[aquaswim47]

Nice articles, Investoid. I enjoyed reading them. Isn't it difficult to follow EMT though if you follow the advice from "Fire Your Stock Analyst: Analyzing Stocks on Your Own?" I think using that for 10-15% of your portfolio could be advisable and 85-90% of your portfolio should be passively invested in an index fund. That's because you only have a 15% chance of beating the market. We'll I've been in the top 10% of everything in my life so I hope that 15% of my proceeds beats the index fund portion.

I think looking at the local media hubs is a great idea since it will take a long time to reach the national or international press. I also think it is good to invest locally because you may be able to arrange for a tour of the company and realize that they sell a great product that you presume will be profitable. I think if the stock price is at least $3 and it has little analyst coverage, such a stock can be worth buying. You're going to get above average returns with less risk than someone investing in penny stocks (since that person is less likely to know about a company other than what's on its website). You might be able to meet management (claiming you would like to do an informational interview for a college project) and see if they're worth investing in.

I'll really excited about the opportunities the 9% drop could eventually create; the 1987 crash provided opportunities for the 1990's. The emerging markets are another example of irrational exuberance. I think the US market will decline 2% today and drop a total of 8-12% by May.