Forcing the Hand...

Treasury prices are flying, yields are falling. The market has already priced in the rate cut that the Fed failed to provide in it's last meeting. The flight to quality confirms that the market is finally starting to understand what a serious bind we are in here. I have been warning everyone about this since July 24th (according to the archives) and I hope that everyone has been able to take a defensive stance and proceed cautiously with their exposure, position size, and portfolio risk during this panic (which by the way is the worst I've seen since Sept 11th).

(This doesn't really help either)

Amidst this sell off, I can't believe how well some of the recent trades I have been talking about have worked out. Based on recent e-mail traffic, I know a lot of people are enjoying some of the following trades I have discussed...

GS

XOM

OMX

ICE

LEN, or any others from this post

GOOG

CAT

BTU

And finally, I had to use the INDU to mark the top that the Marketcast called.

I have divided my option positions in my portfolio by about a 70-30 ratio of puts to calls. As of last week I was about 60-40, but I have been stopped out on quite a few yesterday, and a few again today. I would talk about the ass kicking I am taking in a few of my bullish positions, but I am not in the mood. I hate to see profits evaporate.

Chicago is almost upon us. I am pretty busy trying to get my act together. More details about our gathering will follow.

Recommendation: Buy puts by the truck load.

Long: Very little as of today's close.

Short: Everything I can get my hands on.

Those are some great trades, Jeff.

Thanks for all your ideas, opinions and suggestions. It has helped weather this market.

Michelle

Jeff,
Thanks for all of the ideas and time you are taking on the eve of Chicago.

We appreciate all you do.

Anyone have any insight on who gave KBH some money?

Cheers,
ARTY

I hate this @!#!@ing market. I neither Kim or I can seem to make the right calls. We bought some calls the other day in an attempt to balance out our portfolio. then, couldn't find any puts that didn't look like we already missed the boat. We were in BOOM, CROX, and TRMB. With the market swings today I sold out for fear of further downside. what happens? this darn market rallies. I just want to scream.

By the way If anyone wants tips on how to sell for max losses I can give some lessons!

With much frustration,

Dan

Dan,
I just went for a drive, put the top down, and turned up Sir Mix A LOT real loud. I could of sworn I heard ole MIX describing the market today with this rhyme -

"The whole swap meet went craaaaaazy, and I was sockin' more fools than Patrick Swaaaaaaaazie!"

It least it gave me a chuckle.

CHeers,
ARTY

Dan,
I think we can all relate to how you feel. Jeff and Eric are helping us navigate through these rough waters, but in a market like this everybody gets burned at least once. Hang in there.

Michelle

I eagerly cranked up the old computer to see how my boatload of puts are doing and now I'm watching in grim fascination how the market is tanking EXCEPT for my puts that are going up. What the F%!$? BOW, BZH, EXR, KBH, KIM, LAZ, WM and RUT are all up! The last few vestiges of my bullish trades, PCU, VIP, AMLN, ATW,and CROX- well I don't need to tell you how they are holding up. I'm getting an ass-whupping today. I hope things perk up a bit before we all go to Chicago or it's going to be a dreary convention.
Stan

Jeff,

I love ya and I'm indebted to you fully, but i fully disagree with your latest post. This market saw a capitulation bottom today (when i sold all my puts), and is going to bounce hard and fast to the upside.

I hope everyone here isn't too far leveraged to the downside or this blog is going to get VERY quiet very soon.

Are we in a bear market or a bull market correction? It doesn't matter right now, because this drastically oversold market is going to rally hard and violently. That could be the end of some short careers around here.

Everyone be careful no matter what you do.

hi everyone,
its been a while since i have posted but i wanted to say hello. i flew into peru yesterday - yes, that peru - luckily i got here AFTER the earthquake and managed not to die. i am flying down to buenos aires in 2 days because traveling around peru down through boliva (original plan) is not advised right now due to a lot of muggings from the assclowns taking advantage of a bad situation with this quake. anyways, i hope to post a lot more and keep in touch once i set up shop there. ill be there for a few months and i plan on getting some sick Option Addict tshirt shots. i hope everyone is managing through this strange market and doing what they should to live another trading day. talk to all you guys soon.

stephen
step_investments

p.s. thanks for the great put plays jeff. the past 2 days have been 2 of my best.

I took profits on GGP puts when it started to make new daily highs when the market was down 300. I was not going to give that back. Also go out of XLF for the same reason. So now I have just BOOM (call) and HNT (put which is trying my patience) and some spreads that go off the boards tomorrow.

Expect to start next week with a fairly clean slate and a boatload of cash.

I hear you, Dan. I did the same thing this morning with BOOM. I had a perfect entry at the close two days ago. This morning it made a sharp move down and fast and I got emotional and closed it out. Now it looks like it's going to close up on the day.

I have done this several times now and every time I swear I will wait to the end of the day but some days it's just tough. I've got to stop looking at the intraday action on my positions. This market climate is so unfamiliar to me that it is making the emotions run too high.

So, I only had a couple other trades on and I decided to close them all out and just take a break for a few days. I'm now 100% in cash. It's going to be tough, but I think I need it and it's a good time for it. I've got vacation Monday and Tuesday so it will be a good time to be out of the market.

I'll still be following along with everything and recouping and getting ready to jump back in. Don't worry, I'm not giving up. I'll be back to fight another day. The best news I can share is that thanks to the money management rules I've learned here, my capital is fine and I can live to trade another day.

No offense to you bears, but my hope is that the market will rally a bit so that I can get an entry on some of this downside next week. We shall see.

There's nothing worse than breaking your own rules because of emotion.

Bam! Bam! Bam! or should I say Stop! Stop! Stop!

As of this morning, I am in an all cash position. It actually feels good. I have been weathering some bad mistakes, and now I can start fresh. Review my trades and wait for the next entry.
Spreads are actually looking good to me. I should have started that a few weeks ago. I enjoy being a directional trader, but not having much success in this market.

The dialogue has been great.

Thanks for the support. Like the rest of you i love this blog for its support and encouragement.

You know the thing hate most about this market isn't the fact i lost the money. Yeah it hurts, but what hurts more is I have no idea what to do. I feel like when we buy puts the market rallies and vice versa on the bull side. I feel paralyzed. Sorry to be so negative but the kind of frustration needs to get out.

I am looking at HNT and JBX for puts. HNT I see at diag support and just turning down with nnearest horiz support @ $49. JBX today broke through resistance @ $ 62.

Any in put from all of you smart people would be great.

Dan

safe travels Stephen

sue

Stephen,

Thanks for letting us hear from you as you travel that damaged area of Peru... The area has so little anyway and then a 7.9 quake is devastating to much of it .....

Best to you as you travel!

I will say that even though I screwed up my exits by getting out emotionally, I made some great entries recently. There has been a lot of discussion here around "buying near the exit" and "only taking the absolute best trades". This has been a huge help to me. And, I honestly think it is a good practice in any market, it's just that this market will kill you if you don't get it right.

What does that mean? I think it's almost like being a contrarian. To buy near the exit you have to jump in as something is approaching your support/resistance on anticipation of the bounce. This is the only way I have found to avoid the whipsaw.

My emotions work totally opposite of that and that is what i have to work on. If nothing else, this market is a great teacher.

I stumbled upon a bullish bright light amidst the gloom and doom of the market. HLEX has been up several days in a row. Phase one 5/2, Phase two 3.12. If it can continue up in THIS market it must be a decent play.
Stan

Brett,

I have the same feelings - I believe very soon we will see a oversold reflex bounce - however i dont think we have seen all the weak hands (private investors) get washed out. Panic selling is ripe currently but i havent seen that ugly ugly day!

To all - It seems a majority of people are getting a flogging, dont get disheartened - this will be the hardest market to play. Some stocks will just keep breaking down - some are going to give you bullish entry signs, rally slightly then tank faster than you can say "gorgonzola!"

if you log on and you account has lost 30% or a figure you cant stomach - cash is sometimes the safest until things settle... when that will be, who knows tho!

Just my 2c :)

Did anyone else hear Bruce Buffer in the background as they read Brett’s last post? I’m not putting my money in either corner, though. Quite frankly, I feel much better when these two agree on things.

Cheers,
Dave

P.S. How long before Cramer takes to the streets with his camera crew and parks on Bernanke’s front lawn? I’d pay to see that video clip.

Brett,

You've disagreed with my analysis of this correction for quite some time, right?

With all due respect, trendlines can only take you so far before you need to get a sense of the real economic impact going on here.

I do agree that a rally is on the horizon, right after the Fed cuts rates next week. Then when everyone starts touting "bull market" is when the bottom finally falls out. I've traded through these situations before and experience goes a long way.

Brett,
I have to agree with you which is why I am almost out of everything. I am still bearish overall but think that it is overdone for the moment and others besides me will be covering their shorts, probably by tomorrow ahead of the weekend. Perhaps I will find some new entries tomorrow. If not, I am content to remain in cash til Monday.

I am still in one bad NOV spread which I must exit before expiration as it is ITM. Not looking for miracles here but a little bounce, just 2 points or so would be nice.

Bottom line: As always, I never encourage anyone to trade with the direction of the market anyway. If everyone sticks to my original theory of playing relative strength, we'll all keep making money regardless.

Continue to diversify.

I have a question on theta..

I'm watching the theta on my NOV spread and it is constantly fluctuating between a low of .11 and as much as 3.00, all in the space of seconds. How does one guage a true reading of this? I'm trying to figure out if I should close my spread today for a medium loss or wait til tomorrow where it could go either way. Thoughts?

Jeff,
Thanks for all the ideas in your price patterns class. It sure helped weather the storm.

You and Eric have given some sage advice the last few weeks that I am finally understanding and following.

Michelle

Michelle,

Thanks for the comment. We've been down this road before and our concern is for those that haven't. I am glad that you've benefited or at least found our commentary worthwhile.

So far it has all panned out beautifully. Stay tuned...

WOW,,,just got back to my PC....interesting day. Ineresting Week. Fu#$, interesting month.

I have not experienced this kind of a market. I've only been trading full time 2 1/2 years, so I still have a long way to go before I am a seasoned trader.

I say this with the utmost of respect to Jeff, Brett, all bloggers.....

I listen VERY carefully to what Jeff says. I watch his lists, I listen to the marketcast. I pay attention.

I listen to Brett. I listen to all of you.

Then, I make my own decisions.

I am urging ALL of you addicts, ESPECIALLY THE NEWER ones and NEWER TRADERS, to be very careful in this climate.

I have been very fortunate to work this market and be profitable. But now I am at a point where I am unsure myself. New territory for me. I am not going to CHASE trades. I am going to wait now, as what does go down must come up. The market, we all know, is due to rally back up, perhaps make a lower high, then roll right back over and head into the bears den. I have happily taken my profits, a gift from the Gods, and now will patiently await new entrys.

For the newer traders, please do not take everyones advice here, as some of us are NOT that experienced to be offering it, myself included. And you should not be acting on others advice, you should be learning from it.

This blog is a great support forum, and a great place to exchange ideas and thoughts without ridicule, and a great place to learn.


I know that some of us here are not familiar with or experienced pattern traders, or trend traders, or just traders in general. I know this from the posts I read and the private e-mails I receive. I belive this is a tough market right now to learn in, so please be cautious, patient, and profitable.

I wish all of you luck, but more importantly, SMARTS!!!

Kim,

Sorry it took so long to answer your question about your entry on KIM.

I dont really think it was a terrible entry, just one of tjhose trades that did not work out. Remember, a pattern can be perfectly set up, and still fail..

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

I think I just saw a pig flying outside of my window. I must be seeing things. The indices have all done what? I sold all of my puts to lock in profits and have two small calls that I just entered? Has this world gone mad????

Man, I stumbled across some such amazing looking pullbacks that I have to share them really quick. For most of you (and me) these HAVE NOT confirmed, but if they do the reward is sweet-ass-sweet....

ELON
ALXN
CY
ILMN
SIAL
SPWR
VRTX

any feedback would be welcome.

stephen

Rogue,

I am trying to consolidate the number of "f-bombs" that are thrown here. I know it offends some readers. If you are going to post here, could you tone it down a bit. You are at a 10, and we could use you at a 2.

I'm off to remove the comment.

Developing...

VMI, BOOM, CVD, DE showed relative strength.

M

Ok, I did not eat a burrito. In fact I think I puked 3 times today....

But I said it early be careful with your puts and we close in the green today.

Jamie

Jeff, thanks for your comments about experience.....agreed. There seems to be something bigger going on here.

Can you delete that negativity crap that other guy spews out.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

Jeff .. thanks for your comment and quick action .... I NEVER acknowledge any of those foul and negative comments ... They are a waste of our time ... and I appreciate so much the way you are managing this blog .... It keeps many of us around here and motivated to participate ....

Please nobody ever mention BOOM again!

Just kidding. Congrats if you are in it and didn't bail prematurely as I did today. It will forever be yet another lesson to me to not make stupid emotional decisions intraday. How many times must I learn that lesson, I wonder?

Did I mention that I had a perfect, I mean PERFECT entry on BOOM.

This one is going to take me a while to get over. But there will be more trades. Onward!

I believe that is Michael Buffer and there will be know need for taking sides here. We all have opinions and that is what is so great about this blog. We are a family and our ability to discuss things is our bond.

"If I was half the man used to be I'd take a flame thrower to this market!"

I peeked at my unrealized gains today and thankfully sold a few puts at the bottom, CFC, IWM...I am net short 80% going tomorrow so I am secretly hoping you temporarily mistaken Brett.

Cheers,
ARTY

Raimo,

Thank you for the post. Everything read here is based on opinions. Everyone has their own background, experience, and ideas to share. This is why I have a hard time with people unloading trade reco's, watchlists and such. This is why I shy away from the specifics of which trade I place on this blog. I don't like the idea of people blindly taking advice.

When you are in a position to influence what other people do with their money, you need to make sure you are qualified for the job. I have always tried to educate traders on the principals and techniques I have learned over the last decade. Not saying they are right or wrong, but they have always worked for me, and have propelled me to where I am today.

If I were in the interest of trading other peoples money, I would have joined the hedge fund boom several years ago. I'm not interested. I have found a simple approach to being successful in this market, and my intentions are to help those that are interested in elevating their trading skills.

With all this said, and to all my readers out there... the future is always unknown. Don't ever take an idea or opinion without coming to the same conclusion on your own. I am here to help provide opinions and ideas, but that doesn;t suggest that they are always right. I have never let the group down in the past, and don't plan on doing it in the future. Whatever happens, this is an anomoly that will eventually pass. In the meantime, be smart with your money.

Jeff- this is the first time I have disagreed with you. You said you could use the rogue at a 2. I say we can use him at a zero and that's being generous.
Stan

Jeff, I know that you don't necessarily like removing posts for fear of people thinking you are censoring comments but none of us, I am quite sure, minds you deleting "you know who".

Stephen, have a great time but be careful. I imagine that part of the world is a bit unstable now since the earthquake.

Raimo, good advice.

I must say I am bored being in all cash the last week but bored is an emotion I am ok with right now. This market and especially today, is crazy!!!

Got to say I really LEARNED from the exchange between Brett and Sir Kohler ... and your comment just posted above is no surprise to me Jeff! You do just that!

You guys are my heros -truly! I respect you both ... and I echo Raimo (because he wrestles with rattlesnakes!) I haven't been in this type of market either.. I was a stock trader at 9/11 ... managed OK but it scared me away for awhile because of emotions. Now, I am TRYING to manage without emotions and working overtime to learn charts, market posture and signals among a million other things. I have lost money in the last week but guess why ... ALL BECAUSE OF ME! STUPID mistakes and still some emotion creeping in! However, I sized correctly - haven't lost a lot in relation to the whole tradable account. My PUTS have been very good but not great but they have mostly offset those losses.

I am NOT a seasoned trader like Jeff, Eric and others .. I'm a 54 year old father of 4 with 2 grandchildren who owns an insurance agency in Tennessee. I did well in the 'stock' market .. I am growing in the options market and absolutely having a blast at it.

Jeff's patience with my emails, phone calls and the rest of you tolerating long EMAILS sometimes have helped me learn. I am grateful and am more motivated than ever to keep at it!

This is hard stuff - especially right now - but it shouldn't whip us. We should whip it with 'smarts and great choices!

Hope you agree!

Stan, Sean,

Agreed. I don't mind censoring trash, spam, or advertisements. The problem is catching them in time. I try to monitor comments throughout the day, but you all know that could be a full time job. Next time something has been up for more than a couple minutes, send me an e-mail.

Jeff

Jeff,

That wasn't a personal attack by me. If you read your post again, it sounds like an endorsement of the bottom falling out. You said,"Recommendation: Buy puts by the truck load." I'm sure there were some rookies who read that, followed that advice, and got MURDERED today. I was trying to tell people to be careful, and take some profits if you had some big ones quickly.

That's all I was trying to do. You always encourage challenging your ideas, don't you?

The Rogue....."should of called him The Dork"
Dewey Oxburger "Ox" (John Candy/Stripes)

Jeff,
I've always thought that if you don't have anything positive to contribute you should either go play in some other sandbox, or not post at all. Therefore I haven't been posting much lately. I'm completely baffled here lately. Today I thought I was doing OK and then SHABAM!!! there I am with almost nothing invested, and it's mostly all gone. I'd drop the f-bomb but all of us over the age of 12 have heard it before and it's not worth repeating.

The interesting thing is that the financials rallied dramatically as the day ended. What does it mean? Who knows? I'm in the air again tomorrow and I dread turning on the computer at the end of the day. My RRSP is all cash now, but not before I took another kick in the head today.

F-bomb, f-bomb, f-bomb.

I am the King of the Village.

I need to tell you all. My account was hit only 1 time harder than it was hit today. All told lost 4.6% of the value of the account today. However - the good news is THAT 4.6% was unrealized gains that don't mean anything.

The money is not yours until it is not at risk. I am down to a couple of positions is all now. I am all giddy waiting for the market to do whatever it F-Bomb wants to. (Sorry Jeff needed to throw that in. hope people find my reference to your earlier post funny)

I am hoping for the quick rise and then ride GS down some more.

The bottom line for me today was that we have come down so fast I had to take the rest of the unrealized gains off the table and wait for new entry points that I could manage. I didn't see anyway to control the risk that was out there in the market today.

Tom D (Flying_Pro)

This is going to sound negative, but I almost wish the market wouldn't have rebounded. I think it will keep the Fed from stepping in and doing anything thinking the market has stabilized. I guess we get to go through a few more of these wild days before they take action. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Michelle

Ladies and gentleman. . .

In this corner, Jeff Kohler, weighing in at 200lbs, 9' 6 inches and a reach of 93 inches.

The challenger, Brett, weighing in at 180 lbs, 5'11 inches, and a reach of 42 inches.

Refereing this bout, not weighing in, but packing, Raimo....! (cheers, the crowd goes wild)

"okay boys, here are the rules. Come out swinging, no blows below the belt, or I will toss your rattler on the ground myslef. This is a 3 round championship bout, winner by handshakes only. (Liz, you should be waliking around now outside the ring holding up the round "number card")."

I love you guys...

Raimo .. the post was priceless! I laughed out loud in my office .. My staff thinks I have gone nuts!

Jeff,

Offensive bloggers for one don't bother me. They are who they are. I never had a chance to read the post apparantly attacking me, but I could care less, and it certainly would not prevent me from remaining in this group. There ar better purposes served here, and all your readers are above the spammers. Heck, some of them came to my defense, including the Phantom (who I owe).

Many bloggers said it before..we'll just ignore them, you just delete them.

Blog on.

Benton,

Laughter is the best medicine....

Or a Yuengling..

Hey watch it Raimo,
Liz'll just jump in the ring and kick both their asses.

Tom D, I liked your post. In this market we need to grab whatever profits we can find. I turned a 2% profit into a 2% loss today because I thought things would keep on going down. Now all I have is unrealized losses (except for BTU and MER.) I'll have to treat them like unrealized gains. They're still in the trend and tomorrow I don't get to look until the end of the day. Keep your fingers crossed. I got stopped out of all my calls today except for VRTX (thanks Brett) which I still have no idea why I own it. So my $400 is relatively safe.

Jeff, thanks for your posts and removals. There's enough negativity in the market without anything extra. You folks have a great time in Chicago. While you're having your cocktails and weenies, I'll be in the simulator, dealing with engines falling off, fire in the cockpit, and cockroach infestations (OK... maybe not the last one. But you never know.) Yes it's the dreaded 6 month Sim session. Hope that means you enjoy the Spimanti even more.

So Raimo,

Does that mean we are stuck with you? No amout of PP or name calling will work? Tough skin is what has gotten me through. All I hear in my head all day is....

Village Idiot, Village Idiot, Village Idiot, Village Idiot, Village Idiot,

And I still hang around me ;-)

Man, I lose me shirt today and can still laugh at myself. Sometimes I kill myself with my humor

Tom D (Flying-Pro)

Raimo-

180 lbs? I haven't been 180 lbs since my sophomore year in high school.

Guys, just to clarify: I wasn't fighting with Jeff, and I wasn't challenging his view of the market. I was offering my opinion regarding market timing. I just wanted to warn some of you that if you find some good-looking put plays, consider the magnitude of the selloff and the liklihood of a bounce.

We're all good.

Brett,

No personal attacks received / given. You are right, my closing of today's post was a little extreme, and now I see the debate.

Timing is everything.

Great dialogue coming out of all the readers today.

Nice work.

C & C,

Nice eye. I was watching BSC at the close and my mind was blown.

Jeff, and Brett,

Brett, yeah I hear ya on the 180...I cruised passed that 40 pounds ago, 15 years ago too, LOL.

However, now I want to see Liz kick both your asses...

LOL...

So does this mean get rid of my truckload of puts, LOL??

Hello all,
I was wondering if I could tap into the intellect and experience here on the Blog.

OK the market tanks let's say 300 points one day and I stop out of all of my calls that have mechanical stops on. I hold the others because they are longer term and have relative strength. My puts in the meantime go hog wild. Some way past my targets so I cash those in.

The rest of puts are way down (up in value) but there is no support or resistance in sight. How do I manage risk if I have plenty of time value left. And these puts were all down trending stocks I believe will still go lower regardless of market conditions?

Set stops intra day? Just sell when I make a healthy profit?

Obviously this is the first time I have experienced this kind of volatility so I was just looking at what others do in this situation.

Benton, my friends and colleagues think I am crazy too. I am always laughing out loud when I am reading this blog.

(I use the occasional foul term on the this Blog but only as predicate adjectives when absolutely necessary)

Cheers,
ARTY

I haven't been 180 since I was a sophomore in elementary school so consider yourselves lucky.

and if it matters to anyone with all the making up that is going on, can we watch Liz kick someone's ass?

She is the Kickboxer right?

ARTY

Raimo,
What's got you LOLing so loud? C'mon, man... get serious here. This is serious stuff. I'm worried about the open tomorrow. All the financials turned big losses into pretty serious gains at the end of the day today (I hadn't noticed BSC, Jeff, but that's a KICKER!!) I see tomorrow opening with a big uptick in that sector and then the crumbling of the walls will resume. I'm removing my stops because my crystal balls say they'll get hit in the AM (removing any vestige of profits that I might still have) and then they'll sell off just before the weekend.

So, I turn my back on the market and scoff at thee. Your mother was a hampster, and your father smells of eldeberry. I fart in your general direction.

So now that I've put the Curse of the Python on it... I leave it in your hands.

Arty,

I suspect profit taking is an issue for a lot of traders.

One thing I learned and have solidified, thanks to JEFF, is rules. Have them. Trade by them. Without them, it is all emotion.

Profits. Me, I take profits now. When my trade hits my target, I take at least half off the table. I will let the rest usually run, paying attention to the trend, price action, and time to expiration.

My feeling is if I am at my target price, I am more than likley away from a support or resistance area. So I take some profits, then re-enter in another trade via REE!!

That works for me. But honestly, Jeffs advice of having your own rules and following them is the key.

C2,

Your killing me.

You deserve a corona, but I'll do you better and treat you to real beer when we meet someday.

I'm 180 lbs but I'm about as tall as and resemble Barney Rubble.

In my opinion, you guys were saying basically the same thing. The need to wait for a pullback is given, if you listen to the marketcast. You both warm my heart.

Yall are a piece of work. Gold love ya, I do. I mean God love ya. LOL.

SFM

Brett,

I did not view your post as adversarial and judging by Jeff's and the rest of the posts, neither did the community. I view many of your posts, besides being insightful, as having a paternal-like concern for the "blog family". Jeff has somehow established a forum for people that really do seem to have each others back and shun those that don't. When I make consistent money, I will feel worthy of contributing more and with more conviction. I had an e-mail conversation with Jeff months ago and, after whining (which I hate and I can't believe I did), Jeff set me straight. His advise was, we may all like each other and value the relationship we have on the blog, but, we truly don't have any idea about each others intelligence, commitment, education and passion. I think your point and Jeff's as well is to be careful, evaluate suggestions carefully and try to become the independent trader that is the goal of this forum. I can't imagine achieving this without this blog. So to all, thank you and be careful until the dust settles.

Arty,
Eric suggested on the marketcast to take profits quickly in this market.

Hope that helps,

Michelle

Great posts today guys ... You brought a lot of laughter into this community this afternoon ...

We need to laugh and that's a pretty good sign in this market I think.

C2 - If I ever fly into Canada and I'm on one of your planes, I want a blood test on you first ... You are one funny - out of your mind dude! Don't be gone too long .. we need you around here!

Jeff,
Why would the $TNX be down when stocks are down? I thought when stocks went down the $TNX went up because it was supposed to be a safehaven.

Michelle

Jeff,
What's up with that (BSC)?
I did notice today while other put plays were moving down, the realty-related stocks moved up. What does that mean?

Michelle

BSC?! Holy #*%@!

My observsations...

1. A great opportunity (finally)to enter a bearish play as it's retesting diagonal resistance that began in July. Looks like another chance to short.

or

2. A trend reversal.

Most of you are probably laughing "trend reversal?! You've got to be kidding!" Well, the only reason I mention it is the bearish divergence in MACD and Stochastic. By that I mean, BSC has traced lower lows these last 2 weeks, but both MACD and STO have recorded HIGHER lows. Meaning the bearish momentum has been decreasing. More than one book I've read calls this a BULLISH DIVERGENCE. MACD has turned positive and STO is on the rise even while prices fall. This is one of the strongest trend reversal indicators...again, according to the textbooks.

Granted, these are only secondary indicators, but are they saying this landslide is almost out of breath? Not to mention 102 show up as support on the 2yr chart. Of course all the TA in the world is meaningless if they go bankrupt next week.

Matt

Sorry...."bullish divergence" in para 2.

This was a fun day in the markets up down and all around still the bears were winning. Have puts all over the mortgage area and home builders etc. Yeah!!

This market has everyone in a panic including me. If you allow yourself to grasp on to too many opinions it will cloud your senses. Stick to the basics, sit back and think before you make a decision, take a break from the screen. Did you ever make a trade and a minute later wish you did not. I have many times. In my opinion I don’t think everything is rosy on the economic front. I have been in my own business for more years than I would like to express and business is awful. I don’t see it getting any better any time soon. In my business I love people that make hasty decisions and so do the brokers. I believe what Jeff says, there will be short covering and then the markets will rise. Then everyone will realize the problems with the market still exist and then the sell off will happen again. Cash is a position too. Cover your positions. Have positive theta. Be patient! Now I’m going to try to practice what I preach! Good Luck!

Hey, I can't be carrying a number card around outside the ring and kicking people's butts. One or the other. I just finished kickboxing today so I think I'd like to do some more butt kicking. I'd especially like to give the market a few jabs.

I am glad I missed the end of the day. All I can say is wow! If we learn how to trade this kind of market successfully we should be able to trade any kind of market. Despite the craziness my positions in PFCB and AMLN still look good. I'm thankful for that.


Don't you think that one of the amazing things about trading is that so many people see the market differently? We can all look at the same stock and see different set ups or decide we want to play it different ways. I think it's one of the hardest things about being a trader (you are in charge) but it is also the coolest thing about being a trader/investor. And there's still so much to learn. I love it. Yes, this market is frustrating but I'm making adjustments and I think all the comments on this blog are invaluable whether they agree or not.

Okay, I've got to take a shower now. It's like 96 degrees outside and it was super hot in the studio today. And Rafael (my instructor-aka the terminator) had us kickboxing with weights today. He's crazy! (And yes, my husband rolls his eyes every time I say Rafael...) hee hee. Okay, I'm giddy with delirium.

liz

That is very good advice becareful in these waters when you think you have things figured out and then bam the market throws you a curve!!

"Politicians preach calm as fear, panic rule" is the headline on my Yahoo browser. Okay. If the politicians are getting involved, things are more serious than we know. Don't sell all your puts yet. There is still a lot of fear in the market.


Michelle

Anybody see the after-hours numbers?

Whew, somebody is unloading. Things are still moving lower.

What is going on?

Jeff, any ideas. Thoughts? Prayers?

Michelle

**************WARNING!!***************

I went out for a walk and the Newfoundland breeze was blowing through my hair, when I realized... I have no hair!!! SOMEONE STOLE MY HAIR!!! This market will not only take your money, but you may lose your hair. Beware.

By the way, there's a bunch of stocks that have been trending straight up for the last 9 months that have crashed through support without even a whimper. I have no idea if this is worth mentioning, but after a trip to the Quidi Vidi Brewery... it seemed important that I bring it up. Check out PCP and DECK. Yikes.

End of warning.

Michelle-
I was going to say that I thought you and I were the only ones on the blog at the moment but then Chris chimed in. I wish I knew what was going on.


Chris-
My husband has the same problem. The market stole most of his hair as well.


What would we do without the humor on this blog?

liz

Chris-
Not only PCP and DECK but POT and PCU as well. Crazy. They did hit previous horizontal resistance though.

liz

Hey liz,
I got you out of carrying the number card around, so the world's now your oyster. And Grant gets a free pass for a day. Someone else gets a whoopin' tomorrow.

Has anyone noticed the monster sledge hammer formed on ICE today? On massive volume. I think something's going to happen tomorrow. Just wish I knew what. I'd like to be around for opening bell tomorrow. It's now 8:00 in Newfoundland and I've got to get up at 3:15 tomorrow morning, so I'm off to bed.

Good luck tomorrow, folks. I will open my computer with trepidation tomorrow around 3:00 EDT.

Liz,
I sold POT a couple of days ago (in my RRSP) and today confirmed to me that it's breaking support. I'm using the Canadian version, and it just broke through both diagonal and horizontal support but with a spinning doji (or something like that, I don't have my doji book here in Newf... and Doji Girl's not on) I'm going to watch it closely. If the market re-bounds this is one that I think will come back the fastest and the furioustest (tm C2)

Chris, what the heck is the Quidi Vidi Brewery?

And please provide a phonetic spelling.

Joel R.

Alright I tip my rookie hand again. What is (RRSP)?

Cheers,
CC

Arty,

Shhhhhhh, Chis is sleeping. Remember, 12 hours from bottle to throttle.

Anyway, RRSP, if I remember correctly, is the Canadian equivalent of a 401K.

chris, i know you are sleeping and that is why i am typing in all small case. it is the best that i can do. i know visions of sugar plumb futures are dancing in your head but i did want to let you know that i have discovered your brewery. see below:


Welcome!
Welcome to Quidi Vidi Brewery online. This site is designed to allow you to enjoy the brewery experience, learn about our brands, our history, our future plans and our brewing process. All of our great beers begin with a key ingredient; pure pristine waters. We are now raising the bar with our premium Iceberg Beer™ using glacial water from icebergs which is one of the purest waters on the planet. We pay special attention to quality, craftsmanship and of course we use all natural ingredients. We are not only offering our great beers to the public, but now shares in our company for the first time as we seek a public listing. It our pleasure to serve you.

David Rees

ok, good night to the village king!

idiots untie

idiots unite.

sorry (ok, an oldie but a goodie)

Did someone call me? I stepped out for a few hours but I'm really always here. I've taken to making appointments and doing other chores after market hours because I am such a market junkie.

Anyway, re POT, I condsider myself somewhat of an expert. Oh...you meant the stock....Well, that doji you mentioned just happened to fall about .07 above the line I had drawn in a couple of months ago. That said, I am not trusting the market enough to take a position on it at this time though it is on my short list of strong stocks to jump on when the time is right.

We're all trying to make sense of what happened today and the bottom line is, it doesn't matter. It just is. Like the man says, 'trade what you see'.

Here's what I'm seeing, not that anyone asked. I'm seeing a huge selloff today & yesterday of the 'good' stocks by institutions that need to raise cash to appease all their panicked investors so they sold the most liquid things they could. I'm also seeing the start of the short covering in the the financial and home builders since they have the most short interest. I believe that this is temporary. There was no other reason for both those sectors to rally so hard at the end of the day. The housing woes are far from over. Take that from someone who is in the housing market trenches every day and sees the RGO (Really Going On). This correction isn't over by a long shot. Think of it as a bear flag.

The above is my opinion and my opinion only and does not reflect that of the management.

Stephen-
I meant to say earlier but got side tracked by kickboxing... I hope you have a safe trip and you'll have to send pictures. ;-)

liz

Market Cast was good. Some sage advice heading into the market tomorrow. If we keep learning from Jeff and Eric, we WILL become good traders no matter what the market does.
Repeat after me:
Tomorrow will be a good day in the market no matter which way it goes.

Chris,
Hang in there. You encouraged me when I felt kicked down. You will pull your account back up just like you did before. Don't give up. We appreciate all your great advice and your humor.

Good night all.

Michelle

DG,
What are your plans for your NOV spread?
I too could have closed this for 80% gain 2 days ago but wanted to get that last .30 cents. How stupid was that?!!
I need to get to 108 to get out even. Could happen with another big miracle rally.
I did close a bull put spread on NMX for a 80% profit. Look at that chart now.... Yikes!!!

Rd

BSC, there is a rumor that a Chinese group is buying a 20% stake in it. Apparently they have deep pockets and will be able to provide any capital necessary. I heard that from some other traders in the street.

I saw you guys wonder what was going on. I have no idea how to verify it. It could be another great short opportunty.

Everybody have a great time in Chicago. I am unable to go. Too many vacations scheduled at work for the last weeks of summer and I drew the short straw. Love to see some pictures.

It's late, the Yuengling is flowing, lets see what option expiration brings. Merry Christmas to all and to alla gaovaova nagaiiat.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Jamie

Rd,
NOV - I'm in a 100/105 so I am real close to being OTM. Depending on what the market does and when, I will probably close it and not wait til the last second. Problem is I will not be anywhere near a computer at the open and probably not until 11 or so. I might put in an order to buy the short put back if the stock trades over 105. I need to see how things look at 8:30 in the morning.

The ivol is so wacky on some of these. Two weeks ago I sold a put on CBEY which was doing great. It will probably expire worthless but suddenly today, even though it was still OTM, the value of it went so high that it took away a good portion of the unrealized profit that I had in the trade.

what a day to be travelling, but smart enough to close some trades(puts) at the airport. I decided not to be greedy and prepare for a bounce,but didn't expect it today, got lucky. still long GMCR and short KBH, otherwise will be shopping for only the best of the best.

Jeff and to all who are going to chicago have a great time. It's an excellent event(I loved orlando), sorry I won't be there to join in. Have a margarita for me.

Sarah

Scoot.....hope Erin left you and your family untouched, looks like Houston is a little flooded...

Well, this is the first day I have lost money in weeks. Got stopped out of BPHX and LEN looked great in the AM. I go to business meetings and what do I find when I return, it lost money. I have to listen to the CAST yet, I am running so late today. Sorry I did not get to post much today and tomorrow will be about the same I think.

Tonya,
I feel you pain, well almost. I bought a warranty when I got my laptop. One of the things it provides is for a new battery. The batt lasting about 40 min's so I take it in to COMP USA the other day. Guy behind the counter is real nice, says no problem. Looks everything up on their computer. Tells me I should have a new battery in 10-14 working days. Then he reaches over and takes my laptop ! ! ! As I am thinking what the heck, he explains they will send the laptop to TX. so the factory can look at it while they give me the new battery. Long story at least a little shorter...... After telling the manager that I love my laptop more than my dog, and I really like my dog there is no way anyone is taking my computer away from me. Hopefully the new battery will be here in 2-3 weeks... Whew. I had to tell him that if the computer crashed that min or he dropped it I would walk to the back and buy another one on the spot. I wouldn't go a day without it.


Tom D (Flying-Pro)

Bob,

You got stopped out of THE PHOENIX? Perhaps in the fire and fury your eyes were blinded to the hammer dropped by the vicious bird, landing firmly at support?

THE PHOENIX WILL RISE.

Long: David Bowie this morning. If you don't own ChangesBowie or Best of Bowie, you now have a weekend project.

(The song 'Changes' strikes a particular chord with me today for some reason. I'm hoping by day's end it will be "Let's Dance" reverberating in my head).

Short: Danny Devito

Wake Up!! Wake UP!! The fed just cut interest rates... and the futures completely reversed! It's going to be quite a day!

Guess what song was playing when the Fed cut rates?

You guessed it..

"Because my love for you (Ben Bernanke)...could break my heart in two..."
"LET'S DANCE!!!!"

Anyway, Jeff, if you're reading this, i am playing this as a bounce and nothing more.

"Put on your red shoes and dance!!!!!"

Talk about getting caught with your pants down... did they really need to do it premarket... Gaps could be tough to chew... D#$%S!

Proceed with caution. The last time this happend I believe the market did in fact turn around after a spike and run lower? Is my information correct here? In 2001??

I am not sure, but this is ringing a bell here....

Jeff,

I have trendline resistance on the S&P 500 at around 1450. Would you say that's a good point to begin lightening bullish plays and begin shorting?

I just find it fascinating that it's happening pre-market on expiration Friday.

You're right... the gap is gonna kill some people.

Raimo,
Eric talked about it on the cast. Jan 3 or 4, 2001.Dow spiked, then over next month or two dropped some 1,000 or more points

Brett,
Great call yesterday, when you said that the markets were going to rally, and rally hard. Hold on to your shorts, this rocket is about to blast off.
Thanks for all your insight,experience and wisdom that you share so freely.
Jeff (basstrader)

Raimo ... it did happen but the conditions were a little earlier than this before this recent drop... But the initial surge this AM will be short covering ... The day will tell if anybody believes this to be a serious move to participate in!

One of those people will be me Lisa. I won't "lose" too much money. It is the unrealized profits that will take a hit on some finanicals and home builders.

It will be like unknowingly holding a whole bunch of puts over earnings and having it go against you. Too bad most of my long positions are stock and my short are options.

Would anyone consider setting market orders to exit short positions at open? Or does anyone thing that there could be a small retracement after the gap to save a few $$$? To capture a boom on the long side, would it be considered chasing the trade to load up on long positions for the day? Or do I just sit back, grab a brew and hope that my longs (that I am in) can beat my shorts (that I exited of course) by the end of the day?

If there is any consolation, it is that a lot of people will be happy because of this move. I'm sure I will muster up a smile by the time I have a date with my wife tonight. It should be real easy since she is the coolest person in my world.

Have a good day all!

Ladd,

That's right, that's where I heard it. I am boing to PROCEED with caution!!

This is a whole new market condition, one that I, as I bet almost all of us here, have never been through. This is where I listen, learn, and trade with extreme caution.

I am not going to get faked out here. I want to see the indices run back up to the previous high, and then see wht they do...break higher, bounce back down? Do we rally hard this morning only to run right back down at the end of the day?

I may ride this out in cash (which is where I am mostly now), and take light positions where I have solid REE. Capital preservation is part of being a smart trader.

Proceed with caution. I will be on top of my trades like mother hen.

And i wont be surprised if we close low today.

I think this pop could be gone by day's end.

Be very careful here.

Who's made money the last month? Who's lost money? Who's sitting on piles of cash? Who's gotten their asses kicked? Who's been hoping for a bounce to add to their positions? Who's been praying for a bounce to recover some of their losses?

Answer these questions first before you get too bullish. This rally may have legs, but the odds say it's a trading gift. Take it.

What a morning to have to miss the opening! All our fave stocks are up so high in pre-market. The only short I didn't cover yesterday is KBH. I guess I will be giving that gain back this morning but I might use this afternoon as an opportunity to add to my position.

Hang tight, everyone. See you around 11ish.

Jeff,
Would you call the area of 2525, resistance on the Nasdaq?



basstrader

I guess we now know why the financials rallied so furiously yesterday, even in the face of the selloff. That rumor obviously panned out today. Those of you who had the stones to buy calls on GS (read: me), congratulations.

All I am doing is watching some calls make some gains this AM. I am not hopeful this discount will turn things around substantially. I sold all but 1 put yesterday (AMGN) ..

I'm not trading - not smart enough to risk that ... I WILL be learning from this though .. Great education for options folks . I've been here in years past in stocks but not options..

Sure glad to be riding this with you guys .. Brett - good foresight yesterday sir and Lisa .. thanks for being the reporter of the news this AM on the blog ... You get the 'blog-emmy' award for the day!

Good luck to all ....

Well, I'm in 100% cash today. That's good and bad. Had I held onto my positions yesterday, I would have been rockin' with BOOM and giving some back on PFCB. Oh well. The one position I wish I still had was GLD. I sold it yesterday just because I wanted to get to all cash, but I knew it still fit the premise. Didn't know this would happen today ... etc.

It's hard to sit on the sidelines and watch, but I was actually hoping for the rally as a chance to get back into the next leg down. But, I'm with whoever said "I have no idea what is going to happen." The one thing I'm thankful for is that this has happened so early in my trading career. What a great learning opportunity and how much better that we learn now instead of 2 years later!

Good luck to everyone. Brett, from what you've said it sounds like this is playing right into your hands. Great job and congrats!

Be careful!The discount rate is the interest rate charged to commercial banks and other depository institutions on loans they receive from regional Federal Reserve lending facilities. It differs from the key federal funds rate, which is the rate at which private institutions lend to other depository institutions overnight.

HOW CAN EVERYTHING ELSE BE UP A MILLION PERCENT THIS MORNING BUT MY ONLY CALL LEFT (pets) IS DOWN PRE-MARKET? THIS IS ME YELLING AT THE COMPUTER!!!!!

GRRRR!!!

Kim

Addicts,
What would a huge rally today do to the I.V. in our option trades?
Will the market makers drop it significantly and in turn have an impact on our gains?
Should we still consider selling calls to offset the I.V. compression that will occur as IV drops?
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
basstrader

DJ,
I didn't cover KBH either so I guess I will be holding some worth paper for a month or so untill it comes back down that 18% or so.

Brett,
You getting out of all of your puts at 10:28 yesterday was masterful timing. There are sooooooooo many option players that are going to get slaughtered. They will call the option expiry Friday bloody Friday.

Cheers,
ARTY

$vix - down 4.53 4 minutes after open...

I can not seem to get a fill on my SPY Calls (Quarterlys) anyone know why this might be?

Cheers,
ARTY

Arty
There is too much traffic on the exchanges. That is why you cant get filled. Be careful because if you want to trade spiders and indices they are called out and you may not get filled quickly on the buy or sell

Tonya
We got quite a bit of rain, causing some of the major highways to shut down and a general traffic nightmare. All of my family are friends are safe but I do know there were at least 60 water rescues in the area yesterday so I am praying all is well for them. Thanks for asking, it means alot! Have a great day!

Sorry about the meltdown, everybody. My blood pressure is now back to normal.

GGP was very interesting this morning. Opened up $5.60 and is currently only up $1.30 with a huge black candle just after open. It will be interesting to see where this one ends up today.

Kim

Jeff-

Dan and I are in Salt Lake for the 3 day next Thur-Sat. Will you be back in town from Chicago by then?

Kim

Man, Brett. What a call on SPX 1450. You are on fire!

Kim,

Just FYI .... Pre-Market numbers -especially on Prophet charts - are not always accurate for me and not really dependable for market opening ... Nice to watch but I don't bank on it ...

Scoot,
I'm in Katy; nice to know you're out this way!

Audrey05

Brett, I wish you could see smile your post on BPHX put on my face! I just knew last night when I posted it that I would get that comment from you. It is those stops again because I have to be out during the day. That over 10% drop intraday got me. LEN would have stopped out today but I killed my stop early but will have to put one on it again as I am out for the morning.

Kind of looks like the rally already had a short life. See you all this afternoon. Only in LEN and SHV at this point. I wish I could day trade today.

Prophet charts is ticking me off again. Now for the second time it has locked up my computer. I am not sure if the Java update that the software said I needed did it or if it is Prophet AGAIN. Why when I have limited time does this always happen...

Bob-
Because it knows you have limited time. My computer seems to do that when I'm trying to place orders.

liz

Audrey05,
That's awesome to find another addict in the area! Are you involved with the local Investools users group? If not, we are meeting tomorrow if you would like to join us.

Okay, the gap up on a couple plays kinda half killed me this morning. Sucks! The one call I'm in is now starting to go down. I'm going to be sitting all in cash by the end of the day depending on what my last position is doing. And then I'll be ready for the weekend. And then it's time to re-evaluate.

liz

Been off line for awhile (6mos).

However, I have been watching the blog loyally for educational purposes. Great stuff. Gets better all the time.

xom is otta here. Who took my money on this? Should have done a straddle instead of a directional trade. Blew thru the stop.

New to TOS platform. great stuff. Gotta take some time to learn the thing.

I am virtually flat in both my trading account and my IRA. Either A) it was the cold pizza I was eating at the opening or B) diversification. I choose A because I was definitely leaning to the bearish side of the market. After all, I have been reading my children the Berenstain Bears an awful lot lately...

How are other bear lovers holding up?

Brett, my hat is off to you selling all your puts yesterday. When I read it, I thought you were being a little premature. I usually think out loud. I'm glad I didn't in this case.

Work, mtn bike ride, bike ride with the kids, date with my wife, Chicago, BSC heading towards breakeven for the day as volume is picking up a bit... what is there not to like about today?

Brian K .... Welcome back ... you're in on an interesting day ....

You'll enjoy TOS and there is a lot to learn!

Guys, tell me if this line of thinking makes sense.

In conditions like this, I am thinking you almost have to be a really short term contrarian. I am not talking about going against the trend of the stock, but here's an example.

I looked at PFCB first thing this morning and it's up around 38. My natural inclination would be "woah, this thing is taking off, I don't want to be near that." But now I found myself thinking "there's no way it stays up at 38, it's way outside it's trendline."

I didn't have the guts to pull the trigger yet but I was sitting there thinking it and, sure enough, it's pulled back right around it's trendline.

I'm starting to think that in these volatile conditions, you have to look at these dramatic jumps and falls as opportunities to do the opposite of what I might naturally think, that is assuming it's within the trend of your stock.

If I would have bought a put up at 38, worst case I am right at a point of strong resistance so if it breaks, i take a small loss. But best case it falls back into it's trend and there's a long way down.

Does that make sense? Anyone else trade this way or have other ways to look at this?

Wowzers!
Leave for a couple of days & all hell breaks loose!

Scoot - I'm glad you & your family are okay. Didn't realize you were down there.

:-) Pat

Well, I WAS all bearish yesterday, but sold most of my positions.

Only kept good ol' BZH. I'm sticking with them till they're bankrupt.

Pat

Kim
I understand your frustration this morning. Even though I side-stepped the train this morning by selling all of my puts yesterday (including GGP, thank God), I still cringed when I saw how high some of these things popped pre-market. The fact that this market has demonstrated that it can move so much so fast in both directions is just amazing!

Thanks for your kind words, Pat. I just hope we don't get another Katrina/Rita like we did two years ago. I am thinking of moving a little farther inland when I get this trading business really going.

Wow,
What do we expect from the market today? It seems like the frenzied buying this morning is gone and some of the put plays are starting to look good again. What to buy, puts or calls? I think it's anybody's guess.

Michelle

Jeff,
Do you have any ideas about what is going on in the market? Will the Fed rally only last an hour and then we start heading down already?

Michelle

The FXY is pretty high again.
GOOG and CAT still look like good put plays.

Tim-
I wish I knew what to say or do because I got kicked out of PFCB by the gap up this morning. I think that the way the market is going it's hard to tell. I've noticed that a lot of stocks that end up breaking their trendlines/support or resistance lines ending up falling to another line of support but sometimes it's two support lines down. So, it's going somewhere you just don't know where it's going or when it's going to stop. At least that is my take on it as of this am.

liz

At this moment (7:50 PST) the VIX is starting to go up slightly. FXY is getting higher. The EEM is down from where it was and look how much the indices have droped from the opening.


liz

Yeah, Liz. If I had still been in PFCB today I have to honestly say I probably would have sold it at the open. At the very least my emotions would have tried to make me do so. And that is what I'm trying to train my mind/emotions not to do. It's almost like we have to do the opposite of what we think. As soon as things start heading up, we have to think "when are they going to hit resistance and come down".

Tim,
I agree with the really short term time frames in this environment. And with PFCB this morning, if I understand Jeff correctly, this might be the type of situation where maybe it is an opportunity to fade the rallies. When I look at the chart, I see a long term downtrend with $38 as a horizontal resistance which would have provided great REE. Did you happen to watch the price action for the options on this thing? It would be interesting to see how the spreads changed (if they did) and how the bids and asks moved.

puts are doing better than calls and stocks at this point.

Is this people trying to cover shorts or the market heading down?


Michelle

Flying Pro (Tom I think). Did I hear you say you where from Des Moines? If so email me if you do not mind (talk trader groups): lwessels@hupptoyotalift.com
Thanks

Michelle, I think the market still heads down from here. My question is how long will this little rally last. If today is all there is to it then I'll still be in cash for a while longer because I did not expect to see everything hit resistance and turn down off of it in the space of 1 hour.

However, maybe the rally continues next week. Maybe the Fed lowers the overnight rate next week and there's another burst. I'm just hoping it continues up so that I can get a good entry on some bearish plays since I missed the 10 minute window for entries today.

What great experience guys, huh?

Tim,
GOOG, CME and CAT still are pretty good entries.


M

Too bad the rally isn't anything. Watching your account surge higher, then pitter back is a warning sign. Looking for bearish plays...let's use this blog under fire:

WHO'S GOT BEARISH SETUPS???

Are KBH and LEN setting up double bottoms or am I seeing things??

Brett,
GOOG is H&S (per Jeff's price pattern class) Didn't get up above 500.
CME - Double top (I see resistance at 540)

CAT - H&S (Not too far to get in)

ICE - H&S but too far from entry/exit

Hope that helps.

I see the same thing. I entered some calls and bought stock to promptly sell after I saw that it wasn't holding. I think we are going down some more.

Michelle

Bob,

As far as Prophet charts locking up your computer....If you downloaded Google Web Accelerator, you have to disable it or you can't load the Java applet and it can freeze.

Brett,
What do you think of PZZA breaking below 27?

Brett,
XOM moved back up to close to entry point (H&S) per Jeff's list.
Entry 82.50.

PFCB might be a good point to enter now that it has moved down.

CVD (bull play at horizontal support)
Has held well the last few weeks.


Michelle

For PZZA, I meant a possible shorting opportunity - the spreads suck.

Brett -

HNT - bearish entry?

and with those long candles, better change your views to LINE :)))

Thoughts on COGN?

DNA .. possible put?

Laney,
I see a lower low on KBH. On LEN, I see the 2 bounces off of 27.75ish which is apparently a good level of spt. Double bottom? Beats me.

Eric suggested a daily chart on FXY. On a daily chart, support seems to be at 87.75.

Brett,
I am trying to train my emotions and just watch the charts and look at what they tell me.

Michelle

Well that was exciting...NOT! Not sure what I expected but apparently it was all over rather quickly. I thought the rally would carry at least to 2:00.
Just exited NOV short side, I noticed it was trading right in the middle of today's range at 106 which is too close to the 105 to risk waiting til the end of day. Especially since I think this is a very weak rally. So managed to turn what was max loss yesterday into a tiny profit. Whew!

Also shopping for put ideas. If I don't find any by the end of the day I might just buy puts on IWM, especiall if it can't get back above 79.50.

Going trolling through my bearish watchlist....

FXI-Broke through 124/125 support/resistance on very heavy volume yesterday. It has gone right back up and touched resistance today but can't seem to get past it. It might just continue to head back down to the next support/resistance which would be 116.

liz

Doji Girl-

I had the same sentiments as you about IWM.

liz

I don't like PZZA, in COGN.

HNT i've traded before, but stalling at resistance.

thanks for the ideas. I'd like to add ITW and AMX.

Clean cups!

test

This comment has been removed by the author.

Post a Comment
...I'M AN OPTION ADDICT...I'M AN OPTION ADDICT...I'M AN OPTION ADDICT... ...I'M AN OPTION ADDICT...I'M AN OPTION ADDICT...I'M AN OPTION ADDICT...

About me

  • I'm Option Addict
  • From Saratoga Springs, Utah, United States
  • I am a professional trader and an instructor for Investools. I've had relations with the markets for 9 years. Born in Concord, CA, but reside in Saratoga Springs, Utah. Father of THREE, Husband of one.
My profile

Prescriptions Here!

Other stuff

Blogarama - 
The Blog Directory
Directory of 
Finance/Business Blogs Finance 
blogs Top Blogs Finance Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory