So this past Freaky First Friday, I got the beginnings of my bottom-bounce, despite worse-than-anticipated jobs numbers. (I had anticipated a bounce following better-than-anticipated, although still bad, jobs numbers) An up day ensued, then we saw a gap way up preceding a way-down day, a few down days, another reversal day followed by an up day.... and then Lehman failed to sell itself. D'oh...

Last weekend the US Federal government announced that it will be taking control of Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM). But unlike a typical corporate takeover, FRE and FNM equity holders are getting screwed as shareholders receive only a 20% controlling stake in the company. This arrangement is more like bankruptcy protection, with the government guaranteeing the debt of the two companies, except in this case the government will be operating the two companies. Regardless, the announcement sent shockwaves through the global financial system, where over the course of two days, investors went from bearish, to bullish, back to being bearish.

I wasn't sure which stock to do my dividend stock analysis on this week, so I ended up just picking a random one off of mergent's dividend Achievers list. So, this week I bring you an analysis of Shaw Communications Inc. ( TSE: SJR.B ). Even though Rogers is the main carrier in the city that I live in, I'd still like to see how SJR stacks up.

About the company:

Here is Google Finances description of Shaw Communications does, which can be found here here

I have recently introduced a friend of mine from work to the world of dividend based investing, and by the sound of it, he is pretty excited about the idea of living off of a constant stream of passive income. I accomplished this 'conversion' by first lending him the book,

Magnets don't just attract steel... fertilizer too!

Hello at long last. Your local Opportunist has been on holiday and a thought occurred to him while away, and figured it would be good to write a little article about said thought. As a day trader, or any active trader (more than 5 trades in a day I would say), there's a certain amount of patience involved. There's definitely a fine line to walk when it comes to being trigger-happy and trigger-shy. (in a word, disciplined)