See Dave-- you have a variety of opinions on investing just in this post. That's why there are so many "answers" to your questions. Investing is a process that some people do fine on their own with, and some people enjoy getting help with. It just depends on you. You can look at web sites and get varying opinions about the do-it-yourself vs. help question also. You can get varying opinions about all types of investing. Just ask 10 people where the housing market is going this year! Actually, just this week, I read two different reports from two different market analysts and they were almost the exact opposite on their viewpoints for 2007.
For the do-it-yourselfers, index funds or ETFs are good low-cost alternatives to look at, as had been said. You can get good diversification by using them too. For people wanting help, you need to find an advisor you can trust and make sure they understand your goals and objectives for your money. Interview a few advisors and understand what process they use-- maybe they are value investors, or maybe they are using a "core-satellite" approach, or they suggest using outside money managers. Understand their fee structure also and make sure it is reasonable. The fee you are paying, whether it's a commission or a yearly fee, is paid to the advisor in exchange for them helping you answer all of these questions as they apply to you.
As for the previous comment by RT Wolf saying, "if the stock goes down X, I buy more", once again, you can see why markets function the way they do. His rule is different from my rule. I previously suggested my rule as a guide to you since I know people that hold the stocks you listed thinking they will "come back", as I said. Investing is different for everybody, and we all have our own rules. Again, you can see how investing can be different from person to person just from our few posts.
Good Luck!
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