Playing on the Long Side of Mattel

Editor's Note: Gary B. Smith's column runs exclusively on RealMoney.com; this is a special free look at his column. For a free trial subscription to RealMoney.com, click here. This article was published April 26, 2002 on RealMoney.

Items of interest...

Regarding

Thursday's signoff, a source at

Kraft

(KFT)

was nice enough to inform me that Kraft's DiGiorno frozen pizza was first on the market, and Freschetta (from

Schwan's Sales Enterprises

) was the copycat! Noted, although I still think Freschetta is the better product!

More disturbing, however, is that in a recent direct mail piece titled "Stock Profits Monthly" (featuring Yale Hirsch -- yes, that Yale Hirsch of the

Stock Trader's Almanac

), I am referenced as relying on the

Stock Trader's Almanac

. Furthermore, I'm quoted as saying, "If you don't have Yale Hirsch's

Stock Trader's Almanac

, I urge you to get a copy."

I am flattered, of course, to be a subject-matter expert. That said, I don't even own the

Stock Trader's Almanac

, have never spoken to Hirsch and never said anything remotely resembling that quote.

Just wanted that on record, although Hirsch could have at least sent me a copy -- gratis, of course! -- for my perusal.

Today, the

Nasdaq

,

Georgia-Pacific

(GP)

,

S1 Corp.

(SONE)

,

Mattel

(MAT) - Get Report

,

Key Energy Services

(KEG) - Get Report

,

Six Continents

(SXC) - Get Report

and

Nvidia

(NVDA) - Get Report

.

And that is the final word from Malibu, Calif., where in a shocker -- at least to me -- Alex (a.k.a.

The Bachelor

) chose Amanda! Frankly, a superb choice, and my opinion of the fellow moved up about 1,000%. Now, if ever a reality series begged for a follow-up, this is the one.

Gary B. Smith is a freelance writer who trades for his own account from his Maryland home using technical analysis. At time of publication, he held no positions in any securities mentioned in this column, although holdings can change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Smith writes a daily technical analysis column for RealMoney.com

and produces a daily premium product for TheStreet.com called

The Chartman's Top Stocks. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send your feedback to

Gary B. Smith.