I remember the day I bought Google on borrowed money. I had read the week before how Google allowed employees to dedicate 15% of their time to personal projects and I was impressed. I must invest in this company I said so I cashed some Visa cheques (special offer 3.5% interest for 6 months). I could not wait the week-end to be over and on Monday I was up at 6 AM PST. I thought the exchange would open at 9 as I had in my mind, from some movie, the image of the opening bell rung at that time. But the exchange opened at 9:30. Anyway I bought 5 shares at around $700 (it was Nov. 2007). Almost right away the stock started its descent. I didn't care, as I considered myself the buy and hold investor, and I had high hopes in the rumored Google mobile phone. However, the mobile phone turned to be only a mobile phone operating system (the Android) so after a while I no longer could stomach its downward march. I sold the stock at around $500.
I was taken by the hype and bought Facebook shares at its IPO (around $40). It was my first IPO purchase so I had to take it down :). At some point the stock reached $20 and I was highly tempted to double my position but I remembered the sage of Omaha's rules:
Rule no.1: Never lose money.
Rule no.2: Never forget rule No.1.
He did not say: Make up the lost money.
So I did not buy any FB shares.
And a few weeks ago the stock went above $40, sold half of it at $43 and the other half at $50. I had a feeling the stock would go higher (it closed on Friday 18 Oct at $54) but I did not want to take any chances.
Once bitten, more than twice shy! I still have the mental scars of 2008.
I am quite curious what would happen to Apple Single-Handedly Stopped Apple!
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