FED Cuts 50 Basis Points, Traders Get "Ass Raped"

Wallstrip

Truth be told, I haven't watched Wallstrip in a long time. I guess that once Lindsay left, I just felt this sense of loss and Julie wasn't able to "do it" for me...

This video below may be really old, but it brought back some memories.

Laughing With Your President, Instead Of At Him...

Look, like him or not, you gotta love Barack's sense of humor. We've had 8 years of laughing at our President and being laughed at by the world. It will be a nice change of pace... (h/t Valerie)

RALEIGH, N.C. – Democrat Barack Obama is sharpening his tone against John McCain, accusing his Republican rival of sinking low by accusing him of being a socialist based on his tax plan.

Rallying a crowd Wednesday in North Carolina, the Democratic presidential contender said McCain will soon "be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten."

Blitzen Trapper New Album, "Furr"

This is a band I like. They just put out a new album that received a solid review over at Pitchfork.

Check out some of their stuff here at their Myspace page.

FOMC Day. But Does It Matter?

Ever since I started this Albatross of a blog, people have been admonishing to not trade "Opex days" and to stay away from earnings stocks. I've always thought this somewhat odd and also, a touch gay.

However, if there is one day I've stayed away from consistently in my trading career, it has been the FOMC day. You can almost always expect light volume until the 2:15 announcement, and then, when the announcement is made, you can expect to get "ass-raped" immediately.

In fact, I can almost guarantee an "ass-rape" candle formation at some point between 2:15 and 2:30.

Today feels different though. After a 900 point rip in the Dow yesterday, it's clear that the market is working off of mechanics right now and nothing else. Earnings don't matter, and I doubt the FOMC matters much either. You've either been forced to puke up your losing positions, or not, and the market is moving accordingly.

That said, I still expect light volume early, but I think the late afternoon will be lots of fun.

Thursday, "Autumn Leaves Revisted"

The "Trader A" spray pick, in dedication to his brother who would be 16 today.

The RO Report, "Bottom Edition"

Okay, so the title of this report is a little hopeful, but why not be hopeful? We have a week to go before we choose a new President, and McCain or Obama, we'll be in better hands than we are right now. Meanwhile, the stock market has lost a ridiculous amount the last 2 months, but we can still pull a 900 point rally out of our nation's ass... so why not be a little hopeful?

Of course, it always helps the "hope" cause when nearly the entire RO banked good coin.

Before 3:00, I barely traded. I literally slept for less than 3 hours last night. Nerves. I woke up exhausted and thinking I wouldn't trade at all. So I didn't. I spoke with "Trader P" and listened to the guys in the chat. It was almost relaxing to just reside on the sidelines for a day and watch.

At 2pm, the market began a rally. While the RO was largely up, the numbers were relatively small, and I was somewhat surprised that people weren't up more. However, we rallied over 600 points in those last 2 hours and that helped the numbers... a lot. You can imagine how pissed I was at 3pm thinking I missed it all... but fortunately, I hadn't.

Anyway, I'm going to sleep. Here's the numbers... perhaps I'll have more juice for the blog tomorrow. Out of 25 traders today, 23 were gross positive, or 92%. 16 traders finished up over $1,000 gross, while only 2 lost over $1,000 gross. I was #6 of 25, or happy.

Congrats to "Trader A" for the big spray. The musical selection this evening, will be his. Also, congrats to "Trader P" for making back all his losses from last week and for showing real courage.

Here are today's Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader A, $114,606 on 677k shares traded.

2. Trader Z, $57,722 on 181k shares traded.
3. Trader P, $49,304 on 209k shares traded.
4. Trader B, $47,845 on 493k shares traded.
5. Trader E, $25,845 on 123k shares traded.

And the Manservants:

"Chambermaid" - Trader I, -$2,252 on 6,800 shares traded.

2. Trader T, -$1,028 on 4,200 shares traded.
3. Trader 3, $129 on 13,200 shares traded.
4. Trader 7, $188 on 4,000 shares traded.
5. Trader 8, $306 on 4,600 shares traded.

This Blog Is Asleep

I got no sleep last night.


-Dinosaur Trader blog asleep, circa 1300 or something.

No Comment...

Arcade Fire, "Black Mirror"

The RO Report, "200 Point Swings Are Boring" Edition

The talk early on in the office, was how we expected a chopfest, and how we were all going to be careful these next two days ahead of the FOMC meetings. It was a typical Monday morning, and no one was looking forward to jumping into the market.

Then "Trader D" decided it was going to be a "market up" day and made a quick $10,000 in the first 45 minutes. That got everyone's juices flowing, but still, there wasn't a lot going on as far as widespread trading profits go. Volume was lame, the indexes were choppy.

But taking a closer look at the Dow, we had a 250 point rip between noon and 2pm, and then a 250 point tank between 2pm and 3pm. A round trip, if you will. That's amazing... we hardly noticed it.

However, we did take note of the 200 point drop in the last 10 minutes of the day... that was ugly.

It also washed out "Trader D" who, inspired by the round-trip made by the market, made the grueling trip from being "Lucky Pierre" to "Chambermaid," all in a matter of minutes. Not fun.

Henceforth, whenever a trader goes from the top of the list to close at the bottom, he will be called a "Chambermaid & Chode."

So it was a mediocre day in the RO. Again, some guys made money, but a good number also lost. It's a minefield out there. The Bosses barely took the day.

I have pumpkins to carve, so let's get to the numbers. Out of 25 traders today, 14 were gross positive, or 56%. The top 8 traders all made over $1,000 gross and the bottom 7 all lost over $1,000 gross. I was #4 of 25; Bossy. Look, these numbers are hardly confidence inspiring, be careful out there until the trade becomes more manageable again, perhaps after Wednesday.

Here are today's Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader A, $8,584 on 277k shares traded.

2. Trader B, $6,206 on 150k shares traded.
3. Trader P, $3,547 on 87,600 shares traded.
4. Trader S, $2,741 on 20,600 shares traded.
5. Trader Z, $1,780 on 25,400 shares traded.

And the Manservants:

"Chambermaid & Chode" - Trader D, -$13,026 on 204k shares traded.

2. Trader C, -$5,420 on 171k shares traded.
3. Trader M*, -$1,631 on 0 shares traded.
4. Trader 6*, -$1,526 on 0 shares traded.
5. Trader H*, -$1,419 on 9,400 shares traded.

*swing accounts.

Fuck All Celebrities And The Media

I don't give a fuck about Kate Hudson's nephew.

Bad things happen to good people everyday.

However, the media should be focusing on more important things like, (and this is just off the top of my head), why we're in a financial crisis, and the presidential election.

This Dog Needs Perspective

Each morning, I wake up, open my blog, and check out what's going on over there to the right with my "Cavemen." Wall Street Fighter is consistently rewarding.

Check out this video which he linked today. Hilarious.



Anyway, on a more serious note, the Yen is freaking people out. The Nikkei traded at a 26 year low today. You know where a 26 year low would put the Dow? Around 775.

The End Is Near

I can't wait for the end of this election. The outcome will influence two major life decisions for me.



First, whether or not I can have another child immediately. And second, if I will remain living in the U.S.

DT Versus The RO On Friday

The Postal Service, "Such Great Heights"

I like the Iron and Wine version better, but this will do.

The RO Report, "Survivor Guilt (Not Really)" Edition

It was a complete bloodbath in the RO today, and coming out of the carnage squeaky clean, downright healthy even, makes me feel really, really, bad. good.

I mean, imagine being on a plane with all your friends and their smoking hot girlfriends. The plane crashes on a desert island. All your friends are maimed, but their hot girlfriends are perfectly fine and so are you. You quickly discover that the cargo area of the plane is loaded with comfortable mattresses, lubrication, and food. Meanwhile, there is an herb covering the island which causes nymphomania if it is breathed in, at all...

Can you imagine how AWESOME that would be? That's what it's like to be me right now... better yet, I have an entire weekend to revel in my victory.

That's right, fuck the RO. My only problem with today is that those scums didn't lose more...

It's hard to understand what the hell the guys were thinking today, trading like complete crackheads and shit. But the fact of the matter is, most of the guys in the office are total idiots. I'm smarter and better looking than them all. In time, they'll be calling me in the middle of the night, asking me how I've survived at trading for 10 years, and marveling at my ability to emerge from a two year slump as a "Lucky Pierre."

They'll be like, "Hey, DT, take a look at this graph... isn't that a strong uptrend?" And I'll be like, "No idiot, that's a downtrend, and the stock is going to zero. Anyway, are you good at 'sheetrocking?' My 8th house needs a new media center."

It was the worst day in awhile for the RO. Out of 24 traders, only 8 were gross positive, or 33%. In fact, that may be the lowest number I've ever reported in that category. Worse yet, only 1 remarkable trader (ahem) finished up over $1,000 gross, while the bottom 14 traders lost over $1,000 each.

I was #1 of 24. Repeat, I was #1 of 24.

Indeed, this weekend will be the most glory-filled weekend of my life. I may even let Judy order something that's not on the dollar menu.

Normally, I would put the Manservants "on top" since they handily defeated the Bosses today. However, since today is really about me and my victory, I'm putting the Bosses on top.

Here are today's Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" Trader S, $2,842 on 109k shares traded.

2. Trader O, $794 on 12,400 shares traded.
3. Trader V, $664 on 32,400 shares traded.
4. Trader T, $600 on 3,200 shares traded.
5. Trader X, $439 on 33,800 shares traded.

And the Manservants:

"Chambermaid" - Trader B, -$35,809 on 605k shares traded.

2. Trader F, -$28,342 on 136k shares traded.
3. Trader E, -$19,055 on 201k shares traded.
4. Trader C, -$9,595 on 150k shares traded.
5. Trader N, -$4,361 on 121k shares traded.

NOTE TO STOCK BLOGGERS: Please link this post so that my victory will ring out throughout the Internets all weekend.

NOTE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS: Please lobby your local lawmakers to make October 24th National Dinosaur Trader day. Thank you.

Bullshit, The Commodity

-"bullshit" circa 1962

If Bullshit was a commodity, it'd be limit up right now.

The volume today is HIGHLY suspect, as in, there's none of it. For a day when the futures opened limit down, this low volume bounce is ridiculous.

The close will be very important and most likely, scary.

Remember to focus on volume. Without it, nothing matters.

An Eerie Morning...

For you neophytes, that flat line preceding the open means that the futures were "limit down." I haven't seen that in my decade of trading.



The open, has been anti-climactic. Volume is relatively light. It feels like walking under very shaky scaffolding on a windy day.

NYSE Circuit Breakers

BUMP: With futures "limit down" I figured we may need this. Good luck, watch your ass.

These were updated on September 30th.



In order for the exchange to halt trading, the Dow would have to be down 1100 points by 2pm. We came within 300 of that yesterday, so it's not out of the question going forward.

Just FYI.