Carnival of Investing - Week 5

Welcome to the 5th edition of the Carnival of Investing. I have posted the summary of each post along with the title and link to the post as provided by authors of the posts.

Buy Vs Rent in the Bay Area - Ashish tackles the question of buying a home or renting a home in the bay area.

It Pays to Ignore Your IRA - One way to maximize investment returns -- leave your investments alone.

Stocks and Bonds vs. Mutual Funds - Nickel tackles the question of investing in individual stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Making Your 2004/2005 Roth IRA Contributions - Jim provides some tips about the IRA contributions for the year 2004/2005.

Earnings Calendar and Conference Call Transcripts - Here’s a list of leading companies (about 400) whose conference calls we plan to publish for free on Seeking Alpha this earnings season, listed in order of reporting date. Our goal is to get transcripts up within 6 hours of the end of the call.

Consumer Electronics Companies’ Revenue Growth - In assessing a stock, one of the most important things investors look for is the company’s revenue growth rate. Here’s a chart of all the stocks we cover on the Consumer Electronics Stock Blog, showing revenue growth/decline for 3Q05 versus the previous year (3Q04).

This year, invest in solar power (instead of oil war) - This year, changes in U.S. tax law include a great new set of “green” tax credits for energy-efficient and solar home improvements. Instead of sending your money to the IRS this year, you can invest in being more energy self-reliant.

Mutual Funds: What They Are and How They Work - Dan provides a good bird's eye view of the mutual funds.

Confidence and concentrated funds - Investors in focused, or concentrated mutual funds need to do thorough research into a manager before investing. The higher volatility of a concentrated fund is more likely to shake out a weak holder at the worst possible time, than one who has done their homework.

Measure Your Investment Return - The basics on the concept and the formula for calculating the rate of return on individual investment, andthe total return on a portfolio in a given period.

Strategies and Marketz : I luv Momos Part I - blitztrader explains the rationale behind his affection for sectors and stocks dominated by momentum based funds.

Robert Chapman and the Origins of the 13-D Letter - Excerpts of an interesting profile of money manager Robert Chapman, as well as a few facts about the origins of the popular activist investor tool, the letter to management filed with SEC form 13d.

Compound Interest, Manhattan & the Indians - Who came out better in the sale of Manhattan for $24 in beads and trinkets? It depends on what interest rate the Indians got.

Penny Stock Spam Performance - How do those stocks you get spammed about perform?

Debating Whole Foods’ Moat - Does Whole Foods have a sustainable competitive advantage? Fat Pitch Financials weighs in on this debate.

Thanks for visiting the 5th edition of the Carnival of Investing. The Carnival of Investing host schedule is available at Retire at 30. Next week's carnival will be hosted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.