Today's biggest headline is that Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn, is pregnant. This could have more of an impact on the markets than any Fed announcement! Kidding. But just when you thought Britney Spears might be in danger of losing her crown as America's leading advocate of white trash family values, Britney's baby sister swoops in and rescues her big sister, securing that crown on behalf of the entire Spears family. (Pamela Anderson is making a run for it by divorcing -- and now possibly reconciling with -- her third husband of only two months, Rick Solomon, who is best known for his role in the bestselling adult video "1 Night in Paris," which he made with then girlfriend Paris Hilton.) More importantly, this news offers a solid lesson for investors.Seriously -- let me explain.
You see we've all cringed at Britney's circus-like behavior and thought that maybe, just maybe, her baby sister would be spared such embarrassments. But, like stocks in the same industry, children, especially those with the same DNA, raised in the same environment tend to possess the same qualities. The Spears' sisters both have (or had) the looks, incredible talent, an unholy desire for headlines of any kind and the ability to continually make poor decisions.
Let's compare these entertainment siblings to some popular stock siblings.
The leading internet search engine companies, Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) have near identical stock charts as do solar leaders First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Sunpower (NASDAQ: SPWR) as well as the leading automobile makers Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM). All different companies with varying growth rates, competitive advantages, valuations, etc, but when it all comes down to it, everyone's stock performance is scarily sibling-esque.
Granted, this is a very simplistic view and there are many exceptions to the rule, but the lesson here is that individual companies don't necessarily matter as much as what industry they're a part of and, perhaps more importantly, investor's perception of that industry. So, take note, you must not only thoroughly research individual companies, but all the industry/environment-related variables too – so quit wasting time reading the gossip pages!
Timothy Sykes writes the blog timothysykes.com, is a former hedge fund manager, the star of the TV show Wall Street Warriors and author of the book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-27-2008 @ 12:47PM
gracie said...
Jamie should not give her baby up.
Why are you staring in the new zoey101 that comes on tonight at 8:00.
You also should not turn in to brittney spears.
But mostly you should not take drugs.
I love your tv shows!
and God will take care of both of you.
and i also like your sister's music.
My fave. show is Zoey101.
u r the best.
Why did you fight with your mom?
I am worried that you are going to be off of Nick.
LOVE YOUR BIGGEST FANS JORDYN,GRACIE,EMMALEE,AND ANGELA
3-06-2008 @ 1:22AM
jenna said...
OH MY GOD will everyone get over it already. Sure she is only 16 but it was her decision whether or not to have sex and now she is making a decision to keep the baby. I think she is both incredibly brave and smart. I think she is a great person and will be a great mother. How come everyone is slagging her and not herr mother? I mean sure if her mother was actually there for her youngest daughter instead of trying to rip Britney off then maybe this wouldnt have happened. I think everyone should leave Jamie alone and let her get on with her life.
12-19-2007 @ 11:18AM
Susan said...
Makes a mother proud-LOL
12-19-2007 @ 1:40PM
Jeff said...
Great post! Thats a terrific analogy.
12-19-2007 @ 9:20PM
benji said...
wonderful article
12-19-2007 @ 10:28PM
fifilaroach said...
Man, oh man, am I sick of the entire Spears clan! Just can't stand to hear one more thing about them. Why in the world would Lynne Spears think she was a parenting expert just because she has wealthy daughters. I feel sorry for all of the little girls who worship Jamie Lynne.
I even made a t-shirt to express my outrage! Spay the Spears Sisters!
http://www.cafepress.com/sugarbelleshop/2050035
12-20-2007 @ 12:13AM
concerned parent said...
Let's get Zoey 101 off the air. I don't want my kids
watching anything to do with Jamie Lynne. Apparently she is learning from her sister.
Let's start a boycott of the show.
12-20-2007 @ 1:51PM
jed said...
your an idiot
1-02-2008 @ 1:54PM
jessica said...
Kids don't know any thing .They love zoey 101 so don't take it off the tv.
1-04-2008 @ 2:44PM
Karen C. said...
I don't think canceling Zoey 101 is the answer. I feel that Alicia Keys had the answer in Jamie Spears being an adovocate about teen pregnancy. It happens all the time across in America. We as parents and also adolescents need to learn from this and how to deal with it when it happens and how to prevent it. Teen sex is a peer presure throughout many schools. Shunning it away will not resolve the problem. There should be a TV show on how to deal with these issues and the consicuences. How does it effect a teens life. What are the long term effects, along with the present and past. My daughter got pregnant at 16 years and from a good family. My next door neighbor was pregnant at 15 years and killed her child. So these issues need to be addressed and aired, to enlightened teens on pregancies and the effects on their lifes, especially high school students. Washington...Karen
12-20-2007 @ 12:19PM
daniel said...
so maybe she and her bf did something wrong like not use a condom but it could be of benefit for the millions of others teens who think they are invincible of this sort of stuff. I'm kinda impressed that she has the balls to keep the baby when most would get it aborted. Why is it that when something like this happens people start saying get their show off the air so your kids dont watch her. Most of the people that watch her show are teens why not take the time to explain this situation to them and let them know to never have sex at 16 first of all (ESPECIALLY WITHOUT A CONDOM)
12-20-2007 @ 1:46PM
jed said...
shut up jamie is resonisple she can have a kid if she wants you want to say all of that crap u can i love zoey 101 who ever wrote that you were going to make your kids stop wathing their going to thinkyour stupid for not leting them watch write
me!
brittney is awesome
1-02-2008 @ 1:54PM
lorena said...
I am with you jed.
1-02-2008 @ 1:54PM
lorena said...
I am with you jed.
12-20-2007 @ 3:56PM
sophie said...
i think it's pathetic that people are slating Jamie just because she's pregnant at 16!
condoms only have a 97% chance of working, ever thought the poor girl is one of the unlucky 3% that a condom didn't work for.
it's got nothing to do with everyone else that Jamie's pregnant, it's her body and her life, she made a very mature decision to keep her baby and it's ridiculous people are saying she's a bad rolemodel because she's pregnant!
if a normal 16 yr old was pregnant ppl wouldnt say anything but because Jamie's famous people think they have the right to slate her.
if people are worried that their child is going to copy & get pregnant at a young age teach them about safe sex don't go blaming an innocent 16 yr old & trying to get her show axed.
i'm fed up of ppl calling her trailor trash because she's pregnant at 16.
i had my 1st child at 15 and my 2nd at 17 and neither of my girls lives have been ruined because their mum was a teenager when they were born!
leave Jamie alone and stop slating her!
Good Luck to Jamie, Casey and their baby!
12-28-2007 @ 8:55AM
me said...
3% of people who use condoms that fail... therefore she was one of the unlucky ones? Thats a lapse in logic right there.
I assume your amazing math skills also figured in the fact that she probably didn't get pregnant and have a condom break all on the first try?
I think the issue here is that she is sixteen years old and is having enough sex for all of the improbable scenarios to happen in order for her to get pregnant... and that is a generous assumption that ignores the fact that she is 16 and may not have developed the faculty to care about using a condom every time she has sex. Has she even received proper sex education? Is she from an area that teaches ineffective methods like abstinence? What if she didn't want to use a condom because it creates an extra piece of evidence that may be left behind for her parents to find? Are her parents are bad parents for intimidating her in such a way if that is true?
I would also like to point out that personal experience doesn't count for anything. If you had a kid at 15 and another at 17 and they turned out great, thats awesome. You're lucky. That doesn't mean that its right for everyone. In fact, it probably isn't good for just about anyone and is definitely not something that should be encouraged by the example of a teen celebrity.
I suppose the point of what I had to say was that there is an overarching issue here thats actually important. The particular person, Jamie, is not really one of them. Bickering about Jamie being a good or bad person is really just useless.
1-02-2008 @ 1:55PM
rosa said...
I love your response i would say the same.
12-20-2007 @ 4:15PM
sophie said...
leave Jamie alone! why just because she's famous do people think they have the right to slate her?!
people are saying she's a bad rolemodel because she's 16 & pregnant & her show should be axed, she's not having sex on her show, her chara is not pregnant on the show & she's not telling people it's cool to be a teen mum, she's telling them they're better off waiting so how's she a bad rolemodel?! she said the pregnancy was a huge shock, ever thought the poor girl is one of the unlucky 3% that condoms fail to work for?!
people are saying Jamie's trailor trash or a slag because of being pregnant at 16, how is she a slag when the father is her Boyfriend of over 2 years?!
i had my 1st child at 15 & my 2nd at 17, does that mean i'm trailor trash?!
i wouldnt stop my girls watching a show because the main star is pregant at a young age, if someone is worried about their young child getting pregnant when they're still a teenager instead of blaming an innocent 16 yr old, teach them about safe sex!
stop slating Jamie!
Good luck to Jamie, Casey & their baby
1-05-2008 @ 3:33AM
djarch said...
@Sophie
condoms are 97-99% effective. She would've needed to be ovulating, which is a few days out of the year. 97-99% does not mean, they only work 97-99% of the time, but rather, they generally prevent 97-99% of fluids from ... well... mixing.
this does not equal condoms not working for 3% of people. If this was the case, statistically you would eventually get pregnant after having sex approximately 33 times - and it just doesn't work that way.
Sure, she might've been unlucky... but it's unlikely. With that said, I don't think it's anybody's business what she does in her spare time. However, she is a public figure, looked up to by young people, and if parents decide they don't want her in that role, they certainly have a right to turn off her show (or better yet, turn off the tv). They also have a right to ask that the show be removed -- I'm only 23, have no kids, but when I do have kids, you better believe I don't want them pregnant at 16 - nor do I want them looking up to someone that is, as if it's "okay."
12-27-2007 @ 12:19PM
Randal said...
Being addicted to drugs and refusing help isn't Ok. Flashing your private body parts to the entire planet isn't Ok. Driving drunk isn't Ok, and driving drunk with children in the car is almost attempted homocide. Running into parked cars and trying to leave the scene of an accident isn't Ok. Having a child at 15 or 16 or even 17 isn't Ok. That's the difference between children and grown-ups. Children are immature and think all of the wrong stuff is awesome, cool, and Ok. I know I did when I was young and immature. But grown-ups have to leave the world a better place than what they found it, they have to make the tough decisions, and they have to look at how bad decisions affect everybody. We, as grown-ups, have to look at the BIG picture. The Spears family has made a mockery of family values, making poor choice after poor choice, refusing to see that their behavior has an impact on their fans and followers. And this changes society. So as grown-ups, we can't afford to think that irresponsible behavior is awesome, cool, and Ok, because if we do, we'll live in a self-made, white-trash trailer park, from sea to shining sea.