iBrianEarley {dot} com
Reviews of Movies, Games, Books, and Things I Enjoy

The big movie season starts with a huge name, and gives us what fans of the X-Men movies have desired: the mysterious past of Wolverine. I am not a big follower of comic books, and do not know whether Wolverine’s past has been revealed before, or if it has been revealed if it is even in line with the movie. In my opinion, I thought it was a good story to a point.

I really liked the opening credits that show everything Wolverine has been through from his childhood to all of the wars he has fought. After Stryker recruited Wolverine, I got the feeling the movie was going to be all about Wolverine and the task force he was fighting for. Maybe I was expecting a little too much to happen, because we all know that Wolverine has to have a falling out with Stryker.

The concept of Wolverine actually having a happy, normal life was interesting and something you wouldn’t expect in a character that has been an “animal.” His emotional roller coaster added a greater depth and a side to the character that hadn’t been shown before.

After Wolverine has his true falling out with Stryker, and meets up with Gambit, the movie kind of lost my interest and made the movie less enjoyable as it could have been. My favorite poker player made a cameo in the poker scene when Wolverine meets Gambit. That was cool! Anyway, Stryker’s plan of capturing mutants reminded me too much of Arthur Petrelli from Heroes. Weapon XI was too much for me to handle. I did like the placement of the headquarters at Three Mile Island in 1979. That made for a cool plot development and alternate explanation of the accident.

Some of the graphics weren’t as good as the graphics in the other X-Men movies. The helicopter that saved the mutants from the island at the end didn’t look like it was rendered very well, as well as some of the equipment that was supposed to look hi-tech.

Overall, it was entertaining and worth the ticket price. The action was good, there was ample humor, and the story was good, but not the best.

The markets saw a pretty good up week again. Since the second week of March, the Dow Jones is up over 20%. It’s difficult to add to my positions in such a crazy rally, but I’ll take the gains just the same.

The GDP was still lower than -6%, and doesn’t appear to have an upturn any time soon. Once we start seeing an upturn in the GDP, it will be a good signal to get into the stocks that thrive on that part of the industry cycle.

Not much else to say this week. I’ve been really sick, so I haven’t been able to monitor a whole lot.

Dow Jones at Year Start- $9,034.69
Dow Jones at End of Week – $8,212.41
Dow Jones Point Gain – (-$822.28)
Dow Jones Percent Gain – (-9.10%)

Portfolio at Year Start – $104,435.54
Portfolio at Week End – $107,852.89
Portfolio Total Gain – +$3,417.35
Portfolio Percent Gain – +3.27%

Symbol – Shares – Last Price – Purchase Price

MCD —– 50 —– $52.40—– $54.47
KO ——- 100 —— $42.47—– $40.96
BP ——– 155 —— $43.87 —– $39.99
PFE —– 275 ——- $13.58—– $14.26
KMP —- 100 —— $47.54 —– $46.92
MO —— 525 —— $16.37—– $15.75
T ——– 300 —— $26.01 —— $25.82
NAT —- 300 —— $34.15 —— $29.16
CAT —- 100 ——- $37.26 —– $26.36
AEM — 200 ——- $44.38 —— $45.53
PEP —- 200 ——–$49.79 —— $49.45

Transactions for the Week

None

Dividends Paid

$105 from 100 shares of KMP at $1.05 per share

My position in gold paid off for me this week. After buying AEM at one price and again after it dropped a little, I am now up on that position around 10%. The big factor in that gain was the second buy order at the lower price.

Most people would panic and sell if they lost a few percentage points. I was like that once, but I have learned my lesson. The company is still in good shape, so I knew buying lower was still a good move.

I got into PEP in two levels as well like I wanted, but have yet to see a gain or exited my KO position. I may hold on to capture the dividend, and then dump it.

The PFE for JNJ swap fell off my plate, so I dropped the ball on that. I will remember that move for this coming week.

Dow Jones at Year Start- $9,034.69
Dow Jones at End of Week – $8,076.29
Dow Jones Point Gain – (-$958.40)
Dow Jones Percent Gain – (-10.61%)

Portfolio at Year Start – $104,435.54
Portfolio at Week End – $107,044.84
Portfolio Total Gain – +$2,609.30
Portfolio Percent Gain – +2.50%

Symbol – Shares – Last Price – Purchase Price

MCD —– 50 —– $54.31—– $54.47
KO ——- 100 —— $42.79—– $40.96
BP ——– 155 —— $42.06 —– $39.99
PFE —– 275 ——- $13.17—– $14.26
KMP —- 100 —— $48.20 —– $46.92
MO —— 525 —— $16.92—– $15.75
T ——– 300 —— $25.16 —— $25.82
NAT —- 300 —— $30.50 —— $29.16
CAT —- 100 ——- $33.63 —– $26.36
AEM — 200 ——- $49.73 —— $45.53
PEP —- 200 ——–$48.52 —— $49.45

Transactions for the Week

4/20 – Buy 100 shares of PEP at $50.97
4/23 – Buy 100 shares of PEP at $47.92

Dividends Paid

None

This week, I decided to pick up some shares of a gold stock. Cramer suggests that AEM is the best of the gold stocks, so I decided to jump in when it reached less than $48 a share with another entry point where Cramer suggested it at $44 a share. Gold should be a part of everybody’s portfolio, because it helps fight inflation. As the buying power of the dollar goes down, the cost of commodities such as gold, copper, and oil will increase.

I am also looking at switching out of KO for PEP, and PFE for JNJ. The reason being is PEP and JNJ have a better outlook than their similar companies of KO and PFE respectively. It is better to go with the “best in breed” stock in a sector than to sit on a stock that might underperform.

I am also looking to build core positions to build around, and scale out when I hit a 10-20% gain by leaving in the gains and taking out the original amount invested. This will allow me to minimize my losses and still keep shares of stock that will generate dividend income for me. If more investors thought this way, they would be able to avoid huge losses like the losses that have occurred in the last year.

Dow Jones at Year Start- $9,034.69
Dow Jones at End of Week – $8,131.33
Dow Jones Point Gain – (-$903.36)
Dow Jones Percent Gain – (-10.00%)

Portfolio at Year Start – $104,435.54
Portfolio at Week End – $106,240.09
Portfolio Total Gain – $1,804.55
Portfolio Percent Gain – 1.73%

Symbol – Shares – Last Price – Purchase Price

MCD —– 50 —– $56.09—– $54.47
KO ——- 100 —— $45.02—– $40.96
BP ——– 155 —— $40.13 —– $39.99
PFE —– 275 ——- $14.16 —– $14.26
KMP —- 100 —— $47.16 —– $46.92
MO —— 525 —— $16.99—– $15.75
T ——– 300 —— $25.95 —— $25.82
NAT —- 300 —— $30.19 —— $29.16
CAT —- 100 ——- $32.29 —– $26.36
AEM — 200 ——- $43.65 —— $45.53

Transactions for the Week

4/16 – Buy 100 shares of AEM at $47.11
4/17 – Buy 100 shares of AEM at $43.94

Dividends Paid

$42 from 100 shares of CAT at $0.42 per share