When choosing my three stocks, I tried to pick companies that I was already familiar with. I personally own stock in both Staples and General mills. My parents are the ones who got me going on Procter and Gamble. My mom purchased the stock when it was around fifty-seven dollars a share. That was in February of 2000. I put my faith into companies that produce generic goods and products that most people purchase. Instead of investing thirty thousand dollars in tech stocks, I wanted to put my money in blue chips. Apposed to the unstable performance of tech stocks, my three companies are pretty safe choices. Although we probably wont see them jump 20 points in the several weeks we are playing the game, there is a strong chance they will make me some money. .
Staples, Inc. is an office products superstore and an office products distributor. In addition to office supplies, they also carry things like desks and chairs. Their gross profit for February of 2002 was $717,000,000 with a profit margin of 3.4%. Their latest fifty-two week low was $11.68 a share and the fifty-two week high was $22.45. When all was said and done, staples was the only business that made me any money. I ended up with around $4,500 profit after the ten weeks. The Company operates three business segments: North American Retail, North American Delivery and European Operations. Staples' North American Retail segment consists of the Company's United States and Canadian business units that sell office products, supplies and services through 1,261 retail stores. As of February 2, 2002, Staples' European Operations consists of the Company's 175 retail stores, in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Every morning I try to eat breakfast before I leave the house. And a typical breakfast for me consists of cereal and orange juice. More often than not, you will find General Mills somewhere on that box of cereal.
