Hate Male... I'm A Barbie Girl...

So I've been getting more hate mail than John Mayer lately, leaving me wondering if I did something to offend some Chinese guy dollar bull's bearhood with my bimbo political incorrectness. That's the thing about Chinese guys though. They're so cowardly sometimes that they have to be all anonymous. If I've offended some Chinese guys, I apologise, although I'm still entitled to my point of view - just as whoever's posting anonymous hate mail is entitled to theirs... just not on my blog. As everyone should know by now, my TETSOB likes to be worshipped and my pips like to be brushed - just ever so slightly, every once in a while.

For those who hate me + my blog, you have a choice to switch it off. Turn off the RSS feed and stop visiting my blog. You know your life will be a trillion times duller without it. LOL.

I've been busy running around lately, so haven't been paying attention to luxury news that much. I can't believe I missed the launch of the Barbie by Stefano Canturi. This is now news that's practically older than me, but the necklace is to-die-for! Absolutely enchanting / innovative / gorgeous / compelling.

I should like a pink diamond... Stefano, why don't you cover me with diamonds?

Oh, but I shall buy my own as well! My secret mission is to become so rich I'll be the one asking for a prenup. Hush... it shall remain our secret, Harry Winston!

My portfolio does not agree so far in the day...

-1.74% on the SBA
-0.59% on the Roth IRA

I missed a perfectly sound JPY cross trade today by 51 pips... False modesty is difficult to maintain. I'm going to have to just get in at market prices if this continues. I'm dying for the GOL to fill my order already.

Who Is Up For Consensual Profits?

Apparently, Lehman is...

Chilly Willy

I was totally expecting the GOL to say: "you diva, me Sultan" today. But instead, there was a bit of a tepid reception. Not that I got into any trade. I decided to keep my trading legs crossed at the right moment by setting a buy order for two potential falling knives - one on GBP/USD at 1.435 and one on a JPY cross, which shall remain anonymous.

During my Lunchtime Fun session, I was in serious contemplation about what I should do next. I checked all of the major indices. Nikkei... FTSE... US equities futures... all lukewarm at best. Gold and oil weren't looking too promising either. So, at that point, I decided, if I'm going to continue with the false modesty strategy, this is the best moment to do it. If I catch GBP/USD at 1.435, my risk is relatively contained. I set prices at varying corresponding levels so that I'll have all the fun if they both start moving in my direction whilst at the same time minimising risk if I should end up catching both if the market was destined for a reversal.

I'm still waiting here for my Forex Kings, the Royal GOL, to drive back this way and sweep me off my newly pedicured feet.

My portfolio was all Chilly Willy today instead of Oh, your preeminence:

+0.46% on the SBA
-0.68% on the Roth IRA

The big question is if this is the mummy/Mommy/Mother Dear of all fakeouts. Is the economy finally going to head up? Who else has got debt problems left to scare everyone out? We had colossal failure moments in the US, Dubai, and Europe.

Now, every once in a while, some rumblings regarding Japan would pop up in the financial press.

Are we going to get that one final excuse before we hit those pre-crisis levels? Or am I jumping to conclusions here? We can hardly stay above 52WHs for long...

Win some, bank some, I say!

The key to success is passing the test...
The key to success is wearing the right dress...
The key to success is not becoming distressed...

Quality + Quantity = Oh...

It's my blog and I'll sigh if I want to... especially since it's a very organic moment for my portfolio...

Finally! After weeks of unrelentless selling, it appears the optimism is starting to rise to the occasion again. Who else rose to the occasion but the GOL, breaking above 1.48?

But you've actually got to be in the car to be anywhere near their treasure trunk and I was just too far away - always trying to buy at 1.43 instead of recognising that this is now about squeezing the BHTEL dollar bulls above all else. Tomorrow, I am going to try another strategy... to think, if I hadn't banked those 60 pips right then and there. Why don't I ever learn to move my stops? God forbid I get anywhere near a really irresistible man with dark-rimmed glasses. Actually, I have and I was able to... never mind... It's very possible he did not find me irresistible enough to... never mind...

Still, my portfolio is appearing very irresistible:

+2.29% on the SBA
+2.99% on the Roth IRA

BCS is finally starting to hit the erogenous levels again and that position gave me +5.19% of trading plaisir on today's rally alone.

Harry is another noteworthy mention, recently breaking above the $1 billion market cap. I had been waiting for that forever. Keep it up, Harry!

Quality is inevitably good, but quality + quantity is even better where equities are concerned. With forex, I think my major issue was not realising that banking is the only real source of trading plaisir. Even though everyone wants to catch the 1000+ pip moves, the forex market moves so fast that riding moves both ways could be even more fun than just staying in that one hot spot. Isn't it true? All I say here is true to the best of my knowledge even though some people obviously want me to STFU (like that Chinese guy who commented on the below post, which is why I don't do suffocating, strict, prohibitive Chinese guys to begin with even though I might have been equally suffocating, strict, prohibitive in that moment). This is my blog, the only place I can be politically incorrect, so don't tell me to STFU unless you have something better to add to the conversation.

Anyway, I'll tantalise everyone with some relatively venom-free inspiration:

"Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast." - Tom Peters

This is never more true than with trading...

Confessional Booth Time: So I'm Not Really Six Figures...

Not being six figures... Does it make me any less? Does it detract from the hope that it could still one day happen to me - just like that, overnight?

And should I feel just as bad as John Mayer for wanting to take advantage of a market glitch that would have made my financial dreams happen with just one click? Is it just as bad as finding six figures of cash in your account and not reporting it? The thing is... price happens and if I had found six figures of cash that didn't belong to me in my account, I would have reported it just like I returned that diamond earring I found last year at LHR. But when price happens and we don't take advantage of it, I think it's our mistake - not the market's mistake. In a transparent market, everyone receives the same price so in a way, we're always going through Finder's Keepers Moments in our trading.

Anyway, my confessional booth theme this week is how I missed out on major profit opportunities by being too fraidy.

I used to think that trading was all about QU luck. But the more I trade, the more I realise it isn't. If you don't have sufficient capital, then it could become a moment of QU bad luck when you get QU liquidated. So I've been asking myself if I should just concentrate on the part of my trading that is consistently giving me trading plaisir. You'll notice that I actually do quite well with selecting equities that move in my direction relatively soon. After my Mine Your Own Business post on Wednesday night, the miners I mentioned all rallied significantly in just two days. I really should have taken my own advice there.



BHP about +10%
RTP about +5%
MT about +7%
X about +7%
AA about +5%

Of course, I've had moments such as ABK as well. I've bought those tops, but I've bought bottoms as well. In my ABK-like instances, I rarely lose that much in comparison with what I've lost before with my forex trading. I keep talking about chastity, but little did I realise that I actually lost my trading chastity years ago. It takes that one moment and it's gone, really. LOL.

So, I'm thinking I should just focus on equities rather than spending time and money on investments that don't seem to pay off. I've said this so many times and now in my third losing streak year, I hope I can finally have the discipline to either say: OK, I'm only willing to lose this much more on forex trading and I'm really going to do the best I can with this capital or just get the fork out of that kitchen until I can make it work.

John Mayer... a guy who wrote an uplifting song like Heart of Life but then turns around and says some pretty contradictory and provocative stuff.

ForexDiva... a woman who tells everyone we're all going to make it someday but then turns around and does some pretty contradictory and provocative trading.

John Mayer and I seem to be no different at this juncture.

Six Figures Over Night?

Things are getting exciting here at ForexDiva. I got home late today and opened my portfolio after the stock market closed.

I noticed I became six figures overnight due to my JBQ holdings. Cynical as I am, I thought it could very well be some wrong-button-pressin' computer glitch incident - and it most likely is. I put in orders to sell some of the bonds and got quoted with regular pricing, so declined to sell.

But how sweet it would be if this were my reality - six figures overnight. It's not real until we consummate the trade. And if there's a computer glitch to be taken advantage of, we get our Bwahaha HTELs out, throw caution to the wind, and attempt to sell! That is definitely not pure of heart, but if the order goes through, why shouldn't we take the six figures, right?

Back to reality... Right now, I'm still five figures, but I see the bankruptcy proceedings with the Lehman case painting a seemingly rosier picture. First, Lehman's suing JPM. Secondly, Lehman's auctioning its art collection. Finally, Lehman is planning to purchase some debt in valuable Park Avenue real estate that could have potential "significant upside." You've got my vote, Lehman!

This week, I was all I will sit out on the bench so I won't look like a wench with the GOL. This must be my worst line yet. LOL. I missed out on major pips! This leads me to believe that after getting really burned by the market, we will be inclined to being overly cautious, which in turn negatively affects our performance. Same thing happens when a rally starts making you feel that the forex market is our oyster and the TETSOB starts rearing its head and shoulders.

Yesterday:

+2.54% on the SBA
+2.51% on the Roth IRA

Today:

+0.21% on the SBA
-0.01% on the Roth IRA


Have a great weekend, BFF HSFTs!

Let's do some risk-takin', money-makin', chart-breakin' next week!

Oh, yes!

Mine Your Own Business

Yesterday, I had a minor portfolio increase:

+0.75% on the SBA
+0.95% on the Roth IRA


Bernanke reached out and touched my portfolio in a substantial way today.

+2.78% on the SBA
+1.07% on the Roth IRA


I don't know if this is going to be a quarter step forward, three steps back. According to me, Bernanke was a crowd pleaser.

On the forex front, I was still not able to get into position with the GOL. I'm wondering if I should quit the false discipline and just make a jump for it already. I'm definitely not doing any pips any justice by playing hard to get at the 1.438 area. At this point, is it better if I say, I don't mind being in second place as long as I'm in the race? That's what gets us into mistress territory. We are good old-fashioned Catholic women and we'll keep our modesty, thank you very much. I should have said that about a month ago before the whole HP Incident.

Oooh, ouch! Speaking of mistresses... Whatever happened to ABK, the very axis of evil? ABK was -39.62% today. Bandaids, please... Bankruptcy fears? Are you kidding me? Good thing I got out of both ABK bonds and shares back in the day.

For the more alpha types, I'd say to Mine Your Own Business and look into some miners, including BHP, RTP, MT, X, and AA. What a good time to do a pickup line on these very appealing and oversold financial angels that always have the bargaining power to their advantage? Do your own homework though.

I'm still waiting for BCS to turn around once GBP/USD starts skyrocketing. If only I had been more Catholic with BCS.

Get your glasses out... tomorrow's BOE & ECB!

And mine may already be off...

Cold Cold Chart

Another very red day... My portfolio can't handle this any longer and neither can I. I came thisclose to selling HWD (mainly for capital preservation purposes), but one second earlier, I had just bought some more BCS.

BCS is very undervalued according to moi, the JBQ who missed a major profit by $0.04 on the Finlay junk bonds - sigh, oh, sigh! There is still a slight possibility that a lot of other bondholders would see some sense and vote to reject that reorganisation plan.

So what's my rose-coloured take on BCS and does anyone even care? First, it seems many analysts think the fair value of GBP/USD is at around $1.60 or $1.70. This means in dollar terms, BCS will appreciate on the discrepancy in the exchange rate alone. Secondly, my inner cynic believes that somewhere in this world, there are some liberal elite traders out there making tons of moola off of this QU European Debt Crisis. And I believe this liberal elite trader group not only includes the savvy HSFT out there, but also BCS. They were the ones who acquired Lehman, who was specialised in fixed income / bond trading - more or less. Finally, even without these two preceding points, BCS is trading at a Price/Book ratio of only 0.68 and a Price/Sales ratio of 1.60, which is lower than low in the financial sector.

Price/Book for everyone else

JPM 0.95

C 0.72

BAC 0.73

MS 0.94

GS 1.11

WFC 1.34

Price/Sales for everyone else

JPM 2.06
C 2.5
BAC 2.17
MS 1.23
GS 1.51
WFC 2.18


So with over 1 trillion in cash and a market cap of only 45.82 billion, why isn't BCS undervalued and overlooked? It is according to my standards, but it seems my standards aren't that high.

If things get even more absurd and the sell-off continues to get even more dramatic, we may see BCS get to around $12. I'm looking at a third entry at that point.

For now, I'm sighing that I allowed my portfolio to get to this incredible level of:

-0.94% on the SBA
-1.82% on the Roth IRA

I obviously did not learn this second time around. It feels like Lehman all over again - only this isn't close to a garage sale just yet. Half of me still thinks it's a fakeout, but the other half is starting to get fraidier and fraidier.

From a risk:reward perspective, C of course still looks as tantalising as ever. However, beware of buying too much now, I'd say. Think about when everyone finally has to get out of C... It could get as scary as when the carry trades were unwinding.

Someone should do some more investigative journalism and figure out what Bernanke, Merkel, Trichet, etc. are all buying. EUR/USD perhaps? Or are they waiting for it to get to $0.85 again?

Oh, Mr. Market... What Big Pips You Have!

I had a bit of trading discipline this week and did not try to ride the GOL at just any level. I kept trying to get in at around the 1.42 or 1.43 level. I almost succumbed to buying at the 1.45 level, but when it kept touching north of 1.47, I did not even blink. Of course, GBP/USD was starting to appear very seductive and there was no doubt I wanted to wrap my trading legs around the GOL. Judging by today's action, I didn't miss out on too much.

The Euro Heroes couldn't handle the pressure and surrendered to the Men of New York, breaking below 1.20. I was going to bet my subsistence farm that it wouldn't do that, but had some sense in not doing so.

My portfolio?

-4.72% on the SBA
-3.33% on the Roth IRA
Couldn't buy EUR/JPY or GBP/USD for a week
The most noteworthy decline in my portfolio today: HWD with -6.16%.

My trading is like a four-year cold that won't go away. I think it's time for Nurse ForexDiva to get some market healing, which will invariably require a capital injection. I've crystallised my next steps now.

I've decided once and for all that no matter the direction the market takes, I'm going to find a way to make moola. I've been an Awful Bigoted Woman for too long now. I'm taking my rose-coloured glasses off and the rest is going to be history.

It'll take me some time to get the asset allocation part right, but one account is going to be honouring the bulls and one account is going to be toasting the bears. I'm doing the whole market! My ultimate goal is to buy a slight break below 52WL and sell a slight break above 52WH. It sounds so simple, but in practice, it's rarely that easy. There are still so many stocks trading at Price/Sales and Price/Book ratios of below 1. It may sound repetitive, but that strategy has worked like a charm for me this year, especially on the stocks with more cash than liabilities. The part I really got wrong, and the most critical part, was the profit taking. When a stock breaks above the 52 WH, my rose-coloured glasses get even rosier, clouding my thinking some more. Fakeouts happen both ways.

If I manage to get my simple new strategy right on the majority of my trades there'll be champagne for all.

First, I need to start treating myself as an asset rather than a liability. I think everyone grows up thinking they are either an asset or a liability. Once we brand ourselves as one or the other, it's very difficult to reposition ourselves as the alternative. It takes time, effort, and a very big budget.

Bank Me... So Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?

Apparently, Harry does! HWD finally broke above the $1 billion market cap level yesterday. It didn't close with a $1 billion market cap yesterday, but managed to today... Let's see if Harry continues to be alpha. About this time last year, Harry was very, very alpha and a lot more hypnotic than usual.

I'm still a bit disappointed in myself. Why did I think that those 60 something pips on GBP/USD the other day were screaming "bank me"? To make matters worse, I kept thinking I shall not take the bait and make them wait all the way up to 1.475 today...

I'm keeping an eye out on the Euro Heroes instead. Everyone is waiting for the EUR/USD to break below 1.20, I presume. Is it really a given?

What's up with all the politicians quitting recently anyway? Perhaps I should think long and hard about whether I should be spending so much time trading too.

Finlay bondholders are expecting an approximate payout of $0.048 on the dollar on a proposed reorganisation plan. As usual, I am voting against this plan - not least because I ended up paying on average $0.08 on the dollar for my bonds. This was a bad move on my part. Don't look at it as a few cents off here. A few cents off on junk bonds is like a few cents off in forex trading. Minor difference, major impact.

So, essentially, penny stocks, junk bonds, and forex are all similar in principle in terms of the money management formula.

I think there's more money to be recovered with Finlay and pray that all other bondholders will exercise their voting rights to vote against settling for much less than these bonds are actually worth. We should aim for an above average recovery here. Gold prices have skyrocketed since Finlay first manufactured/purchased their jewellery. At today's prices, that inventory is worth much more than it was originally valued at.

Yesterday:

-0.82% on the SBA
-1.41% on the Roth IRA

Today:

+1.81% on the SBA
+0.85% on the Roth IRA

The performance of my SBA is decidedly much better than my Roth IRA over this recent market meltdown. On the way up, the Roth IRA was doing much better. C is a major part of my Roth IRA, although it's also in my SBA. But I've got a lot of stuff in my Roth IRA that just doesn't move - such as BULIF.

The major difference seems to be HWD. Oh, Harry, my Market Hero / Financial Angel / Alpha Sultan of Gemstones. He isn't quite saying "bank me" just yet, but I think his glasses appear to be dark rimmed.