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Most investors pay a great deal of attention to the price of their investments — yesterday's price, today's price, tomorrow's price, next year's price and so on. And that's understandable, because we always want the prices of our investments to rise. Yet, if you focus too much on prices, you could end up making some costly mistakes. Why? Because price-dri- ven behavior is emotional behavior — and as an investor, you're much better off making decisions with your head, not your heart. Suppose, for example, that you've seen a steep decline in the price of one of your investments. After a while, you may feel that you just can't take it anymore and you decide to "cut your losses" by selling the invest- ment. Conversely, you may have an investment that has gone up and up — and to grab even bigger gains, you buy more shares. Both these decisions could backfire on you. When you sold the invest- ment whose price had fall- en, you might find yourself on the investment "side- lines" if that same invest- ment starts to turn around. And when you throw more money at an investment whose price has skyrocket- ed, you're betting against history — because no investment goes up forever. Furthermore, in both cases, your emotions will have led you to violate one of the guidelines of investing: buy low and sell high. But apart from the tacti- cal errors you may make when you over-concentrate on price movements, you're also ignoring another key characteristic of invest- ments — their value. Traditionally, an investment's "value" has been largely defined as whether or not it's c o n s i d e r e d "expensive" or "cheap." That's why many investors take a close look at a stock's price-to- earnings ratio (P/E). Generally speaking, a high P/E means a stock is more expensive, relative to its earnings, than a stock with a low P/E. Investors may be willing to pay more for the high P/E stocks because these companies they believe will be worth more in the future. But P/E doesn't tell the whole story of investment value. Any individual investment may have value to you because it can help you diversify your holdings. And while diversification, by itself, can't guarantee a profit or protect against a loss, it can help you reduce the effects of volatility on your portfolio. For instance, if your portfolio is heavy with stocks, the presence of some bonds — even those whose market price has fallen because interest rates have risen — can help reduce the impact of a downturn that primarily affects stocks. Clearly, the value of any investment has several dimen- sions — any or all of which may be valuable to you as your pursue your goals. So, as you build, maintain and adjust your portfolio over time, keep an eye on the changing prices of your investments — but don't overlook true value. Tyler Smail is a a financial advisor for Edward Jones, his office is located at 733 Washington St. in Red Bluff. He can be reached at 529-3627 or tyler.smail@edwardjones.c om. 4A – Daily News – Wednesday, February 17, 2010 DW PLUMBING INC. Local Plumbers Serving all Your Plumbing Needs Since 1993 530 527-6403 Lic. No 679492 Major Credit Cards Accepted Bartlett & Spence 1395 Montgomery Rd. Red Bluff, Ca • 527-2276 Marie Bartlett & Shirley Spence and • Payroll • Bookkeeping Open year around OPEN: 7 days a week 5:30am - 9pm 259 S.Main St., Red Bluff Not valid with other discounts. 2 EGGS 2 SLICES BACON 2 PANCAKES Offer Good Everyday 5:30-8AM ONLY $ 1 99 Dine in only, No substitutions Coffee 59¢ Smog Check starting at $ 29 95 (most cars and pick-ups) Pass or FREE retest COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR + cert. All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. Commerce business&enterprise New Executive VP welcomed to RB For those of you who missed the recent announcement in the Daily News, Dave Gowan, administrator of the Juvenile Court in Adams County, Wash., and community and Chamber of Commerce leader in Othello, Wash., has been selected to serve as executive vice president of the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce. Gowan, who has been in town for the past two days for a series of introductory meetings and informational sessions, was selected from a field of 97 applicants for the position fol- lowing a comprehensive screening, interview and case-study presenta- tion process, says Chamber Presi- dent Kristin Behrens. "Our blue-ribbon interview and selection committees did a remark- able job in selecting a candidate who is highly qualified and a great fit for our community," Behrens said. Gowan, who is experienced in motivating and networking busi- nesses, organizations, schools and community members at large, will replace outgoing Chamber Execu- tive Vice President John Yingling, who is retiring March 1 after 28 years of service. *** All current and potential cham- ber members are reminded that the successful Community Leadership Program service continues each month at the Good Morning, Red Bluff meetings, the next one of which takes place next week Thurs- day, Feb. 25, at Sears on Diamond Avenue. Behrens says the program is an effort to encourage the business community to become more knowl- edgeable in issues facing our area and, hopefully, more involved in the direction of our community. The program continues this month with Tehama County Superior Court Judge Richard Scheuler speak- ing on Taking a Look at Tehama County Courts. The Community Leadership ses- sions are presented during the first 10 minutes of the Good Morning, Red Bluff meetings and begin promptly at 8 a.m. A few of the topics and presen- ters for sessions have included: Lake Red Bluff's Future with City Manager Martin Nichols, Marijuana Regulation with Supervisor Bob Williams, H1N1 Pandemic with Amy Travis and Business Involve- ment in Civic Issues with Behrens and Mayor Forrest Flynn. Topics and presenters for the next five sessions are being discussed and will be announced as they are decided and confirmed. Emphasizing the importance of the Community Leadership Pro- gram, Behrens encourages all cham- ber members to attend the meetings. "We believe that an informed and engaged business sector is neces- sary for the growth and success of any community, and we certainly urge our members to take advantage of this engagement opportunity," Behrens says. *** The Red Bluff Round-Up ticket office is now open in the Round-Up Museum building at the Tehama District Fairground. Round-Up Association Vice President and ticket Chairman John Trede says tickets for the three-day event are on sale 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Visa and Master Card orders can be made by calling 1-800-545-3500. Ticket and event information is available at 527-1000. This year's rodeo is scheduled for April 16-18. *** The Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce proudly welcomes the following new busi- nesses and urges you to do business with them as we urge you to do business with all 335 chamber members: Little Caesar's Pizza; Rose Hablitzel, Enrolled Agent; Today's Senior Magazine; Sparrow Fine Arts and Antiques; Butte Col- lege Small Business Development; Sevillano Links and NorCal Light Sports Associates. ——— The We Mean Business column is prepared and submitted by the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce. New members join • New Members – The Corning Chamber of Commerce welcomes these new members: St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 420 Marin St., 824-2321, and Advanced Hydro- ponics, 1417 Solano St. Phone 824-1100. • Spotlight - Our Business Spotlight for the week is The Gold Exchange, 413 Walnut St. in Red Bluff, 528-8000. The Gold Exchange is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mon- day through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. It has been in business 16 years and has been members of the Corning Chamber of Commerce since January 2008. It has nine employees and every one of them has been there for many years. The Gold Exchange specializes in custom made, unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. Jewelry repair is done on site and the shop also is a pawnbroker that offers instant loans. It cashes local payroll and government checks and tax refunds for a 2 percent fee and buys and sells coins and scrap jewelry. "We are very dedicated to customer service," says Jessie Woods, trustee of The Gold Exchange. "Our slogan is 'Come in and be treated like family.'" • Corning in the Morning – Thursday, Feb. 11 the Corn- ing Friends of the Library hosted the morning get together at the Corning Library. About 40 people enjoyed the break- fast spread of bagels, cream cheese, pastries and a fruit plate along with coffee, tea and orange juice. There were several door prizes given out and some announcements were made by attendees. It was a wonderful morning get together. Thank you Friends of the Library. • Wine Festival – The Corning Rotary Club along with Rolling Hills Casino will hold its Fifth Annual Wine, Food and Art Festival, 4-10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb, 27. You may purchase tickets prior to the event from any Rotary member or at Butte Community Bank, PremierWest Bank and Bank of America. Pre-sold tickets are $15 and $20 at the door, which will provide you with a wine glass, all the wine tasting and clam chowder cook-off tasting, which is something new. There will be an exhibition of local artists from the Red Bluff Art Associa- tion and of students from Corning Union High School. • Car Show Meeting – If you are interested in working on the May Madness Car Show Committee, please join us at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 at the chamber office. For more information, call 824-5550. • Community Concert – 7:30 p.m., Thursday at the First Church of God on Luther Road, the Tehama County Com- munity Concert Association will present La Catrina. Found- ed in 2001, the La Catrina quartet has a triple mission: To work closely with living composers in order to promote the performance of new music and Mexican and Latin-Ameri- can art music and to perform the masterworks of the string quartet repertoire. Its members have played as soloists with a variety of orchestras in Mexico and the United States and given recitals in Japan, England, the United States and Mex- ico. The Quartet-in-Residence of the Western Piedmont Symphony and the Chamber Music Festival of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the quartet has already given multiple world premieres of works written for them, such as Our Hands Were Tightly Clenched, a string quartet by compos- er Zae Munn. ——— This column is prepared and submitted by the Corning Chamber of Commerce. New chiropractor Pine Street Plaza owner Lynne Moule and her staff at Business Connections welcome Chiropractor Dr. Lesa Lane, D.C., as the newest tenant. The new office is at 332 Pine St., Ste. E, Red Bluff in the heart of downtown. Lane is actively engaged in serving the greater com- munity through a wide range of chiropractic medicine procedures, confidential drug testing, pre-employment physicals, D.O.T. Class A & B physicals, computerized breath alcohol testing, paternity testing and computer- ized nutritional testing. To make an appointment call at 527-3844. Fingerprint service Business Connections owner Lynne Moule announces the addition of Live Scan Fingerprinting to its many other ser- vices. Individuals are accept- ed as walk-ins or through appointments. Electronic fingerprint- ing results are submitted directly to the California Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investi- gations as requested. Business Connections is in Pine Street Plaza, 332 Pine St. in Red Bluff, at the corner of Main and Pine. Look at investment value — not just price Tyler Smail