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

Fleet Foxes, "Blue Ridge Mountains"

Wow, they played Letterman. This is Judy's favorite song by them. She said a couple of things about this performance... first off, she said the lead singer's hair was a bit "shinier" than usual. She also said that they seemed nervous in the beginning, but then pulled it together. Great song.

The RO Report

Wow, well the market took one on the chin today. I have to say, after the last week, and with IBD talking about rallies and stuff, I was starting to wonder if I had missed the bottom.

I mean, this could just be a pullback, but I don't see the leadership... I think most of the move in the indexes could be attributed to financial bounces. They're not about to lead the market higher... so once the short squeeze is over, we could retest the lows. Time will tell.

Anyway, it was a mixed day in the RO. Actually, overall, it was a good day due to the top 3 guys, but the leadership was rather narrow. Out of 24 traders, 13 finished positive, or 54%. I was #9 of 24, so I had another decent day.

Here's the top 3: (refer to yesterday's RO post for an explanation on the lettering... however, don't miss another post, okay?)

1. Trader Z, $18,274 on 205k shares traded.
2. Trader B, $12,934 on 512k shares traded.
3. Trader F, $9,423 on 224k shares traded.

And on the downside:

1. Trader A, -$13,908 on 328k shares traded.
2. Trader C, -$1,626 on 288k shares traded.
3. Trader H, -$1,538 on 2500 shares traded.

NOTE: The site seems fucked again... I'm going back to a static blogroll for now. Fuck blogger.

Porn Thursday

In order to boost my readership, I've decided to post a hardcore porn movie clip each Thursday.

Developing...

Environmental Guy

I was part of the green club in high school. We didn't do much of anything except start with some recycling programs.

At that time I also remember thinking that the people who shopped at supermarkets carrying their own shopping bags were freaks.

I'm no environmentalist but here's a great Jim Carey skit on In Living Color as the "Environmental Guy" (probably from the early 90's), which touches on many of the hot 'awareness' topics of today:

The Daily Show - "To Drill Or Not To Drill"

Classic Daily Show. They hit this one out of the park.

Another Person Who Shouldn't Be A Trader

Classic!


Insane Rainbow Conspiracy Lady - Watch more free videos

Aerosmith, "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)"

Please don't even try to argue that it's good.

The RO Report

I tell you one thing... I'm gonna get more sleep tonight. I woke up late and didn't have a clear plan in my head for the day.

So I had to watch the RO rake in money, while I dabbled around "unched." Very frustrating. Out of 26 traders today, 19 were gross positive, or 73%. I was number 19 of 26. So I was gross positive, net negative... which means, shitty music.

Volume dropped off today, and it can't be long before the volume just completely dries up for the end of August.

Still, as you'll see below, sometimes volume doesn't matter if you're in the right spots.

Since there were 26 traders today... I've decided to just letter them, A through Z, top to bottom, so that a bit of a story develops here in the RO. So today, A,B,C will be the top 3 and Z,Y,X will be the bottom. However, from here on out, these labels are static, and so one day, Trader Z could be the #1 trader on the day... I hope this makes sense. I think it will by the end of the week.

For the record, I'm "Trader S." Given the huge numbers at the top and bottom of the range, I doubt you'll see me anytime too soon.

The top 3:

1. Trader A, $18,586 on 446k shares traded.
2. Trader B, $18,443 on 896k shares traded.
3. Trader C, $9,493 on 168k shares traded.

And the bottom:

1. Trader Z, -$835 on 187k shares traded.
2. Trader Y, -$635 on 2k shares traded.
3. Trader X, -$459 on 29k shares traded.

Costco Part 2

(in case you missed Part 1 of this epic tale, it's here.)

Now, as you all know, I'm a very cultured guy, but I've never been in a Costco.

The gray cinder-block walls gave the place a "jail chic" kind of appeal and observing a few of the patrons I wouldn't be surprised if a few had "washed" someone in their past.

After a few minutes of walking around aisles wide enough to allow the easy passage of very obese people and wondering if we really needed 28 glue sticks, I started thinking bad thoughts about Obama.

"Fucking elitist," I thought. "Dude can't even bowl without looking like a girl. How the hell is he gonna stand up to the terrorists?" I grabbed a sleeve of 36 D-size batteries and threw it into our cart.

I looked at Judy, my waifish yoga wife, and compared her to a 300-pound woman riding around in one of those electric wheelchairs. I thought of three Judys in one big "Judy body" while I reached for a "Red Cross Emergency Kit." 

"Maybe Judy needs to gain a little weight," I thought to myself.   And I threw a 3 million candle spotlight into our cart.

A mom and her son, both huge, were looking at bags of chips. 

"Those bags are bigger than the other ones we got," the son said while giggling. 

The mom giggled back at him. They stood there like that, in front of the chips, shoulders shaking, necks all loose, laughing.  I walked by them and picked up 1000 feet of aluminum foil. 

"McCain isn't really that old," I thought. 

I spent a long time contemplating a generator. I was pulled away from said generator by Judy. I listened to a salesman talking to an old guy about Tums. 

"If you have a few people in your family taking these," the salesman explained slowly in a serious tone, "buying in this quantity is a very economical way to go." 

The old guy nodded thoughtfully, and added the gallon-sized tub of Tums to his cart.

All around me, different people were having different conversations but the words I heard were the same... "big," "bigger," and "biggest."

An 87 year old woman wearing a Costco visor was handing out free samples of grape juice. 

"Where could I find the green tea?" I asked. 

"Aisle 32,148," she said, as she continued to pour the juice into tiny plastic cups. 

She didn't even look up. She was like an 87 year old robot, lifting the plastic cup from the stack, placing it on the counter, and then filling it with purple... over and over. I felt a pang of sympathy for her and remembered how it used to be when old people retired. But hey, she probably had credit card debt, and should be happy Costco gave her the opportunity to pay it off.

Behind me, a lady was struggling to carry a huge bag of red meat. She was grunting as she lugged it toward her double-size shopping cart. I imagined her, as a cavewoman or something, trying to drag a dead boar to her fire... she was hunting here, at Costco. 

Other people were pawing over discounted books. One large woman was reading the back cover of a book about the South Beach diet and another, equally large woman, came over and told her that it changed her life. 

Men were buying quantities of meat, and cases of beer. They wore sports jerseys and Nascar caps. The mood was light. The people were happy. The people were filling their carts. The people were getting good deals on big stuff. 

What more was there?

We got to the checkout and I realized, in a panic, that there was no way we could fit this stuff into my small car.  I worried about this, out loud, to my mother.  A man in the next checkout lane overheard our conversation. 

"Oh, you find ways to fit it all in. You always do," he said.  Lightheartedly, he laughed, and I felt like I was a member of some new club. 

This man was my brother. He spoke in open-ended terms, he sounded wise. He too had found it difficult to fit the absurdly large quantities of stuff into his car, but he had managed. I would manage too... everything would be okay. I could consume. For a flashing moment, I understood the psyche of a Hummer driver.

And then, as if to complete the scene, upon exiting Costco through the automatic sliding doors, I looked out over the vast parking lot towards where the horizon should be (instead there was a BestBuy or something) and saw a funnel cloud descending, slowly and silently from the black heavens. It was the first time in my entire life that I had ever seen a funnel cloud. I thought the coincidence of me going to a Costco and witnessing my first funnel cloud was just too much.

Compared to the Costco and that funnel cloud, I had never felt so... small before.

But ironically enough, I also felt very American.

St. Vincent, "Dig A Pony"

The RO Report

It's hard for me to look back on today with much clarity, so I'm not gonna try right now. I'll just get to the numbers, have a few drinks, and let this one settle in.

Out of 26 traders, 19 were positive, or 73%. I was #10 of 26. It was my best day in awhile.

Here's the top 3:

1. $23,456 on 308k shares traded.
2. $20, 568 on 337k shares traded.
3. $10,124 on 454k shares traded.

And the bottom:

1. -$2,602 on 37k shares traded.
2. -$940 on 71k shares traded.
3. -$829 on 0 shares traded (swing account).

NOTE: Part 2 of my Costco experience will be posted later this evening or early tomorrow morning. Please stop by to check it out.

A Nice Walk Through Some Fire

Who would have thought, that at 9:40am this morning, I would be looking at my worst day ever in over 9 years of trading?

Who would have thought, that at 9:40am this morning, I would have lost my rather impressive month of July, and blown out of all the funds I had remaining in my company?

Who would have thought, that at 9:40am this morning, I would have called Judy into the office, showed her my loss of over $10,000, showed her my heavy position (2500 shares) of CLF and said to her, "It's done now. I'm blowing up for good. If it trades $91, I'll be forced out and I'll have to find a new job."

And who would have thought that at 9:50 I would be up nicely on the day, Judy and I would be giving each other hugs and high-fives, and I'd be liquidating my position and getting ready to take the rest of the day off?

Surely, not me. But sometimes, funny things happen to stock traders.

At 10:45 I was walking hand and hand with my daughter through our CSA, picking flowers and placing them in a bucket. I was still somewhat shocked at the turn of events, and shaking my head at the absurdity of it all.

Indeed, I felt like one of those people who has looked directly at death, seen the light at the end of the tunnel, only to wake and live again.

Hudson City, Strength Amidst Weakness

Things still looking up for HCBK. I first mentioned this gem a year ago.

Elton John, "I'm Still Standing"

Elton John has some good songs... this isn't one of them. Worse, well, the video speaks for itself...

The RO Report

The RO had a mixed day, which is strange given the egregious moves in the commodity names. I mean, coal, ags, oils, all were ransacked. RANSACKED.

I blame the lame summer Monday volume. We traded just over 1.2 billion. I expect tomorrow to be a much better day.

Out of 26 traders, 14 were positive, or 53%. I was number 18 of 26, or, in other words, negative on the day.

Here are the top 3:

1. $9,520 on 239k shares traded.
2. $5,292 on 13k shares traded.
3. $4,142 on 328k shares traded.

And the bottom:

1. -$8,003 on 80k shares traded.
2. -$1,613 on 36k shares traded.
3. -$1,459 on 52k shares traded.

Nouriel Roubini's Interview In Barrons

I may have to give bloggerdotcom a raise if he continues to find such gems.


-Nouriel Roubini

This is a pretty chilling interview. However, despite Roubini's short-term bearishness, long term, he thinks things will be peachy again.

And You Thought Sub-Prime Loans Were Bad

According to this article, they were just the tip o' the iceberg. Alt-A delinquencies and even prime loans are faltering at quickening levels.

In related news, CNBC is on the search for synonyms for the word "crisis" that also begin with the letter "C" and any word that rhymes with "loan," "crisis," "prime," and "cluster fuck."

TD 5, Meet The Oil Rigs. Oil Rigs... Meet TD 5.

Looks like it's headed right for the oil rigs, shown below. Not sure what other storms those red lines represent... but not TD 5, which isn't that strong.

Et Tu, Obama?

Take a stand and stick to it.

The only way out of the energy mess we're in is, ironically, HIGHER gasoline prices.

Higher prices = less demand. Keep focusing on lowering the price of gasoline and we'll be dependent on it for another 30 years.

No thanks. Let's move on already.

UPDATE: Digging himself in even deeper...