I am getting back into the market now that I have to watch my investments, I don't have a ton money to invest/ diversify but Apple has never done me wrong. The stock has been correcting it self for the past couple of months and now speculators think it has bottomed out and will be on its way back up.

What are some key dates I need to watch out for? I know the Bush tax cuts is a big date but besides that, what are some key things I need to watch for?

Apple, really.

That boat saled years back.

Going to jump on that bandwagon as well.
I'd like to bitchslap some NVDA into you.
It's been a Bear market.  Dates mean Jack unless they are quarterlies.  Current events and speculation is king.  If you are investing like a Bull (you are) you will get hurt (you will).
Play it smarter and figure out your investment approach before you go buying like it's the 90's because that's the last time you made some money.



––-not trying to be a jerk.  If you decided to go sailing in a windy day the way you went sailing last sunny day, I'd pee in your cheerios too.  It's for your own good.
 
 
 
 
 

I don't know that Apple has anything left in their bag of tricks, I think they're going to be flat for quite some time until they come up with another game changer.  I'm looking and investing into Japanese electronics manufacturers (Sony, Panasonic, Sharp), they've taken a beating this year, their stocks are at all time lows, there's lots of room to play with.

Apple is trading at 12.5 times earnings.  You certainly aren't overpaying.  It's an ok gamble in my book but it remains to be seen if they can maintain their sales and margins in the face of stiffer competition from Samsung.

As Woodsie said, Apple is trading at a P/E of 12.5. IMO, that's a great price, and assuming they can just maintain their current sales, it's still a good buy. Personally, I think there's still plenty of global growth out there in the mobile device markets, and we will see sales continue to increase. They have more room for growth outside the US, and I think a lot of people overlook that fact when considering Apple.

A lot of people have lost confidence that Apple will be able to keep churning out successful products without Steve Jobs, but I'm not really in that boat. Jobs knew he was leaving Apple and took the time to put the right people and strategies in place to keep his company successful. I am not worried about the company's management over the next several years, and won't be concerned until most of the current executives have moved on. Combined with new, developing markets as other nations start selling more and more smart phones, and I think Apple is going to keep growing over time and earnings will keep climbing.

Don't worry about bear/bull markets if you're investing for the long haul. Over time, it doesn't matter. If you buy and hold a quality company, the price is going to reflect earnings over the long term, no matter what the market is doing.

As for dates, I don't really worry about it. Over 10+ years, a quarterly earnings report is not going to matter. Just make sure they're a good company that you're willing to buy and hang onto for several years.

That's the big one for me and why I'm still long in Apple.  The overseas market is absolutely massive and when you look at the trend of people in emerging markets where their phone is to them what the PC was to us, there really is room for Apple to continue to grow sales for several more years.

The biggest threat to Apple in my mind is if they lose their brand or innovation premium which forces them to compete on price thus driving down their stellar margins.  They seem to be suffering on innovation this go around but they still have a loyal following of their brand and iOS and while Samsung, HTC and Motorola are interchangeable on Android, there is only ONE company with an iOS device.

Above all else, they are trading at 12.5 times earnings which means there's already a ton of risk already priced in.

What he said.

Also, Apple has a ton of cash overseas yet to bring back as a dividend that they haven't because they were hoping on getting a tax break. That cash is priced in.  

If taxes on dividends go up, then it seems like this would devalue the stock by the amount of cash minus the tax increase. That could be a small flash crash to watch for.  Everyone else is watching too though so it'ld probably happen faster than you could react. I think buy and hold is the only way to go. If any company is a good buy and hold in tech its probably Apple.

how diverse are you?