EquineTrader

Friday 14th March 2008

2008-03-14T10:10:00.002-04:00

In half an hour I surpassed my day's goal... so I'm going to relax and go down to the beach for the day... All I have to say is that it makes you feel a little weird when you short something at $53, get out for a 0.50 gain and then 13 minutes later, it is at $28 (BSC). Wowser... we just saw capitulation this morning, I wouldn't be surprised if the market finished higher for the day.

+$395

Thursday 13th March 2008

2008-03-13T15:51:00.000-04:00

Made up for my 1 hour last hour madness yesterday. Didn't trade alot today. Took a large short on BSC over lunch which was tight, but paid off.

+$585

Wednesday 12th March 2008

2008-03-12T18:23:00.002-04:00

Today wasn't good... after being even with an hour to go, I tried to make things happen in tight channels and paid the price... got destroyed by HUM basically...

-$990

Rebuttal

2008-03-11T16:52:00.005-04:00

Apparently, upset at his lack of trading skills, Michael (from Retardtrader.com) has decided to attack me, based on the fact I couldn't be a woman. Hmmm... makes sense to all the male chauvanists out there I guess.

My boyfriend Andy used to have a blog called Parrafund... actually I just overwrote his one with mine (thinking I would get more hits that way, but once the link changed, the old one didn't transfer). He lived down in Florida and has travelled alot for work. He sucked at trading... but was good at teaching... you know what they say, those who can't do it, teach.

I'm not actually a vet yet, but I am going to school for vet science (and Paige isn't my real name so don't bother trying to find me. Obviously, especially by what Mike has presented, you'd have to be crazy to use your real identity on the internet. Andy is also not Andy's name.)

The holy grail??? Are you kidding? That was the most sarcastic thing I've ever written... and anyone with half a brain worked that out. What i was saying was that NO mechanical system can be written, it's all about reading the tape and being disciplined (see post on new rules). Does one have to say everything explicitly?

Lastly, as I've said previously in my blog, I use my boyfriend's money to trade, hell I even use his account!! What, is that securities fraud? Probably... lol

Paige and Andy in Vail

Go Gators! (chomp)

Me Riding

Please read the attack in the link below - it's quite funny and well done actually... this guy really needs to find a job with a bounty hunter or something.

http://retardtrader.com/2008/03/11/the-disturbing-truth-about-equinetrader/

Tuesday 11th March 2008

2008-03-11T16:13:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a day??? After getting a late start and missing the first "surge", I managed to get destroyed on a few short trades and make "not enough" on quite a few more long ones... everything balance out really... Ok - shoulda, woulda, coulda syndrome setting in! I actually disbelieved the tape today... and tried to bet against it... so glad I had some gut-wrenching stops in there. Never try to predict the market, just react... lesson learnt (again!!!)

Until tomorrow... ;)

+$65

Monday 10th March 2008

2008-03-10T16:41:00.003-04:00

Good day. Not alot of trading. A couple of bonehead plays, but also a couple of good scalps.

+$495

Chart of the Day

Pretty self-expanatory... I didn't play the BSC capitulation all that well, but I was about to go for lunch and just took some well-timed scalps, most of them were for less than 10 seconds each... made quite a bit off them too.

Riddle

2008-03-10T06:06:00.000-04:00

****UPDATE I fixed the link!

Thanks to Boogster for this one... but I figured it out, so I get to repost it:

This is a real math problem so don’t say that the bus has no legs. If you get the correct answer, that’s the password to the spreadsheet. Put your name in the column with the names (look to the right in the spreadsheet if you open it!), re-save the spreadsheet and then forward it on if you were smart enough to get the right answer.

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?

There are 7 girls on a bus.
Each girl has 7 backpacks.
In each backpack, there are 7 big cats.
For every big cat there are 7 little cats.

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

The number of legs is the password to unlock the Excel sheet.
If you open it, add your name, re-save the spreadsheet and send it on to see who else can unlock it.

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=other&file=I__m_Smarter_Than_a_5th_Grader.xls

It's actually just pure math without a trick... which sort of disappointed me a little.

Rules Update

2008-03-09T14:51:00.002-04:00

Firstly I'd like to say that enjoy sarcasm and hope that others' enjoy it too. Holy grails obviously never work as mechanical systems, hence my sarcastic post last weekend about them. The only holy grail is goal setting, discipline and most of all apathy.

Rules Update:

1) BE APATHETIC TOWARDS THE MARKET!

2) No Sleeping on positions!!!

3) Stop Out when the setup gets negated.

4) Don't trade against reversals.

5) Take a break on a big loser.

6) ONLY trade my basket stocks EXCEPT on NEWS breakouts or breakdowns.

By the way, for the smartass out there who put me on HotorNot, using my own email address... I'm not really sure what to say about that? 92 isn't bad lol.

Friday 7th March 2008

2008-03-07T15:33:00.004-05:00

A wild day... way too much risk... Got out pretty well considering. Thank goodness for the weekend! It was still a good week.

-$630

I keep getting asked for chart/analysis of my trades... so here's my most disciplined trade Friday:

Chart of the Day

At 1pm, took the 3 minute mini inverse pup, added some more on the 15 period touch, pared out for a good gain at the 20-band cross, then added some more on the 3 minute inv pup. Got out on the panic leans at 1:48pm for +0.50.

Thursday 6th March 2008

2008-03-06T16:04:00.001-05:00

First down day in a week... all came from a stupid early scalp on RIMM with way too many shares... i never seem to learn. Was up 350 early in the day. Boo!

-$140

Wednesday 5th March 2008

2008-03-05T16:56:00.001-05:00

Another good day... things are working out... again, very disciplined (relative to average) and scalped the breakouts/breakdowns nicely.

+$590

Tuesday 4th March 2008

2008-03-04T16:57:00.002-05:00

Busy day... lots of crazy things happening. I didn't make the most of some of the good opportunities, then chased some others... usual problems, but did ok.

+$395

Monday 3rd March 2008

2008-03-03T15:10:00.002-05:00

It's started well...

Today I was disciplined, scalped well... got in a very good rythm in the afternoon.

Just caught the TMA news too... BOOM!!

+$1030

The Holy Grail

2008-02-29T21:14:00.003-05:00

Three years ago, while browsing the forums on the Tradestation website, it was then I came across my first instance of "the holy grail". Guys were chatting about the prospect of finding a strategy - a mechanical strategy - that one could trade with, and essentially print money untill their heart's content. Of course none of these guys had found the holy grail, but they were sure intent on looking.

I was skeptical about this holy grail. If one existed, surely it would exist no longer, because everyone would be on board and the market would crush them... wouldn't it?

Yes.

Hence none existed.

But no, it does exist. Over the past two years, through much delight and much loss, I know I have found the holy grail of trading. Before everyone gets excited, it's not a strategy that I can program in Fortran and hand out at $2000 a pop. It's not an overnight fad. It's not a method that will last for a week, and then reverse and crush an individual. This is tried and tested. This is true. And I believe I have found it.

My lowest low was the best two weeks of trading ever. Up $5500 in those 9 days, it seemed nothing could stop me. And that's exactly what did. After that, it was found.

The holy grail.

But it needs tested. It needs proof. The testing begins March 3rd, 2008.

Let's see what happens...

Monday 25th February 2008

2008-02-25T21:01:00.002-05:00

Got rid of most of the remaining CROX on the late bounce.

$-600

Thursday 21st February 2008

2008-02-21T16:30:00.004-05:00

CRUSHED! I got out of the LEH trade too early (for only a small gain) and left the CROX trade open. Then tried to SHORT RIMM, got blown away, then tried to reverse the trade to get blown away again. It was a perfect scalp trade in both directions, problem was I was in the exact opposite as I should have/would have been if I was scalping with discipline. I'm a loser.

I also got out of the AAPL and NYX options... actually just before they tanked more, so i did the right thing for now.

I definitely won't be trading till Tuesday now. I need to re-group. The weekend!?

$-1500

STILL holding 350 CROX @ 28.16... wtf!?

People ask me my strategy. The chart below shows you a perfect play as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, I did the complete opposite of what I should have done. Swap the Blues with the Reds and it's perfect.

Chart of the Day

Wednesday 20th February 2008

2008-02-20T21:02:00.003-05:00

Managed to get out of the rest of Crocs by setting some buy orders well below the open. Actually got Crocs trade positive (impulsiveness got me into a mess and again discipline got me out) but kept holding 400 shares at 28.16. Will try to sell in the next couple of days. Started opening a position in LEH today. I'm short 550 @ $54.97 at the end of the day. Will fade in again tomorrow morning on any rise, but I doubt we'll see any. I don't know why I don't just scalp. I guess it takes too much "watching" and "acting" all day. I'm quite bored with it, even though I do well at it. Today was much more relaxing for me, I guess.

The fed report looked AWFUL. If tomorrow goes higher, expect a rally to 12900+ on the DOW, but I'm definitely expecting a head fake and a big down day tomorrow. We shall see.

Holding Long 350 Crox @ $28.16
Holding Short 550 LEH @ $54.97

$-360

Tuesday 19th February 2008

2008-02-19T21:00:00.002-05:00

Got destroyed in the A/H by Crocs. Don't know what I was thinking (I guess I was getting bored with scalping) so I took a small position in Crocs just before the close. Instead of getting out when I had the chance, I decided to go long. Got crushed. And to make it worse am still holding 700 shares at $29.69.

$-1250

Friday 15th February 2008

2008-02-15T12:23:00.005-05:00

An easy morning with a couple of quick scalps and a nice fading short on GS in the first 30 minutes. Trade the News got me a couple of bucks with ILMN and GME breaking up on news... I was in for less than 1 minute on each and made $200 off them... can't complain. The less you try to make, the easier it is to make. This has been a really good past couple of days.

The weekend!

+$400

Chart of the Day

Thursday 14th February 2008

2008-02-14T10:55:00.006-05:00

Before this morning I very nervous about trading today, because of the gambling that has started to creep into my trading. Actually yesterday was one big casino for me. I've been very lucky a number of times, so this morning I went back to basics. I stuck to one stock, one strategy, and got one outcome. Good results from little risk and about an hour's work. I'll post the LEH chart with my entire day's trades after the weekend.

Nice!

+$365

Chart of the Day

Wednesday 13th February 2008

2008-02-13T15:13:00.003-05:00

Luck again was on my side. Most of the day I was trading by the seat of my pants... not good, not good at all. Was up $700, then lost a bunch, then tried to recover it... was looking ominous there for a while, but ended ok. I gotta calm down.

+$430

Chart of the Day

Tuesday 12th February 2008

2008-02-12T13:31:00.003-05:00

Wowser... i just had a brain explosion, hence I'm ending it for today... really stupid stuff. Got impatient on an upside reversal on POT, and went in way too early... was down over $1100 at one stage... ended up getting out on the reversal, paring gains at $151.25 (actually this was for a loss) and out at $151.85. All that for a $36 gain... I'm an idiot. See the chart below for NOT WHAT TO DO if you want to feed your family.

+$430

Chart of the Day (Brain surge)

Upside Morning

2008-02-12T10:57:00.000-05:00

It's been a strong morning for the markets. Buffet coming out and saying he'd "save" the municipal bonds is very bullish for stocks, although I think we'll probably get some pullback in the afternoon. I probably won't trade anymore today - I'm up $340 from some play with GS, but I tend to make mistakes in strong trending markets (ie chasing) so I have to be careful. My options in NYX and AAPL are running pretty well too, so I'll take the upside with those.

Salute!

Dow Jones News

2008-02-11T17:21:00.000-05:00

I have a question for anyone/everyone out there. I currently do not use a news service, but hear that Dow Jones News is very good and have realized in the past that it could have saved my ass from doing stupid things following an analysts note or what-not that you don't read in yahoo finance until the end of the day. Is Dow Jones News worth the cost? Does it update immediately that something happens, such as an analyst upgrade/downgrade etc... the Comtex News Service doesn't really say anything meaningful in real time. If you use DJ, could you give me a review of sorts??

Thanks!

Trading Strategy Today

2008-02-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

Someone asked me about my trading strategy. In this market, with all the chop and multiple reversals, fake-outs etc, it's fairly easy to scalp. Of course you have to be disciplined if something does eventually break-out or down. BSC today was always going to be weak, so I chose that to short on any strength. It worked pretty well all morning (I did go long at open before realizing that it had been downgraded this morning!!)

Virtual Office

2008-02-11T16:06:00.001-05:00

As of today, I am the newest member of the Virtual Office. DT runs it from:

http://dinosaurtrader.blogspot.com

Check it out!

Monday 11th February 2008

2008-02-11T12:18:00.000-05:00

Gotta jet early today...

Scalped BSC all morning, that was pretty much it. Quite choppy, so it worked out well for me.

+$445

Bought 1 NYX June 75 Call

2008-02-08T18:33:00.000-05:00

I put a bid in earlier in the day for $5.30 and it executed on a dip. I'm pretty happy with the price on a June $75 call. I'm definitely going to hold onto this one, unless there is a big spike in the coming days, which I doubt.

Friday 8th February 2008

2008-02-08T10:41:00.001-05:00

I'm done! It's early but I have work to do and I broke almost every rule I wrote about last night. Today is not a day I should be playing around. I think I had a drawdown of $600 at one stage. I'm out!

I actually went back in and scalped some AAPL to the upside after I wrote this and then proceeded to almost get destroyed by 2 reversal trades on ICE. Then went back and messed around some more... and some more... and some more... NOW I'M OUT!!!

It was my best week ever, quite amazing considering it wasn't mistake free. I got lucky a number of times. $3290 for a week isn't bad... makes up for some of January...

+$380

New Rules for February and Beyond

2008-02-08T00:25:00.000-05:00

After the debarcle that occurred in January with the MA trade (one trade in one month essentially) and the significant losses made last year on holding stocks overnight, my new, very firm rule is not to hold positions overnight - except options. This will prevent me from using the "I'll hold overnight" to justify a losing trade.

In general I have NEVER lost money scalping my basket stocks. I have only ever lost money by trading something I've never traded before out of boredom or spontaneity OR by holding overnight.

Rules:

1) No holding Equity Positions overnight (Options are for overnight swing trades ONLY)
2) Don't momentum scalp oversold/overbought situations and don't "double down" those positions
3) Only buy options on down days (preferably consecutively down) when the stock is overbought/sold in multiple timeframes and only in the last hours of trading (sell options into a rally if possible)
4) Don't hold losers for more than a few minutes
5) Hold winners longer in the right climate
6) Don't trade against reversals! (reaffirming (2))
7) Take a break after a big loser/multiple winners
8) ONLY trade my basket stocks EXCEPT on earnings breakouts or breakdowns

I will add more when I think of them!

Thursday 7th February 2008

2008-02-07T17:23:00.000-05:00

Had a fairly risky/rough day. Got lucky in the pre-market with a short on BSC that just made it to the target before reversing for the rest of the day. Sold the ICE Call for a $210 profit at around 10am. Missed a good deal of further upside, but at that stage it looked like the market was going lower and ICE was already up over $10. Made some dumb/risky plays on AAPL late in the day, which is true to my usual bad timing in the afternoon. Lost half of what i'd made and then made it all back with Longs on ATVI on good earnings. I'm taking a break tomorrow (unless something really good sets up), this week has been steller in a Profit sense.

+$970

Wednesday 6th February 2008

2008-02-06T16:16:00.000-05:00

Did well in the morning, but started messing around in the afternoon. It really could have been alot worse than it was - I took way too much risk for no reward... my usual "boredom" problem. Went long on CSCO into earnings... earnings came out flat thus i got out for no gain/loss. Went short following the growth negativity and made a couple of bucks off that play.

+$960

Bought 1 ICE March 140 Call

2008-02-06T11:32:00.000-05:00

Bought at $4.50, ICE is tanking today. I'm looking for it to reverse around the 120 support.

I'm also starting to fiddle around with not much going on. I need to quit!! It is my big problem, getting ahead in the morning and killing the whole thing in the afternoon. I'm up $500 right now. I should quit for the day.

Sold 1 AAPL April 150 Call

2008-02-06T10:35:00.000-05:00

Sold for $5.00... only wanted to keep one long-term

Tuesday 5th February 2008

2008-02-05T20:39:00.000-05:00

Today I scalped short on everything. GS, BSC, AAPL were the main ones. Maybe a little in the A/H going long DIS and JDSU.

I also went long 2 AAPL $150 April calls for $4.65 each.

+$980

Thursday 31st January 2008

2008-01-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

Sold 100 MA in Pre-market for 195.45. I just couldn't wait the extra 4 hours it took to get back to even. Bah!

-$2080

Sold 90 MA

2008-01-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

Today i sold 90 MA on the fact it bounced 20+ dollars in a couple of hours. I got out at 193.57... still a steep loss.

-$2042

Sold 10 MA

2008-01-15T18:53:00.000-05:00

I sold 10 MA today at 176.08 to avoid taking a Margin Call... this ain't looking good now. I'm holding down to the 150's if need be.

-$403

A fast death...

2008-01-15T11:48:00.000-05:00

Obviously holding on to the MA trade wasn't a good idea. After the initial decision to wait until the earnings release at the end of January, on Friday when I checked the close (obviously I haven't been trading due to falling wayyyy below the margin requirment) and saw that MA had dropped a tender 20 points, I was obviously left with nothing to do but hold it out and probably not trade for a very long time. I never do learn my lessons, but one thing I have leanrt is never wait till it goes wayyyy down, then sell it. If MA gets above 210 on earnings I'll sell it. If it gets anywhere, I'll probably sell it. If it goes down further, I'll just be waiting for the call...

Wednesday 2nd January 2008

2008-01-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

Crack! Do I hear glass shattering? Oh no, it's just my account dying quickly... I never learn old lessons. TRIN > 1.2, $INDU down, and I go long on GS... and keep long, till the end of the day...
I have a long position in MA as a swing trade... I'm out if if jumps above $220.

$-985

Monday 31st December 2007

2007-12-31T11:59:00.000-05:00

I don't know how to get out when i can... terrible Short on GS... then i tried to win it back... First down day in 2 weeks... and it kills everything I've made... DAMMIT!

Happy New Year!

-$760

Friday 28th December 2007

2007-12-28T13:08:00.000-05:00

I'm out... wayyyy too slow/choppy... the weekend!

+$305

Thursday 27th December 2007

2007-12-27T14:51:00.000-05:00

I'm getting out early today! The market's too slow and I have work to do!!!

+$300

Wednesday 26th December 2007

2007-12-26T16:23:00.000-05:00

After taking a TERRIBLE SHORT on GS at 10am, I had to work my way back from 300 down. It was tough work, but I got it back and a bit more. Terrible day to trade though, I shoulda stayed out.

+$255

Monday 24th December 2007

2007-12-24T16:01:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I wasted my time today... Christmas!!!

+$10

Friday 21st December 2007

2007-12-21T22:30:00.000-05:00

+$105

Thursday 20th December 2007

2007-12-20T23:34:00.000-05:00

I had a disastrous day today. RIMM's earnings annoucement saved what was a terrible afternoon.

"Learn when to stop" is the motto of the day

+$495

Wednesday 19th December 2007

2007-12-19T23:00:00.000-05:00

I took a huge scalp position in the afterhours on ORCL... and then it tended lower. I waited pretty well, but then got out too early. These drawdowns will kill me one day. I managed to get away with only losing 100 on it.

+$245

Tuesday 18th December 2007

2007-12-18T23:45:00.000-05:00

Almost a flawless day scalping GS. One stock, all day. Boo-ya!

+$790

Friday 16th November 2007

2007-11-17T01:43:00.000-05:00

Today could have been disasterous. I made probably every mistake I could have made in one day. Only took one position, but it was huge (mistake), LONG in AAPL (mistake, considering AAPL might be looking at the low 150's in the coming week or two), in the pre-market (mistake). I HELD onto the position (mistake) even as it was dying... I was so fortunate that the reversal came before lunch. I dropped half the position with miminal damage and sold the rest on the close. There' no way I could risk holding it at its high on a Friday afternoon... the $VIX is still sky high, we will wait till it drops to do any holding. Overall, with all those mistakes, I had one of the luckiest days ever... I'm still pissed at myself.

The Weekend!!

-$360

Wednesday 7th November 2007

2007-11-07T18:27:00.000-05:00

Damn! I got crushed today. I missed the open, had a brain fart and went for the 10:30am reversal... forget the market was up on low volume yesterday... oops... terrible day. Makes ya wanna quit.

-$803

Tuesday 6th November 2007

2007-11-06T16:15:00.001-05:00

Today was a pretty easy day. Caught some nice scalps in the morning, didn't risk alot, and caught some of the upside in the afternoon. Good job.

+$380

Monday 5th November 2007

2007-11-05T19:11:00.000-05:00

After a crazy weekend in Gainesville watching the Gators kill the hapless Dores, I continued on my winning ways. i used patience for the most part today. I had a great long trade in GS on the early reversal that i could made 10 bucks on, but got out way too early... i tend to be very cautious at the beginning of the day which I have to rectify.... like too cautious, and then take big risks at the end of the day. I made a bit off the late day rally too, but generally got out early or chased too much. I got very lucky a couple of times.

+$520

Friday 2nd November 2007

2007-11-02T17:10:00.000-04:00

I got out of RIMM early, and made some good doh off it, except I decided to scalp some stuff in an horrendous market... and got beaten to the floor by it... damn me! Great week overall, but if I do stupid things like this, I'm gonna be going back to the dogs...

I'm off to Gainesville!!!

$-550

Thursday 1st November 2007

2007-11-01T23:08:00.000-04:00

Got killed on a RIMM trade... chased a bitch and got smacked... I kept a huge chunk for tomorrow morning, I'm hoping for a popp on the open or I could be destined for misery.

-$430

Wednesday 31st October 2007

2007-10-31T22:34:00.000-04:00

Pretty good day. Took the reverse on Garmin at open and got out at the right time. I'm finally getting on a roll.

+$1610

It's been a while...

2007-10-30T18:13:00.001-04:00

Wow, it has been a while. Between working too much and travelling too much, I almost forgot all about writing in here. But in essence I know why. Lately I have been raping the stock market. I guess eventually something just clicked in my brain to stop me doing stupid things and start making it instead of losing it. In essence too, it's like I'm not even trying. I don't watch the markets as much, I don't trade as much, I keep swing positions open for longer than 10 minutes (after all, they are SWING POSITIONS) and when I scalp I've been able to force myself to take losses... even if they do get slightly out of hand due to not having a stop. Wow. Why didn't I do that before I dropped all the bucks? I guess the only way to learn is to kill yourself thinking you know better than discipline and hard work. Take risks, but don't take them AFTER you are down big... Take them when the time is right. I guess it takes time. I don't know when I'll write again. It may be a while. But be sure, as long as things are going right, discipline is in place and I'm making and not losing, life will seem alot easier and less stressful.

Cheers!

Today

2007-08-27T21:49:00.000-04:00

Today was the down day in what I believe will be a rally towards and beyong 14000. I made the most of today by taking positions in FCX and held AA and some AAPL. I did sell half of the AAPL position due to the reversal at even for the day around 2:30pm. It was a good move. I think FCX goes to 95 in the next week or so, and I believe AA has the potential to hit 40. I will probably halve the position around 38, with stops engaged at 36. There was no scalp trading today, although I did trade GS and X during the day, with an even result. The volatility has come down nicely over the past few days, with the VIX slighly higher today hovering around 22. I predict we will see a continuing decline in the VIX, and will test the 50 day support at 19.80 in the next day or so. A push through this support will support my theory of 14000 and beyond by Christmas, but if we get a bounce off the support, we may see another retest of the 12700 within the next month.

Snap!

2007-08-17T22:43:00.000-04:00

Today turned out exactly the way I predicted, although the technical indicatiors definitely had their help in determining the direction of the market. At around 8:15am this morning, the FED announced they were cutting the discount rate by 0.5%, from 6.25 to 5.75%. The market rallied and opened up over 300 points. I was actually booting up the computer when the announcement was made on CNBC so we missed the first run-up but caught a good chunk of it on AAPL before the market opened. The market then relaxed thorughout the day and rallied into the close. We held AA long into the close, I think it should be going to 40 within the next couple of months. It was quite a hard day to trade, because of the dip and bounce, but we worked it out. RIMM had a whopper of a day, and we caught some of it, but not all. I tend to scalp the real winners which I have to get over. Let them run.

Tomorrow...

2007-08-16T20:06:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow may be the biggest day in a long time past and for a long time to come. Today we had the classic capitulation. Oscillators hit record lows, buy signals were buzzing off the page and the market dropped and gained over 350 points. Just by looking at the daily candlestick chart for the DOW, a classic Dragonfly Doji can be seen. Buy, buy, buy. This Dragonfly Doji is also the case in a wide range of stocks throughout the market.

Tomorrow may be a dart board again. But this time, click BUY.

The Uptick Rule

2007-08-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

The up-tick rule was instituted in 1938 and aimed at preventing such as crash as the one in 1929. Its goal was to prevent short sellers from bringing down the market rapidly and worked by only enabling a short sale if the previous sale was lower, hence the short sale would have to be on an uptick in price.

If I had written this previous paragraph at the end of June, it wouldn't be in the past tense.

On July 6th 2007, the uptick rule was abolished, rendering the ability of short sellers to sell on downticks. On July 19th, when bad news seemed ridiculous to contemplate the DOW closed avove 14000 for the first time ever. After the reality of the mrtgage woes hit home and only 19 days later, the DOW closed at 12861, 8.3% off its high. Dramatic volatility, huge volumes and a plunging market - could this have anything to do with the abolishment of the uptick rule. I do not know.

What I do know is that many fellow traders, who like me, prefer to trade short, are raking in the profits. The past few days have been a dartboard in the market. Shoot and short. The goal this past week has been to find any kind of upward momentum in the market - then short it, and keep shorting it. Short Apple, short RIM, short Financials, short Nike for heavens sake. Just short it.

Joe Investor has most likely never even heard of the uptick rule, and probably has little care for it. But could it be possible that the abolishment of this rule has magnified the dramatic pullback of the market over the past few weeks? It's definitely something worth pondering as we go forward. Will the SEC even go as far as to reverse its decision to abolish the rule? Not likely, but possible. It may be some time until we see a bottom in the mortgage mess that has tormented the market of late. Until then, all we can do is short.

Down-tick.

Goodbye Joe.

Friday 3rd August 2007

2007-08-03T07:48:00.000-04:00

I'm in Ocean City, MD for the weekend and won't be trading today.

Thursday 2nd August 2007

2007-08-02T22:30:00.000-04:00

Dreadful day today. Finished -$660 for the day and basically got killed when BSC reversed, the complete opposite of the day before. Someone is going to get fired off the roof.

Wednesday 1st August 2007

2007-08-01T22:40:00.000-04:00

Today was another crazy day in the market, with the Dow ranging over 200 points. The volatility made scalping the order of the day. No swing positions, neither long nor short were added. After almost a perfect trading day, the last hour proved costly, due to the reversal of BSC, and the lack of a stop loss which cost the fund $1000 in a single trade. Before that we were +$1270 and ended the day +$875 after some scalping in after-hours, most noteably SBUX.

Click below to see the performance graph: