Progress

So far, in the game we purchased a 100 shares of both NHP, T and TJX. With the purchase of these stocks, our ranking in the game has decreased to 1305. We have lost some money, but that might change because the stocks go up and down frequently. We have lost $253.48 which is 2.631% of the money that we had invested. Our team will continue to research, sell, and buy stocks according to what we feel would be a good investment.

Blue Chip Stocks

Irina : Coca Cola Co. (KO)

This company's 52 week high was 59.45 and the 52 week low was 40.82. The stock price went down 6.1% in the past 3 months due to the economic climate. Weather has been very cold and Coca Cola sales usually sky rocket around the summer months. Recent headlines include placing a tax on all soda. This may cause a decrease in the profit being made by stock holders because the less people that buy the product, the more the value decreases. This tax proposal, in addition to Bloomberg's decision to take sodas out of schools means a decline in sales. I project that this stock will not significantly be affected by the new proposal to tax soda, however some value will be lost.

Mallorie: Walgreen Co. (WAG)

This blue chip company has has a 52 week high of 40.69 and a 52 week low of 23.39. Recent headlines include that the Walgreen Co. sales at the nationwide stores have only risen a mere 0.04% since last year due to a lower incidence of the flu this year as opposed to last year. It was exactly 0.01% less then anticipated by Walgreen Co., however Walgreen Co. shares rose 1.7% on Wednesday morning. I project that since currently the stock is losing value, it would be wise to sell the stocks that you have in Walgreen Co. because it doesnt seem to be doing so well.

Zoya: McDonals's Corp (MCD)

McDonald's stock has significantly increased in the past year. A year ago on March 9th McDonald's stock was priced at $52.38, and in only a year the stock increased to $65.10. Since the recession hit, McDonald's has been a source of good food for cheap. As long as United States remains in the recession McDonald's will continue to go up because people are less likely to spend a lot of money in restaruants when they can get good food for a significantly cheaper price. Over the last 3 months McDonald's has been an up and down stock however the prices has risen. McDonald's seems that it is going down now but based on the current status in the past i project it to go back up to a higher price than it dropped.

Bonds

1. What is the current interest rate on EE Bonds purchased today?
The current interest rate is 1.20% on EE Bonds purchased today.

2. Explain the advantages of purchasing bonds.
The advantages of purchasing bonds is that you will know how much interest you can expect to receive, how often you'll receive it, and when the maturity date is. Bonds are very steady and the interest rates paid by bonds typically exceed those paid by banks on savings accounts, especially short-term bonds.

3. Which would you prefer to buy an I or EE bonds? Explain.
We would rather prefer to buy an EE bond because it is more stable and the I bond is based on inflation so the interest on the bond can go up and down depending on the inflation.

4. Why must you wait until the bond matures before you redeem it?
You must wait until the bond matures before you redeem it because you will be able to receive the full worth of the bond by receiving all the interest it collected over time.

Team Strategy

Our team is going to approach the game with a lot of judgement and carefulness. We all will utilize MSNFinance to help us make wise purchases in stocks and potentially help us make the most money in class. We keep track of the stock's activity, stability and price. We will try to stay away from fluctuating stocks, and thoes that seem as if they will plumet, or not produce any profit. Our whole team will work hard to produce the most amount of money from our judgements.

Automotive

Toyota
Toyota's reputation lately has changed drastically when millions of their vehicles were recalled for brake and gas petal problems. This recall greatly effected people's trust in Toyota and has effected its stocks. The stock now is currently worth $76.99 a share and for now it is up .34%. Over the last 3 months according to the charts from Yahoo finance, Toyota's stocks have been going down over a three month period. I think the stock will eventually return back to where it was maybe in a year or two when Toyota handles all the recalls and there reputation gets back to where it was before the recall. Many Americans trusted Toyota for years for safe and reliable cars. If my team purchased the Toyota stocks we can be at risk for losing money and I do not think we will risk purchasing this stock because of the direction it is going.

Mallorie Kaufman

Porsche
Porsche Automobile Holding Preferred Shares has had its yearly high of 90.50, yearly low of 46.95 and its previous closing was at 57.00. Their total shares sold is 175.00 Million, and my family is a consumer of this product, which is why I chose it. In recent headline news of the Porsche, sales of their models such as 911, Cayman, and Boxter, the more expensive models, declined significantly from the previous year. More affordable models such as the Cayenne, which my mother happens to have as well, have risen in sales to almost 200 more cars from the previous year. Despite the unusual weather patterns of February 2010, there has been a slight increase in Porsche sales especially in the Northeast, which is one of Porsche’s top sales markets. So far, in 2010, sales have risen 4%. Based on recent headlines and the stock patterns of the 2010 year for Porsche sales, I predict that the stock will go up in value. Since the stock is a generally good price of 57.00, it hasn't reached his high yet and will only increase in value. Currently, the stocks value is going up. This purchase hopefully will help our team make a relatively large amount of money, more than we put into buying the stock. Its seems to keep rising in value and it also seems to be at a stable slope upwards. Hopefully this purchase will make our team a lot f money.

Irina Poltorak

Daimler AG

The highest closing of the year for Daimler was 55.28 and the lowest closing of the year was 28.45. Recent developments from Daimler is that their truck market has most likely bottomed out. In 2009, their trucks dropped 49% or 259,328 vechles and it is said that 2010 would be a challenging year. Based on a recent 10 day chart, i think the prices of this stock will go up. It keeps drastically increasing.
Zoya Simhayev