Interesting

Sure, if we're gonna spend a half trillion, I can think of better ways to spend it then on propping up companies that fucked up.

Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall"

The RO Report, "Fuck The Shorts" Edition

Well, it's been a memorable week. Actually, not. I can't remember yesterday. My head is abuzz, filled with nothing and everything at once. I'm just looking forward to walking out of this little office and entering the world again, if only for two days.

Who knows what Monday will bring?

Anyway, the open today was like no market I have ever witnessed in my nearly 10 years daytrading stocks. I'm not sure how many trades will be "busted," but there were so many prints at extreme prices, that I can't imagine they'll stand. But perhaps they will.

We've entered a bizarro market, where no one has any idea what anything is worth. The numbers on your screen mean less than they ever have before, and the rules can change at any moment. In other words, it's loads of fun, until everyone gets smoked and it's not anymore.

For now, we'll enjoy the volatility and pad our reserves for the next drought, which inevitably, will come.

So it was another amazing day for the RO. These guys take massive risk, but they're smart, and are currently enjoying the benefits of taking that risk. Out of 22 traders, 20 were gross positive, or 90%. 6 traders finished up over $100,000 and 9 traders finished up over $50,000. 14 of the 22 traders today finished over $10,000 gross. I was #10 of 22, or, nicely positive.

Also, I'd like to point out "Trader 3." If you look at these numbers and think everyone makes this money right out of the gate, you'd be mistaken. I believe (though I could be wrong) that "Trader 3" is a first time trader, so for you newbies, it could be interesting to watch his progress.

Here are today's "bosses."

1. Trader Z, $181,953 on 686k shares traded.
2. Trader D, $169,703 on 722k shares traded.
3. Trader P, $153,218 on 345k shares traded.
4. Trader B, $144,863 on 925k shares traded.
5. Trader A, $121,071 on 563k shares traded.

And the "manservants."

1. Trader N, -$3897 on 29,600 shares traded.
2. Trader 1, -$108 on 15,200 shares traded.
3. Trader 3, $120 on 3,800 shares traded.
4. Trader I, $1,387 on 13,000 shares traded.
5. Trader R, $2,649 on 76k shares traded.

Have a restful weekend.

Special Note To Larry Kudlow

Free market capitalism is DEAD, and Goldilocks is a crack whore.

All Trading Stories Here

This is a truly historic day. I won't be posting until I get the RO up at around 5pm. Until then, I leave it to you. Tell us what's going on where you're at.



QUICK NOTE: Hank Paulson broke the stock market. After that open, I'm surprised they're still letting stocks trade.

The SEC Institutes Ban On Short Selling 799 Financial Stocks

You can no longer sell the following companies short, at least until October 2nd. After that, they can extend the ban another 10 days.

There are 799 companies on the list. Think every financial.... if anyone knows where to find the list, please leave it in the comments.

Here are some of the big ones...

C, DB, WFC, MS, BCS, STI, WM, UBS, BAC, STT, etc.

I don't know how to explain this to those who don't trade stock. It is an unprecedented move. It's ultimately manipulative, and it's not how free markets work.

UPDATE: Here is the list.

The Government... Wrong Again

Look, they're coming after the wrong people.

Obviously, if people are spreading false rumors about a stock in order to send it down, that's wrong. However, it's just plain stupid to ban short selling.

How about this? Instead of focusing on the short sellers, try focusing on what made this mess possible in the first place. Companies being over-leveraged... how about the moral hazard created by our government? Let's ban moral hazard you fuckers!

I can think of a thousand different places to fix (financial media) before I tinker with the rules of the stock market, which have worked pretty well these last couple hundred years.

Oh, and lets not forget this. You take shorts out of stocks and kiss goodbye explosive short squeezes... those are some of the best rallies (like today's 400 point rally) that you can get!

UPDATE: The link on my blogroll called "Short Squeeze" will come in very handy today. For example, GHL... based on its average daily volume, it would take almost 35 days for all the shorts to cover.

Also, if you have a lot of long exposure to this market, today might be a good day to consider some off.

How Could I Forget? It's "Porn Thursday!"

Fatboy Slim, "Praise You"

The RO Report, "RTC Bailouts RULE" Edition

This is the kind of day that traders will remember forever. They will either remember the money they made, or think about the money they could have made, or think about the money they lost.

The RO made... and it made BIG.

Odd shit started happening when the Dow dipped below 10,500. The selling in many stocks, STT, FII, and too many others to list, hit total panic levels.

Did you see GS drop below 100 and shoot down 15 points faster than you can say, "Regulation SHO?"

That, in case you didn't notice, was panic selling... it's the type of selling that makes bottoms. Indeed, shortly after that, JPM, WFC and USB starting showing strength and the market never turned back.

Two days ago I was telling my father to buy a gun to protect himself from the hordes of crazed people that were gonna scour the suburbs of NYC in search of food. But the disease of short-term traders is acute myopia. If you're not RIGHT THERE, stuck in the exact mood of the market, then you're really not able to do your job correctly. You have to feel extreme fear and you have to experience extreme greed.

Why? Because if you don't experience and feel it, you won't know it when you see it. Today we saw extreme fear. The flipside of panic selling, is always panic buying.

Anyway, I'm not ashamed to not have made the top 5 today. I did well. The fact is, the RO is home to some expert fucking traders who risk a shitload day in and day out. Again, props to "Trader D." Don't forget, 2 days ago, he lost $60,000. You think you could lose that much and come back like he has the last two days? Trust me, that's not normal. It takes a special personality type. Needless to say, today was the best day ever for everyone in the top 5.

So out of 21 traders today, 17 finished gross positive, or 81%. An astounding 5 traders finished up over $100,000 gross, 8 finished up over $50,000 gross, and 12 finished up over $10,000 gross. I was #9 of 21, and had my best day since starting this damned blog... just.

So here you have today's top 5 "bosses."

1. Trader D, $342,763 on 934k shares traded.
2. Trader B, $196,351 on 908k shares traded.
3. Trader A, $123,231 on 934k shares traded.
4. Trader F, $118,189 on 455k shares traded.
5. Trader Z, $107,472 on 473k shares traded.

And today's top 5 "manservants."

1. Trader H, -$2,791 on 9,400 shares traded.
2. Trader V, -$989 on 108k shares traded.
3. Trader I, -$817 on 41k shares traded.
4. Trader T, -$459 on 9,000 shares traded.
5. Trader 3, $233 on 3,000 shares traded.

Again, the RO is always looking for serious traders. If you have the Series 7, or don't mind studying a month to take it, email me for information.

The Bears Taking It Too Far?

Look, shouldn't they be happy with the 950 points in the last 2 days? They're not. Now they're going after our women.



Folks, this is war.

UPDATE: Apparently they have. My office was upset by that photo and put the bottom in. We have a couple guys up 6 digits at 2pm. Take a look at STT.

Pink Floyd, "Money"

If the keep printing money at the current rate, by the end of the year this song will be 42 minutes long. True story.

The End Of America?

Found this over at "the Fly's" place. Scary stuff.



He talks about hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic. Interesting.

People are getting angry. They will get even more angry before this is all over. They were just talking about it on Lou Dobbs... the first 5 months of taxes you pay each year goes to paying off the INTEREST on our national debt.

I just put my daughter to sleep. By the time she's paying taxes, it doesn't seem like there will be any funds left to pay for things like infrastructure, or education, or (gasp!) our War Machine. All of her taxes will go to paying off interest on a debt that can no longer be repaid.

She deserves better.

So let's do this right. Follow this link, find your representative, and tell them you're sick of this shit.

NOTE: Oh, and while I'm pissed off, I wanted to just remind everyone of something... remember when Dennis Kneale said stupid shit like we were "talking ourselves into a recession?" Seriously... let's get some real financial journalists please. Perhaps if our airwaves weren't filled with propaganda, regular people could get back involved in the process and take interest in the country.

The RO Report, "Short Sellers Are To Blame" Edition

Seriously, if these fucks think that short-sellers are to blame for the market malaise, then they have serious responsibility issues. I blame Danny.

Short sellers didn't cause these companies to over-leverage and take on shitty loans.

And nice timing, really, because after the market is down 900 points, in two days, we're due for a nice relief rally. So the regulators will look like geniuses, at least for a day.

Moving on... For those not actively trading the market, just know that the market ran 200 points from 2pm to 3pm, and then dropped 300 between 3pm and 4pm. That's not normal. The bulls tried... perhaps tomorrow they'll try harder.

Once again, the RO kicked ass. And once again, most of the gains came after 3:30. Out of 22 traders today, an astounding 21 finished gross positive, or 95%. 18 traders finished over $1,000 gross. I was #10 of 22, or nicely green.

If you're interested in joining the RO, shoot me an email. We're always looking for active traders with their Series 7 license. If you don't have the 7, or care to study for it (about a month) then don't bother writing.

Also, congrats to "Trader D" for his nice comeback after yesterday's smackdown... and also to "Trader V" for kicking ass and making the top 5.

Anyway, here are today's "bosses":

1. Trader D, $30,741 on 1.3 million shares traded.
2. Trader A, $22,264 on 244k shares traded.
3. Trader B, $20,413 on 857k shares traded.
4. Trader V, $13,168 on 109k shares traded.
5. Trader E, $9,262 on 284k shares traded.

And their manservants:

1. Trader N, -$3,716 on 35k shares traded.
2. Trader 3, $172 on 2,000 shares traded.
3. Trader L, $343 on 31k shares traded.
4. Trader G, $825 on 96k shares traded.
5. Trader O, $1,005 on 24,800 shares traded.

What If The Government Saved The World And No One Cared?

That seems to be the case today. With Goldman down 40%, MS looking like it's going to $10, what are they going to do now?

Is everyone hoping a big bank comes in and buys the remaining brokerages?

Really? Which big bank?

I wonder what would have happened if BSC was allowed to fail. Would we have seen serious deleveraging these last few months? Yes, it would have been painful, but would it have ended up saving more of these companies?

Bed, Bank of America, & Beyond

Inside The Emergency AIG Bailout Meeting

More on the bailout here.

Bob Marley, "Bad Card"

One of my favorite Marley tunes, excerpted...

The RO Report, "AIG Conservatorship" Edition

Well, today didn't turn out exactly how everyone planned, right? All the newspapers were talking about "panics" and "meltdowns" and then we rally. Oh, and this guy, who yesterday was nearly able to call the exact closing price of the Dow, said the world was going to end.

Apparently, the iBC machine caught a touch of "gay" overnight.

Moving forward... there were crazy rumors about AIG all day that were impossible to decipher... they're being bailed out by NY... no wait, they're only being bailed out if.... the FED is doing nothing for AIG... no wait, the FED is back at the table.

It made the day somewhat choppy. Oh, and we had an FOMC meeting to deal with.

Also, at first glance, you may look at the NYSE volume and be like, "Volume is BACK!" However, you'd be wrong. In fact, the volume was heavily concentrated in AIG... over 1 billion shares traded there. Insane.

Take a gander at CEG. That stock undressed traders and spanked them before buying them Fioravanti suits. In fact, word is that "Trader F" was down $70k in that stock alone before getting a "bailout" via a nice V bottom.

Despite the drama, it was a good day for the office minus one blow-up. Out of 22 traders, 14 finished gross positive, or 64%. 7 traders finished up over $5,000 gross and 12 finished over $1,000 gross. I was #14 of 22, but solidly in the green.

Anyway, here's the top 5:

1. Trader B, $24,217 on 882k shares traded.
2. Trader F, $17,379 on 234k shares traded.
3. Trader A, $13,057 on 120k shares traded.
4. Trader Z, $12,204 on 208k shares traded.
5. Trader E, $5,966 on 200k shares traded.

And the bottom:

1. Trader D, -$62,025 on 375k shares traded.
2. Trader N, -$6,946 on 23,000 shares traded.
3. Trader H, -$3,767 on 3,400 shares traded.
4. Trader P, -$1,841 on 157k shares traded.
5. Trader T, -$1,521 on 6,900 shares traded.

See you tomorrow. Oh, and if you enjoy reading this RO report each day, fucking link it or something... tell your friends. It's important for me to influence as many people as possible.

UPDATE: AIG may be placed under conservatorship. The shares are tanking after-hours. Here's a little Q&A on what a conservatorship is.

A Tough Hold Today For The Shorts

That was a beefy morning squeeze. Don't be surprised if/when we revisit the lows in the afternoon.