Wait... That's Not the Balance Sheet I Married...

Why are they playing country music here? Are they trying to get me to take the cowgirl theme a little further? Well, I decided to reverse cowgirl with the Sultan today and got out of the full position at market - which was then $20.7635. We parted amicably at a +15.03% on this partial position, although minor mistakes have been made along the way. This was a bit of a bumpy ride, wasn't it?

I didn't look at too many balance sheets this weekend. I decided to compare notes on my favourite sector, though, and was shocked when I realised that the Sultan's balance sheet has changed drastically since I bought it in 2010. The balance sheet I married had way more cash than debt. Now, there's barely about enough cash to cover debt on BCS's balance sheet. I decided I wanted out - at least temporarily.

So whose trend do I ride next? I haven't figured it out yet. The risk-taker in me says get into more C, but no one in their right mind would invest almost their entire portfolio in one stock - even if Soros and Paulson are in it together. Besides, HSBC just lowered their earnings target after posting merely $13 billion in profit. Just $13 billion? We don't like that... LOL.

With all the regulatory measures that are being taken against the banking sector, one thing matters more than anything in my bimbo opinion - and that one thing happens to be topline. For without topline, wherefore would bottom line come from?

Unfortunately, Sultan BCS's topline seems weaker than other banking sector stocks, so now I'm going to find something better to do with that cash.

For now:

+0.60% on the SBA

-0.23% on the Roth IRA

I am far from pleased with today's price action because my portfolio's moving kind of like the Dow again, so we're going to have to try something new....

The Professors of Finance Got Out The Laser Pointers...

... and it turned out to be a good trading day, with all major stock market indices easing our pain and posting some gains.

My report card followed suit:

+1.53% on the SBA

+0.32% on the Roth IRA

So close: Nasdaq outperformed my SBA by 0.05%...

Next week, we are most likely going to have a lot more trading fun, with:

Monday, 28 February: US pending home sales

Tuesday, 1 March: ISM Manufacturing PMI (not that I even know what that is, but that's besides the point)

Wednesday, 2 March: Bernanke testifies (I know what that is...)

Thursday, 3 March: Unemployment Claims + ISM Non-manufacturing PMI

Friday, 4 March: Non Farm Pay Day

Happy Weekend!

Harry Grows, Selling Slows, My Portfolio Glows...

Whoa... one portfolio grew anyway - thanks to HWD.

I was definitely a bit surprised, but there are murmurs of potential QE3 according to GFT (sorry if I'm putting words in their mouths). And since FTSE closed with a loss of only -0.06% today, I'm thinking the bulls still stand a solid fighting chance even though Nikkei broke below ten five.

Did anyone mention that Libyan oil production is only twelfth largest in the world? Selling is overdone if you ask me. And a few days of $100+ oil isn't going to kill anyone. If it maintains the $100+ level for several weeks or a few months, that's a different story. But Saudi Arabia is already happy to be selling at this level. Sure, we'll step up to the plate and increase production. We'll even throw in a $36 billion measure to beat civil unrest.

If I had more moola, I would potentially look into some of the beleaguered oil stocks. But why bother? That sector is highly profitable, but so is the financial sector. The financial sector is still highly undervalued - especially if QE3 is really going to be on offer.

I'm starting to actually like Bernanke, but don't tell him I said so.

+1.54% on the SBA

-0.41% on the Roth IRA

The growth in the SBA trumps today's Roth IRA loss. So this just reinforces my theory that we're at a turning point in terms of risk.

Nikkei was the only major stock index that managed to pull off a -1.19% loss - and this was before Saudi Arabia mentioned boosting oil production and the positive US jobless claims announcement.

Now if only C will cooperate. But with both Soros and Paulson cheering the Crown Prince on, it can only be a matter of time...

Scary, Scary... Oh, Contrary!

Are we in a perilous fight or what? Stock market indices all over the planet are flippin' and floppin' whilst oil is still poppin'. It makes me wish I had stayed in my commodity plays - CENX and HERO. But what's done is done. Time is the only thing we cannot turn back, although trading losses could be easily recovered if we keep on playing the momentum whilst maintaining a positive mindset. I believe in my portfolio recovery, even if no one else does!

I see a few indications that could be strong contrarian signals that make for a bullish trading romance ahead:

1. Japanese Housewives are testing the 10,500 level on Nikkei. Until this level breaks definitively, the bulls still stand a chance.

2. Shanghai has been quietly on the ascent even in spite of China raising interest rates.

3. US farmland prices are going up... this could potentially drive real estate prices and other asset prices in general. An economy is only as valuable as its very foundation - its land. And farmland prices... it doesn't get more primal than that.

4. Finally... key psychological levels on many stocks are holding, such as:

a. $14 level on BAC

b. $4.50 level on C

c. $20.50 on BCS

d. $45 on JPM

e. $16 on AA

Let's see if we can hold on the S&P, DJIA, and Nasdaq. Maybe it won't be so clean cut, but if the majority of levels hold, then that's good enough for me.

Some more potentially good news for ForexDiva's portfolio:

Lehman's trustee expects windfall... in ten days we'll know! Oh...

Gosh, they're playing some sexy 1,001 Arabian Nights / Sultan-like music here in the library, but still doesn't change the performance of my portfolio:

-1.04% on the SBA

-1.04% on the Roth IRA

How weird is that?

Up next: Genon Energy (GEN) earnings announcement on 1 March 2011. I've been in this since 22 December 2010. Since Carl Icahn's Dynergy (DYN) deal is apparently being rescinded (or am I old news?) why doesn't he look at GEN and play a major but vital role in stimulating my economy? But John Paulson's already down with GEN, so two billionaires would be a crowd, no? The more the merrier in trading, I say...

GEN's balance sheet is much better than DYN's balance sheet according to my diva standards. DYN is heavily in debt and has no net income available to common shareholders whilst GEN is not only trading far below book, but also has healthy net income available to common shareholders. Thank you, Mr. Paulson!

Who's Going In the Confessional Booth With Me?

... If you wanted to ride C's trend as much as I did, at any cost, then you're probably feeling about as bimbo as I do now. Good thing I didn't tell you what I wanted to buy, or you would have blamed it on me.

I set a buy on C in my Roth IRA at $4.90 last week and thanks to a relatively favourable open, I got filled at $4.83. That still put me back $0.14 per share and on that partial position, I'm already down -2.89%, although the full Roth IRA position is still in profitability - about +25.88% in the Roth IRA alone but a mediocre +3.91% on the full position. C closed at -4.48% on daily volume that was 2.56x the 10-day average vs. the Sultan's -3.41% decline. For the time being, moving into that partial position of C was a slightly better move. However, time will tell.

My bimbo estimate is that C should stay above $4 this year, but does the market ever fully respond as we expect? Don't forget I had a big enough trading ego to expect to have six job offers the minute I left Belgium and am now experiencing the lesson of a bird in hand is better than six in the bush. Let's see how my drama pans out. But the minute any company in my industry sees me as exhibiting any signs of weakness, I would become a distressed sale. So, I can't let that happen. The fact is that I can live for at least four years on credit cards alone if my cash runs out. And I won't let that happen!

One thing's clear: loyalty is a two-way street. Had I not been investigated by a second-tier accountant with very bad taste in ties (at best), I would have probably been able to bite the bullet rather than shoot myself right in the financial foot. That audit alone to me was a sure-enough leading indicator that my time at the company was limited either way. It was not the audit itself - but for God's sake, do it discreetly without me knowing. That was like a stab in the back right in front of my face. And I had really just one thing going for me that I did better than anyone else (no, not forex) - and it was this application process in my industry. So I had to leverage it.

After a relatively good weekend, during which I served my family bland and boring lobster salad and a bit-too-rare prime rib, my culinary skills are apparently not the only skill set on the decline. But I managed to put a band-aid on a broken ankle for the time being and my siblings even brought dessert and wine for dinner. When I left for Belgium, my little brother was only 14 and now he's old enough to buy me zinfandel and merlot! I totally remembered when he was my height!

How could I let it get so bad? I now know I can't cook as well with six guests arriving earlier than expected, but it didn't even matter. My family told me they liked my bland cooking. But what excuse have I got for my trading going downhill?

I don't have any and I'm going to make it my sincere objective to learn from the bears! Because without the bears, the bulls can't make money either. We're two sides of the same coin and if I trade with hatred in my chart, that's not going to do my trading any good.

So anyway I was at the Traders Expo most of the day and didn't get a chance to watch the bid and ask sizes - which would be useful information to have.

However, I learned something powerful from Brian Dolan's Ichimoku presentation today. I was too shy to say hello, but his presentation was one of the best - other than BFF forex broker's presentation. He said that if we're truly in a trend, then prices have to be consistently getting higher month on month - or year on year. And I wondered if anyone tried charting US unemployment or NFPs on the Ichimoku system. If so, I'm hoping that the Senkou lines are forecasting an uprising. Are we above the tenkan and the kijun lines yet? What about the chikou?

My portfolio? If I didn't have a stronger character, I would be in tears because my head seems to be the only thing in the clouds:

-3.63% on the SBA

-3.33% on the Roth IRA

Half In Half Out With the Sultan...

OK, HSFTs! I am trying something new with Sultan BCS. Options expiry is 19 February and I decided to half in half out with BCS. I sold a partial position at $21.39, which I originally entered at $16.55 in June 2010 (took me long enough to make that +29.24%) and am now looking to get into another banking sector stock with the moola between now and the rest of the month because I think it could be a good buying opportunity.

Whose trend do you think I want to ride the most?

Whether I get caught wearing La Perla or Agent Provacateur or nothing is now up to... I'm not telling - until I'm actually all positioned and ready for price action. But, if it were up to my one reader, I might as well be wearing nothing. If you guess correctly, then you get to make money with me! A lot of money...

What's up with Bernanke's comment about easy money not being the cause of capital fluctuations? We like our money easy, don't we? Oh, yes we do...

Report Card doesn't seem as easy as it should be though, but I've had a good week, so I do appreciate what the Ministers of Finance are doing for me:

+0.46% on the SBA (most recently rebalanced portfolio)

-0.47% on the Roth IRA

Happy Long Weekend, Professors!

One of Six...

Fashion companies are lucky that women don't choose shoes the way that I quit jobs. If every woman decided to stop wearing shoes based on their feelings the way that I leave a company, every shoe company in existence would probably go out of business the next day.

So I went on one of six of my scheduled interviews today. It was on the top of my list as far as the six and counting ones I had were concerned. But after this initial interview with HR, I'm not exactly impressed and I can almost say with certainty that the feeling could have been mutual. I wonder if it's because of my unusual shoes. I could have sworn that I needed to buy the Prada platform shoes that I saw at Bergdorf Goodman the other day, but I decided... if they don't like me because of my shoes, then that's not a company I want to work for. I opted against bringing my Hermes Kelly to the interview though since this guy in my building said my Bulgari one was hot. So, I used the Bulgari instead.

Anyway, after this interview, I'm thinking of dropping the other ones because just today, my friend Tim alerted me to a job that I could just possibly love more than my previous one. I really don't want to get my hopes up though. My sister and brother have been telling me that it could take a year for me to find a job and that I could get fired if I even get hired. Thanks for the support, right? After disowning me, we tried to patch things up. But it really is rather like a bandaid on a broken ankle right now. So, I'm hosting a dinner party this weekend and I'm going to serve everyone prime rib and lobster to see if we can make amends.

But I know why I left my job. If my theory is right, I could have offers from within my sector in as little as two more months due to a key application process that happens in my industry every few years. If my theory is right, I would be interviewing during one of the hugest growth opportunities of the decade. And if my theory is right, then I would have my pick of companies to work for rather than the other way around. Dear HSFTs, I hope I'm not two years too early!

Being closer to my family geographically just puts me back into a frame of mind that I don't want to be in, although my report card is quietly urging me, Don't Give Up, America's Favourite Diva... we're going to be patriotic with cha!

+1.34% on the SBA

+0.75% on the Roth IRA

My Blahing Schedule Is All Messed Up...

... but my portfolio's definitely hotter than ever! I left you at the height of trading plaisir, but I think we've still got a lot of trend riding ahead of us.

It seems to me that this is the time when fundamentals don't really matter all that much. Retail sales were not better than expected and the market still managed to rally - probably since the bears are starting to realise that if they're going to cut their losses, they might as well do it now. The USD has been going up, which just indicates that demand for USD denominated assets is still strong.

I think the turning point of this market will be when stuff such as my recent trading blunders (IDGG and EATR) starts really skyrocketing. At that point, I might look to take profit on everything - depending on the market conditions at the time. At the moment, I'm not going to stress myself out with following the fundamentals so proactively, nor am I going to give myself a hard time if I don't get the fundamentals right on. I'm not an economist, nor do I want to be one. But I'm in a trend and I know as much. So, fundamentals may not be as important at this stage, although I will still look to news announcements for potential trading opportunities. Essentially, I'm throwing fundamentals out the window and just enjoying the fact that I decided to trade my Big Bank Theory with such conviction, albeit two years too early!

Even though I regrettably sold some shares in C a while back, I can now start treating the entire banking sector as one big trade. So, altogether, I still could say that I've got thousands of shares in the entire banking sector. If all of them go to the $50s, that's one beautifully breathtaking trading strategy with a lot of profit taking potential.

Yesterday's Report Card:

-0.81% on the SBA

+2.04% on the Roth IRA (OMG in a very big way, led mainly by BCS jumping on the ForexDiva & Her Cronies bandwagon with a +6.36% Look At Me, Girl overture)

Today's Report Card:

+0.20% on the SBA

+0.08% on the Roth IRA

Who knows? With options expiry on 19 February, I may or may not be on thin ice over the short term. But as long as I am able to maintain my shares in big banks and sell when the fundamentals are really in overdrive, I'll be OK and life will be good. Right now, though, there are still plenty of buying opportunities. If only I had more moola...

No Jokes Today...

Just a really good report card:

+0.60% on the SBA

+1.13% on the Roth IRA

Happy Weekend - and let's hope that extra pop on ZZ trading volume today means that we'll get a lot of quick vertical price penetration next week!

Early Withdrawal Penalty

I'm wearing one of my Hermes scarves today - one of my latest ones. I had bought one right before I left Belgium, but I then exchanged it for an even better one at one of the Hermes boutiques here in NY. They were so kind to allow me to exchange it. What? I decided I wanted to do something special for myself since I'd been feeling so battered. I'm putting that feeling behind me for good. Luxury makes me feel better - that and forex.

So I'm going to do what makes me feel good. And besides, I can sell any of my Hermes scarves for basically par value at any time. That's better than any of my other investments so far. My Hermes Kelly can go for +32% if I wanted it to. But I'm not ever allowing myself to resort to that level of fashion desperation. If it can go for +100%, I might think about it.

Unfortunately, my portfolio got hit like an early withdrawal penalty today, but ZZ's getting some action, so I'm not going to sell it like a G6 until... well, you know the date.

Moreover, I shall not average into IDGG or EATR, but will take profit at strategic intervals if the opportunities present themselves. If they don't, I won't cry about it anymore because I am a woman with a lot of irons in the fire. And that fire is burning.

Finally, I'm going to study what I was buying this time last year and if any of my levels are still in play, I might look into reusing and recycling some of my trading ideas because my new ones don't seem to be working. But I'm going to continue practicing my momentum playing and one day I'm going to be good at it!

Even though both my portfolios gained over +13% from the Santa Rally through now, I have to compare myself to the rest of the market. According to my BFF, E*Trade, mid-cap stocks were the best performers over the past three months, gaining +11.23%. I did all this work and only got a +2% advantage over the market. That's not good enough. Not to mention stuff like Micron Technology (MU) advanced over +44% over the past three months. Why wasn't I the one to get into something like that?

Without a proper competitive strategy, we can't ever be competitive. So I'm going to figure out what I'm doing to undermine my competitive strategy. If I think within the box, I'll always be in that box. And I want to be in a castle - or a least a mansion!

P.S. I forgot my report card:

-0.76% on the SBA

-1.04% on the Roth IRA

OMG, This Just Made My Day...

... I didn't know you were so particular, Mr Bernanke... Stimulus must be withdrawn before 5-6% unemployment...

Well, that certainly leaves us a lot of room for more trading plaisir then...

Yippee!

The Market Gods Hate Me Today...

So my trading legs parted for the wrong stocks and at exactly the wrong time. My penny stocks are not doing well and one of my recent blunders is IDGG. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill as the positions are really small, but what really got to me was they put out a press release today that totally lacked substance reporting QU progress in their gas and oil fields with no fluffy statistics whatsoever. Did a five year old write that press release? The only way that stock would be going is down with a press release like that. I reckon I'll be in this one for quite some time and am glad that I decided not to get too into penny stocks before building up the right strategy. I maintained my financial dignity by not averaging in with stocks of that calibre.

And now, I'm going to focus on the next big event, which is Retail Sales on 15 February 2011. I expect ZZ to move when that news announcement comes around. Note that February options are due to expire on 19 February 2011 as well, which means that we'll see a tonne of action beginning next week. I'm also going to look for some more news trading opportunities, although my report card for the day is urging me not to:

-2.81% on the SBA

-0.19% on the Roth IRA

I realise I'm not in Europe anymore, so perhaps I should get a Hooked On Phonics course so I can learn how to spell again. But I'm actually going to reflect on the state of the market a bit more and then decide what to do because clearly whatever I'm doing isn't paying off as I expected it to this month. Maybe I should continue to trade my usual strategy rather than trying to outsmart the market?

Maybe...

Why Do People Keep Whistling At Me?

Is it because they know how hot my portfolio is? Do they want to find out what my favourite positions are? I've got too many to name. Yesterday, some guy said that I look good from the waist up. I object! I look good from the waist down too. Especially my trading legs, which are always kept appropriately closed at basically all the right times.

But now that the market's always up, I'm lamenting the fact that I didn't buy more during the good old market bottom days. If only I had bought C at $1...

So as long as more people think like that, my cronies and I are going to be fine.

Today, it was an Easy A:

+0.64% on the SBA

+0.06% on the Roth IRA

Bernanke's up tomorrow. I still don't get why he always has to testify, but if I see a setup that looks slightly USD negative, I'm getting in... I'm hoping he'll say something about inflation, but what do I know? If he does say something about inflation, it can only mean he bought a lot of gold. There's a bull flag on the 3-year gold chart and actually, there is a strong enough correlation between gold and the S&P chart on a 3-year timeframe. S&P is lagging gold slightly.

Does it mean that we'll see some more upside on stocks? Treasury yields have been going up, which means that people who have been in gold and Treasury bonds will see more of a reason to get out quite soon. That beautiful trendline support may just have to break, but I've been saying that throughout the crisis and I have been wrong for so long. Is that day going to happen soon, Mr Bernanke?

Other than that, the GOLs might get really hot over the next few days since we've got a few UK news announcements going on. Maybe I should do some trades involving the GBP?

US Unemployment Claims... 10 February 2011

US Trade Balance... 11 February 2011

... Gave Proof Through the Night, That Our Flag Was Still There...

The other day, some guy sat down at the grand piano here in the library and started playing. He wasn't good and stopped after only about a minute. I wanted to tell him, keep going, dude! You're not good now, but you could be. But I kept my big mouth shut, just like the bears are probably wishing I would do now. LOL.

Remember that bull flag on the 3-year S&P chart that I mentioned way, way back when I was still considered two years too early for the next bull market? Well, here we are and apparently, that bull flag is still there! So, ForexDiva and my cronies continue to make money here...

Now, instead of spending the weekend doing my homework in the equities market, I spent my weekend doing some other kind of homework. I don't have much to show for my new strategy yet, but I'm going to continue to keep at it. I've got two markets and I'm looking to arbitrage them!

I've got a few other potential money-making irons in the fire as well. We have to keep going no matter how much the world is booing you off the stage! Are they brave enough to get up on that stage in the first place?

Back to equities trading because that's what we're here for! If I'm going to buy, I just realised that it makes the most sense to buy stocks in the portfolio that's got the momentum going for it. That happens to be my Roth IRA today - rather than my recently balanced SBA. The tide's going north with stocks in my Roth IRA, so follow the tide! That's what a momentum player does, right?

My Roth IRA comprises:

BCS

BULIF

C

LEHMQ

top secret restaurant stock that I want as few hands on as possible, which I'm already making over +80% on... oh, yes... I want to keep that to myself!

Plus, some junk bonds - mainly Lehman... which I proudly bought after it went bankrupt...

And my Report Card for the day (ta da!):

-0.74% on the SBA

+1.02% on the Roth IRA

I Don’t Want Him to Move Like the Dow in the Confessional Booth…

I’d rather he move like GBP/JPY… But unfortunately, my most recently rebalanced portfolio, the SBA, seems to be moving like the Dow today. Just when I thought the Roth IRA needed more work, the Roth IRA started to pop, but I’m not complaining. Sultan BCS gave my Roth IRA a visit today and the result was titillating. The good news is that I’m finally starting to understand the importance of positioning, how I need to be positioned, and how to move around in the market for greater trading plaisir.

Report Card for the day:

+0.34% on the SBA

+1.12% on the Roth IRA (don’t you wish your portfolio was hot like mine)

Even though NFPs were not better than expected, a few of my other bimbo observations have become trading reality, which gives my trading ego a bit of a well-deserved stroke:

Investors moving out of emerging market funds and getting back into the US and Europe… I mentioned this on 13 January 2011.

VLOV down about 11% since I first mentioned it on 26 January 2011… not that I said it was a sell, but I definitely wasn’t gonna buy…. Maybe it was QU luck.

I firmly believe it is only a matter of time before we have a really great Non Farm Pay Day, but unfortunately, I’ve been confused on a few plays as well.

Harry confused me like crazy, but I did identify $9.99, $12, and $20 as potential erogenous zones. So, it does seem like $12 has been holding so far. I wonder aloud: is $20 going to be on the table this year? Can’t read my, can’t read my, can’t read my Poker Face, Professors.

ZZ… I plopped right down on the mattress and prices ran the other way faster than I could say: you do yoga… I’ll do pilates…

Penny stocks… got into IDGG, which popped over +40% one day in either late December or early January, but has retraced by about 30% since then. I'm not too concerned as that position is worth a few mini lots, but still, I hate being wrong...

So I’m going to do the following with my penny stocks.

1. Segment the full position into three lots

2. Once price triples or quadruples, sell one of the lots, which would then give me my original trading capital back with a small profit

3. See if the rest of the lots could potentially become trendships with benefits

4. I promise myself I won’t average in on any of my penny stocks!

This weekend, I’m studying the market indices and devising a new buying strategy. My friend Tim was commenting about how all these analysts are wrong 50% of the time and don’t get fired. Well, when you think of it, if we only buy at the right time, but don’t sell at the right time, we’re doing the same thing as well. So, now I’m going to find some more short term plays and work on my greatest weakness. I'm going to learn how to sell at the right time! It’s going to be so exciting and I can’t wait for Retail Sales on 15 February 2011. That’s going to be my biggest day of the year – or one of the biggest days, anyway! Online retailers probably will benefit most from the recent weather we had, so I’m going to be a Fair Weather Friend and look into online retailers to see if any of them are undervalued + overlooked. If not, I’ve got another top secret strategy to experiment with. If you're good, I might tell you next week.

Happy, Happy Weekend!

And Now the Bears Are Using Geopolitics As Their Excuse...

Remember what Margaret Thatcher said... well, my memory's bad so I'm going to paraphrase her really badly. It was something to the effect of... darn it, I'll just Google it.

It was: "I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left."

Right! Anyway, the bears have no more excuses based on economic fundamentals because the fundamentals are starting to slowly but surely get there - so now geopolitics are being dragged into the equation and used as the only risk barometer, according to FT.com.

That ADP Non Farm Employment Change figure came out better than expected and if Friday's Non Farm Pay Day is equally promising, then ForexDiva has hit the Trading Jackpot - or let's hope!

A few days ago, I met with my friend Tim and from what I could gather, his strategy now is to buy a break above the 52WH. He is always right, so I'm questioning my strategy of buying the 52WL on speculative stocks. Tim's strategy most definitely would work here and I like how he's fighting the bears head on! It takes courage to do that. I got into ZZ several days ago. Should I have followed in Tim's footsteps? We'll see in a few days. Either way, I'm already positioned for some more trading plaisir. My most recently rebalanced portfolio - the SBA - is still outperforming the market, so I've got to start working on the Roth IRA a little more.

My limits have been set on four of the stocks in my portfolio - ZZ, EATR, IDGG, and GEN. I'm focusing on short term profit taking with the four that I don't yet adore. The rest of my high beta heroes are going with me all the way. All the way where? Hopefully to Financial Cloud 9, where the 1000+ thread count comforters are all fluffy and the spaghetti with white clam sauce is all lovely and everyone's got Hermes, Chanel, and Prada in common.

+0.68% on the SBA

-0.45% on the Roth IRA

I'm probably going to be away tomorrow... I'll miss my Professors of Finance so much, but I reckon no one will be surprised if I suddenly show up to Another Bernanke Soapbox Moment brought to you by the Fear Bears...

Harry Got Us Hot & Showed Us What He’s Got…

We took it out to the parking lot and had a nice +10.75% pop. I’m watching this $12 level – which I mentioned several days back. If we hold this level, then that Andrews Pitchfork uptrend is definitely not just playing pretend.

Harry’s not the only one making Inspect Your Gadgets news though. Of all the stocks I’m watching, today’s biggest movers in my watch list:

ENGT… +83.33% (but only based on volume of 100)

HWD… + 10.75%

HERO… +9.97

MCBI… + 9.97%

PAL… +7.06% (my friend Tim’s hot pick…)

CDOC… -47%

EGTK… -10%

Back to the stocks that are actually in my portfolio. My favourite ones:

C

BCS

HWD

GEN

Some speculative stuff I’m in:

EATR

IDGG

LEHMQ

Ones That Aren’t Really Doing Anything:

BULIF

ZZ – new pick, so may be too soon to tell

The good thing about today’s ISM Manufacturing data is not only that it was well above expectations, but ISM Manufacturing prices also followed. Strong manufacturing with strong price inflation is so hot. The way I now see it, any of my banks could potentially benefit from the positive ISM Manufacturing data. The energy plays I have going on would definitely benefit. And obviously, manufacturers and retailers would definitely benefit.

I’m looking for more data to back up my bullish sentiment. There’s apparently something called ADP Non Farm Employment Change due out tomorrow, which is supposed to be a prelude to this Friday’s Non Farm Pay Day. If that data is positive, then we could get some mind-blowing, toe-curling, neighbour-waking trend on trend.

And most importantly, let’s see if there’s any retail followthrough on 15 February 2011. If we don’t get any data divergence, it could get electrifyingly tantric, just like my report card for the day:

+5.35% on the SBA (OH… I love it when you fill my wallet)

+1.7% on the Roth IRA

Sidebar: the walls in my apartment are like paper thin. I can literally hear my neighbours sneeze. I definitely need to be careful when creating too much noise here – especially when I bolt out my version of I’m A Virgin. But Professor Roubini… doesn’t he look absolutely stunning with his dark-rimmed glasses on the home page of FT.com? I have to say that I’m really liking Professor Cramer’s look though…

That Was Some Horizontal Action on the ZZ Mattress...

Ra... ra... blah... blah... blah... Check this one out - haven't seen a Bad Romance like this for a while, and notice how most of the volume happened towards the end of the day:

If only I had been around to study whether the volume was in favour of the buyers or sellers. But I was out and about and didn't get to be my usual micro-managerial self. One thing's for sure: tomorrow's most probably going to be a big day for ZZ and we're most likely going to see some hot vertical action to match today's horizontal foreplay since ISM Manufacturing's out tomorrow. May I count you in?

Today, my portfolio was definitely in:

+1.61% on the SBA

+1.23% on the Roth IRA

As long as Nikkei can float above 10,000, I'll continue riding this beautiful trendship. I'm going to pay attention to the JPY pairs though. According to FT.com, Nikkei is approximately 9.99% away from its 52WH of 11,408. Will we test that soon? The savvy GOLs will be the first to move if the market's not really on solid ground and when they do, I don't want to get left holding them like they do in Texas now, do I?