you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning everybody.i'm angela miles...just ahead on first business... a "seasoned" trader explains why he goes month to month with his investment strategy during this time of the year. in today's cover story.... doing the math. the shocking out of pocket expenses teachers pay for school supplies. plus -- cartoon characters--why some say hollywood is overly ambitious with animation.. and... tourists flock to florida, as a roadside attraction from the 40's takes center stage.

we are tapping into the trader mind of scott bauer of trading advantage. hello scott. > >hello. good morning. > >you are sharing with us your top trading tips starting with, don't be a hero. why not? > >because you're going to fail more often than not. bottom line. when you go into a trade in the marketplace and i don't care if it's in commodities, stocks, equities, options--- whatever it is, you need to have a set plan and that set plan should not be trying to hit a home run. because you may hit a home run one out of every ten times but strike out the other nine times. so go in with a plan. go in with realistic profit expectations and when things don't work out---don't ride it out, exit your strategy and go into the next plan, because you know what? there's always another trade to make. > >you also say don't pile on. i think this is following the herd mentality. why does that not work? > >here's a great example. we saw abercrombie earnings and

the stock was down 20% on real high volume. don't get into a stock like that that has moved just on huge volume and in a significant move, the day or even the day after of the move. let things shake out. if you see from a technical or fundamental standpoint that that may be a good opportunity to buy or sell at that price, that's great but you need to let the market shake itself out, see where it settles in and then make your decision. > >and your last tip is extremely critical. you say, stay nimble. > >right. and what i mean by that angie is when you have your preset plan, you need to act on it. you need to enter, to exit a trade right where you perceive that market's gonna be or what your plan is. so you want to stay active. don't try and stick with something too long. don't try and have this plan and if it doesn't work out, let it ride. be nimble. be able to get in and out. stay with more liquid equities. more

liquid commodities---you'll be better off. > >scott, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts today. much appreciated. > >my pleasure. in today's cover story, public school teachers spent 3.2 billion dollars on school supplies last year...half of that, one-point-six billion out of their own pockets. now, there's an effort to make the public aware of all the materials teachers themselves provide while on the job. in six years of teaching, belinda carucci spent more than 21-thousand dollars out of pocket on books, chalk and other supplies for her students. sixteen years ago, she decided to open the chicago teacher store and hired other teachers to run it with her because of what all teachers know---they pay for a lot of they use in class out of their own pockets. "the first couple of years is spend, spend, spend because you're building your classroom." teachers paying out of pocket is nothing new. but the amounts are getting higher. in 2005, the average was $552 dollars a year. now, the national school supply

and equipment association, a trade group says the average public k-through-12 teacher spends more than a thousand dollars a year. "for me, personally, it's going to be a lot because i'm moving to 2nd grade and that'll be more expensive than as if i'd taught the same grade 2 years in a row." a survey by online coupon site retailmenot.com found 87% of teachers reach into their own pockets to pay for classroom expenses. more of them from urban districts. more of them in the western u-s. "we are a coupon site but we want to help people shop more wisely." but there's more to it than encouraging coupon use. it has to do with priorities. the nonpartisan center on budget and policy priorities found school funding in 35 states last year were below 2008 levels. "my hope is that post- recession, we see an improvement but i can't guarantee it."

the retail-me-not survey also found nearly nine out of ten teachers say they led fundraising efforts to help offset the expense of paying for classroom school supplies. a punk rocker who has been around since the days of dick clark's band stand is offering a few of his best notes to entreprenuers. martin atkins who played with public image-- stopped by our show to share his secrets to success.his advice to young people starting up in the music industry--email addresses are as valuable as cash and the best way to build a fan base. -- and you can get emails by giving away free items. he also suggests-- don't give away rights to your songs. you don't need a record label.he also says jay z and taylor swift have marketing styles worth studying. but mainly atkins believes persistence pays off. it's that punk rock diy mindset of what's stopping me, nothing is stopping anybody from doing anything. you just have to do it and

correct as you go. martin atkins - currently serves as chairman of the music department at the sae institute, a media education school. as the country transitions to the new healthcare system...physicians and hospitals are implementing new medical codes for diagnoses. medical coders are in high demand. there is shortage of 3 to 4 million workers. starting salaries are between 50 and 60 thousand dollars a year. ira shapiro, of codesmart, says the jobs could be ideal for veterans, or nurses. "nurses who may already have some clinical expertise that want to transition out of the operating room. it's for many different types of people." shapiro says clinical documentation specialists are also in demand, as many offices have still not made the change to electronic medical records. as health care enrollment-- gets underway -- con artists are taking advantage of the new rules for financial gain.the better business bureau says scammers posing as federal representatives are conning people into giving personal

bank and credit card information in order to qualify for obamacare. "the calls are increasing . we're getting hundreds in the chicago area and across the nation, thousands of people have been victimized." the "official" website for the real deal on health care reform is: healthcare dot gov. the site includes information on how to enroll how not to get ripped off. as business travel, rebounds entrepreneurs have launched a new website called "rocketmiles." its a hotel- booking website but for customers, the draw is how many and how quickly frequent flier miles may be acquired by booking through via rocketmiles.the company buys the miles from a growing list of airlines. it then uses the miles as rewards for customers who book hotel rooms through rocketmiles' website. "i could see the business traveler doing this or the leisure traveler who doesn't

travel much of have the venues to accrue miles." in its first round of fundraising, rocketmiles, raised two million dollars in external funding and started with six airlines and hotels in about 30-cities. the startup has added employees, and expanded into overseas territory. a unique roadside attraction that has been around for decades -- came close to sinking. jackie keenan reports on the lifeline florida's government is throwing out to rescue a piece of americana... the curtains rise, little girls sit breathless, and behind the glass - mermaids dance. this is weeki wachee. an historic florida roadside attraction. located 30 miles north of tampa, the park sits on crystal-clear springs, and under the springs, mermaids give quite the show. we were probably the quintessential roadside attraction, a gentleman by the

name of newton perry had this idea of taking synchronized swimming underwater. and that's how the whole concept of the week wachee mermaids began. it began in 1947, and by the 60s, when visitors flocked to florida for beaches and sunshine, weeki wachee mermaids performed for nearly a million visitors every year. but soon after , attendance took a deep dive. in the early 70s, mickey mouse became more popular than mermaids and tourists stayed put in orlando. weeki wachee shuffled owners and eventually fell into disrepair. early in the last decade attendance averaged only 160,000 per year. but today, mermaids have something to smile about. more and more visitors are discovering weeki wachee every year, and for that, the park has the state of florida to thank. in 2007 when investors didn't want to sink any more money

into the attraction, the state stepped in i to save weeki wachee's tails. today it's florida's newest state park, and weeki wachee has the funds needed to stay afloat. and floridians are rediscovering the park. last year 263,000 nostalgic, mermaid gawkers visited.. i don't ever like to use the word guaranteed but it does ensure that it will be here for many generations to come. most of florida's other historic roadside attractions weren't as lucky as weeki wachee. most are closed. they simply couldn't compete with orlando's shiny theme parks. but weeki wachee with its roaming peacocks, waterslides, clear springs, and of course, dancing mermaids, luckily keep florida residents interested. like these 8-year-old mermaid- enthusiasts who visit every year on their birthdays.

who likes mermaids? me!! for first business news, i'm jackie keenan. the next historic florida roadside attraction to become a state park is silver springs. the governemnt is working to clean up the algae pollution that's destroying the once crystal-clear springs. hiring in the travel and tourism sector is making a comeback.the la times reports the industry has recovered 92% of the positions lost during the recession.economist argue most of the jobs are part-time or minimum wage --such as waiters earning a median salary of $22- thousand dollars per year.the travel association defends the hiring surge saying it's helping the middle class. the association cites the hiring of sales people , travel agents and hotel managers who it says earn between $27,000 and $80,000. still to come ... overly animated. has hollywood jumped the shark with cartoon characters at the box office? plus, what our viewers want to know about penny stocks, facebook's growth potential and the next rising star stock on

wall street.stay with us-- a special edition of traders unplugged is still ahead...

the list is long of animated films at the box office this year. our movie guy gets into character for today's movies and money segment. eric, why so much focus on cartoon characters at the box office. > >because they make money, right? ultimately that's the

bottom line is that they make money. if you remember back in the day it used to be pretty much disney's game. they would release a couple throughout the year. but now over the years studios have developed their own animation divisions so everyone's trying to get a little piece of that pie. > >but the list is extremely long. you have to admit. this year alone, we counted something like 14 films geared toward families and younger audiences starting with escaoe from planet earth... a lot of fox and a lot of disney up there. > >if you look at those the key thing to look at is the dates. you look at a movie like the croods that fox had back in march. it was the only family game in town for two months and what happened? it became one of the biggest hits of the year. and then you look at the summer---you had monsters university and despicable me 2 challenging for the top spot. but those were both event films---bix pixar film, big sequel. then into mid july there was an onslaught. we had turbo, smurfs 2, percy jackson.

all these movies competing for the same family dollar when at that point, moms and dads are saying, kids go out and play--we already saw your movies this summer. > >is this too much animation though? as you said, back in the day if there was a pixar film coming out it was a big event. > >it was a thing. > >highly anticipated. is it still that way? > >pixar still is. even with the last 3 films which i think are below quality for pixar--- families are still going out to see them so obviously that's the one that people wanna go see. but at the same time-- family films are expensive. going to the movies is not cheap anymore especially when you factor in 3d prices, popcorn, soda, and candy. > >which we have to have. > >absolutely. and the kids are gonna want that too. so you can only go see so many. maybe one a month is a good opportunity for people to go. > >what is the best time to release an animated film, especially when there's an abundance of them? > >there are a few periods that if you look at the history are the best times. usually sometime during the spring. usually the month of march. if you get one big movie out there. get yourself a rango or how to

train your dragon--can do very well. i think any time between memorial day and july 4th is a pretty good breeding ground for animation. anytime mid-july to labor day is not a good time. august having a $100 miilion animated film has never happened. then usually the 1st week of november and right around thanksgiving are the best times to release them. > >will this trend continue? > >absolutely. i think as long as people want to see animated family films they're going to keep trying. every once in a while you get a despicable me that breaks through and the sequel becomes an event. how to train your dragon 2 next year and this year cloudy with a chance of meatballs, freebirds, and frozen i think are all going to be hits and they're spaced out nicely. > >eric, thank you so much for your thoughts. > >absolutely. consider them the script doctors.as films get more expensive to produce....studios have started bringing in researchers to assess storylines, evaluate film messages, and conduct audience test screenings. the company, called worldwide motion picture group is in such demand, that it charges 20 thousand dollars to gauge a film's potential. coming up next-- it's what you've been waiting for. our traders go head to head over topics from our viewers. and later on chart talk.. what

the change of seasons means for your portfolio..stick around...

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it's a special edition of traders unplugged..alan knuckman and james remali are standing by to answer your questions. hello-- and here we go with what our viewers want to know... topic 1: penny for your thoughts...is investing in penny stocks a good place to start for new investors? alan: i don't think so because they're not very liquid. just because they're cheap doesn't mean you have lower risk. it's not about what you trade, it's how you trade. it's about having a certain small percentage of your account at risk on each and every trade regardless of the asset class. but they're not liquid. they're not easy to get in and out of so it can lead to trouble. james: i completely agree with alan. penny stocks is a very hard game. comissions are a very big challenge for a retail trader. especially one that's just starting out . and with penny stocks your commissions are going to represent a very large portion of your initial capital outlay. it's gonna be expensive to get in, expensive

to get out. penny stocks is a tough game. alan: institutional investors don't trade those either so that hurts you. angie: face down or face up? facebook finally traded up its ipo price- will the stock price continue to grow? james: facebook clears its ipo price. you might expect some people to run for the exits that have been in the stock for a long time. we're not seeing that happen. however they're starting to unlock this mobile space. they're starting to gain more revenues from that. i think if they're able to continue to do that there's a lot of growth potential for facebook. alan: that's an epic comeback if you can look at it technically and not think about it too much. that $20 move off that low---tack it on to that $38 price---that puts a price objective at 58. still a lot of upside and the nasdaq has been extremely strong all year long. angie: topic 3: priceless--- what stock could be the next tesla or priceline? those stocks have been hot this year. alan: i got it. soda! the future is water. people said that 10 years ago we were gonna bottle water and charge more than we do for coke but the reality is that the fizzy water

soda machines are a revolution now. you can make your soda on your own or make that fizzy water on your own. if you look at the stock, it went from 30 to 80. that's the next new momentum stock. james: i actually completely agree with that. i think soda is a great pick. but let's not act like the move in tesla and priceline is over. i think those stocks still have potential for more upside here. tesla is a growth stock that can still head higher and sodastream is a good play as well. alan: some stocks you know them when you see them so that's what you want to watch for. pay attention to what's going on to the fundamentals. you can see it on the chart, you want to jump on board and take a piece out of that high probability move. angie: here's your bonus round question.... alan: railroad. james: that wasn't one of the choices. mining... angie: it was bank of new york. thanks so much guys, and a huge thanks to our viewers. first business continues right after this.

traders often have to consider seasonal issues when putting on positions. joining us now is trader tim biggam of trading block. good morning tim. let's start with the fall season. what does that usually mean to traders as far as the charts? > >good morning angie...historically, august and september--the lead into fall---has been the worst period for stocks. actually negative returns historically. but then followed once we hit halloween

by probably the best 2 1/2 month period--that november, december, early january period. normally the best period for stocks. as a trader, avoid getting too long until after the kids get done with their halloween costumes. > >why is that? what's motivating the wild moves that do tend to happen in october. certainly a month that we've seen some historic market crashes. > >a lot of that has to do with mutual funds tax reporting season is around that time. you have a lot of rebalancing there as well. and then historically i think the luck of the draw a couple if you take out the crash of 87. not as bad a time period so that one really bad down day---22%. pull that out as not nearly as bad but historically i think a lot of the mutual funds end of year stuff has a lot to do with that. > >as you're advising some of your clients in trading their portfolio's what do you often find yourself doing during this time period? are there years where you just sit back? or are

there years where you just stay nimble and right in the market? > >we're a little more agressive. we do a lot of options selling against a portfolio. we'll tend to be more aggressive with the calls...limit our exposure during that period. also, if we're looking to add stocks to portfolio---maybe wait toward the end of that period to do so. not jump in so aggressively. so stay on the sidelines and be a little more tactical. > >tim, always a pleasure to have you on the show. thank you for your time today. > >thank you angie. that's it for now.as always feel free to follow us on facebook and twitter.you can also send us an email, or give us a call. we look forward to hearing from you. from all of us at first business.. thank you for watching-- we hope you have a great day!

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