Model trains and the stock market.

[Anonymous]

In a way,How does buying Model trains might affect the stock market?
Like myself: I go out and buy whole bunch of Kato HO Locomotives just because I like to have a prototype of the real thing like my EMD or GE models.
Does this in any way affect the stock market just by going out and buying a model?,Thanks.

[cacole]

In my opinion, model train manufacturing is too small an area of investment to have any effect on the stock market. Most companies are foreign owned, so they are not going to have a direct effect on the U.S. market. Kato, for example, is Japanese. Marklin (and Trix) is German. Athearn and Model Die Casting kits are made in the U.S., but their ready-to-run items are all made in China. Bachmann and IHC are just importers of Chinese products. Many other companies are small cottage industries employing only two or three people, so they have absolutely no effect on the market.

[Anonymous]

Why not buy a real share?

[Anonymous]

Hornby have floated on the UK stock market, they seem to be doing well at the moment. Their share prices rise as their sales do - I guess people want shares in such a profitable company. I'm not interested in these things beyond a vague understanding of how it all works, and certainly don't have any spare ca***o invest - shares are a very long-term investment (or can be, if you want a decent return).

[Anonymous]

Any time you make a purchase from a publicly traded company, US or overseas, you are making an impact in that companies quarterly earnings which is factored into the stock price. I don't know what model RR companies are publicly traded, but I assume that some are subsidiaries of larger companies that are.

The fact that one person buys one of every offering of a company might not make a wide ripple in the pond, but large numbers of individuals that do this might get noticed by analysts and have a strong bearing on future sales projections, and thus stock prices.

US or overseas, the investing market is global. Your mutual fund or 401k manager may have you invested in an Asian model railroad manufacturer even without your knowledge.

Wayne

[Anonymous]

Thank you all so much!

[ericsp]

Are any of the model railroad companies even publicly traded?

[Anonymous]

Dept. of Commerce looks at what we need to live (housing, clothing, food, utilities, transportation), next is purchase of high dollar items (washer, dryer, fridge, car) and everything beyond that is generally labeled as descretionary(think Christmas buying season). Certain descretionaries are insulated from the market as the cliental are awash in descretionary cash. Then there are the rest of us. We budget for the necessaries and when we feel a little flush, we buy our frivals. The Dept. of Commerce tries to tell us what the tea leaves say by reporting monthly on our buying habits, energy costs, manufacturing investment all adjusted seasonally. All of this the Stock Market uses to predict the market. Some are better predicters than others as evidenced by the DotCom Boom/Bust. The best predictors got out in 2000 and into other investments, cash, bonds, spoiling their grandchildren. The worst predictors hung on to the bitter end, left and may never come back. You purchase as grouped with the rest of us has it's own effect on the tea leaves.