Comments on: Do you still own Nortel?

By: Bone head

Bone head — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:05:15 +0000

I still own in my RRSP acct Nortel shares that show a loss of $5540 , if sold now, I get .75 cents ..hahahahaa…the trading commission is $28.00 so to sell would add further insult to injury. I was looking at swapping the Nortel shares for $6000 I have outside the rrsp, and then sell the nortel shares at a lost and claim against income….any one has a comment if this thought of mines is idea???

By: So Long, Circuit City Links Sunday | ComputerFinance.net

So Long, Circuit City Links Sunday | ComputerFinance.net — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:01:45 +0000

[...] Capitalist asks a good question – Do you still own Nortel shares and why? (For those that don’t know, Nortel was once a high flying telecom stock – think Cisco in [...]

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:19:20 +0000

Hey CC, you are correct in saying that there are many Nortel employees, but I have just had the bad luck of working with the most self-serving ones….they were all employed at the now closed Calgary operations.

By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:27:53 +0000

Matt: I don’t know if taxpayer cash to Nortel is a good thing considering there are so few employees in Canada (around 5,000 if I recall correctly). But, I truly feel sorry for employees who were recently laid off and their severance could be frozen in bankruptcy proceedings.

Matt: In Ottawa, Nortel employees and ex-employees are everywhere and I’ve worked with many of them. I’ve found them pleasant and bright and easy to work with. I’ve never been a Nortel customer though.

DGI: If I recall correctly, even when Nortel paid a dividend, it was nominal. It never would have attracted the dividend crowd.

New 2 The Game: My understanding is equity investors are now wiped out.

MikeH: Fortunately, I never owned Bre-X (before my investing career) or Air Canada. I was fortunate to get out of AIG and E*Trade before they tanked.

By: MikeH

MikeH — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:56:04 +0000

I’ve got Nortel shares sitting there right next to Bre-X and some pre-bankruptcy (2003) Air Canada. Painful reminders that I’m not smart enough to beat the market. Plus, never invest in an unprofitable company.

By: New 2 The Game

New 2 The Game — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:13:03 +0000

Is there any chance the NT stock could be of value down the road (10 years or so)? If so what would need to take place in order for this to happen? Successful restructure? Company bought???…

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:21:49 +0000

I never owned any NT, but if I did, I would have sold it whenever the dividend was eliminated in june 2001.

By: David

David — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:24:31 +0000

Like Matt, I have a couple of settlement certificates from the class action sitting at home. Pretty much only good to wipe my ass with. Still hold post reverse-split quantity in my RRSP which wouldn’t cover the commission to sell. No cap losses available here. Should have listened when warned holding NT was like holding your money out your car window.

By: Big Cajun Man

Big Cajun Man — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:08:12 +0000

I own 10 shares in my regular trading account, all other shares were jettisoned about 3 years ago,and when I was laid off I sold all shares in my stock purchase plan luckily too (took a smaller loss than I thought).

There is no point in selling those 10 shares, the fees are more than they are worth.

By: TonyR

TonyR — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:39:33 +0000

I’m with the first Matt. I also have a share certificate from the class action. I kept it and I’m tempted to frame it and wait until it becomes a collector’s item.