Just Bad...

Not so much my trading (although I'm down a little today while the RO rips it...) but my neighbor clear-cutting the half acre behind my house.



The local government is corrupt, I'm sure of it... they have all sorts of "review boards" and shit that are not supposed to let this stuff happen. After all, if people want to live in suburbia with an above ground pool 20 feet from their house, they can do that... just about everywhere. It's these last spots that have a somewhat rural nature that should really be preserved.

I feel very dark today after I had a great start to the day at the beach.

The sound of chainsaws 30 feet from my office is getting a little old, so I'm getting out of here. I'll have an RO post up later this evening...

I will be putting all my spare energy going forward into selling my house. It's been a long time coming.

The RO Report

I gave up a lot when I tossed the VO onto the Internet trash heap. Lots of traffic, apparently lots of commenters... but you know what I gained?

My soul.

True story.

Anyway, whenever I have access to the data and the time, I'll do an RO report. This could happen nightly. Thing is, I started the VO because I didn't have an office to compare myself to... and now I do. So here you have it, the first RO report. Each report will be tagged under "proprietary trading." All numbers are gross.

Out of 29 traders today, 15 were positive, or 52%. The top 3 traders made the following:

1. $31,133
2. $11,864
3. $1454

The bottom 3 looked like this...

1. -$1471
2. -$1394
3. -$1075

I was 14 of 29 today, or, in other words, barely positive.

It's possible that in time I will be able to at least associate nicknames with these traders so that it's easier to follow along... we will see.

Bank Run!

First of all, kudos to "the Fly" for not only minting coin in this market, but for "getting it" as well.

I'd love to buy that guy a beer. However, I'd be fearful the whole while for my eyebrows... not to mention, my mustache. Actually, my entire beard would be terrified.

So wow... everything is going straight to hell, including my neighbor, who was out with powertools at 9pm last night. You go to hell, Mr. Neighbor.

Where's the nice place to move in the Canadian Maritime Provinces? Anyone? I'm serious.

Okay, I digress.

Today, for all the freakiness of the market, and for all the bank runs, and fear, I had a relaxed and uneventful day. Profitable. Boring. Stable. What I'm after.

I didn't trade well. My best stock of the day, BIDU, was difficult, and I left a number of points on the table. However, since it was the first time I've ever traded this monster, I was happy to get in and out with profits.

My first trade was a little premature, and I lost a quick point. However, minutes later, the stock based again, and I sold at $305.02 and then added to the short at $303.50. So I was short 200 shares which I thought was nicely aggressive on my part.



The stock dropped nicely through the HCPG target of $303, but then bounced hard at $302, all the way back up to $307. I covered my shares at an average price of $303, so I managed to make a little over a point on the 200 shares.

After the stock bounced, it crept lower again. I debated getting involved at $302, but decided against it, because I thought $300 could be supportive and the market was actually bouncing at 10:20 or so, when $302 traded. In retrospect... but anyway... I made some money there.

I also had a decent trade in the morning in CSIQ, but I was ultra cautious on the trade since the stock was up so much early...

Finally, I took choppy losses in ENER and V. Also, I took a stab at a long in FCL through $80, which ultimately worked, but not before stopping me out for a small loss.

So, altogether, it was a green day for me. However, I left a lot of money on the table.

I will report on the RO, in a separate post.

When Did Everyone Get So Lame?

The humor here is obvious... and everyone is all up in arms about it? Chill Barack.

Silly.

Bush, Bernanke & Paulson Take On The Credit Crisis

I've Been Sick...

That's why the blogging tailed off there. We also had a very busy week here.

However, I did lose money on Friday, for the first time in over 2 weeks. Just a little... Anyway, because of that, I feel compelled to post some bad music.

So here you have it.



Now I know a lot of you are like, "But I like that song... the Counting Crows rock!" and that's exactly my point. See, that's what happened when I posted my last two bad music videos, by U2 and INXS.

Bad music is distributed and burned into our heads by excessive airplay. It's actually not good... you've just become inured to it.

Dennis Kneale A Bigger Dick Than Larry Kudlow

-dick

Well, the votes have been tallied and the world agrees, Dennis Kneale is a bigger dick than Larry "pink tie" Kudlow.

I think they're both dicks, so I was surprised at the landslide "victory" that Kneale enjoyed.

Here's how it went down... 83 of you voted. 53 or 63% thought Dennis Kneale was a bigger dick, and 30 or 36% of you thought that Kudlow was the bigger dick.

A Very Scary Headline...

A trader in my office pointed this headline out today...

"Moody's says US government debt 'well within' AAA range - Bloomberg"

Strange Days Indeed

Gonna be a scary day. What's going on? How you feeling?

June 2008 Stock Trading Review

A bullish chart, no?



Compare it to last month's chart and it looks like progress has been made.

I'm happy with a number of developments from June. While I missed my monthly profit target of $300 a day, or $6000 for the month, by a wide margin, I made significant progress in other areas.

First of all, I was positive for 14 of the 21 trading days, or 2 out of every 3 days. That's getting close to my 75% win rate target. Also, considering that I only had 2 days where I lost over $100 bucks, those 7 loss days weren't that bad overall. In fact, 3 of those loss days were for under $25.

I limited my losses nicely and I'm happy about that.

I also had a setback midmonth and I successfully put it behind me, as I finished the month at my highs.

Finally, I passed the goddamn Series 55 and started trading Nasdaq stocks... in short, I made a little money, but made a lot of progress.

Going forward, I feel good setting the same profit goal of $300 a day for July with the 75% win rate. I'm lowering my max loss day to $400 from $500 and actually, hope I don't even get close to it.

Here's the full stats. Next month, I'll include "shares traded" in the stats... I'm pretty sure my average shares traded per day went down again from May to June.

Sonic Youth, "Purr"

My June trading review will be up tomorrow...

Steel Stocks Rise

Today was kind of lame... one dude in my office made bank, but a few others are currently getting clipped... hard.

Anyway, for me, it was a day full of small losses, with one redeeming winner to keep me green. The winner was a short on X. However, this trade doesn't fit into my recent HCPG type style. As I've improved my win-rate and P&L of late, I've also opened myself up to taking more risk again, which is essential on some level. So when I saw X running all morning and then print huge volume on a spike, I took a shot on a short.

It wasn't without any type of merit as far as "daily spots" goes... here, I was taking a bet that $169 would hold as resistance, at least for the short term, and it worked.

When it was turned back at $169, I short 100 shares at $168.23, but my buy stop up at the fig, and went downstairs to make myself a cup of green tea.

Lo and behold, the trade worked.



I also made a few trades in VRTX, from the HCPG list.



So I ended up slightly positive. Which I'll take, because I thought today was rather muddy. Plus, that means I get to continue with the string of good music that I, of course, drop with the sun.

Tomorrow I will not be trading. Good luck. If you happen to be at the Fleet Foxes concert tonight, I'll be wearing a t-shirt that says "No One Knows I'm A Lesbian."

NCR

Bought this for the LT account. Saw the huge volume in it yesterday, like the way it's held up, and just felt like going in... stopped at $24.

REITS

Take a gander at the way the REITS closed yesterday's session...

Check, SSS, KIM, VNO, SPG, MAC, CBL, etc.

Sizzling.

Same Shit, 34 Years Later...

I saw my mother last night. Her father was a printer for the New York Times back in the 40s thru the 70s. I was born in 1974, and for my birth, I received a miniaturized cover of the NYT from that day. Since she's cleaning out her attic, she gave me the copy.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting. Here's the big headline. How depressing.

ARAB DECISION TO END EMBARGO
ON OIL SALES TO U.S. IS REPORTED;
LEVEL OF OUTPUT UNDER STUDY
Quick Results On Gasoline Are Expected

Can't we move on already? What a tragedy that we're still discussing the same shit, 34 years later. We owe it to our children (and grandchildren) to not make this an issue for the next generation.

The Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"

One of my favorite songs about the apocalypse. One of...

Best Day In Months

NOV is my best, followed by shorts in RIG, V and a nice long in ACI. Biggest loser is for $25. This will have to stand as my daily post, as I have to leave now to go take my continuing education exam.



Later tonight I'll report back with my RO numbers.

And, as always, good music drops with the sun.

UPDATE: The RO had a ridiculous day, with top dog checking in at $42 grand. There was also a trader in the high 30s, a dude in the teens, and 6 other guys up over 3 grand each. Only 2 guys were negative, with the "dirt eater" in at -$3250. I was #16 of 23 traders today... insane.

Auto Posting

I'll really be in and out the next couple of days, but I have a lot of fun shit set to autopost in my absence.

I won't be here to police comments, but since the "comment box" has been quieter than a hooker bound and gagged in a closet, I think it's okay to step out for a bit.

Enjoy.

Another Person Who Shouldn't Be A Trader...

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Recommended.