Dueling Fools
September 09, 1998
A Short Story
History cuts both ways. We are probably all aware of the market's historical tendency to rise, yet, in turbulent times like these -- and even with individual stock debacles that happen regardless of the investment climate -- is it Foolish to bet against a company?
This week we tackle the sophisticated art of shorting. When you sell a stock short you profit as the borrowed shares fall in price. Naturally if the stock rises, your losses mount. Navigated properly, as the Fool Portfolio has done recently with Trump <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DJT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DJT)") end if %> and Quarterdeck <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: QDEK)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: QDEK)") end if %>, great. Done poorly, uh oh.
So we have a pair of Dueling fashion mavens to sort out the hippest of trends. Louis Corrigan (TMF Seymor) thinks shorts are all the rave, while Bill Barker (TMF Max) thinks long pants are the only way to go.
And don't miss this week's Duel Flashback, where we look back at our Duel over 3Dfx Interactive <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TDFX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TDFX)") end if %>.
You Get to Vote!
Once you've read the arguments and the rebuttals, it's your time to cast your vote. We'll tabulate results each week and revisit them from time to time to see whether you were right! As always, we invite you to join us in the Dueling Fools Message board to continue the duel.
[Any suggestions, comments, praise, or flames, please send them along to the Dueling Fools Team.]
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The Bull... Short people got no reason to live? If Randy Newman had made that "short-sellers," he would have pretty much summed up most investors' attitude toward folks who try to make money from falling stock prices. Continue... |
The Bear... Before I get started, let me make things even tougher on myself. As you may or may not know, every year right around Halloween certain Fools pick some stocks to write-up as "tricks" or "treats." Last year's tricks went a brilliant four for four, and each stock is now worth virtually nothing. Each "trick" would have been a great stock to short. The year before, the prognostication was nearly as good, with a solid majority of "trick" ideas being phenomenal short picks -- some devastatingly so. Continue... |
Results for last week's AT&T Duel
| Answer | Percentage |
| I can't make up my mind | 6% |
| TMF Bogey's Bull argument |
47% |
| TMF Parlay's Bear argument |
32% |
| They were both excellent |
11% |
| They were both lame |
4% |