R.E.M. "Find The River"

The RO Report, "Chop Fest" Edition

What a mess that was!

Starting at 2pm, we went into chop mode. A 100 point rip off the bottom due to some news release, followed shortly thereafter by an 80 point tank, followed again, by an 80 point rip and then silence...

It was an odd day all around, with the sectors that have been most beaten the last couple of days, oils and materials, leading the charge higher early. Then, out of nowhere, the REITs and financials joined the bullishness. Especially the REITs... where did that come from?

Basically, news played with the market today at really bad times. At 11:40 when we were near the top of our range, and again at 2:25 when we were near the bottom. If you're a trader trying to read a trend, this wrecks havoc with your system and sanity.

So the RO got hit. It has been a difficult start to this year. Out of 28 traders today, 15 were gross positive, or 54%. 3 traders made over $1,000 gross, and 6 lost over $1,000 gross. Bad numbers. I was #9 of 28. Green. Happy enough.

The Manservants win again!

"Chambermaid" - Trader A, -$9,725 on 408k shares traded.

2. Trader N, -$7,814 on 84,400 shares traded.
3. Trader P, -$2,357 on 200k shares traded.
4. Trader F, -$1,666 on 101k shares traded.
5. Trader 9*, -$1,126 on 0 shares traded.

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader B, $2,875 on 551k shares traded.

2. Trader C, $1,460 on 75,600 shares traded.
3. Trader E, $1,084 on 26,600 shares traded.
4. Trader Z, $913 on 5,600 shares traded.
5. Trader L, $607 on 23,300 shares traded.

Check the heatmap and some TA.

60 Minutes... The Price Of Oil

Here's an interesting video on the rise and crash of oil. They blame traders.

Dinosaur Trader Book Club Selection #1

A book club. Most people think Oprah. Some will think, "Oh, that's something my wife does with her friends." Others will think about that time when their parent's friend told them he had "something in his pocket" but it ended up being... okay, well, some people are really fucked up.

Anyway, I'm going with a straight-up classic to start for two reasons... First, I recently picked it up again and I'm enjoying it. Second, it just helps to read about and hear directly from successful traders.

The book? Market Wizards by Jack Schwager.



You can find loads of resources for finding setups, for plotting lines, and for reading indicators. All of these things are useful. However, there's something about big successful traders that spurs the imagination and lets you know what's possible. And with the inauguration just days away, this is the season of hope... might as well aim for the stars.

So if you're a serious trader or a beginner, this book should be in your library. Each Tuesday, I'll highlight a few of my favorite passages in a post, and hopefully they'll generate some discussion.

So next Tuesday, we can discuss Chapter 1, which is about the trader Michael Marcus. Let's see how this turns out.