Dear Dr Stock

Hi,I own 20 shares of Exxon stock. I am in a horrible financial situation and need to sell. What are my best options? Should I turn them into Exxon? I know you are very busy, but, I desperately need your help.Sincerely,Jane

Stocks like Exxon are liquid and you can sell it anytime you want. Just remember that there will be a commission to sell it and there are taxes you MAY have to pay at the end of the year. It depends at what price you purchased the stock. Did you make a profit or was it a loss. If it was a loss you will have a tax write off. Ask your financial advisor.

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From:Rory Gallagher 8/26/05

If were to own stock in Kmart before the bankruptcy and are my shares
worthless now even though they have reorganized? I would think I would get
reissued new shares but is that the case?

All the shares that were traded on the NYSE are worthless. No new shares were reissued to the LOYAL shareholders like yourself. I'm sorry but right now you have a tax-writeoff.

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From: Drop2000 Saturday, August 27, 2005 09:36 AM

What happens to the stock I bought in a Company once that company files for bankruptcy? Is the stock still active once the Company resumes normal operations, or do I write it off?

It depends on several factors. Sometimes the company does resume trading but if it was a NASDAQ stock there is a good chance it will be de-listed to the Bulletin Board or Pink Sheets. It could stop trading and the shares are dissolved and the company closes shop or opens under a different name and the stock holders get nothing. Check with your broker to see what the status is or contact the company.

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From: mcdadd99 Thursday, August 25, 2005 03:44 PM
what happens to a stock if the company is bought out? example nextell is merging w/ sprint what can a shareholder expect from a merger

With any merger it can be a straight out cash deal where you stock will disappear and all you will see is a cash balance. Or sometimes it can be an all stock deal where you will get shares of the new company in exchange for your shares. It can be a combination of stock & cash.

As far as Sprint & Nextel goes a deal was negotiated for a buyout but Sprint doesn't agree on the market price. Basically they are trying to low ball the final price. It likes buying a house and now an appraiser will "try" to determine fair value. Things are going to get sticky.

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From: Polly.Jones Thursday, August 25, 2005 05:25 AM

I have Enron stock that I would like to claim as a loss on my taxes. Where would I get a notice stating the stock was worthless?

Just contact your broker or CPA and they can get you a "worthless stock certificate" form.

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From: cnote332 Wednesday, August 24, 2005 06:32 AM
I just bought shares of Premcor stock. With the impending sale of Premcor to Valero, what will happen to Premcor's stock? does it stay on the exchange for an indefinite amount of time? or is it dissolved completely?

After the closing bell on Monday August 29th shareholders will either elect to get cash or stock in Valero. You do not have to wait for this election you can always sell part or all of your shares on Monday. Bottom line Premcor will no longer trade.

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From: lratim Tuesday, August 23, 2005 11:03 PM

I have shares in Global Crossing and Enron that are now worthless. What is my next step, do I declare them as worthless for tax purposes or is there some way I can get money from the settlements ? Either way please let me know what I need to do to get it done. Thanks

I always feel bad when I have to answer these questions. Yes I have been there as well. Right now just have your broker or CPA get you a "worthless stock certificate" form and write it off.

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From: jamesjazie Tuesday, August 23, 2005 11:18 AM

annual reports on companies

I don't understand your question. If you are asking me if I use the reports to pick out my stocks no I don't. I feel looking at a technical that shows you the price & volume tells you everything.

Although my 2 long-term stocks VMII & ZANE I have put a lot of research into.

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From: creokits Monday, August 22, 2005 01:35 PM

if a company has the highest number but has a history of splitting stocks when it attains this level is it a good idea to gamble and buy the stock at this higher price?

On Wall Street stocks are like creature of habits when it comes to splitting stocks at certain prices. I agree with you. The problem you have is that each time a stock splits there are more shares in the float and if the stock falls out of favor that stock will drop like a rock and never regain its glory. Look at Microsoft for example. That company use to trade in the $100 range. Never again in my opinion. There are to many shares out there. The last time they split was in 2003 at around $50 and it has never come close the high has been $30.

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From: drumster113 Monday, August 22, 2005 01:29 PM

what should i do with my stock (EYET)once its been announced the company is being sold. My stock has gone up 22% overnight. Until now i wanted to unload it the stock has been a dud. The acquiring company is weak in the same sector. Should i sell now?

If you wanted to unload it before and now you are up 22% it seems like a no brainer. Many on Wall Street feel OSI is making a big mistake with the acquisition of EYET so it may start to pullback especially if the shareholders of OSI start screaming. I tell all investors you no matter what stock you invest in before you buy you must have an exit price in mind. As you get closer to that price you can always liquidate a few shares as you go along. You can never get hurt taking a profit.

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From: bride91 Monday, August 22, 2005 12:15 PM

My Worldcom common stock was purchased before the"Freud Period". Was common stocks declared part of the bankruptcy settlement for Worldcom/MCI or is MCI recognizing our stock shares currently?

Unfortunately Worldcom stock was part of the bankruptcy. Have your accountant write it off.

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From: thinkgrape Saturday, August 20, 2005 01:44 PM

I inherited a fairly large and complex portfolio in 2003 consisting of an IRA, an active assets account, a brokerage "trust", lots of stocks and mutual funds, and two or more lots of REMICS. When I sold the portfolio in July 2003, upon reflection, it looks like the FNMA REMIC mortgage securities disappeared, and $200,000 was left in the margin cash account that wasn't disclosed to me. My Father died blind and as I look through the statements I see in 2001, $167,000 of stock was sold and just disappeared. My probate lawyers knew this and instead, took more stock themselves, before I fired them. I can't hire more lawyers. Now the estate is insolvent and I am tired. I don't know what to do.

Try to see if you can hire a local attorney who can do the work "pro-bono". I'm sure if it can be proven that "they" sold stock for their own pockets any lawyer would take the case. I'm sure they will claim that they sent you a bill for services rendered and this was their payment.

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From: Bill Riley Saturday 8/20/2005

Hi Dr-Stock,I have a broker who I have been using for about 10 years and when I started with him I told him that I wanted him to invest our hard earned money in nothing but safe things that would not loose any of our prinicipal . He assured me that he would do this. Now 10 years later he has lost over 70 thousand dollars in things he told us to invest in. The most recent was a Delta Airline preferred stock which is almost worthless that we still own. He assured me that this preferred stock would not go down to nothing as it has done and even if it did that the preferred stock peolpe would be the fist to get their money back if they filed for banrupcy. Is there anyway to recoup my losses due to his lying to me about the safety of all these various stocks that have lost over 70 thousand dollars of our money. Thanks Bill

The only thing you can do is hire a securities lawyer and go to arbitration. Be prepared for them to ask you why it took 10 years before lodging a complaint. Did you ever question the manager or did the firm have a "compliance officer" to discuss your objectives. When you signed to open an account you had to fill out a form if you don't have a copy then request one. On the form it asks what your "investing objectives" are make sure you didn't check off "speculative" or make sure HE did not check it off.

He is wrong with regard to DELTA and the Preferred stock. First of all he invested in a bankrupt company which is speculative. The "creditors" get paid first, then the "bondholders", then the "preferred shareholders" and then the "common shareholders" and that is based on if there is any money left-over.

Go to this Web site to see if this broker has had any prior complaints:

www.nasd.com

Click on top "Investor Information" then on the right hand side click on: "Check out brokers & advisors".

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From: A.J.Michaels Saturday 8/20/2005

Hi! Am looking for the site I somehow lost wherein you could see the last ten trades of the day of any given stock. can you help? I wrote down 'streetsmart Pro" And Businessweek. I tried to go online to locate this site , using the info above to no avail. I never copied what I had viewed and am mad at myself.Hope you can help. I've been trying to find a way to trace trades when there is no way to prove W-H-E-N any certain stock hits it's peak of the day and shows how many SH purchased.

Go to: www.otcbb.com

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From: tttamiii Friday, August 19, 2005 06:48 PM

Can you please enlighten me on the stock possibility?

I understand that a corporation can issue stock to raise funds. I also understand that a corporation can buy their stock back. But I guess I don't really understand how this helps or hurts the corporation. Also, when the decision to offer additional stock is made, how are the number of shares to offer determined?

Also, if it is not to far out of the scope of the class. When I sell a companies stock (as an individual I know I have to go through a broker) who buys that stock? Is it another individual, the corporation, a ghost?

The simplest answer is: every stock is based on "supply & demand". If there are buyers out there then the stock will remain at its current price or even go higher but if shares are sold and no one is touching it then the price goes down. A company usually has an investment banking deal in place when they are looking to raise funds. The firm goes to their clients to see where the interest is and if it's strong enough then they will do it and release shares. As far buying back shares that is a very good signal because its about less shares in the float.

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From: john-lori-cotsis Thursday, August 18, 2005 06:02 PM
Can a stock account be frozen without the client being notified? If not, what can the client do as recourse?

It happened to me where my account was frozen. Of course the firm claimed they emailed me and sent me a letter which they could not prove because it was supposedly sent by regular mail not registered.

The way an account can be frozen is if you bought a stock and there was not enough cash in it and then you sold it with or without a profit and never sent in the money. If you day-trade and buy the same the same stock several times it can be frozen. Another example is if you bought a stock and were maybe $100 short the brokerage firm can take an "extension" meaning they will give you 3 extra days to get the money in and you do send them funds. The problem is you can only take 3 extensions a year even if you have 10 brokerage accounts. There is a list that is kept and once you go over the account gets frozen.

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From: mjcornell02 Thursday, August 18, 2005 12:17 PM

I was given a stock as a spinoff from another company. I have now sold the new stock. What is the basis I use when I figure the taxes

Your cost basis is whatever you invested in the original company lets say $5,000 and then what you sold the new stock at $8,000 you've made $3000 and that is what you must pay tax on. Of course you can always off-set it with any stocks you may have lost on. The IRS just wants to know the bottom-line result.

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From: Laird_Ferguson Thursday, August 18, 2005 03:36 AM

What are your thoughts on one of the network marketing companies going public?

I have no opinion on them. If the companies can show a profit or expand their business to give good shareholder value then all the power to them.

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From: phonix712003 Wednesday, August 17, 2005 09:56 PM

should the managers of a company own sizeable amount of shares in the company?what are the pros and cons?

The owners, President, VP, CEO's, CFO's should own a sizeable amount of shares. It shows conviction in the company. Most will take a small salary but are allowed to sell some shares based on stock price performance or have stock options. I would be worried if they did not own a lot of shares.

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Wednesday, August 17, 2005 12:59 PM

I have some worthless stock, How can I deduct the loss on my taxes

Ask you stockbroker to send you a "worthless stock certificate" form and have your CPA fill it out at tax time.

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From: JeBaguette3 Wednesday, August 17, 2005 12:20 PM

I am new to the stock game and I want to know what are some good stocks that I can buy for around $1 per stock or low costing stock.

The only stocks that I like under $1 is VMII.OB & MYRG.PK

Go to Yahoo Finance and read about the companies get a Due Dillegence package. Also consult a financial professional before investing.

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From: mjsharp Wednesday, August 17, 2005 11:33 AM
Dr. Stock, My parents had stock certs. stolen and sold by my brother-in-law. We have the date, cert #'s, #shares, the transfer agents name.
How do we find the 'brokerage' firm my brother-in-law used to sell these stocks? Is there a website providing a list of sold stock? The transaction occurred on 12-10-98. Thank you.

There is no Web site but I would consult a lawyer who could request your brother-in-laws accountant to provide his tax returns for that year. That should tell you who the brokerage firm was.

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From: starkloff Wednesday, August 17, 2005 11:07 AM

I'm working for At@t and being SBC is buying us out. I was wandering what can happen to my 401K.. I've asked the company and all they can tell me is SBC hasn't shared that information to them yet ! ? Do they have any legal rights to the full sum ?

Here is the terms of the transaction taken from the AT&T Web site:

Under terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, shareholders of AT&T will receive total consideration currently valued at $19.71 per share, or approximately $16 billion.

AT&T shareholders will receive 0.77942 shares of SBC common stock for each common share of AT&T. Based on SBC's closing stock price on Jan. 28, 2005, this exchange ratio equals $18.41 per share. In addition, at the time of closing, AT&T will pay its shareholders a special dividend of $1.30 per share. The stock consideration in the transaction is expected to be tax-free to AT&T shareholders.

The acquisition, which is subject to approval by AT&T's shareholders and regulatory authorities, and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the first half of 2006.

Your 401 K will be converted into the SBC shares.

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From: flwrmom Tuesday, August 16, 2005 09:23 AM

I HAVE ABOUT 7,000.00 IN WALMART STOCK DO I NEED TO SELL

That is up to you. Find out how much your cost average is. For example if you have invested $4000 and now its worth $7000 make a decision if that is an acceptable profit. You do have to pay taxes on the capital gains so consult your accountant.

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Dear Dr,
I have recently bought shares from some of my friends. These friends have received dividend AC payee only checks on their names, but they have not claimed these dividends.How is it possible to transfer those dividends in my name as these friends don't want to deposit such a small amount of dividends to their account because they will not get anything out of it. BR

You are going to have a problem cashing in the dividends that were already mailed out. But for the future have these same friends sign over the "stock" certificates to you this way going forward the checks will be in your name.

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From: Drummerlawman Monday, August 15, 2005 05:35 PM

What happened with AT&T Wireless stock when Cingular bought them out? My mother had 54 shares of AT&T Wireless stock after the AT&T splitoff. I am trying to figure thos out for her.

Go to this Web site as it will explain pricing and cost average:http://www.att.com/ir/ss/tbi/faqwireless.html

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From: JEHCWH Monday, August 15, 2005 01:47 PM

I HAVE 7 SHARES IN COLUMBIAN NORTHLAND EXPLORATION LTD. WHICH TOOK OVER GREAT BASINS PETROLEUM ARE THEY WORTH ANYTHING, OF HOW CAN I REACH THE COMPANY?

The stock has not traded since May 3rd and appears to be de-listed. No longer trading.

You have nothing to lose by depositing the stock certificates into a brokerage account.

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From: tomconception Monday 8/15/05 12:49 pm

I bought 100 shares of greyhound stock on 2/9/1970. I hold the certificates. What is my cost basis and what is the stock worth now ?

I would deposit the shares in a brokerage account but here is a link to a company that purchased Greyhound. I would email them.

Link: http://www.ges.com/about/viad.asp

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Froml: golddustwoman555@aol.com Saturday, August 13, 2005 03:55 AM

Good Morning Dr. Stock...I am totally ignorant to the stock market,or anything to do with it...how would I find out how much 60 shares of stock, purchased in 1977 from Depositors Saving (Bank) who is now AmSouth (I was told)?

AMSOUTH BANCORP has split 5 different times since 1986.

Taking your 60 shares and then adjusting it for the splits then you would have:
456 shares. On Friday August 19th, 2005 the stock closed at $26.69.

If you multiply the $26.69 by the 456 shares you have a total of: $12,170.00

You can look up on Yahoo Finance and type in the symbol: ASO

I would deposit the shares in a brokerage account. You do not have to sell them but it will be easier to track because you will get a statement

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From: katherine.bradley Friday, August 12, 2005 01:04 PM

if I was granted shares from my employer and separate from the company do I have to return those shares back to the company?

Unless you had a contract with the employer that said you must forfeit the shares if you quit then those shares are yours.

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From: psk1087 Friday, August 12, 2005 06:23 AM
I was wondering why
ANII.OB is buying it's
own stock for $4.25/share.
should I sell or hold. Paid $2.60

I don't track the stock but on a technical level ie: charts- if it breaks $4.60 it can go to $6+ in my opinion only. I cannot tell you when to sell or if you should hold as everyone has a different ROI (risk on investment) level. But remember even if you sold half you can never get hurt taking a profit.

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From: RUELL1126@YAHOO.COM Thursday, August 11, 2005 10:53 AM

HOW CAN I LOCATE THE VALUE OF A STOCK ON A PARTICULAR DAY, EVEN FOR STOCKS THAT HAVE BEEN DEEMED WORTHLESS? FREE ON-LINE SEARCH BY CUSIP NUMBER.

For looking up stocks via a cusip number go to:

http://activequote.fidelity.com/mmnet/SymLookup.phtml

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From: ccssm Monday, August 08, 2005 07:38 PM

is there a Web site I can look up my initial statement of ownership of stockholdings. I purchased stocks when i was in high school 25 years ago. Moved to another state two years after I had purchased theses stocks and during this move we lost everything including my stock certificates. What can I do? the company is merging with another corporation and claims they have no record of my account. However over the past three years I have been receiving annual reports and proxy cards. I never received information on my stocks or any dividends or anything about my account. I only purchased a small amount of stocks, but I should have been informed about them,right?

Instead of speaking with the company themselves insist on finding out who the "stock transfer" agent is. The agent has a list of all the shareholders which must be kept on file.
There is no Web site that shows stock holders names.

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From: dvdla Saturday, August 06, 2005 03:52 PM
Dr-Stock:
I purchased some shares of a well-known company's stock back in 1975. The company is still in business. However, through numerous relocations, I have misplaced the stock certificates. Is there a way to confirm ownership of shares of stock by working with the company?

Thank you.

All you have to do is contact the stock transfer agent. They have a list of all the shareholders. They can re-issue you shares by providing proof.

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From: debbie0720 Sunday, August 07, 2005 08:54 AM

i own stock in nextel communications. with the merger of nextel and sprint, what happens to my stock options with nextel?

you can either exercise the option if its in the money or the with the merger they will have to be reissued under the new name.

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Froml: cmacpherson Sunday, August 07, 2005 02:10 PM
My family have found an old share cetificate for a golf course in England. How can we found out if it is still valid?

Just bring it into a brokerage firm and they can look it up or deposit it in your account. In a few days you will know if there is any value.

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From: JEbaguette3 Monday, August 08, 2005 10:56 AM
what happens when you own a stock and it goes bankrupt? If that company goes back on the board is your stock still good

The stock will be good only if they did not dissolve it and open the company under a different name. The best example is K-Mart. They filed for bankruptcy and the stock that traded under the symbol KM on the NYSE was dissolved. They had to pay all the creditors and that left the common shareholders with nothing. K-Mart reorganized and re-applied as K-Mart Holding and started trading on the NASDAQ. The previous shareholders got nothing.

See if the stock still trades under the old symbol or call the company up and see what the story is.

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From: toughwoman1 Monday, August 08, 2005 08:41 PM
how do i get a copy of my stocks and amount?

Do you have them at a brokerage firm? Or is this stock from a company you work for?

You should be getting a at least a quarterly statement from the company who has your stocks.

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My husband was working in the attic of a very old house and found two, "Option Warrants To Purchase Common Stock Of The Common Wealth & Southern Corporation of Delaware" and were issused on May 5 & 6 1931.

How can I find a value for these warrants? How can I find the owners heirs and return the certs to them?

Thanks, Wanda

The stock trades under the symbol of SO on the New York Stock Exchange. On August 10th the last price quoted was $34. Warrants have an expiration date so I doubt they are worth anything. You can contact the investor relations department and the "stock transfer agent" would have the list of shareholders. If you gave them the name on the cert's they can look it up.

Go to: http://investor.southerncompany.com/stockholder/overview.cfm

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1 Oracle Corp.’s hostile bid for PeopleSoft Inc. has been the most highly Visible tech deal. Why was it identified as a hostile bid? What can a firm do to make takeover less likely?

People Soft wants to get the best price for their company and ORACLE basically said "You are going to take this offer whether you like or not." But shareholders have a strong voice and if they like the deal or hate the deal it will be known. Companies can take what is called a "poison pill" which protects them against hostile takeovers. It's a somewhat stall tactic that can get the government involved if it has to.

2. There has been much debate over whether Google’s auction-based IPO was a success and if it will influence future IPOs. What is an auction based IPO? What prompted Google to take this route? In addition, why are most IPOs under priced?

The owners at GOOGLE felt instead of the brokerage firms handling the IPO & deciding on what price the stock should be priced at they wanted the public to decide. With the auction method investors will tell the company they want " X " amount of shares and the price they are willing to pay for it. Its very risky. GOOGLE was a very HOT IPO that everyone wanted and it was going to go up no matter what. But as far as more IPOS using the Dutch method I would say only if it's a deal that is "over-subscribed". This is where investors just "gotta have it". IPO'S are not as popular as they were 5 - 10 years ago. Sure you may get a GOOGLE once in a while but for the most part investors may take a few shares if offered but they are not going to beg for it like the past.

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From: gal0914 Tuesday, August 09, 2005 12:36 PM
I own several shares of adelq, should I hold these shares or sell them. Are they basically worthless or is there a chance for them to increase in value

just based on the price and volume of the stock if you go back to January it was trading millions of shares and the price was in the $0.40 - $0.50 range.

As of July and August it has been trading the $0.11 - $0.15 range.

You are going to have make the decision on your own as everyone has a different level of risk. The creditors are going to get paid first, then bond holders, preferred shareholders and if there is any money left the common shareholders.

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From: jbs Tuesday, August 09, 2005 04:27 PM

Is sirius a good long term stock to buy?

Its not a bad company in my opinion but look for more competition to come out which will hurt not only Sirius but XM. I would not be surprised to see the cable operators offering some form of radio later down the line. I think its a good short term play. The reason is that as we get closer to January and the debut of Howard Stern the stock is going to make a move up. But I also feel that the stock will drop as there is an old adage on Wall Street:

Buy on the rumor sell on the news.

I know its a fact that Howard will be on Sirius but once the excitement dies out the investors will be asking:

"So what's next?"

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Froml: cpnel Tuesday, August 09, 2005 09:14 PM
How can I translate the CUSIP number from my IRA annuity holdings into STOCK TICKER SYMBOL?

Go to this Web site by Fidelity and they will let you look up stocks, mutual funds, annuities.

Link: http://activequote.fidelity.com/mmnet/SymLookup.phtml

From: marsha_ashberry Wednesday, August 10, 2005 10:51 AM
I used to work for Wal-Mart and all I want to know is how much is the stock I invested in?

WAL-MART closed at $48.84 on August 10th, 2005.

You can click on this link to their web-site each day to get a stock price and other investor information.

Go to: http://investor.walmartstores.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=112761&p=irol-irhome

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From: sforest Wednesday, August 10, 2005 11:28 AM
What happens to my stock if the company files for bankruptcy?

The company will still trade but expect to take a hit as far as the price goes. In my opinion I stay away from companies like these. If you don't own the stock the low price will appeal to you especially if its a company you are familiar with but in general these companies never re-live their glory years.

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What happened to stock symbol AWE?

The stock was bought out by CINGULAR. Go to this link and it will explain everything including cost average prices.

Go to:

http://www.att.com/ir/ss/tbi/faqwireless.html

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Hi Dr. Stock,

I am wondering how to go about finding out if my father invested in stocks before his death. There has been alot of speculation that he did. He did not leave a paper trail. Any info you could give me on recovering this info would be greatly appreciated.Thanks, Pam

If he did have stocks unless he directed the estate to give you or any family members the shares you will have to spend a lot of money to fight it in courts to get the inheritance.

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From: ttoli Saturday, August 06, 2005 09:57 AM
how do i locate what stock my deceased father held. the interest off the stocks have been escheated to the state of ca.

Your fathers lawyers who handled the estate would be able to tell you what holdings he had.

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I just bought 5000 shares of Winn Dixie thinking they had emerged from
bankruptcy only to see the "q" listing on their symbol. Am I correct in
thinking that I have opened myself up to a major problem. Meaning, did I
buy the old stock that will be paid out to creditors and I will lose
everything? I think I made a huge mistake, should I sell? Thanks

You did not make a mistake as that is the only stock that's trading on Winn Dixie as it was "de-listed". They did file for bankruptcy protection but there are investors who feel they will eventually come out of it and some who feel they will not.

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From:: ken Saturday, August 06, 2005 07:48 AM
What do you think will happen to Adelphia stock?

only the government knows. The soap opera will continue but don't expect much of a payout as the creditors must get paid first, bond holders, preferred shareholders and whatever is leftover will go to the common stockholders.

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Saturday, August 06, 2005 05:56 AM
what does it mean when a stock gets an e put after it's symbol

The "e" after the stock symbol means the company has not filed their quarterly returns on time.

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From: klintcooper2003 Thursday, August 04, 2005 05:41 PM
Do you think wwdh worldwide holding will go up? Its at .0001

This is the profile I read on Yahoo Finance and it says they are out of business:

In May 2003, TRSG Corporation changed its name to Worldwide Holdings Corporation. Worldwide Holdings Corporation, which was engaged in the distribution of vitamin, nutritional supplements, and whole health foods mainly in the United States of America and Canada, sold all of its assets, selected liabilities, and all of its operations to Gateway Distributors, Ltd., in December 2002. As a result, it ceased operations.

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Thursday, August 04, 2005 02:54 PM
how long to convert otc to national

In order to go NASDAQ, NMS you have to be trading at $5 for at least a 30 day average and have market capitalization of $20 million.

From: ChelseaMay1966 Thursday, August 04, 2005 01:49 PM
My mother has some GTE stocks that were her aunt's she is now deceased. What must my mother do to sell these stocks. I know she needs to get them transferred in her name,but how does she go about doing that? Also, how can she find out how much they are worth?

First I would bring the certificate to a brokerage firm to see if it has any value. If it does then you will need a "probate" lawyer who handled your aunt's estate to have it transferred in your mothers name. Then she can deposit the cert in her own account.

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Froml: russellb Thursday, August 04, 2005 01:14 PM
How do I calculate my costs basis for Sears stocks bought in the early 70's and sold in the late K Mart merger?

I emailed SEARS and you can call their investor relations department for past prices:
If you have more specific dates we can provide you with historical stock
prices. Please call 847-286-7385 for assistance.

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From: wwhui Thursday, August 04, 2005 08:02 AM
I have stock certificates for Data General Corp that was bought out by EMC in 1999, do you know how I can cash out the certificates?

You would have to deposit the cert into a brokerage account and they would have to make the adjustments.

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From: cubbybare52 Wednesday, August 03, 2005 03:53 PM

we have a certificate for 1000 share of k-mart stock. is it worth anything since it merged with sears?

If you have the old K-Mart certificate from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) symbol-KM it is not worth anything. If you have the K-Mart stock from the NASDAQ - symbol-KMRT then it was worth a bundle as they merged with SEARS and goes under the symbol SHLD which is over $100 a share. Go into a local broker to find out which cert you have.

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Wednesday, August 03, 2005 11:49 AM
when is vmii going to start going up big time?

On March 21st news came out that AVAYA has signed a contract with a US telephone company and it would be installing VMII'S mailboxes. Once that name is released which could be at anytime then VMII will never see these prices again. Take advantage and buy more shares while it is under $1.

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I have discovered that my father's estate held 200 shs of KMart stock in 2004. Is there a Class Action Lawsuit that I should join to participate in and recover some of that money? Thanks Julia

I hate to say you cannot sue K-Mart as they were protected when the filed bankruptcy. Just have your accountant get you a "worthless stock certificate" form and write it off.

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I just learned that we have shares to Verizon…I didn’t not know this as I thought my father liquidated all these thing before he died but we have 29.00 shares somehow. I would rather sell these but I do not really want to sell them back to the company. Is there a way to sell them to someone else and would this possible make us more money on them (ie selling to someone who might be collecting Verizon stock as to get enough proxy for control issues etc). I want to make the most of these small stocks as we have little money now caring for my mother who lost her insurance and suffering through a fire last Christmas Eve. I did check into re-investing them but it seems that Verizon’s stock is starting to fall from what it was a month ago. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! J Sincerely, Cristi

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. If you have a brokerage account then deposit the certificates and liquidate them. If you do not have an account then see if your bank can sell the shares for you. I would not look for an individual investor as you then must transfer the stock into their name which will cost you time & money.

--------

From: crnatoobee Monday, August 01, 2005 06:16 PM
if a company you own stock in files for chap 11 protection and merges with another company, what happens to your stock in the chap 11 company?

If the other company is a publicly traded company then nothing happens. They are combining assets and whatever the stock is trading at that is the price. The public will either bid the stock higher or investors will cash out.

---------

From: twouofifans Monday, August 01, 2005 02:43 PM

I inherited Sears from my mother who passed away May 13, 1966. I have always taken a cash dividend. What is my cost basis?

-------

From: natmat Sunday, July 31, 2005 11:58 AM
I have received a few shares of stock from the following companies,
Gannaway International Corporation,American-Caribbean Oil
Co.,Central American Petrolium,and Equitable Development Corporation.
Could anyone tell me what the shares go for, if at all??

I could not find out anything on those stocks. The best bet is to just deposit the certificates in your brokerage account and in a few days they can tell you if there is any value.

--------

From: grabberlime Tuesday, June 28, 2005 03:51 PM
what happened to Woolworth Corporation

The company was sold in 1997. It was called Venator and then in 2001 Foot Locker which was a Woolworth owned store took over the few remaining stores and the symbol is: FL (NYSE).

-------

From: corpjati Thursday, June 30, 2005 09:32 AM
what does a no-par value issued stock certificate look like?

Its a regular stock certificate but has no price printed on it.

------

From: sandislandhi Saturday, July 02, 2005 01:09 PM
What will happen to U.S. Airways stocks when they merge with American West Airlines.

Nothing has been determined as far the stock goes. The merge still has to get regulatory approval sometime in September or October at that point investors will get a better picture.

--------

From: kingcheapo Saturday, June 25, 2005 01:15 AM
Should I invest in the stock market and lose my money like
everyone else or buy safe ibonds and keep my money?

Who says everyone is losing their money in the stockmarket. There is risk in every investment it's just a matter of how greedy you are. If you take profits big & small you can't get hurt.

--------

From: happy34120 Friday, June 24, 2005 08:32 AM
I am thinking of buying UPTD.PK current price .01, and hopfully
sell it at .02 next week because it goes up and down a lot like
this. This way i could double my money but the stock's volume is
low, sometimes zero. Is it a good thought to buy it anyway?
Can you also tell me in brief what does stocks ending in PK and OB
mean? Scottrade doesn't even show their quotes but yahoo does. Why?

As far as the endings "ob" & "pk" go:

"ob" represents a stock that trades on the Bulletin Board.
"pk"- means it trades on the pink sheets.

These endings are only for Yahoo Finance. Whether its Scott Trade or any other brokerage house only type in the symbol to get a quote.

UPTD.PK is a pink sheet stock which means there is no "bid" (sell) or buy (ask) price. You have to put in a "limit" order of $0.01 and see if the market makers will give you that price. There is no guarantee you will get filled. Just keep trying and "if" you finally get $0.01 then you can put in an order to sell at $0.02.

---------

From: vanillag2002 Wednesday, June 22, 2005 04:30 PM
What will happen when bank of the west buys com fed how would this affect my com fed stock.

For each share of Commercial Federal Corp (NYSE: CFB) you will receive $34. Banc West will also be giving a special 50 -cents per share dividend at the closing of the deal.

-------

From: mhdow2000 Wednesday, June 22, 2005 04:25 AM

what does the .pk at the end of a stock ticker symbol mean?

The " PK " at the end of the stock means it trades on the pink sheets and is considered a penny stock.

--------

From: jobear Tuesday, June 21, 2005 12:25 PM
we have 4000 shares of adelphia do we sell now

There is not much value right now. I would wait to see what Time Warner & Comcast does for the shareholders.

-------

From: brm_5853 Monday, June 20, 2005 04:07 PM

a friend of mine recently made the statement that Walmart has sold out to China. Any truth in that? Thanks.

It was reported that Wal-Mart is planning on opening 10 - 15 new stores in China this year but they are not selling the company.

--------

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 09:08 AM

dr., there has been a big big buzz about a 2 cent stock infl.ob have you heard of this voip long distance carrier?? usa said it was the stock to watch and had a potential to be a boom soon....

I don't currently follow the stock.

--------

Friday, June 10, 2005 11:14 AM

Hello Dr.Stock How are warrents handeled in a corporate buy-out. They cant just dissapear, or can they ? Thanx

Warrants do have an expiration date.

----------

Friday, June 10, 2005 06:28 AM

What is Sears Roebuck & Co. Stock Symbol?

SEARS now trades under the symbol: SHLD on the NASDAQ.

--------

From: AmigoJoel Monday, July 11, 2005 7:44 pm
Do worthless stocks have to be claimed on your taxes within a
certain period of time after those stocks have become worthless. Sometimes its
difficult to know exactly when that is?
One of my large Internet bubble holdings ( paid approx $40 share ) was valued
on my Ameritrade statement at pennies for several years before
disappearing ???? Thanks Doc

Since the stock was trading for pennies it technically wasn't worthless. But I would write it off now. Ameritrade can always back you up with the confirmations on the buy side & sell side.

--------

From: gvanhorn10 Date: Sunday, July 10, 2005 07:24 PM
udlent in their bankruptcy. is there any hope at all?

Who is udlent? What is their symbol.

-------

From: galosh75 Sunday, July 10, 2005 08:19 AM
Doctor! Doctor!-- where is a good place to buy and sell private
stock? I am starting a busines, I think it will grow nicely. 1!
problem Doctor i dont have the capital or good credit (dam student
loans). Anyway Doc. I was going to incorporate and try to sell
stock in my company. Any better funding ideas? is there a place
thats good to buy sell and trade private company stock?

You can do what is called a private placement. It is very risky for investors as there is no guarantee the company will succeed or go public. These investors must be accredited, have a certain net worth and can show earings of $250,000 for the past 5 years plus other factors. I would look for a securites lawyer and find out more.

--------

From: James Peterson Saturday, July 9, 2005 5:02 pm
Hi Dr-Stock: Here's a good one !
I received a stock Dividend different from another stock in my
regular IRA account.
The div Stock is privately held, not traded & "restricted" !
I withdrew most from the IRA by a CERT which I now have.
Plan to use the par value of .0001 for withdraw Taxes.
I had to open my big mouth & ask others if it was OK to deposit
this in my Roth IRA.
Again using the par value of .0001 to figure toward the yearly
contribution. (expect a big pay-out some day, ha!)
My Tax man didn't know & the Broker hot-line said I can't deposit
Stock in a IRA, only cash ! Well I have already deposited 2 different stock CERT's into my Roth !
And I have receiver 4 different "restricted" Div's in my reg IRA !
So what's going on ???
Can you point me to something in writing to give to the Broker,
if it's good for me of course, ha !
Thanks, James

I did a little research, you can move shares from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA as long as you do not exceed the annual contribution limit. You pay the taxes on the value of the distribution from the IRA as you would if you sold the stock and withdrew it and as far as I can tell do not pay the 10% early withdrawal penalty. I got this information fromScottrade's IRA agreement. I trust this helps. Regards Mike

-----------

From: "Harvey, Calvin IT2, C5I" Friday, July 8, 2005 2:43 pm
What are you predictions on the Prepaid Legal Services Inc. stock (PPD)since early may it has went up from $32.17 to %50.35 when the market closed on Friday. I already have a few shares but since I'm a newbie investor I don't have much money to put in. Also, what do you think about the stock (SIRI)? Thanks, Calvin

I don't personally track the stock. Looking at the chart since it hit a 52 week high we should see a pullabck of 10% - 15% - so anywhere from $43 - $45 would not be bad. There is also a chance they could announce a stock split since it's at an all-time high. Then you would have a buy opportunity.

--------

From: eGirl Investments Saturday, July 9, 2005 2:32 am
Dearest Dr. Stock, thank you very much for your time and your
service. I am looking to purchase a 'Delisted Stock Symbol' for
the cheapest price possible. Can you tell me where I can find one?
Thankx, :-) Kat

You have to purchase what is called a "shell". This is a company that once traded publicly and went bankrupt but still has the proper filing to go public under a new name. They can cost around $30 - $70,000 depending on how clean of a company you are looking for. I will try to locate someone and let you know.

---------

From: Harry Lawrence Friday, July 8, 2005 5:45 pm
I have recently purchased 20,000 shares of Kaiser Aluminum (KLUCQ)
which is currently in bankruptcy.
My purchase price was .04 per share.
The stock had climbed to around .09 and then suddenly dropped to
.012 within a couple days after they announced their
reorganization plan to come out of bankroptcy in the last quarter
of 2005. The price is back up to .05 today.
I thought that coming out of bankruptcy would be a good thing?
Should I sell now while there's still a chance to get my money back? Thanks

I don't track the stock personally. But when you have a speculative stock like that there were plenty of "traders" who purchased large amounts of shares and when you have a tremendous gain up to $0.09 that showed you no one really cares if they come out of bankruptcy or not. You may get another run up and if that happens be prepared to sell at least 50 - 75% of your position. You have to realize your cost average is $0.04 but there were plenty of traders who got in at $0.012 and now it's at $0.05 that is a nice score. The only reason I suggest to sell a portion is because if you get your original investment PLUS a profit then you have a win - win situation. If it drops again maybe you can purchase at $0.012 or if it continues to move up you still have shares. If you just like the stock then at least the pressure is off and hold for the long-term.

----------

slytyguy Wednesday, July 06, 2005 11:12 PM
I own a sizable holding of Westjet airlines WJA.TO. Should I hold
on to the stock or sell, Thanks!

I don't personally track the stock. Since you do own a sizable amount I would determine what percentage gain you have and if "you're" satisfied then sell 50 - 75%. Speaking for myself only I'm in the market to make money not hold the stocks until my 3 kids are ready to go to college in 9 - 12 years. Those days are gone where our grandparents or parents purchased FORD or BELL TELEPHONE 80 years ago and kept passing it along to each kid only selling a few shares at a time.
Looking at WJA they seem to be a very solid company but the difference between the 52-week low & high is only $7.10. It's a pretty narrow range.

----------

From: nwolff2 Sunday, June 26, 2005 7:29 pm
Subject: Walmart Stock
How can I sell my Walmart stock if I'm not the one holding my
certificate? How can I find out who is holding it?
Nancy Wolff

When you say "I'm not the one holding the certificate" is it in anothers person name or is it a part of a 401k plan. Let me know

----------

From: wmitchell Thursday, June 23, 2005 12:17 PM
If i have stock in UAIRQ and they merge with America West what
happens to my stock.

Wait until the merge occurs in September or October as it must pass regulatory approval

--------

From: fingersfish Tuesday, June 28, 2005 08:42 AM
I have bought stock in PFMS.OB and it is dropping quite low. Any
advise on this stock?

I don't follow the stock. It looks like someone is dumping shares based on the large daily volume. If you feel the company is good then look at the low price as a buying opportunity but wait for the dust to settle because it may drop lower

-------

From: mls14 Wednesday, July 20, 2005 01:18 PM
Can you tell me when Greyhound Corp was purchased by Dial Corp.? I
believe it was in the late 80's (1987?) and what was the ratio of
Greyhound common shares into Dial Corp.? Thanks for your help as
this has been really difficult to find.

Here is what I found:

In December 1986, Greyhound Corporation sold Greyhound Lines to an investor group but retained ownership of Greyhound Lines of Canada, MCI and TMC. This meant that the ties between MCI and its traditional largest customer and basically the founder of the MC range had been severed. In January 1987, Greyhound Corporation bought the GMC transit bus manufacturing, including RTS production in Pontiac, Michigan, and Classic production in Ste Eustache, Canada. The RTS production was transferred to the TMC Roswell facility, while the Classic production continued in Ste Eustache. An additional plant for the Classic was opened in New York State.

Several changes occurred during this period. TMC stopped production of coaches and concentrated on the RTS production in 1990. To avoid confusion between Greyhound Corporation and Greyhound Lines, which were now unrelated companies, Greyhound Corporation changed its name to Dial Corporation in 1991. In 1993 the Classic bus production was sold to Nova Bus. In August 1993, Dial Corporation divested itself from the bus production and established an independent corporation, MCII or Motor Coach Industries International. Included were MCI, TMC, Custom Coach Corp. and Hausman Bus Sales, among others.

In 1994, MCII merged with Dina from Mexico. As a result, RTS production and the Roswell plant were sold to Nova Bus, and MCI started marketing the Dina Viaggio coach in the US. Towards the year 2000 the integration of the two companies intensified and the new MCI F and G models are produced in Mexico

--------

From: bennethum Wednesday, July 20, 2005 07:30 AM
What does it mean when an e is added to the end of a stock symbol?

The "e" means they have not filed their earnings report with the SEC

--------

wmitchell Tuesday, July 19, 2005 10:49 AM
If you buy Maytag stock and whirlpool buys out Maytag what happens
to the Maytag stock.

If you own Maytag and they accept the buyout price from Whirlpool then you will get $17 for every share you own. Once the transaction is approved then one day your account will have no more shares of Maytag but there will be a cash balance.

---------

From: melynda.rivers Monday, July 18, 2005 03:03 PM
I have 5 shares each in Great Basins Petrolium and Columbian
Northland Exploration and was wondering if they are worth
anything...I have searched the internet to NO AVAIL...HELP!!!

If you have the actual certificates look at the back and see if there is a "cusip" number. If there is email me those numbers and I will try to look it up. The cusip # is a catalog reference that will allow you to look up a stock price.
Or you can just deposit those shares in your brokerage account and they will tell you if they have any value.

---------

From: robern Monday, July 18, 2005 12:04 PM
when you see a stock that wsa traded how do you know if it was bought or sold

If you can see the live quotes then look at the "bid" & "ask". If the price of the stock was $5 (bid) X $5.25 (ask) and you saw the "last trade" was $5 then it was a sell order. There are times that someone was able to buy or sell in between those prices. Based on the above prices you may see a price of $5.12 and we won't know if that was a buy or sell.

---------

From: AJM-TWA.kc. Sunday, July 17, 2005 07:56 PM
First, I Have Never In My Six Mos On The Net Had Such A Great
EDUCATION On Tading As Tonight! Thank You Dr. Stock. would you
rather have a bouquet of Roses Or A Case Of Bud On Your Doorstep?
HERE IS MY QUESTION: I P urchased A Stock "IDCO". This Was DUE
To A Promotional Mag.Came To My Mailbox, In My Name Unsolicited.
The Whole Research On Who Owned It, How It Was Run, The Whole
Fingerprint Identification Issue Which Is Truly Up And Coming And
So Necessary Sounded So Enlightening Plus The Fact That The GOV'T,
The Military Would be buying It In Addition To The Fact That It
Would Be Making Great Profits In A Reasonable Amt. Of Time. I Buy
And Sell. I Had A Sell In At What I Considered A High.I Had A
CallFrom The Broker Who Told Me To Change My Sell To IDCOE. At The
Time I Complied But It Bothered Me. When i Checked The Stock, It
Was At $0.86. I Was Dumbfounded! I Checked The Volume And There
Was Very Little To Justify Such A Drastic Fall. I Then Called The
Broker Who Said That Their Q Report Was Late.[This Was Around
5/25/05]. I Own A Program Called Wizetrade, Which I Love, It Is Up
To The Minute With The N.Y. Exchange.It Has Baskets. I Used One
Basket Just For !
IDCO/IDCOE. I Learned That What I was Being Told [THAT THE E WAS
'JUST' ADDED] AND THAT IDCO WAS NOT THERE ANYMORE WAS NOT TRUE. I
LEARNED THAT IDCO/IDCOE HAVE BEEN RUNNING SIDE BY SIDE SINCE AS
FAR BACK AS I CAN SEE [2003]. In Fact When I Was Switched to
IDCVOE @$0.86/ Suddenly IDCO Was @ $1.26!! I Was So Inflamed At
Such That I Called Scottrade Who Said I Was Wrong. I Then Asked
Some Knowlegeable People Who Advised Me To ContCT tHE SEC, Which I
Did.The SEC Agreed With Scottrade And Scottrade Told Me To SELL
ALL MY STOCKS AND GET OUT THAT THEY THIS PARTICULAR BROKER DID NOT
HAVE TIME FOR MY EMAILS. I STILL FOLLOW IDCO/IDCOE. IDCO HAS
STARTED TO MOVE B-U-T WHAT ABOUT ALL THE MONIES IN THE HOLDING
PLACE IDCOE?? THEY HAVE SWAPPED PLACES A FEW TIMES. THE Q REPORT
WAS JUST SOOOO BAD, RIGHT AFTER MY COMPLAINT, AND DAYS AFTER MY
COMPLAINT A JUN03,8K FD filing Came Out That was Just In Direct
Reverse Of The Q Report Days Earlier!Now This Latest Q Report Is
The Direct Mimick Of The !
JUN03 8K FD fILING!!What Is Your Opinion??

Thanks for the compliment. I'll take the Bud.

I see on the news of June 3rd IDCO has said they felt the "E" should not have been put on the stock. But if the SEC does not receive their financials on time you can be IBM you are in trouble. It's not like a horse race where after the race an "inquiry" sign comes up and everyone holds their breath on the outcome. The SEC will put the "E'" on your symbol. Of course the public will overreact and that is why the volume was so crazy. I wish I had better news for you.

----------

From: "A.J.MICHAELS" Sunday, July 17, 2005 11:28 pm
IF I HAD A SELL ORDER IN FOR A BB STOCK @ $0.08 AND THE STOCK SHOT
UP TO $0.10 AND THE VOLUME WAS @ 22MILLION AND I WAS PASSED OVER,
AND THE EXCUSE WAS THAT I WAS NOT DUE A FILL ON JUN 29,2005
BECAUSE AT THE TIME MY ORDER WAS ENTERED THE SPREAD WAS 3.6 AND
ASK 3.7 [MY ORDER WAS IN FOR OVER A WEEK]. THE CLAIM WAS THAT THE
HIGH WAS 4.7. they claim that a 5000SH REPORTED @$0.10 WAS OUTSIDE
THE MARKET [BETW MARKET MAKER AND AN INSTITUTION]. I WAS TOLD THAT
ONLY ORDERS WITHIN THE MARKET FOR A SECURITY WOULD EFFECT MY TRADE.!
I ARGUED THAT MY ORDER WAS IN FOR OVER A WEEK, THAT MANY SITES POSTED "CYOS" @ $0.10 AND WITH A VOLUME OF OVER 22MILLION THIS SHOULD NOT BE! I ALSO ARGUED THAT INSTITUTIONS
BUY BIG LOTS NOT 5000SH AND IF IT WAS RECORDED PUBLICLY THEN I
WAS ENTITLED A FILL.! ALSO THAT IF YOU WERE BUYING WOULD'NT YOU
RATHER BUY IN @ $0.08 THAN 0.10, WHEN YOU COULD BUY OVER ONE
HUNDRED SH MORE?? -- REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU NWERE? THIS IS TRULY A
MYSTERY? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR A CANDID ANSWER. A.J.

Normally a stock other then a NYSE will be cancelled by the end of the day and you would have to put in another order. The Specialists on the floor handle the NYSE stocks. Other stocks expecially BB will get cancelled.

----------

From: jrahammond Friday, July 15, 2005 03:00 PM
i would like to buy stock how and to be good at it.

Just read all the books you can and see if your local college has some courses you can take.

----------

From: cbraden Tuesday, July 12, 2005 02:51 PM
what was the price of sears stock in dec 1990

---------

amanito Tuesday, July 12, 2005 07:19 AM
I have 1000 shares of Enron (ENRNQ).. can i sell them on the pink
sheet market or do something?

Unfortunately there is no value. Just write it off.

--------

From: guyfra Sunday, July 31, 2005 08:36 AM
Where or how can I find new companies listed on Pink Sheet.

Go to: www.pinksheets.com

--------

From: boristeffi Sunday, July 31, 2005 07:55 AM
I bought stock while I was employed at Exxon Co., USA. I sold
some of the stock in 2004 and I need to get the basis of the stock
as I am pretty certain that it split. Can you tell me how many
times did Exxon (XOM) split from June 1980 to August 1989?

EXXON split:

June - 1981 2 for1
September - 1987 2 for 1
April - 1997 2 for 1
July - 2001 2 for 1

--------

From: martin1208 Friday, July 29, 2005 07:16 AM
why is wal mart stock having so much trouble lately

Some on Wall Street think they are stretching themselves to thin in the overseas market. There is also the fear with oil prices going up that consumers won't go out to the stores as much to spend a lot of money.

--------

From: he601575 Thursday, July 28, 2005 01:32 PM
Do you think SHLD will split in the near future?

In my opinion only: yes

---------

From: garyd Thursday, July 28, 2005 08:39 AM
Are there any penalties buying back a stock within a few days
after I sold it for a long-term capital gain?

There is no penalty.

-----------

From: coachtoby Wednesday, July 27, 2005 03:59 PM
Hi. What happens to a former employees (fully vested) stock
options of a private company if that company is acquired by a public company?

You have to see if the new company purchased the stock options as part of the deal. I would contact the people who handled your stock options and ask them for clarification.

----------

From: rodney.jensen.ctr Wednesday, July 27, 2005 08:16 AM
My wife thinks her mother had 50 shares of 3M and 150 shares of
United Steal left to her from her mother in 1952. The only
reference to the stock is in a letter from the attorney that
settled the estate of her grandmother.
Is there a way to check if the stocks are still outstanding if all
that is known about them is the certificate numbers in the estate letter?

You can try contacting to start 3M and email there investor relations department. Ask them who the "stock transfer" agent is and then try calling them. You will prpbably have to fax a copy of the letter and they should have a record of it. If they do then request the certificates to be sent in her name and then deposit it in a brokerage account.

-----------

From: jamngears45 Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:45 PM
what do you think of adelq stocks

I personally would not touch it. There are 20,000 stocks that have better potential. If you want to buy a few shares and see what happens thats your choice.

----------

From: lovephoTuesday, July 26, 2005 11:24 AM
what happens if I buy those stocks which already went through
chapter 11? thank you

Even though the company has emerged from chapter 11 in my opinion there is still a lot of risk. I would not put a lot of money into those companies even though they are probably cheap in price.

-----------

From: jackienb71 Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:44 AM
what happens if a stock is delisted

If a stock for example is trading on the NYSE and is delisted then the company can file to go on the AMEX, NASDAQ, BULLETIN BOARD or PINK SHEETS.

---------------

From: leandrabrook Tuesday, July 26, 2005 12:03 AM
I know the ticker symbol for verizion communications is vz. Can
you tell me the ticker symbol for the employee offered stock
options of verizion wireless? I would also like to know what it
is trading at. If my stock options with verizion wireless are not
worth anything, and they vest within the year, do I have any other
choices for making money of the options?

You would have to contact the firm that handles your 401k to get the symbol. I would think you could log onto a website that shows your 401k holdings or you should have previous statements with the symbol and price. If the options have no value because they are not in the money then you can't exercise them.

------------

jmdimel Monday, July 25, 2005 02:54 PM
When was WCOEQ last traded via the OTC? I know it was de-listed
in 2004, but I'm hoping it was still trading via OTC in early 2005
so I can claim a loss in calendar year 2005 taxes. Thanks.

You are allowed to carry over losses year to year as you can only write off $3000. So if you had $10,000 in losses you would be able to carry the balance of $7000.

--------------

From: askmaheshFriday, July 22, 2005 07:53 AM
HI, I am new at investing.
I started reading the financial news and I am wondering about
companies that say they are not making money in there core
business unit. E.g. Ford says they are not making any money by
selling cars for last few years. What does this mean about the
company ? Thank you

It means there is a slowdown. And that is why there stock is so low. Cars are selling but if you notice they are giving the same discounts that their employees get so the mark up is very small.

-------------

Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Time: 09:08 AM

dr., there has been a big big buzz about a 2 cent stock infl.ob have you heard of this voip long distance carrier?? usa said it was the stock to watch and had a potential to be a boom soon....

I don't currently follow the stock.

---------

Friday, June 10, 2005
Time: 11:14 AM

Hello Dr.Stock How are warrents handeled in a corporate buy-out. They cant just dissapear, or can they ? Thanx

Warrants do have an expiration date.

----------

Friday, June 10, 2005
Time: 06:28 AM

What is Sears Roebuck & Co. Stock Symbol?

SEARS now trades under the symbol: SHLD on the NASDAQ.

-----------

From: LauraKMcRae Thursday, June 09, 2005
Time: 01:14 PM

I have a neighbor who has 30 shares of Kmart stock - is it worth anything?

The stock that traded under the symbol: KM on the NYSE has no value. Just write it off.

-----------

From: vanillag2002 Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Time: 04:30 PM

What will happen when bank of the west buys com fed how would this affect my com fed stock.

For each share of Commercial Federal Corp (NYSE: CFB) you will receive $34. Banc West will also be giving a special 50 -cents per share dividend at the closing of the deal.

----------

From: mhdow2000 Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Time: 04:25 AM

what does the .pk at the end of a stock ticker symbol mean?

The " PK " at the end of the stock means it trades on the pink sheets and is considered a penny stock.

----------

From: jobear Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Time: 12:25 PM

we have 4000 shares of adelphia do we sell now

There is not much value right now. I would wait to see what Time Warner & Comcast does for the shareholders.

----------

From:brm_5853 Monday, June 20, 2005
Time: 04:07 PM

a friend of mine recently made the statement that Walmart has sold out to China. Any truth in that? Thanks.

It was reported that Wal-Mart is planning on opening 10 - 15 new stores in China this year but they are not selling the company.

------------

From: sbrown Monday, June 06, 2005
Time: 07:35 PM

Where can I get old stock chart books like "The Stock Picture" showing long term charts in the 30s, 40s, 50s , and 60s???

You have to do a search on the internet. If I hear of anyone that has some books I will let you know. Maybe try on EBAY.

------------

From: sharonkellyr Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Time: 10:07 PM

My father has 36 shares in Gulf Oil Company. How does he redeem them?

You must deposit the shares at a brokerage account or see if your local bank can liquidate the shares.

-----------

Monday, June 06, 2005
Time: 06:43 PM

how do i buy stock in the kia car company

KIA has no value and has been de-listed.

-----------

From: beachbomb11 Sunday, June 05, 2005
Time: 06:35 AM

why does corporation issue preffered stocks/shares?

When you have preffered you are not only raising more money for the company but those investors have more voting rights then the common shareholders.

---------

From: ksoutos Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Time: 05:41 PM

Sears stock price in the year l977

I emailed SEARS and you can call their investor relations department for past prices:

If you have more specific dates we can provide you with historical stock
prices. Please call 847-286-7385 for assistance.

-----------

From: bennour50 Thursday, June 02, 2005
Time: 02:01 AM

If I sold a stock with a loss how long do I need to wait to buy it in order to claim the loss.

At the end of the year you can tell your accountant "first in" "last out". This allows you to off-set the gain with a loss.

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From: skyline20 Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Time: 06:59 AM

What do I risk if I purchase stock from a company in bankruptcy? More specifically United Airlines.

If you believe UAL can comeback then invest a "few" dollars. Don't sink all your money into a bankrupt company hoping to hit the holy grail. Companies that file for bankruptcy protection have big problems and the percentages say they will not comeback at least to their glory days. If you are familiar with the airlines industry then you would have at least a better idea if UAL is going anywhere. Pick out your spot to get in and take a conservative approach of where you think its going.

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From: slux1 Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Time: 01:14 PM

Doc, do you have any info on Paige Innovations? They are delisted, but can stockholders get any info????Thanks..Sam

You may want to contact a law firm who is handling a case for Paige Innovations. Maybe they can shed some light on the company>

The Web site is:

http://sternekessler.com/index.php?page=practice_areas&PracticeID=14#Representative%20Matters

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From: laverne Thursday, June 02, 2005
Time: 01:49 PM

I purchased 880000 shares in a company in 2004 at .0001, they have decided to do a reverse stock split at 5000 to 1, is my stock worthless now. do i have any rights since i purchased the stock last year and reverse split is set to be effective in the next 30 days. Are there ever any benefits to the stock holder when there is a reverse stock split

In my opinion there is no benefit in a reverse split. You can sell the stock within the 30 days. Companies that do a reverse split are trying to lessen the amount of shares outstanding and the price of stock will be higher. But once investors see how little the amount of shares they have left the stock will sell-off.

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From: PANGALLO1969 Monday, June 06, 2005
Time: 09:08 AM

what happens to an investors stock when a company files for and then comes out of bankruptcy?

A company can file for bankruptcy and their stock can continue to trade. If the stock was trading on the NYSE then they will probably be "de-listed" to another exchange. Sometimes you will see stocks trading at less then a penny but even if they emerge from bankruptcy there is no guarantee they will ever go higher. Or the company can dissolve the stock as worthless and make it a private company

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From: kwilcko Thursday, June 09, 2005
Time: 12:40 PM

what is the value of 1 share of GE stock bought prior to 1970? I know there have been many splits

Here are the splits but they were all after 1970:

Splits:08-Jun-71 [2:1], 02-Jun-83 [2:1], 26-May-87 [2:1], 16-May-94 [2:1], 12-May-97 [2:1], 08-May-00 [3:1]

In December of 1969 GE it was as high as $120. December 1970 the high was $94.

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From: t.arble Sunday, June 05, 2005
Time: 05:24 AM

I owned 1000 shares of K-mart before they changed the reorganized the stock became worthless. they reorganized with a new stock name.is the old shares worth any value.

Unfortunately the LOYAL shareholders did not get the stock that is currently trading on the NASDAQ. Right now you have a tax writeoff.

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From: meliss_clark Thursday, June 09, 2005
Time: 11:14 AM

I was laid off from a company about 3 years ago, back then they gave me certificates of stock. They have recently been bought by another company along with all their stock. What will I get for my stock certificates and at what price. The company I worked for was a private company and the one that bought them was not.

Unless your old company registered the stock with the SEC and traded publicly they are worthless. The best way to prove this is to go to a brokerage firm and have them deposit the certs and see if any value comes back.

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From:: rhayes829 Thursday, June 09, 2005
Time: 07:18 PM

How many different types of stock splits are there?

the most common are the 3 for 2 & 2 for 1. When a "reverse split" occurs I have seen 50 for 1 splits. The whole idea is to make the price attractive to investors.

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From: jujubea70 Friday, June 10, 2005
Time: 08:35 PM

what was the closing level of the DJIA index May 26,1986

May 26th 1986 was a Sunday. The closing price on May 27th was 1,853.

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From: lifeisgooooode Sunday, June 12, 2005
Time: 10:39 PM

I own stock HCAR.OB. They recently announced an exchange to another company and become private. Can you advise what will happen to my shares? Will I be bought out? Is it going to become difficult to sell my shares? Any chance I can count on a dividend if one is ever paid or do I need to watch closely to ensure I am not 'forgotten'?

Thank you,Tim

It is a buyout but no price was discussed. It's possible once the deal gets approved by the SEC there will be a price. I would also email the CEO to find out.

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From: junkky Monday, June 13, 2005
Time: 12:36 PM

hi doc. i bought stock in 'EEM' two months ago at $211, it's now at $70...i can't find any information as to why it plummeted. can you tell me what's going on with this stock?

The stock split 3 for 1 on June 9th. Check your brokerage account and you will the additional shares in your account.

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From: golfhounds Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Time: 07:19 AM

does Bethlehem Steel conv pref stock have any value?

There is no value for the preferred stock. If you have it in your brokerage account and there shows zero value when you get your statement then have your accountant write it off.

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From: waynemitchell47 Saturday, June 18, 2005
Time: 08:34 AM

what happens to your stock if the company goes into chapter 11

The company can still trade publicly but expect a big drop in the price. You will have to do your homework to either cut your losses and sell or see if the company can restructure and help get their share price back to a decent level.

In my opinion only I usually sell as the company very rarely gets back to its glory days.

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From: chrisjenson9478 Friday, June 17, 2005
Time: 11:59 PM

I recently purchased some shares of MCLD and it has become subject to a delisting in the near future should a sell now even though Im down, ride it out in hopes of a slight increase then sell, maybe you can take a look at the stock and give me some pointers.

I don't follow the stock but based on what I have read the company itself says "they don't expect recovery for stockholders" and they are not going to request a hearing to appeal the NASDAQ decision.
Based on those statements you are the one that has to decide to cut losses or keep your fingers crossed.
It is never easy taking a loss but sometimes you have to otherwise it will cloud your judgement for some other stocks. No one ever picks out 100% winners but the investors who limit their losses do very well at the end of the year.

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From: jrodgers923 Friday, June 17, 2005
Time: 11:50 AM

Thanks for answering my question about Avaya. I would like to invest in vmii, but Sharebuilder does not let you buy it, and other services like e-trade want $1000 minimum to trade. Any suggestions? I did invest in Zane. Thanks for the tip.
Jennifer

Hey Jennifer,

ZANE is going to do very well. I expect some big things this coming week. I am not crazy about Sharebuilder. I have had some investors tell me that they were charged $40 commission when they sold their stock maybe you can verify this. I know $1000 is a lot of money to put into an account but you can buy plenty of stocks with smaller commissions. You always have to figure the commissions into the average price you paid. Once you do that then you will have a better idea on what the stock has to go up to in order to break even.

I expect VERY BIG THINGS to happen for VMII in the short-term and would even suggest going partners with someone to buy the shares. You can always open a joint account and split the costs.

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From: rooseveltlfreeman Friday, June 17, 2005
Time: 11:11 AM

Dear Dr. Stock:
I purchase shares of ObjectSoft Corp. (OSFT)on June 16. On June 17 they announced that they are changing their name to Nanergy Inc. and the ticker symbol to NNGY. What happens to my shares of ObjectSoft? Will they be exchanged for shares of the new company?

You will be receiving the new stock in NNGY. But the company also did a 1 for 100 reverse stock split. So for example if you held 12,000 shares in your account you will now see it reduced to 120 shares. The OSFT stock was 4/10th's of a penny and is now worth $0.44.
Call your stock broker to verify this.

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From: kevninca Thursday, June 16, 2005
Time: 08:36 PM

I own stocks of Caesars (CZR) which was just bought from Harrah's. What happens to my Caesars stock?

There are 2 scenarios on the table.
If "YOU" elected to receive shares of Harrah's common stock you will get 0.2211 & $5.66 in cash for each share of CZR.
If Harrah's traded at $74 you will get $16.36 + $5.66 = $22
But it says fractional shares will not be issues so in essence you will get cash.

If you did not vote on the merger then you will get $17.75.

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From: mare819 Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Time: 12:47 PM

I bought a stock that is in bankruptcy but still in business and has been for about 2 years what will happen to the stock?

Its up to the company to re-file with the SEC and prove they are a solvent company. The company is not obligated to trade publicly again which means your stock will be worthless.
Try contacting the company and see if they have any plans of trading again if not then have your accountant write it off.
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From: jsumm38 Sunday, June 19, 2005
Time: 09:32 PM

I am a former Sears Roebuck employee and was receiving information about the stocks. I haven't received anything for quite some time and don't have any idea how to find out what is going on with my stocks. I never received any paper stocks at all but should have around 11 or 12 shares. How do I find out how I can sell my shares. I don't know where to go from here. HELP

You can call SEARS investor relations department at:
847-286-7385 . They should be able to direct you to the people who handled your account.

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From: cp Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Time: 12:02 PM

how can you buy a .ob stock

Just open an account with any brokerage firm or on-line firm. You must have funds in the account to buy.

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From:larom Friday, June 03, 2005
Time: 10:35 AM

i purchased stock in a company that has just announced that it will be acquired for cash. What will happen to my stock? Will they just buy the stock back and then I get money in my brokerage account?

You will receive cash for each share you own. Once its been approved you will check your brokerage account and the shares be gone and there will be a cash balance.

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Sunday, June 05, 2005
Time: 04:45 PM

how do you know if old shares are of any value

The best way is deposit them into a brokerage account. You can also see if your bank has the ability to check it out for you.

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From: plromero1 Saturday, June 04, 2005
Time: 08:27 PM

What happens to stock shares purchased when the company either doesn't exist anymore or it changed names. How does one go about tracking something down like this. any info on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Peggy

You have to see if the company was bought out. If you have the shares in a brokerage account it will be reflected. Even a change of name would still entitle you to stock but it sounds like the company went private and their stock no longer trades. If that is the case you will be able to write it off.

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Froml: theamazingmattman Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Time: 06:04 AM

I just read that one of my stocks, TFS might get delisted. what does this mean? I bought 2000+ shares at $0.69, are they worthless now?

Whether you trade on the NYSE, AMEX or NASDAQ your company must meet guidelines. For the NYSE your company must have capitalization of $50 million. This protects the shareholders. For the NASDAQ its about $25 million. The NYSE is giving TFS a chance to get their stock above $1 and to keep it there by October. If they do not submit a plan by May 31st which will show how they can get their stock above $1 range then the NYSE will de-list them. Meaning they can either apply for AMEX or NASDAQ listing.

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Date: Thursday, May 26, 2005
Time: 03:37 PM

what do you know about INFL.ob

Hey Jon,

I don't personally follow infl.ob. My concern is the 2 insiders that want to sell 1 million & 450,000 shares respectively. Plenty of companies have "planned sales" its just that if the stock breaks the $0.05 range will they hammer it. If they do then that shows me there is no confidence in the company. I do technical trading as well and the volume & price is key. If you see a lot of shares going off and the stock is moving up then someone knows something good is going to happen. On the flip side if the volume is up but the stock is dropping then be careful.

I will add INFl to my stock watch list.

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From:: krisrmgua Friday, May 27, 2005
Time: 05:43 PM

Hey Doc,
I just joined ShareBuilder.com which allows me to automaticlly invest a specified amount of money into diffrent stocks. And so i been looking for some stocks that will make me some good money over the a LONG term. And I just wondered what your input is about investing into these 4: Google, Microsoft, Walmart, and EBay. Thanks Kris

I will give you MY opinion only based on looking at the charts:

Google: Should split soon to attract more investors.

Microsoft: Not crazy about this stock. If you look at the 52 week high: $23.82 - $30.20 not exactly a great return. Would be a buyer if it dropped to around $22.

Wal-Mart - Near a 52 week low. With the price of gas expected to go up Wal-Mart's profits could suffer. Would be a buyer at $42 - $44

EBAY- I like the stock. Would be a buyer at $35 - $36. Could benefit from the rise in oil prices.

Since you are a long-term buyer then you can always buy a few shares each month and not worry about the prices. This is called "dollar cost averaging".

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From: Jockeyshu Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Time: 12:37 AM

What does it mean when "OB" is added to a stock symbol?

The "OB" means that the stock trades on the Bulletin Board.

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Sunday, May 29, 2005
Time: 01:41 AM

where can i find information on walmart employee stock.

I took this from the Wal Mart web site:

Stock Information
For questions regarding buying or selling Wal-Mart stock, call Equiserve, our transfer agent, at 1-800-438-6278.

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Thursday, June 02, 2005
Time: 01:09 PM

hey doc, glad i bought some vmii i think this is going to take off as well. I wanted some advice on a stock called avitar (avr) it sells for about 7 cents, anyway i heard they are about to get a huge contract with the department of corrections that will likely make their stock go ten times its value,,have you heard anything on this stock?????

I am glad you bought VMII as we are sitting on a tremendous winner. AVR seems like an interesting company and I see they have announced a private placement. Based on the price of stock ONLY its worth a shot. I wish you luck.
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From: xljoeew Friday, May 27, 2005 05:02 AM

Dear Dr Stock. What happens to options exercisable at a certain price and
owned by a board member, if a reverse stock split is done

The stock options shares will be reduced but the price of the stock will be higher.

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From: toler61 Wednesday, May 25, 2005 05:52 AM
When blue cross blue shield was first taken over by trigon how did they come up with how many stock you would get if you had an insurance policy?

That is done by the board of directors. Any buyout/mergers are decided by the board and the largest shareholders.

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Thursday, May 26, 2005
Time: 03:37 PM

what do you know about INFL.ob

I don't follow the company. But 2 insiders have filed to sell 1 million & 450,000 shares respectively. It does not mean it will happen today, tomorrow or next month but with those amount of shares you have to think what will happen if this stock goes to $0.50 will they hold??

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From: nils007 Wednesday, May 25, 2005 06:37 AM
Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and used this proceedure to escape obligations to its "old" common stock shareholders. Shortly after emergingfrom bankruptcy Kmart then sold billions of dollars worth of real estate it held and this new cash has boosted its "new" stock value and was used to purchase Sears, and I must also assume provide huge bonuses to those who came up with this clever idea and have the ability to take large bonuses at will. My question is...why was Kmart NOT forced to sell off much of this real estate as part of its bankruptcy solution so that its old shareholderswould keep their money and so that the old Kmart Corporation could survive? It seems like simple common sense to me that the real estate belonged to the "old" stock shareholders and was a great tangible asset giving value to the old stock and corporation. And it seems too that the concept of selling off real estate to raise cash was not a new idea but was perhaps kept
underwraps until after it! emerged from bankruptcy. What are your thoughts? Is there a current class action suit to recover anything for the old and "true" shareholders?

The loyal shareholders got screwed. Bottom line. Class action lawsuits make the lawyers rich. The fact that the SEC allowed the "bogus" bankruptcy rules to stand as well as the U.S. laws is a slap in the shareholders face. The creditors got paid pennies on the dollar but realized that K-Mart would come out of the bankruptcy proceedings and would eventually keep most of their stores open. These same suppliers are selling to the new K-Mart and will initially grant them a small line of credit. But I'm sure once K-Mart started trading again on the NASDAQ there were a few shares thrown to those suppliers. Thats just my opinion.

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From: umarwaziri Wednesday, May 25, 2005 06:58 AM
What are the benefits of being a stock broker

NONE.

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From: albertferri Wednesday, May 25, 2005 01:42 PM

What will happen to common shares of adelphia

They will be bought by Time Warner & Comcast and probably be dissolved. No one knows what the share holders are due get as creditors must be paid first.
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From: bpumphrey Wednesday, May 25, 2005 09:21 AM
What do you think of LOUD. It is suppose to be a reverse split. Should I hold or sell? Thanks!

The minute I hear that a stock is going to do a reverse split I sell. That is my own personal opinion.

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From: roadrunner730 Thursday, May 26, 2005 12:52 PM

I never received the proxy to decide on what to do with my stock when sears
and kmart merged. so they have said so sorry you have to sell them for
$50.00 a share and you have no other choice. I worked at Sears for 20 years
and I have a few shares of stock and I want to know if you have to pay taxes
on these because of the merger and I entered into the stock program and the
stock were what I gained by years of service. i would appreciate any help
you can give me as I am having problems get a right or wrong answer. thank
you.

Several investors have told me they did not receive proxies. It does not surprise me considering the crooks that hurt all the loyal shareholders of K-Mart. The shares you acquired as an employee have an average "buy" value. Since you are selling it at $50 you have to find out what your cost average was over the 20 years to see if you had any capital gains. You can do this by asking Sears Human Resources department to have them send you statements showing how much money was taken from your checks and dividing that by the amount of shares you own.

I have recently inherited (through power of attourny)some jc penny stockfrom my aunt.I would like to liquidate these shares. I don't really know how to go about this. Please help.

See if your bank can sell the shares for you as they have financial advisors or simply open a trading account with a brokerage firm and deposit the shares and in 1 week you will be able to sell.

I have just sold al of my shares of K-Mart Corp CO (KMRTQ) to my broker for $1. Should I declare the loss in 2005 or do I have to amend returns and declare it worthless in 2003? Thanks Stephen J. Thibodeaux

I am new and have some money to invest in stocks. Should I invest in LVLT, LU, JDSU or something else. Please help.

I don't follow any of those companies. Just do your research and if you feel those 3 companies fit your criteria then spread your money evenly on all 3.

Hi Dr Stock! I worked for Walmart quite some time ago and had put moneyinto the associate stock ownership plan. I sold several shares a few years ago because I needed the money, but I know I didn't sell them all. How do I go about seeing how many shares that I currently have? I've tried the walmart site and a few other places I thought I could find some info but came up empty handed. Where do I go from here? Thanks, Ex-Walmart employee

If you still own shares then you should be receiving a quarterly statement from their investor group. I would contact the human relations department and let them pull your records. They can at least give you the phone number of the firm who handles Walmarts investor plans. Plus all companies have a list of names and addresses of all shareholders. When you worked for Walmart last did you change mailing addresses? That would cause a problem and they have to be notified.

I own a private corporation with 1,000 shares of stock valued at non-par value. I am interested in finding out how to offer my stock as a publiccorporation and what would that effect my ownership?

You could start as a "pink sheet" company as the rules are not as strict if you were trying to get on the Nasdaq. Plus you need to find what is called a "shell". This is where a company once traded publicly and now you are buying it for the purpose of having your company trade. But there will also be many more things to do and 1000 shares won't help unless you are Warren Buffet and your stock is valued at $80,000 a share.

How do I find out about SaraLee dividend check that have not been cashed?Who do I contact? If the checks are dated year 1992 to year 2003, are the checks stail dated? The checks had no expired date on them. My uncle is deceased, my father was his Personal Representative. How do my father get check changed in his name?

Even though your father was his personal representative in order for him to be able to have any chance of cashing the checks (thats if they are still good) he had to be named in the Estate. Your uncle would have had to designate him as a "fiduciary" on bank and brokerage accounts.

I have 5000 adelphia shares which I have purchased at 0.28 What should I do with these shares?

Hope that you get some money back from the fund that was setup by the government. Otherwise it is a tax write-off and you should ask you broker or tax accountant for a "worthless stock certificate" form.

Hello, My name is Sabrina and I found your email address by my teacher. I have a question for you that may be able to get answered by you. If I buy stocksand they split how does that work and what does that mean for me? Sabrina

A stock split usually occurs when the price of the stock has gone to a level that may be to expensive for the investors. For example IBM as of May 24th is $76. Lets say it goes to $100 this may hold back NEW investors from buying. So they take a vote and split the stock 2 for 1. They are essentially cutting the price in half. IBM would set a date of when the stock would split. If you had 100 shares in your account the next day it would now show 200 shares and the price would be 50% cheaper to buy.

There are good and bad things that come with a stock split but that is for another time to discuss.

what happens to a stock that is currently traded on OTC but moves to Nasdaq? How does value change or does it stay same?

Once it goes to the NASDAQ then it has a better chance of being picked up by the mutual funds or being recommended by the brokerage firms. It also enhances shareholder value.

Mcdonalds whose symbol is MCD and trades on the NYSE closed at $30.87 on May 24th, 2005.

A "pk" pink sheet stock does not have a bid or ask price when it trades. You are going in blind when trying to buy shares. Plus the rules are not strict for pink sheet companies. Years ago the N.Y. Post did an article in which it filed paperwork for a fictitious company that had a CEO, President, CFO & Secretary. The problem was that all those positions were made up of kids ranging from 4 - 8 years old!!!!!!!!!!!

I have 15 shares of a company called The Purple Sage Oil corporation bought in March of 1927 are they worth anything?

I would deposit the certificates with a brokerage firm. It may have been bought out by Pennzoil Oil Corporation. Quaker State & Pennzoil merged and was bought out by Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

A reverse split is the "kiss of death" in my opinion. If you did not own any of the shares or got out before the split occured then you have a chance.

In a prively held corporation,how does an employee receiving a stock distribution claim it for tax purposes? ie: Is there a valuation process;or must she wait until the company either goes public or is sold?

Hi Doc, Isn't it true that when a privately held company goes out of business, all of the stock becomes worthless?

I want to buy Kia Motors but there stock, KIMTF.PK, does not show any movement, just $0.00 - can I buy the stock now and what would I be chargedper share if I can buy it now? Should I wait until the company starts showing some value, or is it best to get in even before a stock starts showing value? Thank you for answering this question and for this service.

It looks like Kia Motors was delisted as it has not traded since April 8th. If a stock does not have an "offer" or "buy" side then you cannot buy the stock.

You will get credit for the split once you deposit the certificate with a brokerage firm.

I'm not sick at answering the questions. I'm disgusted that so many investors who put in their hard earned money and believed in K-Mart & Adelphia basically have just a tax write-off instead of a capital gains.

About a month ago I purchased 5000 shares of a penny stock at market value. It would of cost me $500 which is what I had in my brokerage account. The stock went up considerably from the price I was trying to buy at, whichended up costing me around $4500. Since I didn't have enough funds in my account am I liable for the loss. Oh yeah, I do not have a margin accounteither.

If you had the cash in the account why wasn't it purchased? Did you have a limit order to buy at a certain price and it didn't get filled? Most brokerage firms will not allow you to buy ANY stock unless you have enough funds in the account. If you were using an on-line discount broker they would maybe fill some of the shares unless you had a "all or none" order. This means if you placed an order for 5000 shares all the shares have to be purchased or the order gets cancelled. You do not get a partial order.

Go to: www.walmartstores.com Near the top of the page you will see: INVESTOR RELATIONS When you click on that you will be taken to a page that will give you their stock quotes & news items.

Adelphia / Conseco My question is different from the others: Will ADELQ continue to trade after the whole Time-Warner thing, or will it just up and discontinue, and disappear? I bought Conseco stocks a few years ago on some tips, then one day the stock discontinues and disappears and the $$$ is gone. Where did that $$$ go? Will Adelphia stock vansih as well?

ADELPHIA stock will dissappear. Its just a matter of what TIME WARNER, COMCAST will pay out & the fund that was created by the government, how much will be distributed.

You can do a GOOGLE search and see if they have a website. On the website if they are publicly traded then you will see a page that says "INVESTOR RELATIONS". You can also use YAHOO FINANCE. You will see near the top of the page "symbol lookup". Type in the name of the company & if it is publicly traded the symbol will showup. If not email me with the company name.

A relative of mine purchased stocks over 60 years ago. When he called to inquire about his stocks recently, the company told him the because his last name was never correctly spelled that they were no longer valid. The stocks are now worth over $25,000. Is this correct or legal?

How can a person buy a foreign stock on an American exchange and keep track of it when it is only listed with $0.00's? Thank you.

If the stock has $0.00 then there is a problem. Foreign stocks trade here as ADR'S. Send me the stock symbol and I will try to help.

One of my stocks ( Paige Innovations, was delisted 6 years ago for failingto file. However I see that its product ( Flatplug) is still being sold under licensing agreements, so presumably the company is still receiveingrevenue. Who is protecting the existing shareholder's in this situation where management has effectively taken the company private and is collectingincome to pay salaries etc? JMT

The SEC protects the company if they filed bankruptcy. Look how many loyal shareholders of K-MART got hurt. The company folded the NYSE stock and re-issued under the NASDAQ leaving everyone holding worthless stock.

Say I wanted to buy some shares of XMSR, is there a min. of how many I may buy at once? i.e. 1 or 2 at a time?

It's up to the individual brokerage firm if they want to do a small trade like that.

If you have an account with an on-line discount brokerage firm they may allow it. Initially you will have deposit any where from $500 - $1500 to open an account. Then don't forget the commissions which range from $7 - $9 per trade.

My sister and I bought shares of espire communications (espiq) while the co was in bankruptcy. Last week, when we went to look and see how it was doing, yahoo said the ticker had changed to espiq.pk. What does the .pk mean? Are our original shares of espiq still valid?

The stock for all intents & purposes has no value. It closed at on Friday May 6th at $0.0007. If you wanted to try and sell it there has to be a buyer. The pink sheets do not offer a "bid' (sell) or "offer" (buy) price so you would have to place a "limit order" to see if anyone would take the stock off your hands.

In my opinion only: I would ask my broker for a "worthless stock certificate" form and write it off at the end of the year.

The lowest exchange a stock can trade on is the Pink Sheets. You don't need a bid & offer price and the rules and regulations are are limited.

My husband heard somewhere that Wellpoint was going to split sometime in May. Have you heard this rumor?

No one can force anybody to give up their shares. The fact that the company is a private company there is no value right now on the shares.

Hello Dr. Stock, I have a few coworkers urging me to invest in QBID.pk because of the trend of gay show today. That would be all well and good if I hadn't seen some peculiar news about it being a scam(something about investors feeding money into it). What would you advise about this particular stock? Please help.

I don't follow the stock. In my opinion only a "red flag" went up because the company announced that they were buying back shares of stock which is normally very positive but the stock has been going down in price. Its very cheap right now as on May 6th it closed at 2/10th's of a penny so you would not have to invest a lot of cash to buy a significant amount of shares. But that is your decision.

I have a question. I have 476 shares of k-mart stock before they went bankrupt, Is it any good now? If not, Is there anything I can do to get some of my money back?

I hate to break the bad news but the stock is worthless and the government protected K-Mart in their bankruptcy proceedings. Have your broker send you a "worthless stock certificate form" and write it off.

I want to invest in exxon and walmart however I do not have the slightestclue how to get started, who to speak with etc...any advice for a first time investor?

See if your bank has a financial advisor on staff or ask your relatives, friends etc if they are using a financial advisor that can sit with you and plan a strategy. You can also go to library as there are plenty of beginers books.

I have two stock certiticates from old oil campsnies that my grandad bought in 1919. How do I find out what happen to the companies and if ths stock is of any value?

The easiest way is to deposit them with a borkerage firm and they will be able to track it down. The company could have been bought out, split their shares etc.

The stock on the pinks could be a foreign stock or the company re-filed and basically retired the old stock and re-listed on another exchange.

According to bloomberg, the government set aside at least 7 million for Adelphia shareholders. What does this mean for a shareholder. Also, I read Time Warner was possibly going to keep the Adelphia (ADELQ) symbol and put some less profitable parts of their company under this symbol. If this is true, would there more value in Adelphia?

I read that investors may qualify to receive a share of the proposed $715 million settlement fund created to end the company's fraud case. Funds will be distributed to investors who can show they were defrauded by Adelphia under its founder, John Rigas & his son Timothy, prior to the company's June 2002 bankruptcy filing. Everything it seems to be all speculation at this point. No one knows what value or "if" Time Warner will have a seperate company for Adelphia.

Hi, If I buy stock in the ABC company and XYZ company buys it-takes over the ABC company, what happens to my stock? Do I lose it?

XYZ could buy ABC out for cash, stock or a combo. You just have to hope that if you bought ABC at $10 and it was being acquired that the price will be higher then $10.

how can i find the historic market capitalization for a company, on a specific date, that is defunct and delisted on nasdaq?

I would start with my broker and see if they could research it for you especially if you happen to have the stock certificate. Otherwise go to:

i did not fill out the voting form / did not receive sent to me on my sears k-mart merger and have lost money as a result...is there anything I can do

A lot of investors have been emailing me saying the same thing. I would go the sec website and email them. www.sec.gov It can't hurt to have a letter on file as well.

Yahoo Finance and enter the stock symbol or see if the company has a website they usually post the price and news of the stock on a daily basis.

You have to wait and see what Time Warner is going to do as they are doing a deal with Comcast as far as the territory of subscirbers go. The government has also set aside money for investors that were defrauded and can prove they were shareholders prior to the company's June 2002 bankruptcy filing.

I hope you can help me because I have tried everything I know. I have 15 shares of Pepisco stock. It was transferred to me by my father in 1999. It has been in the family for many years and no one has ever received any money for this. The New York Stock Exchange has told me it is worthless but then they have told me it had been cashed in. I have not cashed it in I have the certificate in hand. I did ask them to tell me when and who cashed it in and they have given me no response. I am disabled and I need to know about this stock because I could use the money to help with Doctor bills and other things such as living expenses.Can you please tell me what to do? Thank you, David Tate

The easiest way is to deposit the shares with a broker or see if your bank can deposit the shares as many branches have financial advisors. Either way you have to deposit it because "if" there is value then that is the only way you can cash out.

How does one purchase shares of a stock like UALAQ.OB? Neither SmithBarneynor Ameritrade allows purchases of this stock.

Ameritrade should allow you to invest in the stock unless you are purchasing it in a "retirement" account. If you have a individual account then you must have specified that your investment objective included "high risk or specualtive investing". Most brokerage firms will allow you to buy the stock if you have cash in the account FIRST and you sign a "penny stock" form. This protects the firm so that if the stock gets delisted they cannot be sued.

what happens to my shares of a company that applies to have thier stockdeceritfied

My 401k plan used to match in company stock. The company is in Chapter 11 and trades for about 1.50 a share. The company stopped the match program in stock some time ago, and is now trying to sell the stock holdings. How will it do this? Who would buy it? How do they sell it without crushing the price, since they hold a lot more than the typical daily volume?

They would have to try to arrange a financial banking deal that would raise money without liquidating the stock or sell the company. You can always sell your shares if you feel the stock is heading towards zero.

Hi Dr. Stock, Great service you are providing...thanks so much in advance! I have 10 shares of common stock from Kmart Corp. purchase in 1992. I read one your answers that said the stock was worthless. I don't know enough to know if this stock is also worthless. Was this traded on the NY Stock Exchange? Also, how do I go about getting a replacement stock certificate for some Black and Decker stock I have? I called the 800 # provided by the brokerand requested a form to order the replacement. I never rec'd anything from the company. Thanks again, Gail

Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately those 10 shares are worthless. Get a worthless stock certificate form from your broker and have your accountant write it off.

As far as the replacement certificate goes try the 800 # again or send them a certified letter. Keep a record of it & if you get no reply have the brokers firm see if they can place a call on your behalf. E-mail their investor relations department as well at: investor.relations@bdk.com

If SUNW goes private and I owwn the stock for more than the retired price, do I have to sell the stock? If so, do I end up with the loss?

Yes. Whatever the buyout price is that is what your account will reflect. So if $5.25 is being offered and your cost average is $8 you would have a loss of $2.75 a share.

On the left handside you will see "historical prices" and from there you can set the range of how many years back you want to go.

35 years ago I bought 40 shares of spencer kennedy labs. is it worth anything today

Your best bet is to deposit the certificate in a brokerage firm. I could not find out anything on the company.

seven eleven (se) is putting other gas stations out of business in my area ,do you think this would be good long term buy? I also found out that 77% of the stock is owned privately, what is the deal

On March 2nd they hit a 52 week high of $25.70. When stocks break a new high they will have profit taking come in before attempting to break the high again. This happened on March 8th it hit $25.66 and on April 26th it hit $25.30. If it breaks the $25.70 price then the next new high should be $27 - $29.

What happens to a stock like adelphia when it is purchase by another company. Will the new companies stock be offered or are you just OUT?

In the case of Time Warner & Comcast they are buying the pieces. The cash & stock they are using will first have to pay the creditors, the bond holders, preffered shareholders and then the common share holders. Whatever is left will be given to you and everyone else. I can't see a big windfall judging by the price of the stock.

I bought KMart stock in January, 2002, and later learned that they weredeemed worthless in June, 2003, yet KMart was able to restructure with considerable assets still intact. How can KMart do this to even the common stock holders? Can you direct me to a competent class action suit with which to file? Thank you. larry.cooper Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, http://www.Thrivent.com

K-MART protected themselves with the bankruptcy claims which is legal. They were able to dissolve the NYSE stock and start fresh. There is no one I can direct you to.

The creditors get paid first, bond holders next, followed by the preffered shareholders and then if anything is left the common shareholders.

What happens to adelphia stock now that comcast/time warner has bought it? I have approximately 350 shares. Should I see at a loss?

All the creditors have to get paid first then the bondholders, preffered shareholders and then the common shareholders. I would not hold my breath for a big payout.

I have 326 shares of Adelphia stock, What will happen to it now that time warner and comcast bought Adelphia?

How do I find out about a company I have stock in but can't find ANY info for? The symbol is ECTN, Energy Control Technology

35 years ago I bought 40 shares of spencer kennedy labs. is it worth anything today

Your best bet is to deposit the certificate in a brokerage firm. I could not find out anything on the company.

What will happen to the common stock for adelphia (adelq) now that the company has been sold? Also, will there be any value now that the Rigaseshave forfieted their assets and have created a 720 million dollar victims fund to the stockholders that lost money in this debacle?

How do you feel about Krispy Kreme Stock. I'm thinking of buying in while it's below $5.00 a share. Is it too risky. What happens if they get bought out or taken over?

I use to love Krispy Kremes stock but when the rumors started to come out that they were cooking more then just doughnuts I got out. There is a reason why a stock goes from $40 ++ down to under $5. They hope to restructure the company which would help but for now I would maybe buy a few shares. As far as any buyout goes its what a company is willing to pay.

My mother owns/owned stock in Wiser Oil which was purchased by Forest Oil. I called Mellon Investor Services and was told that the only option was for her to sell the stock at the rate of $10.60 per share. Is that true? I was told that the offer was still valid. Thanks

That price of $10.60 is correct. If you go to www.forestoil.com you can email their investor relations department to confirm it as well.

As an employee its probably in your 401k which you get a quarterly statement with the share value. You can always track it in any newspaper or go to YAHOO FINANCE and type in:

What's up Doc? Those of us who were sleeping through economics really appreciate you! Anyway, I have another ADELQ question... with the officialannouncement of a deal on 4/21, can you give us novices an idea about what to expect?

creditors, bondholders, preffered shareholders and then us commoners. Whatever is left in the till will get paid out. But as I can see and looking at the stock it won't be much.

Sorry. But this happens with bankrupt stocks. You get them very cheap but there is no guarantee of a big payout. Plenty of investors felt K-DOG I mean K-MART(HA STEWART) would be a good buy. But they dissovled the NYSE original stock leaving those shareholders with nothing and re-filed under the NASDAQ.

I emailed SEARS Investor Realtions Dept. on how you can get past prices and here was their response: "If you have more specific dates we can provide you with historical stock prices. Please call 847-286-7385 for assistance."

Years and years ago I invested in some stock and I can't remeber what it was or who to contact. How can I find out that information?

Was it through a job/401k plan? If you bought the stock it had to be through a broker. Try to remember what brokerage firms it may have been probably close to your home. Also see who was doing your taxes back then as there had to be something filed with the IRS whether you made money or not.

I am in the process of buying stocks in ABSA, which is a South African Bank. Next week Barclays will buy 40% of the bank. What effect would this have on the value of the shares in the short & long term?

Nice call on ABSA. Now BARCLAYS wants 60% which will only increase the shares of ABSA. Maybe they will eventually buyout ABSA down the road.

I have always said ZANE is a long term hold. On April 20th it traded at a low of $3.27 and on April 22nd a low of $3. I told invesotrs it had done this before, to buy more as the markets were getting slammed as well. ZANE is a NASDAQ Small Cap stock and will feel it when the markets are going down. Now its April 27th and the stock hit a high of $4.10!!!! Hope you listened to me.

I am an investor with more of a buy/hold strategy. I have purchased stocks that are smaller in size and growing over time. You always hear of stocks that if purchased 30 year ago would be worth mega dollars (you will in the $). However, was KO every really a small cap when is became public? What about Walmart? Another words, If I was investing in the 60's and I was looking at Coke, or other stocks then, would they have been small cap, mid cap or large cap at that time?

KO in 1969 was trading 6,000 shares a day at a price of $95. Now in 2005 it trades on average 5 million shares a day. It has split 5 times since 1977.

Your strategy of buying and holding in my opinion was the right thing to do years ago but when you see K-MART screwing their loyal shareholders as well as ENRON, GLOBAL CROSSING & WORLDCOM I have to disagree in 2005 on that process.

What will happen to the Adelq stock now trading on the Pk. with the anounced buy out?

There probably won't be much left for the common shareholders. The creditors, bond holders, preffered shareholders all get paid first before the common share holders.

was there any value left in the old Pan Am Airlines Stock after the bombing? I am hold 1500 shares, should I frame them as a wall hanging?

ok, so now comcast and time warner just bought adelphia. what do you think this will do to my adelphia stock??? thanks!

How long do you think it will be before adelphia comes out of its bankrupcyproceedings?

Adelphia has to many creditiors to pay out. That is why Time Warner & Comcast are getting such a discount on the buyout.

When I left my employment at Sears in November 1987, I also had purcchased10 shares of Sears Roeuck stock through the employee investment plan. Now that the Kmart-Sears Merger is completed I need to turn in my shares,.Ithink I understand how to figure the capitol gain, but is there a web site that lists all the share prices from November 1987 to April 2005 so that I can calculate the capital gain and not have to go to a tax consultant?

Dear Dr. Stock, I'm new to online trading. I read your answer on Pinksheetstocks not having a bid or ask price. But what is going on with "flatline" Pinksheet stocks that sit at .0001 then bang up to .002 one day and back down, like UOIL, and how can I buy them if there's no price? (I wouldn't buy UOIL because of low volume). Also, what IS and what's the advantage of "Level II"? Thanks- I'll come back to see.

A LEVEL II is used for bulletin board and Nasdaq stocks. It tells you the market makers and what prices they are looking to get on the buy or sell side. It can change rapidly. I use it because it indicates the best prices on the bid & ask.

You can find plenty of bargains with Bulletin Board stocks that have good volume which is important. If it doesn't trade or its "thinly" traded you will have a tough time getting in & out of your positions.

If BKST is being bought at a reported $20.50 per share, why is it tradingexactly at $19.90 per share

Once the deal is completed the you will receive the $20.50 per share buyout price. Some investors decided to sell now instead of waiting for the paperwork to be completed.

Sears Holding stock went way down to 135 on fri the 15th Should I hold on for a while loinger or ell now ? Thanks ..John

I'm sorry it to me so long to respond but the stock has been trading in a range of $128.75 - $149.50 in the month of April. It closed at $134.35 on April 27th. I feel looking at the chart its ready to make another move towards the $150range. If it breaks through there then $156 - $158 is the next resistance. You also have the possibility SEARS may split the stock.

I have walmart stock that i have had for a long time. I HAVE ABOUT 40$ WORTH OF PROFIT IN EACH SHARE. SHOULD I SELL SOME OF THAT TO PAY OFF MY HOUSE.

I can only tell you I'm in the market to make money. I tell investors that before you BUY a stock you should also have an "exit" price. A price that you feel is a good percentage or dollar gainer. If you feel Wal-Mart is going up a lot higher then you hold. If you think its ready to pullback then protect your profits and sell some shares.

I have 50 shares of Gulf United Co. stock bought in 1971. I have been able to determine that it was acquired by American General in 1982. AmericanGeneral is now AIG, I believe. What, if anything, is my stock worth now?

The best thing to do is deposit the shares in a borkerage account and let them sort everything out.

I live in an area that is groing rapidly and alot of new restraunt chainsare popping up up and doing very well such as buffalo wild wings(bwld)wouldthis be a sign to buy?

It's usually a good sign when franchise or wholly owned restaurants are starting to go national. My only concern with BWLD is that it has been on a roll price wise looking at the charts. They will be announcing earnings on April 26th and that should tell you how the company will do going forward. If they are expanding at a reasonable rate then fine but if they are trying to cover every corner in the U.S. then I would be worried. Go ask the investors who owned Krispy Donut.

I have shares in PepsiCo. and I have my original stock certificate but I am unsure on how to sell my shares.

You will need to either open a brokerage account then deposit it or ask your bank if they have the capability to sell the share.

what will happen to the current stockholders of adelphia when time warnerand comcast buy it. will their value increase? please give me some info.

Everyone has to see how much money is needed to pay off the creditors, bondholders, preferred shareholders and then the common shareholders get whats left.

Hello Dr. I have (or had) 100 shares of Sears stock. I recently received a letterfrom Sears Holding indicating that I should surrender my shares for the $50.00 per share cash payout. I kept my shares because I thought they would convert to the new stock at .5 shares per share. My intent was to retain the stock and not take the buyout. I do not recall receiving any proxystatements, nor can Sears Holding show that I received a statement. Can I take any legal action to maintain my shares. Or, am I -----SOL. Thanks, Jim

You are SOL. They will contend proxys were sent out ro your broker should have informed you. As they said in the Seinfeld expisode: Yada - Yada - Yada.

can you claim a capital loss on your taxes if the company you own stock in files bankruptcy?

If the company stops trading publicly and you cannot sell your shares then ask your broker for a "worthelss stock certificate" form.

How do I figure cost basis of ATT Wireless stock received as spinoff from ATT in 2001 in relation to my cash payment from merger with Cingular? Thank you.

This is the best web site to find out about your cost average which is from AT&T. Plus you can always e-mail their investor relations department.

I love your site! You had said that the letters .ob after a stock mean it's on the bulletin board. Does that mean that the normal person can not buy it. I'm interested in buying Jones soda and that is how it is listed.Thanks. sandy

The "ob" ending on a stock symbol is used only on YAHOO FINANCE. If you were to call your broker or buy it on-line you would just enter in this instance:

JDSA for Jones Soda. You can buy any stock you want just as long as there is money in your account.

Splits:25-Aug-75 [2:1], 17-Dec-80 [2:1], 12-Jul-82 [2:1], 11-Jul-83 [2:1], 07-Oct-85 [2:1], 13-Jul-87 [2:1], 09-Jul-90 [2:1], 26-Feb-93 [2:1], 20-Apr-99 [2:1]

do you ever use cost avg when buying stock and if so what is a good critira for doing so

If you believe in the stock you're buying then there is nothing wrong with cost averaging up or down. There are times when a stock takes a big hit but I feel if nothing has changed fundamentally and YOU still believe in it then take advantage of the price.

You could also "dollar cost average". Lets say you like INTEL for the long-term. No matter what the price is at the end of the month you buy it. If you were to set aside $200 a month for INTEL you would buy as many shares as possible.

Must you accept the $50 offer for Sears Stock if you were not in favor of the merger and you took no action after the initial dissenting vote?

If you did not notify SEARS or your broker via proxy then that is what you had to take.

Okay this is a school project but can u tell me how much I have if i had 100 stocks in American Eagle and bought it for 52.75 on Feb. 17, 2005. The problem is that it split, so i don't know how a split works... And i have no clue if i gained or lost money... please help me!!!

American Eagle which you originally bought 100 shares at $52.75 totaled $5,275.00.

On March 8th, 2005 it split 2 for 1 so now you have 200 shares and your cost average is now $26.375

I have 79 shares of Wal-Mart common stock, the certificate is dated Feb 12, 1996. I know Wal-Mart stock split in 1999. How do I find outif this certificate is still valid and the the value of this stock?

Wal-Mart did split 2 for 1 on April 20, 1999 so you now have 158 shares. All you have to do is deposit it in a brokerage account and the adjustment will be credited to your account.

I also own common stocks of MCI Worldcom. I appreciate your reply that mci stocks are worthless. What about MCI Worldcom stocks ?

Unless you own Massmutual Corporate Investors which is negotiating the sale of MCI to either Qwest or Verizion the stocks are worthless. You can tell if "any" MCI-Worldcom stock has value when you look at your monthly/quarterly brokerage firm statements.

I emailed SEARS Investor Realtions Dept. on how you can get past prices and here was their response:

In 1987 the Greyhound Corporation divests its U.S. bus operations. The new company, Greyhound Lines, Inc., establishes its headquarters in Dallas. Fred Currey is the company's new chief executive.

Greyhound Lines purchases Trailways, Inc., establishing Greyhound as the largest nationwide intercity bus transportation company.

Then in 1999 Greyhound Lines' equity shareholders agree to a merger with Laidlaw, Inc., bringing together the U.S. and Canadian bus lines for the first time under one CEO.

The symbol for Laidlaw is LI on the NYSE. I would e-mail them for historical quotes.

Once the merger became official the stock has gone to levels that suggest a stock split will be the next logical step. Investors had asked me pre-merger what they should do as far as taking cash and stock and I made reference there was a very good chance that a stock split was in the cards.

What is current status of ATT wireless stock which had stock symbol AWE? What is current symbol?

AT&T Wireless was bought out by CINGULAR. Here is the link for the website that will help explain the your cost average & tax basis:

I own stock in enron under the symbol enrnq.pk. when I look it up now it says invalid ticker symbol. Is that traded under a different symbol now? how do I track it?

On November 17, 2004, Enron Corp.’s chapter 11 Plan became effective. Under this Plan, all of Enron Corp.’s outstanding common stock and preferred stock was cancelled on that date. Each person that was the record holder of Enron Corp. stock on the day that it was cancelled will be allocated an uncertificated, non-transferable interest in one of two (2) trusts that will hold new shares of Enron Corp. These trusts are called the Common Equity Trust and the Preferred Equity Trust. Interests from the Common Equity Trust will be allocated to the former holders of Enron Corp.’s Common Stock, and interests from the Preferred Equity Trust will be allocated to the former holders of any class of Enron Corp.’s Preferred Stock. Copies of the trust agreements for these trusts can be viewed as exhibits to Enron Corp.’s final Form 8-K, which was filed on November 18, 2004. The Form 8-K can be viewed at the Securities Exchange Commission’s web site at www.sec.gov. In the very unlikely event

that the value of Enron Corp.’s assets exceeds the amount of its allowed claims, distributions will be made to the holders of these trust interests in the same order of priority of the stock they previously held. At this time, we do not believe that the value of Enron Corp.’s assets will exceed the amount of its allowed claims. Therefore, we do not expect that distributions will ever be made to the former holders of Enron Corp. stock.

what cost basis would you use for a (one only) share of GE bought on sept.3rd, 1929 if I sold it now (I didn't buy it myself, but grandfatherdid, but only that one single share)?

You would use the original share price as a cost basis. Unless you inherited it through the Estate then you could "possibly" use that date as a cost basis.

When there is an "e" at then end the company was late in filing their earnings. Once they are submitted and comply with the SEC the "e" will disappear.

Tel offshore trust ubi- can you provide me with the price and date of purchase for security No. 872382106.

TEL OFFSHORE TRUST - UNITS OF BENEFICIAL INTEREST (TELOZ) As of: 04/15/2005, 4:00pm Volume 85,092

Hi Dr. Stock, I owned 2994 shares of Sears stock. I decided to trade all of my shares for in for 1/2 share of Sears Holding Company.I have been a share holder of Sears for over 50 years and continue to be an active trader. I couls have at the most received 1470 half of my 2940 of Sears in SHLD.I only received 925, and the balance in cash. My question is do you know how it was determinedwho would get what percentage of the new stock and was it the same for all shareholders? Was it just the luck of the draw. I feel I should have received more of SHLD due to the amount of years I'be been trading my Sears stock? What do you think?

Everything was based on proxy's sent to the shareholders. SEARS probably is banking on that with the cash given ($50) all the shareholders would just buy SHLD. As of April 15th and the price at $134.91 a stock split should be coming shortly in my opinion.

Sorry, the deadline for this, I believe, it June, 2005? Also, do you think there's a chance of this stock getting into the $2.00/share range by the end of the year? I'm considering an investment into this company...you're feedback is appreciated!

Dr. Stock, do you believe that AV will be able to satisfy its current agreement with VMII on their selling VMII's technology to 3 Tier-1 companies?

On March 21st it was announced the first deal with a U.S. Tier 1 telco. AVAYA knows the product is excellent and with all the legacy (older) systems ready to fade away telephone companies & corporations know software is a lot cheaper then hardware. In my opinion since AV already has a deal with VERIZON that could be the next Tier 1 news.

The shares of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. were distributed on the basis of .3218 of a share of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. for each share of AT&T common stock owned as of the record date of June 22, 2001. The actual distribution of shares took place on July 9, 2001.

I own shares of Big 5 formerly bgfv. They were delisted and now trade as bgfvE. What impact will this have on me? Can I still sell the shares? What would you recommend for this situation?

The "E" represents that BigFive was late in filing their earninings. They will appeal it. Once the NASDAQ gets the proper paperwork they can take the "E" off. You can sell your shares anytime you want. After reading the news it does not seem like a anything major in my opinion but you sill have to determine the risk involved and how much money you have invested.

In March of 1999 I purchased stock in AOL. In November of 1999 the stocksplit 2 for 1. I sold the stock in December of 2004 as Time Warner at a loss. My question is how do I show the price of the split stock on my tax return? Question 2- Can I show the commission fees on these transactions and can I show the fees I am charged every year by Wachovia on the IRA they are holding for me? Thank you very much for your assistance. H.

When filing for tax losses you have to show what you originally paid for in cash of AOL. For example if AOL was trading at $90 a share and you purchased a 1000 shares the bottom line is a $90,000 investment was made.

Then in 2004 taking into consideration the 2-1 stock split you sold 2000 shares at $20 equals $40,000. You would have a $50,000 loss. The IRS does not care abotu the price but how much money you put in.

I am a retired employee of the JCPenney Company and my 401K is handled by Hewitt Management. I own many equivalent shares of the company stock. We recently heard that the company is ripe for a buyout, would this be a good time to transfer to another fund? I am 75 years old and do not want to lose the principal that I already have invested in my 401K

If you feel more comfortable with a local brokerage firm then treansfer the account but that is your decision. See what fees they charge for the transfer or if Hewitt will charge you. Find out comission fees for selling the shares in the 401k. If prices are reasonable then do it. Another alternative is to see if the bank you are doing business with can handle your 401k plan. Because you do business with them there is a chance they will waive the fees.

I own shares in a company called Via Net.works (VNWI). They are in the process of being bought out. I purchased shares @ $0.17 each. I'm not sure if I shoudl cash out now (at $.35-.40) or wait until they final Sale. I believe they have a value of around .60-.70 share. I'm new to this process, and am very skeptical I'll get that price. Any suggestions?

Since you are not 100% confident of the buyout price then you could liquidate a portion say 50 - 75% at possibly $0.34 which would be a double on your original investment and then see if it continues to go up. If it does go up you can "scale" out of shares on the way to $0.60 - $0.70. If it starts to break down and go lower then make sure you get out above $0.17.

It can be delisted if it falls before $1 but there are other factors based on insiders holdings, liquidity financials etc.

I am considering the purchase of shares in BURST.COM (OTC:BRST). As a rank beginner, how would I proceed?

Open an account with either an "on-line" brokerage firm or an establish firm that you can walk into their offices. The large full service firms usually require $10,000 - $20,000 to open an account. The on-line brokers have you deposit $1000 before you can buy. As a "rank-outsider" picking his own stocks read as many books as possible and be prepared to take some lumps. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Its not a good sign as they will be dropped to either the bulletin board or pink sheets. If they submit their financials along with other factors they can re-apply to the NASDAQ.

If a large well traded company buys out a pink sheet - Can the pink sheet stock be left worthless? Is the buyout company required to payoff the pink sheet stock holders? Thanks

In order to buyout the pink sheet company the larger company had to buy all the outstanding shares. There are cases when instead of a "take-over" where the shareholders get a premium on their shares you can have a "take-under". So if the pinksheet company was trading at $1 based on debt and other factors the large company may make an offer of $0.50.

Dr. Stock: I need to know the value of Sears, Roebuck and Co stock on August 15, 1979. I saw an earlier answer you gave to a similar question in which you referred the writer to Yahoo Finance. I tried that, but the stock symbol "S" (for the old Sears stock) is not accepted on Yahoo Finance or any other stockquote sites I tried, historical or not, since the stock is now reported under Sears Holding Company. Can you find the value for me or tell me how to find it. Thank you.

I emailed SEARS and you can call their investor relations department for past prices. This was their response: "If you have more specific dates we can provide you with historical stock prices. Please call 847-286-7385 for assistance."

Xybernaut got a notice that it can be delisted by April 14th because of failure to deliver their 10-k on time. What happens when a company's stock is delisted from NASDAQ? Does it have a chance of being traded on NASDAQagain? Is it worth to wait it off, or sell now at a large loss? Thank you for this great site. WK

It can comeback and trade on the Nasdaq once they file. Everyone has a different "risk" tolereance level so you will have to decide to sell or hold. For the most part it's not a good sign when the company tells you to "ignore" previous earnings or lack of. Everyones portfolio is going to have winners & losers its just knowing what you are looking to make on the plus side and what percentage to cut losses.

I have adelphia stock and i was wondering since the deal went through and Comcast and Timewarner are buying them out for 12.5 bil in cash and 5.6 billion is stocks does that mean that my stock is now goin to be split by COMCAST AND TIME WARNER. Basically are they going to be worthless?

Right now the creditors must get paid first, then bond-holders, preffered shareholders then the common shareholders. Anything is possible with regards to what you may get on your return on investment (roi). I'll say the worst case scenario is you have a tax writeoff at the end of the year.

Thak you for answering my Adelphia question a few days ago, just a follow-up question here: I only have 300 some odd shares left of my Adelphia stock,valued at only about $85. Do you think I should sell it now and make off with my dismal $85, or sit on it and see what happens, especially my Adelphia is worth only $85? I mean, do you think there's a chance that I may actually make up some of my lost money?

Unless you need the money to buy food I would just roll the dice and hold. The worst case scenario is you will have a tax write-off.

In refrence to the question about VMII: do you think this is a good buy, do you think it will skyrocket soon?

VMII is an excellent long-term hold. The fact that they have announced a U.S. Telephone contract shows that their product is excellent and their relationship with AVAYA (AV- NYSE) is very strong. Also as part of the amendment AVAYA will be bringing a total of at least 3 Tier I Telcos to the table. Just buy the stock and when we all see who the U.S. telephone company is there will be VERY BIG SMILES.

Dr Stock, How do corporate raiders drive the price of stock down? Also how do they acquire a controlling amount of stock? Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Can't find any info on "BGSY" Brushgard Systems, Inc. Cusip # 117440107.anyhelp???

I have 4500 shares of WCOEQ stock, are they still worthless considering all the drama with Quest and Verizon??

Unfortunately they are still worthless. You can have you accountant write it off. Have your broker send you a "worthless stock certificate" form.

I had Att stock that I paid various prices for. In july 2001 I received 272 shares of ATT Wireless. In October 2004 I received a check from ATT Wireless for the sale of these 272 shares. How do I know what I paid for these?

Do you have records & dates of what you paid for AT&T stock? If you do here go to this website and it will show you how they came to 272 shares:

Dear Dr-Stock My mother opted to cash in her Sears Stock. I am in the process of findingthe orginal purchase cost for tax purposes. I tried looking for the history on Yahoo and other site using "S" but it come up as invalid symbol. The date on the cert was 10/11/79. Is there anywhere else on the net where I could find this information or is searching though old new papers at the publiclibrary my best route? Thanks for any help you can provide.

I emailed SEARS and you can call their investor relations department for past prices this was their response:If you have more specific dates we can provide you with historical stock prices. Please call 847-286-7385 for assistance.

In order for the company to go private a buyout price for the stock must have occured. As a shareholder you are notified of that price and then the company "retires" the stock. The company will continue to do business but will not have to answer to the shareholders if they want to make acquisitions or merge with another company.

dr. stock, i recently bought 1000 shares of adelphia at .27 a share, i did this knowing they were in bankruptcy and being tendered offers...my question is do you think that given a buyout of say 18 billion that i will re-coup my money or even gain some or will the likely outcome be that the share value will end up being far less than the quarter a share i bought it at..thx doc

Time will tell. There is going to be a combo of cash and stock given by Comcast & Time Warner for the buyout. But creditors must get paid first, then bond holders, preffered stockholders then the common shares holders. Whatever is left over will determine if you at least breakeven.

My father and mother live in Louisiana. My father owned stock when he died 2 years ago. Does my mother get a step up on cost basis?

The "E" on the end means they have failed to file their financials on time as well as keeping in-line with certain guidelines to trade publicly. Once the paperwork is approved then the "E" will dissappear.

I have stock in Adelphia & it just got bought out by TimeWarner&Comcast what is going to happen to my stock

The FCC must approve the buyout. But it looks like there will be a combo of cash & stock. The fact is 2 companies are doing the buying but they should still be in the same ballpark. As a shareholder you will be receiving a notice in the mail of the proposal.

You don't lose your stock but the price will go down. If they continue to do poorly then the stock could trade at zero and you would not be able to sell it. At that point you would write it off. Companies can come back if they get financial backing.

I had sears stock. It was cashed out at $50 with Etrade. Was it anyones responsibility to notify me? I think that maybe Etrade should have.

There were proxys sent out by Sears & K-Mart and if you did not sign it then the $50 cash offer was automatically given to you.

Hi Dr-stock, In regards about a question on Dec 29, 2004 for STRONG BUY on Voice Mobility International Inc. (VMII). Their revenues do not meet operating and capital expenses which = operating losses and negative cash flow, also hi in debt, maturity pay back of 12-31-05. could you please explain strong buy. Thank You for your time.

On March 21st news came out that AVAYA (symbol -AV) had given VMII their first customer, a U.S. Telephone company. AVAYA will be installing VMII'S software for "unified voice messaging" services. VMII will get paid approximately $1 per mailbox each month. The average Tier I telco has between 4 million & 35 million mailboxes. In My Opinion Only: once the name of the telephone company is announced and the installation of mailboxes begins VMII goes from zero earnings to a profitable company within time.

Many voice mail systems are getting old and if you have a choice of buying new hardware or having a software product with exceptional features as well as save you money then their partner AVAYA should be able to put VMII on the map. AVAYA also has 1 million business customers of which over 90% are Fortune 500. Each day they use 100 million voice mailboxes. All VMII needs to do is get just 10% of those mailboxes and I feel one day AVAYA will get tired of cutting multi-million dollar checks each month and just buy VMII out.

Hi - I just recently purchased Adelphia stock. If the deal goes through to sell it or if they come back out of bankruptcy will I lose all my shares? If that is the case, I would want to be sure to sell it before then.

It depends what Time Warner & Comcast have in mind. They can offer cash, stock or a combo of both. There are large shareholders who have voting rights and they are looking for the best deal. Time will tell.

If I buy 100 shares of McDonalds stock today and just sit on it for 20 to 30 years how much do you think it will be worth? Do you think investingin large cap companys that pay high dividends like 3M, Johnson and Johnson, Philip Morris, and McDonalds is good? If I were to buy 100 shares of these companys do you think it will be worth anything in 30 years?

Ask the investors who held K-MART, ENRON, GLOBAL CROSSING & WORLD COM. No one has a crystal ball. Even though the companies you mention seem to be solid its not the same markets that our grandparents or parents invested in where you buy those shares and let them sit for over 20 years.

I was an employee for MCI from 1990-1993. I purchased stock through the employee stock purchase plan. I do have my certificate numbers which denotes numbers of shares, but not the price. I need these figures so my accountantcan write off the loss. sad . thank you.

Your accountant can see how much money was invested by looking at your tax forms for those years. It discloses how much money was put into the stock then you can divide it by the amount shares to get a cost average.

I have a sears stock option that vested on the day of the merger and is to be paid as soon as practical after the Kmart/Sears closing. If I leave employment before receiving the check would I still be entitled to receive it since I was employed a week after the closing?

The option was vested so you are entitled to the money. I would also check with the people who handle your 401k just to play it safe. But the key word is "vested".

I like to use YAHOO FINANCE. If you have a brokerage account then look for their website. They should allow you free quotes.

Dr. Stock, Can you tell me what the average price was for Walmart Stock for the year 1981. My wife bought stock that year and we sold it this year and are trying to determine the basis. Also how many times has it split since then.

You have to go back in your records to see how much money was invested in Wal-Mart in 1981 and divide that by the amount shares to get the cost average. If you have a brokerage account they will be able to tell you the amount shares you owned then. Plus is that the only year she purchased Wal-Mart? Here are the years that Wal-Mart split since 1981:

If I buy stock in a company that is bankrupt and that company is auctionedoff to another company or 2 companies buy the company I have stock in, what happens to my stock?

This sounds like what Adelphia is going through. The companies that are doing the buying may offer stock, cash or a combo of both but there is NO guarantee you will get fair value. Look at K-Mart that traded on the NYSE those investors got nothing that owned the original shares because debt had to be paid off and that left nothing for the common shareholders. They then refiled as a NASDAQ company and as you have been reading in the papers merged with SEARS which is trading over $100 a share.

is it safe to buy stock after a conpany claimed bankruptcy? And other companies are trying to buy it?

I personally don't like buying companies that have filed bankruptcy. Some Yale professors tracked bankrupt companies back to the early '60's and found that over 90% never got full value or were completely dissolved. The stockmarket is risky to begin with so I don't like those odds.

I currently have stock in Adelphia. Adelphia is currently up for bid and several other cable companies are looking to aquire Adelphia. Once the sale is finalized, will my stock be converted into stock for the company which buys Adelphia, or will my stock be sold? If my stock is sold, will thatmoney automatically go into my (Sharebuilder) account? Thank you in advance!

The players looking to buy Adelphia are: Time Warner, Comcast and now possibly add Cablevision. They have the option of givng stock, cash or a combo of both. Since it looks like the company will be sold off in pieces you will have to wait for the FCC to approve any deal. But in my opinion I would guess the prices will be of equal value. Meaning the cable companies doing the buying have to come up with a price of how much each Adelphia subscriber is worth and then times that by the amount of customers that will be involved in that section. Once done then any combo will be adjusted in your account.

Dear Dr. I recently bought 1600 shares of CIAS China Score, Inc. at it's IPO for .80 then another 1600 at 1.60. The compnay said it would track at oer $5.00 in days but then the stock plunged to .10. I feel this is a pump and dump scheme. I lost over $3700. Is their a way to get money back from theseinternet pump and dump schemes?

You can report them to the SEC but for the most part they will say you should have consulted with a financial advisor, stock broker or contacted the company and asked for an investor relations package before purchasing shares. IPO'S are one of the riskiest investments to make because they are looking to raise money which they obviously don't have. Back in the early 90's everyone wanted a piece of an IPO but so many of those companies went bankrupt or never traded back to their IPO prices.

Dr Stock, do you have any updates on VMII will perform this year? You mentioned something about them awhile back and I noticed they had some news just released. How high do you believe this stock will go? Do you own this stock?

I own this stock and in my opinion only they will be bought out one day by AVAYA at the $50 or higher range. Many companies have voice mail systems that are old and VMII has created a software that will replace those legacy systems at half the cost. They have partnered with AVAYA & the news that came out on March 21st announeced that the mail boxes are being installed in a U.S. based phone company's system. Once that company name is released it will generate big profits for VMII who gets paid approximately $1 per mail box each month. AVAYA has 1 million customers (90% of the Fortune 500) that use 100 million mail boxes each day!!!! Plus AVAYA signed an amendment that gives them 6 million warrants at $0.87 convertable into VMII common shares. Right now AVAYA has 2 million warrants. Go to AVAYA'S webiste and see how big this company is and look at their history of buying out vendors they do business with: www.avaya.com

Hi, I own few common stocks of mci before it was acquired by worldcom. What should I do ? Does it have any worth now?

I have approx. 800 shares of common stock in K-Mart purchased before their bankruptcy. Does it have any value?

If you purchased the NASDAQ stock KMRT it was converted on March 28th to SEARS HOLDING COMPANY - symbol SHLD

how do I look up the proper stock symbol by cusip? I have a papsi share cert and a coke share cert and there are about 20 different symbols for each my pepsi share cert says: CUSIP 713448 10 8 my coke share cert says: CUSIP 191216 10 0

my mother passed recently and she had several shares of a woolworth stock. Now this is from the f.w. woolworth corp.andwas purchased in the60's. What if any value does it have today. They have scince been changed to footlocker? Please Help Judy B Columbus ms.

I always suggest that when shares are inherited especially stock from the 60's then your best bet is to deposit them into a brokerage account. Within 7 days the firm will be able to determine splits if any and whatever buyouts occured and then will be able to determine if there is any value. FW Woolworth also had a subsidiary in London which still trades publicly.

I have a few shares of Walmart stock that were purchased when I worked there. How can I find out how much I have and how to sell it?

You have to call Human resources which will give you the phone number of the 401k/stock purchasing agent. Since you did buy the stock when you worked there then you should be receiving quarterly statements updating you what the value is.

I have to assume you don't have a brokerage account. If you do then they should have a website that will let you get free quotes. Or you can use Yahoo Financial to get quotes which are on a 20 minute delay.

I owned Teleport (TCG)stock that was purchased by ATT, ATT broke off it's into several business units including ATT wireless which was purschased by Comcast. I received 1099 statment from Schwab account stating I have a cash merger gross proceeds due to the sale of ATT wireless and I now own Comcast stock! How do I figure out the base price paid for the stock due to all the mergers?

The easiest way was "how much" did you pay for the TCG stock. Did you purchase it through Schwab? Even though it merged and was bought out when filing taxes if you paid $500 for TCG and now the new converted stock is worth $1000 you doubled your money. Not bad.

Don't go so far back the next time........just kidding!!!!!! On January 4th 1982 IBM closed at $58.25 so we will go with that cost basis. You would have paid $5,825. IBM split 2 for 1 in 1997 & 1999 which now gives you 400 shares. Then I had to factor in the quarterly dividends as well as adjust for the splits that total came out to: $7,037.00 On March 30th IBM closed at $90.68 x 400 shares = $36,272.00 dividends = $ 7,037.00 total = $43,309.00

From: Steve Kukin Tuesday, March 22, 2005 9:08 AM
HI DOC.:
WHAT DO THE LETTERS G.T.C. MEAN WHEN SELLING STOCK?
WHAT DO THE LETTERS G.T.C. +EXT. MEAN?
THANKS, DOC.

GTC means good till cancelled. Lets say IBM is trading at $95 and you want to buy 500 shares at $93 or lower then you can put in a GTC. It will stay on the books unless you cancell the order. If its not a NYSE stock then at the end of the day you will get a call from your broker that the order was cancelled. With the NYSE a "specialist" handles the buys & sells. The other markets are computered generated but will hold the order open only until the end of the trading day.