Let’s say you’ve been interested in buying Microsoft stock and you feel $20 is a good price to pick up some shares. It currently trades at $23.50 per share, so you’ll need it to fall in price a bit before getting filled on the trade. Most stock traders would just put in a “limit buy” order to buy the stock if/when Microsoft falls down to $20 per share. But there’s no guarantee that Microsoft will ever fall to $20 per share, and there’s no one paying this stock trader upfront for his time while they wait to buy Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) at $20…

I got another small surprise Monday night, browsing the major indexes.

As you can see from the chart above, the S&P 500 has broken the accelerated downtrend it’s been in since September.

Now, it’s true that this chart is only current as of Monday’s close. I’m writing you these words early Tuesday morning before hopping on a plane.

Perhaps while I’m up in the air at 35,000 feet, Treasury Secretary Paulson will say or do something alarmingly idiotic and help stocks return to form.

But if not, just imagine! The very idea that stocks don’t always go down and down… who’d have thunk it?

Whisper it Quietly

Okay, that was a wee bit of sarcasm (in case you hadn’t noticed).

If I…

Chasing market moves is the worst way to invest, says Steve McDonald. And piling everything into one asset class will not work either. Over time, you will always make more money with a balanced portfolio. That means a suitable combination of stocks and bonds. Steve comes up with a simple formula to find a portfolio split that works specifically for you.