Hello Friends!  Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice!  As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.

Yesterday with the Dow up 500+ points (on the way to a 900+ point gain), I decided that it might be wise to go "all in" with my investments.  That is, after my partial sale of Graham (GHM) at a gain, I had another 'permission slip' to be adding a position.  With two positions in my portfolio, my minimum being 5, that meant I could move my holdings up to six positions.

These are different times, and while I chose stocks that are generally "growth stocks" and stocks that were indeed moving higher yesterday (weren't all stocks moving higher?), they were what I would call 'favorites' of mine.  Stocks that I have owned in the past either in this account or elsewhere and stocks that I have written up here on the blog.  All of them were what I would call 'value/growth' investments---that is stocks of great value due to their decline in price and yet shared many of the growth characteristics that I have written about in the past.

On October 13, 2008, I purchased 154 shares of Ecolab (ECL) at a price of $40.646.  As I write, ECL is trading at $44.03, up $.02 or 0.05% on the day today.  This represents a gain of $3.384 or 8.3% since purchase.

ECOLAB (ECL) IS RATED A BUY

On October 13, 2008, I purchased 280 shares of Coach (COH) at a price of $20.0454.  As I write, Coach is trading at $20.67, up $.43 or 2.12% on the day.  This represents a gain of $.625 or 3.1% since purchase.

Coach (COH) is an old favorite of mine.  I have owned shares of this stock in the past and have written up this investment previously as well. Trading as high as $50/share in mid-2007, the stock is well below its recent price levels and may represent a 'value' purchase. 

COACH (COH) IS RATED A BUY

Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) is an old favorite of mine, a stock that my kids have owned shares in and a stock that I have owned on and off in the past.  I don't believe I have written this one up on the blog previously.

On October 13, 2008, I purchased 420 shares of Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) at a price of $15.20.  NWL is currently trading at $15.64, up $.51 or 3.37% on the day.  This represents a gain from my purchase of $.44/share or 2.9% since purchase.

Newell Rubbermaid is also a 'value' investment with an underlying growth profile.  The stock has been beaten up pretty severely both with the economic slowdown and the soaring price of oil driving up resin costs for all of their plastic products.  NWL currently trades at a trailing p/e of 10.08, and yields 6.6% in dividends.  Over the past two years, this stock had been trading just above $30/share.

Boy do I sound like a different investor today!

NEWELL RUBBERMAID (NWL) IS RATED A BUY

Finally, I chose to pur ResMed (RMD) back into my portfolio.  I purchased 154 shares of ResMed (RMD) at a price of $36.396.  As I write, ResMed (RMD) is trading virtually unchanged from my purchase at $36.42, actually down $(.12) or (.33)% on the day.

ResMed which traded as high as $55 in early 2007, has not traded at these levels since 2005.  But then again, most stocks are trading at multi-year lows as well!

RESMED (RMD) IS RATED A BUY

If I get a chance, I shall try to write up each of these individually to give you a better assessment of my own view of the prospects.  They are not my usual picks; I promise you I shall be getting back to my usual 'strategy' as more 'usual' times return!

But I shall be managing them in my usual approach of limiting losses and taking gains when appropriate.

Thanks again for visiting!  If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com.

Yours in investing,

Bob