by scientists....
A: Pan American Silver Inc., $32.53, symbol PAAS on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 362.9 million; Market cap: $12.0 billion; www.panamericansilver.com), engages in the exploration, acquisition, development, and operation of precious metals.

The company owns or operates the following silver mines: the Huaron mine in Peru; the Cerro Moro mine in Argentina, La Colorada mine in Mexico and San Vicente in Bolivia....
A: Ivanhoe Electric Inc., $15.86, symbol IE on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 120.3 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; www.ivanhoeelectric.com), aims to produce copper and other minerals, such as cobalt and nickel, necessary for the production of electric vehicles (EVs) and clean-energy technology.

Ivanhoe currently owns the Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona, which it believes is the second-largest copper deposit in the U.S....
A: Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., $316.71, symbol BIO on New York (Shares outstanding: 23.4 million; Market cap: $9.0 billion; www.bio-rad.com), is a multinational manufacturer and worldwide distributor of its own life science research and clinical diagnostics products.

Those products and systems are used to separate complex chemical and biological materials and to identify, analyze and purify their components....
Right now there’s a lot of uninformed guesswork on the market, with a lot of little-noticed pluses and widespread but low-grade assumptions.

I spent a lot of time in the past few weeks in assessing recent changes in the health of the stock market—a lot more than usual....
BOAT ROCKER MEDIA INC., $0.98, symbol BRMI on Toronto, is a global entertainment company. In business since 2004, it creates, develops, produces, and distributes scripted, unscripted, and animated television content around the world. The company also provides brand and management services to actors, actresses, and other creative talents.

On March 24, 2021, Boat Rocker Media launched its IPO, selling 18.9 million shares at $9 a share....
DEVON ENERGY CORP., $46.48, is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (symbol DVN on New York) is a leading producer of oil and natural gas from wells in Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Devon continues to use acquisitions to expand its operations in its core areas....
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $182.77, New York symbol IBM, is a top pick for 2024.

The company is one of the world’s largest computer firms, with operations in over 175 countries.

With the June 2024 payment, IBM raised your quarterly dividend by 0.6%, to $1.67 a share from $1.66....
CONAGRA BRANDS INC., $28.35, New York symbol CAG, is still a buy for long-term gains.

Through your shares, you tap the maker of some of North America’s most popular food brands. They include Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Birds Eye frozen meals, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream.

The company reported weaker-than-expected sales for its latest quarter, as cost-conscious consumers switch to cheaper alternatives....
TECK RESOURCES LTD., $69.23, Toronto symbol TECK.B, remains a buy.

The company is a leading producer of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steelmaking. It also produces copper and zinc.

In November 2023, Teck agreed to sell its coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources (EVR).

In January 2024, Teck sold 23% of EVR to Japanese steel maker Nippon Steel Corp....