Watch a stock

[Plane]

http://finance.aol.com/quotes/zoltek-companies-inc/zolt/nas

http://www.zoltek.com/

at 27.


I am certain the product will be in demand (carbon fiber ) but is the company being run by dummies?

[Christians4LessGvt]

thanks plane
do you have any more insight about this company?

[Xavier_Onassis]

If you click on their website and look at the performance chart, you can see that if you had invested in the DJIA or the S&P 500 a year ago, you would still have nearly all your money. If you had invested in Zoltek, you would have about 80% of it. I suppose the way to make money on this stock is to buy it at a low poit and sell it when it goes up 5 to 10%. It is NOT a beginning Microsoft, or has not been one for the past year.  Compare it to the T Rowe Price New Era Fund (PRNEX), and that would have less risk AND more gain.

It is my belief that a 22% gain in a year on several dozen stocks is a better investment in every way than a 20% loss. I do like carbon fiber as a concept, but ZOLT for the past year is for dolts. My definition of a dolt is someone who invests in a stock that loses 20% in a year. I have been a dolt upon occasion, but as a result I now invest in  mutual funds, which are run by people who understand how the market works better than I think I will.

[Plane]

The product has tremendous potential for saveing energy , improveing the quality of products and even helping to make energy , but there are other companys makeing Carbon fiber , so how well the company is run will make a lot of diffrence.

[Xavier_Onassis]

The main problem with carbon fiber, according to the guys at Renntech, a company our MBCA group visited recently that makes auto performance products for MB, Porsche and BMW, is bubbles. Carbon fiber is a flexible woven fabric that is molded with a liquid urethane to make a strong, light and impact-resistant product. When the urethane dries with bubbles in it, you have a product that no one wants that is very hard to dispose of safely. They still need to work out how to make it without bubbles. Urethane is somewhat toxic and being around while it is drying over a period of time is dangerous to the lungs.

The Stealth Bomber is made of carbon fiber and costs a bazillion dollars, but for some reason it needs to be kept out of the rain. I don't actually want a car I have to keep out of the rain and costs less than a bazillion dollars. But perhaps that's just me.

Eventually, carbon fiber will make tons of money, but apparently its time has not arrived as of yet.

When the old fart in the film "The Graduate" told the Dustin Hoffman character to invest in plastics, that was GOOD advice and timely, too.

[Amianthus]

The Stealth Bomber is made of carbon fiber and costs a bazillion dollars, but for some reason it needs to be kept out of the rain.

You got a source for that?

There are some coatings that are applied to the skin that require the application process to be done in a strict climate controlled environment, but it can operate in many types of weather. I have seen one flying in a drizzle over Andrews AFB at one point.

[Xavier_Onassis]

You got a source for that?

There are some coatings that are applied to the skin that require the application process to be done in a strict climate controlled environment, but it can operate in many types of weather. I have seen one flying in a drizzle over Andrews AFB at one point.

============================================================
I recall watching an appropriation hearing where a senator asked why the Stealth required being stored in an expensive hangar, and the company who made the plane blathered on and on about "climatic considerations" and the Senator said "You mean to say, you cannot take this out in the rain". This was sort of agreed to by the company rep, who you could see, really did not want to admit this.

I think all our country's aircraft should be waterproof, or at least as water-resistant as my $7.79 Wal*Mart digital watch. I think most citizens would agree with me on this.


Perhaps they have solved this problem, perhaps not. But Carbon fiber that cannot be left in the rain is a poor choice of material for an automobile, that was the  point I was making.

[Christians4LessGvt]

does the investment firm of XO, XO, & XO know of a good oil ETF?

by the way XO what do you think of ETF's

my brother who has lots more money than me has almost convinced me that ETF's
are way better than mutual funds. lower costs. easier in and out. no minimum.
no 30 day sell rule. as far as i understand an ETF is a mutual fund that is traded
like a stock. so you get the expertise, but the flexibility of an individual stock.

[Christians4LessGvt]

B-2 Spirit Bomber

Program Overview:

The U.S. Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber is the flagship of the nation's long-range strike arsenal, and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world. Its unique capabilities, including its stealth characteristics, allow it to penetrate the most sophisticated defenses and hold at risk high value, heavily defended enemy targets. The B-2 has demonstrated its capabilities in several combat scenarios, most recently during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The B-2 is the only U.S. aircraft that combines long range, large payload and stealth in a single platform, giving it the ability to project air power anywhere in the world. It can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling. With its ability to carry more than 20 tons of conventional and nuclear ordnance and deliver it precisely under any weather conditions, the B-2 also has the ability to change the outcome of a conflict with a single mission.

http://www.is.northropgrumman.com/systems/b2spirit.html

[Amianthus]

Perhaps they have solved this problem, perhaps not. But Carbon fiber that cannot be left in the rain is a poor choice of material for an automobile, that was the  point I was making.

Carbon fiber, like fiberglass (made in a similar way), is waterproof.

[Xavier_Onassis]

by the way XO what do you think of ETF's

my brother who has lots more money than me has almost convinced me that ETF's
are way better than mutual funds. lower costs. easier in and out. no minimum.
no 30 day sell rule. as far as i understand an ETF is a mutual fund that is traded
like a stock. so you get the expertise, but the flexibility of an individual stock.
==================================================================
ETF's are mutual funds. The disadvantage is you must pay a commission to buy and sell them. If you have a discount brokerage account with someone like Scottrade that charges only $7 per trade that is no big deal. You pay no commissions on five-letter funds if you buy them from the fund house like T Rowe Price, Fido, Vanguard, etc, or if you use a discount broker, but you should hang onto them for at least 90 days. The disadvantage is that ETF managers often do not have a long track record as do the managers of other funds, and the funds tend to be on average more volatile. I own EZU, FEZ, and the ishares Canada fund, for which I don't recall the ticket letters at the moment. You need to watch the three-letter funds more carefully because they are more volatile. This is because a lot of day traders furgle with them. They do this because they can, and can't daytrade with a five-letter fund. As for an oil ETF, no, I don't know own any, nor does my newsletter. I like PRNEX and RYDEX. and own those. They also invest in metals and other resources, which I consider a plus because they include diversity. 

Most mutual funds are not worth crap. The same is true of ETF's. But not ALL are, and that is the good part. If you follow the recommended "buy and hold forever" strategy every fund manager recommends, you will not get rich anytime soon. The market rotates through various sectors and sizes, usually several at a time, on a random basis. Subscribe to Hulbert's Financial Digest, decide what your strategy and goals are, and then choose a highly rated newsletter and follow it religiously. Generally, 'hot tips' suck and if you heed them, you will be shorn.



 

[Christians4LessGvt]

thanks XO
i just purchased a bit of an oil ETF via my fidelity account
it's called USO
i will watch it closely
i think oil will be volatile
but i can't envision any long term downward trend
not with the indians and chinese all wanting new wheels

[Plane]

Composite carbon fiber is the future. Carbon fiber props are lightweight, flexible, cost effective and extremely efficient. Because of this, carbon fiber propellers have been installed on ships and luxury yachts achieving remarkable success. Today more products are being made from composite carbon fiber because of it's superior performance and durability. Marine technology has also turned to carbon fiber for developing propellers, yacht masts, hulls and many other products for vessels.
 
Give your yacht a "Competitive Edge" with carbon fiber props. With fantastic features such as; replaceable blades, increased speed and fuel efficiency, you will get top dollar when it's time to sell. Plus the extra advantage of always having spare blades on board. Spare blades easily stack and store. They weigh around 7 lbs. each (1 meter blade).


http://www.compositecarbonfiberprop.com/


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The parts of the Stealth fighter that are classified might include ferrite or Iron ball in its paint , if so, the unique situation would be a rustproof vehicle coated in a paint that could rust.

Carbon fiber might make many parts of vehicles lighter includeing crankshafts , driveshafts , and piston rods . Makeing the rapidly rotateing or reciprocateing parts of an engine lighter saves a lot of energy. This is really in its early stages , vehicles made entirely of stuff we consider exotic now might be in our very near future.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Carbon fiber might make many parts of vehicles lighter includeing crankshafts , driveshafts , and piston rods . Makeing the rapidly rotateing or reciprocateing parts of an engine lighter saves a lot of energy.

How are you going to make carbon fiber into a crankshaft? It's a fabric of woven fibers encased in urethane, which is a plastic. I don;t think Plastic can withstand the heat inside an engine. You would need to encase the carbon fiber in something far more heat resistant.

You could make engine parts out of tungsten, I suppose. It is very heat resistant, but also very expensive and expensive to work with, too.

Compare USO with PRNEX and RYBIX for three, six and twelve months. It might be a good investment. But it is volatile and you will need to watch it, because if it heads south, it will plummet. Bulls can make money, even bears can make money, but pigs get slaughtered. he time to buy this was several months ago.

[Plane]

Carbon fiber might make many parts of vehicles lighter includeing crankshafts , driveshafts , and piston rods . Makeing the rapidly rotateing or reciprocateing parts of an engine lighter saves a lot of energy.

How are you going to make carbon fiber into a crankshaft? It's a fabric of woven fibers encased in urethane, which is a plastic. I don;t think Plastic can withstand the heat inside an engine. You would need to encase the carbon fiber in something far more heat resistant.

You could make engine parts out of tungsten, I suppose. It is very heat resistant, but also very expensive and expensive to work with, too.

Compare USO with PRNEX and RYBIX for three, six and twelve months. It might be a good investment. But it is volatile and you will need to watch it, because if it heads south, it will plummet. Bulls can make money, even bears can make money, but pigs get slaughtered. he time to buy this was several months ago.

http://www.solarnavigator.net/composites/glass_fibre_reinforced_plastic.htm


The Plastic component doesn't have to be urithane , there are several alternative plastics that can be used , the development of high tempreture tolerant matrixes is the cutting edge of development in this feild . I don't mean to say that internal engine parts made of Crbon fibre are already ready , that is one of the developments I expect to see in the reasonably near future.