The RO Report, "The George Michael" Edition

Today, my blogging and trading was decidedly third-tier.

I'm not going to apologize though. I feel like I'm just getting back in touch with my roots a bit. You never want to forget where you came from.

I remember a week ago thinking that the market was dead and that I wouldn't ever be able to make money again. But then Thursday came and I made a shitload. I told myself, "I just need to be patient. Have to pick your spots in this market."

I felt smart for not overtrading the slow market of the previous week.

However, on Friday I gave back half of my gain from Thursday. I told myself, "Holy shit you're a fucking idiot." Then today I traded lightly and made $50. I don't have any great feeling about it. I'm not smart for making $50, and I'm not an idiot.

I'm Joe The Plumber. It sucks. I want my hair back.

Anyway, all day the RO bitched about the market action. I don't get it really, because we had a 200 point rip in the middle of the day followed by a 200 point tank at the end. We traded decent volume in the eminis, about 3.4 million shares. But for whatever reason, no one made great money.

In fact, the Manservants took the day, but largely because of "Trader D" and his new long term account, "Trader 10." In fact, since he was a double Chambermaid, the office coined a new term for this ultra-rare occurrence, "The George Michael."

Here are your Manservants:

"George Michael"
Trader 10*, -$8,825 on 24,100 shares traded.
Trader D, -$7,701 on 135k shares traded.

3. Trader H*, -$4,744 on 4,600 shares traded.
4. Trader C, -$2,760 on 73,000 shares traded.
5. Trader T, -$937 on 1,800 shares traded.

And the Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader A, $4,910 on 71,400 shares traded.

2. Trader B, $3,907 on 315k shares traded.
3. Trader Z, $908 on 51,448 shares traded.
4. Trader E, $516 on 31,000 shares traded.
5. Trader N, $460 on 22,600 shares traded.

The Difference Between A Recession And A Depression

I found myself wondering what made these two terms different and I found the following joke. (The real answer involves numbers and boring shit.)

A recession is when your neighbor loses his job.

A depression is when you lose your job.

Another Person Who Shouldn't Trade

One of the better trading rules applies to this video. Disaster starts slowly.

David Guetta - "The World is Mine"

Ummm... NSFW. Apparently, "Trader N" is the resident pervert of the RO. Anyway, maybe he just likes the song...

The RO Report, "Deathed" Edition

The bloodletting is too heavy.

Today was my single worst day ever trading, and I think "Trader D's" worst day as well. It also may have been "Trader Z's" worst. Naturally, I blame "newequity."

We all had decent exposure to the market just after 3pm, when it really took a dive. The selling was so intense, and quick, that it didn't feel sustainable, and we were slow to exit our longs. In fact, I know I was adding a lot before I finally got washed out. As a little lesson, I took my loss with 20 minutes to go in the trading day... it was a hard loss to take, but it was the right thing to do.

The only consolation, is that we all did well yesterday. Truly, if you need life lessons in "impermanence" and the importance of always keeping perspective, trading is a great job to have.

These lessons aren't always easy to learn. In fact, they're downright painful lessons to learn.

Anyway, this day is over.

Out of 24 traders today, 5 were gross positive, or 21%. 14 traders lost over $1,000 gross while only 2 managed to make over $1,000 gross. It was a bloodbath, plain and simple. I was #18 of 24, or completely smoked.

The Manservants got their revenge on the Bosses today in a big way.

"Chambermaid" - Trader D, -$59,866 on 509k shares traded.

2. Trader H*, -$23,705 on 4,600 shares traded.
3. Trader Z, -$22,431 on 245k shares traded.
4. Trader C, -$11,730 on 165k shares traded.
5. Trader B, -$10,919 on 741k shares traded.

And the Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader N, $3,213 on 76,000 shares traded.

2. Trader E, $1,442 on 112k shares traded.
3. Trader 9, $857 on 500 shares traded.
4. Trader 3, $140 on 15,800 shares traded.
5. Trader 7, $81 on 8,000 shares traded.

Got Smoked, Went Surfing

Back to see if the afternoon magic works once again...

Why "The Internets" Is Dangerous

I made a nice chunk today, took my family out for dinner and then, after that, met friends for drinks.

I came home slightly buzzed with my new Pitchfork 500 in my hands... one click purchasing could be a very expensive habit.

Now if I could only hook up this webcam...

Developing...

Ween, "Dr. Rock"

Beat this, stock-blogosphere.

The RO Report, "Momojuicing Bottom" Edition

Does anyone around here remember the blogger "Momojuicing?" He had a nice blog, funny as shit, but then one day, just deleted the whole thing, "paranoia-style," in a matter of minutes.

I still hear from him on email all the time. He's always asking me about what he should trade, how he could be a better father, how he could be a better husband... shit like that. And I take pity on the guy because deep down, he's into cabaret and stuff... it must be hard.

Anyway, the other day we were talking about when "the bottom" would come (again) and he said something like, "the next time you want to buy weapons, buy stocks instead."

He didn't say it so eloquently, of course, (English may not even be his first language, I really don't know) but that was the gist of it. Looking back on today, when I made that post with the 3 stock charts, in my gut I really was scared, and thinking about buying guns and storing grains in my basement.

I actually went onto the Home Depot site and priced generators...

I hate to say it, but the dude was right. I went into my long term account and bought UYG at $6.12 and UWM at $16.85... true story. Minutes later, the market took off.

It was a wild day in the RO. Most of the traders were deeply red at some point or other. The swings that Trader A took, were legendary. And B and D were both down over $30,000 at completely different points in the day.

So make sure you respect those numbers I'm about to post... it's not easy even if the end result is often positive...

Out of 26 traders today, 22 were gross positive, or 85%. 17 traders finished up over $1,000 gross, 10 finished over $10,000 gross. Only 2 traders finished below $1,000 gross... one of them was a swing account. All told, excellent numbers. I was #7 of 26, very respectable.

The Manservants got fucked up today.

Here are the Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader D, $178,595 on 843k shares traded.

2. Trader B, $150,697 on 1.4 million shares traded.
3. Trader A, $92,027 on 717k shares traded.
4. Trader Z, $77,754 on 493k shares traded.
5. Trader F, $54,588 on 311k shares traded.

And the Manservants:

"Chambermaid" - Trader 9*, -$2,798 on 0 shares traded.

2. Trader I, -$2,409 on 29,000 shares traded.
3. Trader E, -$731 on 278k shares traded.
4. Trader M*, -$30 on 400 shares traded.
5. Trader 7, $102 on 6,400 shares traded.

T. Boone On The Daily Show

More about energy independence. Kudos to the Daily Show for hammering on this issue.

How about reducing our dependence on foreign oil by 30-50% in 10 years? Impossible?

T. Boone points out what we've been lacking... LEADERSHIP!

Shit Is Getting Scary Again...

We're all trying to figure out how the market is only down 30 points with the carnage in these big names.

This One Makes Me Proud...

Oh, and look who's all the way down there at #5. Sorry Danny, DT Wins Again!

NOTE: This blog looks interesting... dedicated to CNBC sucking. My friend, please, you are not alone in your hatred of CNBC and your love of Barry Obama. We are kindred spirits. However, my blog kicks your blog's ass whenever anyone searches for "Dennis Kneale Is An Idiot."

Joe Cocker, "A Little Help From My Friends"

Dedicated to the RO.

The RO Report, "We Kick Ass" Edition

I'll tell you what, a year ago, no way would I have even attempted to come back from a $5500 loss in one day. In fact, we just passed the year anniversary of my FSLR blow-up. Funny, read some of the comments... remember that JJ troll guy? Check out SWC today... $2.40. He apparently put his life savings into it in the teens... LOL! DT WINS AGAIN!!!

Anyway, today I was able to come back largely due to the guys in the RO, they're good... even "Trader D."

If you're just starting out in this business, I can't over-emphasize how important it is to surround yourself with good traders. Through the good times and the bad, it helps to be around, and trading with, other people who understand your situation.

(At this point let me drop a brief reminder that the RO is always hiring... email me with questions. My email is under my profile.)

You could argue that I was around the same traders this morning when I first loss my money, but that'd be a "dicky" thing to point out. Don't be a dick.

In fact, if you are a dick, might I introduce you to "the Fly's" blog? The comment section over there needs you. Tell Jake Gint I said "Hi!"

Anyway, I'm starting to get a good feeling again about this market despite my intraday massacre. We should have a massive bounce again soon... it'll be short-lived, sure, but it should make for good trading. I hope it happens before Thanksgiving week, when I plan on taking off.

The Bosses took it to the Manservants today in an embarrassing way. In fact, most of the Manservants were swing accounts. Out of 26 traders today, 20 were gross positive, or 77%. 14 traders finished up over $1,000 gross today, while only 2 lost more than $1,000 gross. Great numbers.

I was # 18 of 26. Right now, I can look and say that's disappointing... however, if you told me at 11:00 that I'd be flat on the day, I would have taken it. So while I've had 2 straight days of gross underperformance versus the RO, it could've been far worse.

I'm happy and will tighten my game up tomorrow.

Here are today's Bosses:

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader A, $28,628 on 275k shares traded.

2. Trader B, $15,859 on 435k shares traded.
3. Trader H*, $12,265 on 14,000 shares traded.
4. Trader Z, $9,975 on 127k shares traded.
5. Trader C, $7,794 on 224k shares traded.

And the Manservants:

"Chambermaid" - Trader 6*, -$1,980 on 200 shares traded.

2. Trader M*, -$1,359 on 700 shares traded.
3. Trader Q, -$875 on 17,800 shares traded.
4. Trader U, -$216 on 0 shares traded.
5. Trader I, -$116 on 2,400 shares traded.

When The Market Gives You Lemons...

I, for one, take those lemons and squeeze the lemon juice into any available open wound on my body.

I'm completely smoked, like historically smoked for me, down 5 grand, mostly because of this shit PLD.



What I've learned the hard way in this market, is that 20% moves in cheap stocks is quite common. The only silver lining I see right now, is that there's good volume in the market and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to make at least a portion of my loss back this afternoon.

NOTE: As of 12:00, the Manservants are solidly in charge. I'm second worst in the office currently, and I'd be worst were it not for "Trader C" blowing up. But there's loads of big red numbers right now that hopefully we can pare.

UPDATE: My day is only getting worse, as my neighbor (and nemesis) has begun to blow his leaves onto my property.

Thomas Friedman On The Daily Show

I'd like this guy more if he didn't fuck up his views on the Iraq war so much. Anyway, here he is on The Daily Show talking with Jon about our energy infrastructure and the "green bubble" that needs to form.

Another Person Who Shouldn't Trade

You should never enter a trade in order to impress other traders... doing so invariably leads to massive pain.

The Opposites, "Dom, Lomp & Famous"

Trader Z didn't "spray" today, but he's getting the song selection anyway, because he led many traders into the green with a solid afternoon call.

The RO Report, "Schadenfreude" Edition

Trading is a cutthroat business. You have guys who wish you well to your face, but behind your back, they only want to see you fail.

Lately, talk in the office has been about how "bossy" I've been and how popular I am on the Internets.

People said things like, "Hey, DT, good going lately!" and, "Wow, your blog is 'neat-o.' I wish I could write like you do!" and shit like that... but I knew, they were waiting, no, hoping for my demise.

The fact that a group of traders made loot today, secretly, scummishly even, without me would hurt more if it wasn't so expected.

I've mentioned that the RO is hiring. But look, you don't want to work with these assholes.

(I'll finish this post later this evening...)

UPDATE: Okay, so I was a little churlish after the close there because the RO completely outperformed me. I forgive them. Plus, I was kidding, naturally... they're just better traders than I am.

Anyway, I think in yesterday's post, someone asked about the volume figures that I quote each night. I use only the trades made on the NYSE, not including ECN trades. It's a pretty reliable indicator about volume in the market, however I think I'm going to start focusing on another volume indicator instead; the total volume traded in the S&P e-minis.

Why? Because this is what I watch intraday to decide whether or not I should be trading actively. If the volume is less than 25k traded over a 5-minute period, that's light. In the office, we call this the "whisper line" after "Trader A" who we also call "Whisp." We call him other things too, but nothing appropriate to mention here. Anyway, total volume in the E-minis today was 2.1 million shares... very light.

The RO had a solid day. Out of 24 traders, 14 were gross positive, or 58%. 9 traders made over $1,000 gross while 5 lost over $1,000 gross. I was #11 of 24, or disappointed with my performance. Still, it beats being "Trader D," who is breaking all kinds of "Chambermaid" records.

The Bosses easily beat out the Manservants today.

"Lucky Pierre" - Trader Z, $12,589 on 43,800 shares traded.

2. Trader C, $8,491 on 134k shares traded.
3. Trader A, $7,075 on 137k shares traded.
4. Trader F, $6,661 on 22,600 shares traded.
5. Trader N, $4,609 on 32,000 shares traded.

"Chambermaid" - Trader D, -$4,454 on 101k shares traded.

2. Trader E, -$1,840 on 61,600 shares traded.
3. Trader M*, -$1,163 on 0 shares traded.
4. Trader 6*, -$1,153 on 0 shares traded.
5. Trader J, -$1,019 on 37,400 shares traded.

Japanese Candle Rape

I'm all about maximizing my reading audience.

I mean, ostensibly, this is a finance blog, and I cater mostly to those who trade stocks. But apparently, I also serve onanists who are into "Japanese Candle Rape."

See below. (h/t "Trader E")