A Shout Out to the GOLs & Forex Schlossberg... A Standing Ovation For...

Brian Dolan - and of course, 9FM...

Let's see if I can make moola like you guys sometime soon!

I'm just calculating my ROI for the past six weeks and due to today's CENX profit-taking, my ROI is now +27% on the new capital injection that I traded.

I've still got daunting paper losses, but my day trading appears promising so far.

I'm going to keep cooking my heart out. I haven't given up on the Hell's Kitchen trading floor.

This Land Is Your Land...

So let's look at what happened here. CENX ended the day below the $12.25 psychological level and below its 50% daily Fib level of $12.24.

There was a tonne of selling towards the final few minutes of trading with five figure ask blocks and prices had been ranging for most of the trading day. Two psychological levels - $12.25 and $12.50 - got rejected along with a technical level.

Glencore Traders, if you just faked me out, then that was a pretty good fakeout because it's looking slightly OTT at these levels. If we get back down near my most recent entry of $11.03, I might give this another go.

I decided to get SENSEXy with the guys who invented the Karma Sutures with a move into SLT. It just so happened that I ended up buying the day's 50% daily Fib level of $11.52. But SLT broke its 5 day high with volume that was heavier than its 10-day average and closed slightly above this level.

If I'm reading this correctly, then CENX prices are slightly weaker than SLT based on the fact that SLT is holding firm whilst CENX is showing exhaustion.

We'll find out tomorrow since Extended Hours Traders seem to be into CENX.

Later today: China Manufacturing PMI...

Later this week: UK + US Manufacturing PMI, US Non Farm Pay Day

Getting into next week, US data will be slightly lighter with Labour Day on Monday and US Non-manufacturing PMI, US Trade Balance, US Crude Oil Inventories, and US Unemployment Claims later in the week.

+0.28% SBA

+0.73% Roth IRA

+0.46% DJIA

+0.13% Nasdaq

+0.48% S&P

It's time for the Sultans of Mumbai to show us what they've got...

Is 50 Cent A Handle?

Or am I totally misusing the word??

Sold CENX @ $12.2607...

Yesterday, it closed above its daily 50% Fib retracement, but it just broke below it and the 50 cent handle wasn't holding. I'm also becoming very emotionally attached to it, which is the main reason I'm selling.

So I'm going to buy on a retracement, or look for some other stocks to be in.

I've got to keep the objectivity!

SLT-ty

I've wanted to buy some Indian stocks for a while and started doing some quick research on mining stocks.

Found one that would give me a similar risk:reward as CENX and got into SLT @ $11.52.

Sterlite (SLT) is a copper miner and also has minor aluminium and zinc properties. It is about -13% on the year and I decided to give it a try even though its P/S and P/B are still way above my preferred levels. Still, India is a growing market and I believe it has the highest % near-term growth potential out of all the BRICs.

But I'm not an economiss - just a little SLT-ty.

P.S. It has more cash than debt on the balance sheet...

Tomorrow's Going To Be Important

BAC and CENX gave my portfolio a dent of -1.33%.

Interestingly, the two stocks I let go of yesterday - TGB and PQ - are still going strong, so I might buy them on a retrace sometime soon.

Tomorrow's going to be important because we have China Manufacturing PMI and ADP Non Farm Pay Day. On Thursday, we have Eurozone Final Manufacturing PMI and UK Manufacturing PMI as well as US ISM Manufacturing PMI.

So a tonne of manufacturing data over the next two days. I don't know what % of global manufacturing comprises of aluminium (aluminum to the Men of New York), but whatever it is, I've got a wild card in hand: CENX - Glencore style. Could it turn out to be an Ace? CENX ended the day right above its daily 50% Fib retracement level, so I think it's anyone's guess - but it appears the bears aren't wielding half the power they're used to having.

-1.33% SBA

-0.24% Roth IRA

+0.18% DJIA

+0.55% Nasdaq

+0.51% S&P

If I can continue to bank profits at my current speed, I'll be able to recover my paper losses on my SBA and Roth IRA in six months, which means that I should find a way to expedite my profit taking and increase daily profit margin.

Lehman Milestone!

This is the first step to the beginning of what I've been waiting for almost three years... Judge Peck approved the creditor vote on plan for Lehman!

So was I lucky enough to buy the bonds that would entitle me to a piece of the $65 billion pie?

If so, I'm going to give the judge a peck - on the cheek...

Making sure I've got a valid sell order on my LEHMQ shares too...

Could Consumer Confidence Be A Market Bottoming Gauge?

It seems at the depth of consumer despair, the market starts to rebound. It happened during the stock market bottom in early 2009 - and during the DotCom Boom, a similar phenomenon was evident.

When you think about it, it makes complete sense because somewhere like 90% of losing trades are made by everyday investors like myself. So if the crowd is wrong the majority of the time...

P.S. Recent CB Consumer Confidence released today shows that we're at a 2-year low in terms of consumer confidence.

P.P.S. OMG... during this year's market top from February to April 2011, consumer confidence was at a 2-year high.

Just Hypothetically...

Could a bull flag be potentially forming on the 3-month and 1-year BAC charts?

It seems like prices are heading slightly lower and if that's the case, it could turn into either a triple bottom or a bull flag. But given that Warren Buffett is now in BAC, could this be skewed into turning into a bull flag? What could form next?

If we get a 1-year bull flag, then my price target of $10 to $11 could be well within reach given the length of what would be the flag pole. I could either sell now and wait for the potential dip to buy back or I could just hold, wait for the potential dip and then buy more.

I'd then have to sell once the bull flag formation completes. But if it breaks above the bull flag and keeps trending, I fear I might go back to my old ways.

Self-control and being tied down by E*Trade's so-called adherence to Regulation T...

Fraidy & Copy... But Not Catty

Call me a copy cat if you will, but this "Follow Buffett Into BofA At Your Own Risk" article was written for me...

And I'm guessing this guy is short in every way possible?

All I Know Is...

I'm really starting to like Benjamin Shalom Bernanke, especially since he reprimanded the Fair Weather Friends on Capitol Hill in his speech last week.

Plus, he does things to my portfolio that no man on earth - other than 9FM - has done before.

This is why we trade - and today was a prime example of what could go right with one's portfolio in a chart beat. I ended the day with a pretty strong performance, but this time, I won't gloat until I at least have six consecutive months of profit-taking. So, no ForexDiva Trading Dolls that say: "I'll trade anything with legs" just yet.

I've been in profit-taking mode for about six consecutive weeks and every time I've had a winning streak in the past, I haven't been able to maintain it. But now, I've got to keep the momentum going because if I can do it, then I'll have something pretty big in my hands - financial freedom! With my new capital injection, which is what I traded all month, I was able to achieve a pre GEN and ZZ loss ROI of about 20% - even on the small % gains I took. Even with the losses, I made money. The key is volume if you're going to take a small margin.

I can't stop now and perhaps everyone else who reads my blog even occasionally can see my biggest trading error whilst I remained blind to this trading fault until now. But finally, I'm starting to see what I did wrong in some of my previous trades. Whenever a trade starts going right, I totally, totally fall in love with it - and rely only on that stock for profits.

This led me to take profit way too slowly with C and I can't allow BAC to now become like that. So, I'm going to force myself to day trade - and you, Happy Shiny Forex Trading Professors with Muscular Wallets and Dark Framed Glasses, will be my witnesses sessessessess - especially the Blazing Hot & Spicy Commodity Traders who drove CENX up by +6.93% at Glencore's Headquarters.

If you want an example of how stubborn I am... take Hurricane Irene. I live in NYC's Zone A and was supposed to evacuate the trading floor according to the Mayor's orders. But did I? Not a phone call from my Mom, my sister, or my little brother could get me to evacuate. A hurricane is just like a typhoon, so imagine if Hong Kong got its residents to evacuate every time there's a typhoon! Anyway, that's how stubborn I am - sometimes, not all of the time.

We can't be too stubborn in trading, or we'll get an HP incident every year...

What I realised during this nymphomaniacal trading escapade is that so long as I make a certain amount everyday, I'll be offsetting negative cash flow - and for now, that is sufficient for the Junk Bond Queen's requirements.

Still, the power of BAC (+8.87%) in my portfolio is very evident. I'm upping my target not only because my average prices are $10.48 in the SBA and $11.72 in the Roth IRA, but because the 200 day moving average is $11.65. If this is a bull trend, we're going to see prices cross above this level and then some.

So I'll let these positions run until the Warren Buffett Effect wears down.

+4.44% SBA

+3.08% Roth IRA

+2.17% DJIA

+3.13% Nasdaq

+2.64% S&P

P.S. Wondering if I helped with the positive US consumer spending levels today? Why wonder?

Professors, I'm Stuck!

The same thing that happened last week is happening again today. E*Trade has put me on probation again and now I can't get into a new trade until my sell orders settle. If I sell CENX now, I might miss ISM Manufacturing later in the week. If I don't take profit, the Glencore Traders might take my glasses off.

I really don't want to trade on margin, but in order to keep up these gains, I'm going to have to do something quick to resolve this issue once and for all. We only have 20 trading days per month. If I have to wait Transaction +3 days every time I sell, it'll cut my profitability down dramatically.

Do I move more cash into a new account or remain patient? Due to impatience, I missed the move back up on HERO as well as the move up on NXG.

Based on my nymphomaniac trading style, more likely than not, I'll need more than two accounts to be able to bypass Regulation T.

Do I want to tie up my cash this way?

Oh, set me free...

Out Of PQ Because I'm So Bimbo...

HSFTs, I didn't read the fine print. PQ is just as its name implies - Petroquest, which means apparently, it doesn't have any operating oil fields and is instead, looking for oil. It has a lot of hot air in the form of gas reserves though.

But I'm trying to capitalise on oil and I'm going to have to find another play. I got out @ $7.13 and was lucky I even made money on this position rather than having to bow out even more ungracefully.

Out of TGB @ $3.97...

Will look into corn producer, or will buy either TGB or PAL again on retracement - if I don't change my mind...

Missed Out On STO Profits, Into PQ...

@ $6.95...

Risk:Reward on PQ could be better based on hitting 52WH, but I still like STO's balance sheet better. Still, if oil is about to tread higher like other commodities, then this could be on unforgettable profit-taking ride with a lot of upside...

I did a whole bunch of research last night and wanted to get into some corn producers too, but haven't decided which one to get into yet.

Let's see...

Will the Markets Be Open On Monday?

I want to keep the momentum going with my exciting profit-taking.

Next week, thankfully, we have another data packed week to drive price action with Pending Home Sales, Consumer Confidence, FOMC Meeting Minutes, and our absolute favourite: Non Farm Pay Day.

Let's continue grilling the bears - perhaps by knocking them out with a new monthly high?

Suddenly on the radar: TGB with an intense +17.33% chart popping moment. Will it continue?

Report for the Day due to Bernanke's Jackson Hole Speech:

+2.08% SBA

+1.59% Roth IRA

+1.21% DJIA

+2.49% Nasdaq

+1.51% S&P

P.S. So I'm actually not trading on margin at all, but in spite of having a cash account, I am subject to the Fed's Regulation T restrictions due to trade settlement red tape. I don't like the fact that I'm essentially lending money to E*Trade and will therefore have to take a new course of action next week. I'm going to open another account next week to extricate myself from this 90-day trading probation that E*Trade has put me on - that is, if I don't have to evacuate the trading floor due to Irene's arrival.

Run for your lives from the hurricane, HSFTs!

Too Impatient, Into CENX @

$11.03...

Really wanted to get in @ $10.85 or even $10.60, but fear it won't happen because we appear to have an ascending triangle break.

Glencore Traders, do you have your glasses on?

P.S. Ascending triangle break is on 3 month chart...

Out of STO, Trying to Get Back Into CENX...

STO sold @ $23.19...

CENX - won't tell you till I get back in...

The Bears Hate BAC & This Is Proof...

Bank of America has 1,200 Banking Centres In Irene's Path...

In It To Win It With Warren Buffett...

Yes, I am, sir!

I successfully added BAC to my SBA, although I had to bid it up. I figured I wouldn't be able to get yesterday's low of $7.38, so I added a few cents to my bid and entered another partial position at $7.48, although my original order was $7.18. The market opened and didn't hit it on the dip, so I moved with price action.

I am also back in STO @ $22.57. I bid $22.53 at open, but E*Trade didn't fill me even though it hit $22.52 when I did the order. Blink of an eye and it was at $22.23, so I shouldn't have changed the original order.

In Case Anyone Thought I Was Extra Whiny Today, I Have A Theory...

... that insiders in a deal will act on information prior to public knowledge of the deal and that journalists will often withhold news to get in on market action prior to the crowd. This will usually be evident in extreme buying or selling before the announcement is made.

So I was pretty shocked about Professor Buffett's investment in BAC because bid sizes didn't indicate it - nor did options chains or insider activity. How did they play it other than bidding it up +16% off of BAC's 52WL? Or was that as evident as it could have been?

My wire came in literally 10 minutes before market close and I set a limit just above the daily low on BAC and didn't get hit. I'm going to try to buy in Extended Hours Trading. Failing that, I'm going to look for similarly priced stocks or another entry with STO or CENX.

When 9FM and I were negotiating for two months prior to our trade together, he set a higher monetary standard for me. He told me that if I were to maintain the momentum and make that much money every month, I would be making over a million dollars this year.

If only I could get past myself and fulfill 9FM's financial desire...

+1.22% SBA (cash deposit skewing the % a bit today)

+1.25% Roth IRA

-1.51% DJIA

-1.95% Nasdaq

-1.56% S&P

Added BAC to Roth IRA...

Unfortunately, my wire still hasn't posted to my account, which means I am still violating E*Trade's "interpretive guidance" of the Fed's Regulation T.

Note the strategic use of the word "interpretive," which to me, means it's open to interpretation. But whatever, I wired the funds. When they post, they post. And from the way things look, I might just be able to get prices close to Warren Buffett's levels. And if not, there's always a Plan B.

Still, I sold off NOK and my top secret restaurant stock and got into BAC at $7.73. It was a small partial position, but I'm going to target $10.66, which is the 50% Fib level of the 52 week high and low.

Let's go...

Sold STO & CENX, Getting Into...

If I can only get in the trade! Apparently, I was quote unquote free-riding according to E*Trade, so my account is on a 90-day restriction.

As I'm so desperate for profits, I had to wire more moola into my account and it'll take an hour to post.

I wonder if I can get Warren Buffett's prices?

OMG, BAC!

Seriously. I am so ticked off right now. Professor Paulson gets out of BAC and goes into WFC and now Professor Buffett goes from WFC favouritism to BAC?

That's like switching girlfriends - or wives, rather...

And I had to be in BAC with average prices circa $13.91 to 15.09 on both the SBA and the Roth IRA? I couldn't have had better prices?

I had to refuse averaging in, didn't I? BAC bulls played under the radar and I was blind to this impending transaction because bid sizes were consistently below ask sizes. So just what did I overlook?

So Glencore Traders...

... do any of you wear glasses? In my trading fantasies, you certainly do!

It was a beautiful trading day and I've got some new trading inspiration! If I think the CENX daily moves are so divine, how about catching similar moves on lower priced stocks? That would ramp up the ROA in a major way - and what could be more luscious than that? So I'm going to start researching low price high beta stocks in an effort to become Teacher's Pet once again. My short term plan - until I go to Hong Kong for business development purposes in September - is to use my trading to offset some of my negative cash flow.

In hindsight, I could have sold HERO today rather than yesterday. I clearly didn't do enough homework, or I would have known that crude oil inventories would be released today. I always love trading the news! So I have to be a lot more focused and organised when it comes to news announcements. Every news announcement could be a potential money making opportunity.

Gold did retrace as I feared, leaving TGB with a daily decline of -2.94%. I'm not sure whether I should stay the course or move on with TGB. It appears this move down is part of a head and shoulders formation on the 3-year chart. Depending on how you look at the H&S, the move is now either close to being completed - or we'll see about $2.50.

If $1700 to $1750 doesn't hold for any reason on gold, I'm going to have to move out fast. Seasonally, gold is supposed to continue to shine through to Q4. I think gold bulls would be looking for good buying opportunities soon. As $1700 is the 50% Fib level of the 3 month high and low, it is not only psychologically significant, but also technically important. $1645 roundabouts is the 50% Fib level of the one year high and low. I'm going to have to look into some MAs too... But what do I know about gold - other than that I don't want to be there if it should crash?

Chairman Bernanke will be up tomorrow...

+3.21% SBA

+0.55% Roth IRA

+1.29% DJIA

+0.88% Nasdaq

+1.31% S&P

I Thought I Was Feeling Extra Dizzy Today...

... but it turned out to be an earthquake. I was shocked when my Significant Mother called me and reprimanded me for being clueless and telling me to get a backpack ready with water and clothes in preparation for any aftershock. My little brother sent me an advisory to use the stairs and get down to the basement if necessary.

Still, I was echoing the NYSE floor traders' sentiment with their cries of "Keep trading!"

I felt my building lift up slightly and my beautiful new mirrored desk from Neiman Marcus Direct / Horchow shook along with it.

Gold continued to tread upwards, hit $1900, but then got rejected - ending the day with a -3.34% retracement. Should I consider my NXG and PAL sell timely, or will we see some more upside? Either way, TGB is still my my SBA.

Based on the market indices, the bears experienced quite a shake-up today, but my portfolio still lags the market and I am not at all pleased:

+2.93% SBA

+1.61% Roth IRA

+2.97% DJIA

+4.29% Nasdaq

+3.41% S&P

Interesting that BAC would be blaming a blogger for its unfortunate -50% decline this year. Although I'd like to blame someone too, I blame myself for getting in over 50% too early. More importantly, I'd like to see BAC shape up its balance sheet in a major way. All the other banks have a tonne of capital on their balance sheets, so BAC has to remain competitive! I've had enough with BAC retracements, so I'm not going to average into BAC, but will look for other moves to counter this lack of judgement. Hopefully, my foray into NOK today will turn out to be one of my wiser decisions.

Let's give the Glencore traders a round of applause for helping to boost CENX by +7.16% today. If only I had caught the whole move. Notice how there's nearly a $1 per share difference between the daily low and high on CENX consistently? If I could find a way to day trade this stock, I'd be Day Trading Diva in no time.

Glencore traders, we're going to be MMBs (Major Market Buddies)...

Out of HERO, Into...

I know I'm crazy... haven't had anything to eat for 24 hours and finally was able to have one English muffin. But still I am trading...

HERO was becoming an eyesore in my Roth IRA, so decided to get out of it at a -21.63% loss - biggest and fastest loss ever for me. Sold at market, which at the time was $3.0407.

Immediately got into NOK @ $5.97 to capture a dividend yield of 9.56%.

Twice as much cash as debt and P/S on NOK is only 0.36... so the bears are trading it like it's about to go bankrupt or something.

Prices just crossed back up above its 50 day moving average. Let's see if they're firm?

CEN-Hexed

It felt like someone two thousand 'ate' my account, as MS continued to tread downwards and the BAC selling stampede continued.

As I'm not feeling well today and am requiring someone to take my temperature, I'll make it quick:

-3.32% SBA (largely due to retracement from STO and CENX)

-1.93% Roth IRA

+0.34% DJIA

+0.15% Nasdaq

+0.03% S&P

Into CENX...

@ $10.36... if no one else is a buyer, CENX is - with its $60 million share buyback programme.

Although BHP, TIF, and AMZN all had much higher denominated share buyback programmes, CENX's share buyback initiative represents more than 6% of outstanding shares, which is higher than the % of BHP share buyback.

Essentially, they can buy back about 5.74 million shares at this current price, or 6.15% of all outstanding shares.

With sub-1 P/B and P/S levels, this is a high probability trade - or so I think.

I missed out on Friday's dip to $9 something, but it's better to be in the game than to have perfect prices.

Out of NXG...

@ $3.25 - basically near breakeven on this position, which would end up being a minor loss with commission. Gold hit $1890 today. The fact that it didn't hit $1900 straight away means something could be up. I'm feeling a bit wary, especially since most of the junior miners have really strong short interest.

Out of the three junior miners I got into - TGB, NXG, and PAL - NXG has the weakest balance sheets and is also unprofitable. So, I got out and am going to relaunch a CENX or STO buying effort. I'm keeping TGB for the time being as I was able to buy at near its 52WL and its balance sheet seems OK with more cash than debt as well as both gold and copper properties.

Out of PAL...

@ $3.83 (+7.58% gross profit on position) and trying to get back into CENX...

Professor, I'm feeling very feverish...

Crash & Urn...

Philly Fed put my portfolio in the red and my Crash & Earn hopes were dashed as my portfolio unexpectedly got cremated by the bears' double dip cries, which pushed 10-year Treasury yields to 60 year lows. For the record, double dip has been the bears' battle cry for the past 2.5 years and Lehman is edging closer and closer to exiting bankruptcy. When it does, it'll be like another dose of quantitative easing as a tonne of cash that has been locked up for years will begin to flood the market.

NXG and PAL are newcomers to my SBA today. I sold off CENX at about a $1 per share profit - close to +10%, decided to try to buy a CENX or BCS dip, then opted for NXG - another gold and copper junior miner to complement TGB. I then got out of GEN at a loss of about 25% and went into North American Palladium (PAL), which is a palladium, platinum, and gold miner. If gold is about to crash, I just bought the top, although these miners are certainly fairly discounted from their 52WHs. Just why? It almost seems these stocks have an inverse correlation with metal prices.

My Roth IRA has been battered this year and I'm planning to either rebalance or do a capital injection. I'm not sure yet. If I had no standards, I would step back and say that this is supposed to be a retirement account and therefore, I can take a 30-year view on it. However, I am convinced that doing short-term trades has its benefits. In fact, if I could just figure out which stock index to align my portfolio with at the right time, I would be able to consistently pull in above-average returns. For instance, I notice that DJIA is more of a risk-off type of index whilst Nasdaq is more high beta. If I invest in DJIA plays right before a crash, my portfolio would perform better than the rest of the market. Conversely, when risk is about to take off, Nasdaq stocks would give me better returns.

To anyone who thinks US housing is the end-all be-all of the US economy... put on your glasses! Retail sales comprise around 70% of US GDP... Plus, if we take an average selling price of $174,000 per house, sales of 4.67 million existing homes would equate to annual transactions of close to $812.58 billion if I did my calculations correctly. That's still substantial if you ask me, so the bears have nothing to get worked up about.

-5.29% SBA

-4.14% Roth IRA

-3.68% DJIA

-5.22% Nasdaq

-4.46% S&P

Final Step In Today's Portfolio Rebalancing Act...

Sold GEN @ market, which for me was $2.922, then bought North American Palladium (PAL) in almost the same breath @ $3.56.

PAL is a long time favourite of my friend Tim. When he told me he thought gold would reach $2000 (or was it $2500), I was in sheer disbelief. But now, I'm starting to look back at his insight whilst nodding my head.

So, giving my friend, Tim, some market support here...

P.S. GEN was sold @ an unfortunate loss, but this offsets my portfolio's semi-correlation with Professor Paulson's portfolio...

Change Of Plans, My Man...

Got into NXG @ $3.21 and cancelled my one-cancels-all on CENX and BCS.

One-cancels-all comprised of:

CENX @ $9.10

BCS @ $9.75

I figured I missed the BCS dip to break its 52WL @ $10.10 today and although I've been looking for long term selling opportunities on XAU/USD since Lehman, I am on the verge of admitting it may not happen just yet - or possibly, ever. Every time risk is on or off, gold continues to defy gravity. Central bankers are at play, but so are gold miners - and obviously investors.

NXG has more cash than debt, but is losing money. Still, it has both gold and copper - and I figure if gold crashes, copper must be worth something. The only bad news is that it is low beta and no dividend. Yet, it operates in Canada and Australia with actual gold coming out of the ground. I'm going to use my favourite line: it could become an acquisition target...

P.S. NXG = Northgate Minerals...

The Stage Is Set...

I put in a new bid on CENX @ below my previous entry level of $9.43 since there are a whole bunch of unexpired puts at the $9 level that have the potential of getting hit before options expiry on 20 August 2011 depending on how fervent the bears become. Whilst we have unemployment claims and US GDP q/q next week, there will be several days with very little US data between now and Wednesday, 25 August 2011. If the bears are about to start using their Halloween scare tactics on anyone, now would be the time.

If my theory is correct, we may possibly be able to catch CENX again @ an even lower price than before even though they made a share buyback announcement last week.

If not, then I'm going to possibly consider a foray into BCS @ an entry level that is lower than its 52WL.

I lament my MS play and fear that we may see post-Lehman levels of $14 something on MS...

Out of CENX @ $10.4507 + Into...

... not sure yet, but what's evident is that I should have taken profit earlier on CENX. I know I vowed not to let go of CENX, but if I can possibly buy back at pre-announcement prices, I'll take a chance. Plus, this is supposed to be my attempt at day trading...

After Buying Up A Storm Yesterday...

Today's trading session was relatively quiet, but my portfolio still experienced some more upwards momentum, though not as strong as before. STO continued to tread higher, forming a new 5-day high, yet unable to hold the $24.50 level - albeit $24.00 proved to be daily support today.

CENX appears to be ranging on the 5-day chart. It's difficult to ascertain what will happen now as price action could tilt either way with a horizontal formation like this. It's clear that we'll go vertical soon and my hope is that the action will get hot and heavy towards the upside.

Tomorrow: Philly Fed and existing US home sales. Next week: US GDP q/q amongst other things to steam up the trading floor...

+1.68% SBA

+0.63% Roth IRA

+0.04% DJIA

-0.47% Nasdaq

+0.09% S&P

ST-Whoa...

STO announced that its recent North Sea discovery could be much larger than expected, with the potential to yield anywhere from 500 million to 1.2 billion barrels of oil. Moreover, STO is getting major coverage on FT.com, with one of the articles highlighting the company's plans to install the world's first North Sea gas compressor.

BAC is finally doing something to shape up its balance sheet by divesting assets. The latest news: selling some of Merrill's property to Blackstone Group for up to $1 billion according to FT. BAC has had a run of divestiture announcements over the past week. Although Professor Paulson cut his stake in BAC significantly, I am convinced he may be using options or other strategies to benefit even more from BAC's comeback. It's only a matter of time. I'm keeping an eye out on BAC for a potential Crash & Earn opportunity.

Added a whole bunch of stuff to my portfolio today:

TGB @ $3.4693 in the SBA

HERO @ $3.88 in the Roth IRA

Disappointing price action following yesterday's hooray:

-1.83% SBA

-3.07% Roth IRA

-0.67% DJIA

-1.24% Nasdaq

-0.97% S&P

I'm going to hang on until at least options expiry as we have some major economic data announcements later on this week. Along with PPI, we also have crude oil inventories tomorrow. Will HERO and STO be able to take things to a new level for my portfolio?

Oh, oh, let's add some more 0's...

Sold ZZ @ $1.7608 + Got Into...

... TGB @ $3.4693. Gold and copper junior miner with an interesting balance sheet. First, there's very little debt and a tonne of cash - albeit P/B and P/S are both well above 1. I like the fact that this miner isn't only into gold. The fact that it is based in Canada is even more compelling for me.

As to why I chose ZZ... ZZ was sold at a loss of about 36.88%. Although the % loss is high, the monetary value is relatively low and I'm impatient for price action. I've been in this position for months and all it's done is retrace. Unfortunate... although I did recently purchase a Sealy Posturepedic mattress.

Is That Caviar?

Monday, 15 August 2011

If trading life could only be this good every day…

+6.77% SBA

+3.41% Roth IRA

+1.90% DJIA

+1.88% Nasdaq

+2.18% S&P

Harry (+4.66%) is spicing up my Roth IRA together with MS (+6.1%). In the SBA, the gains from STO (+3.99%) and CENX (+4.72%) are starting to offset my recent BAC (+7.93%) mishap whilst BAC is showing a slow recovery in spite of Professor Paulson halving his BAC stake.

The SBA also benefitted due to a sudden unexpected jump in EATR… my E*Trade platform actually says it has an EPS of 0.00163… if that’s true, then share prices are trading below that at the moment. But you never know how reliable these metrics are with sub-penny stocks. This gets me very inspired though. What if I continue to look for sub-penny stocks that are trading below EPS? If I risk very little, will I start finding some success if any of them hit it big?

Before anyone starts calling me Chun Li of Street Fighter fame, I was only able to burn 627 calories via 8.53 miles in 29:43 minutes today. I skipped a few days too. When I’m at the gym, everything appears a blur to me as I don’t have my contact lenses on. Apparently, I’m going at 280 spm so some guy on the treadmill must have been going at 500 spm. I wouldn’t mind if my portfolio ran that fast. I would call it Roadrunner…

HERO, Make Me More Dinero...

Just got in HERO @ $3.88 - placed in Roth IRA...

As we get deeper into the week, more economic data will be released, with PPI, Core CPI, unemployment claims, existing home sales, and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index (whatever that is) packed into a data heavy prelude to the weekend...

Let's see if HERO could make a try for its 52WH later on in the year eh...

Widening Bid & Ask Price Gaps...

CENX and STO continued to edge higher, with both forming a new 5-day high, but my portfolio ended the day none the wiser. Something interesting I noticed was the final bid and ask prices of the day showed a relatively high price gap on many stocks, including CENX, STO, and HWD. With STO, the difference was especially significant, with the final bid @ $21.17 and the final ask @ $23.31.

I wonder out loud what this means?

We'll find out on Monday...

For now, both portfolios have underperformed, but as we have options expiry next week, I'm hanging on for another tumultuous ride:

+0.29% SBA

-1.67% Roth IRA

+1.13% DJIA

+0.61% Nasdaq

+0.53% S&P

Happy Shiny Weekend...

Here's What's In My Portfolio...

... even if you're not wondering!

SBA

BAC

CENX

EATR

GEN

IDGG

STO

ZZ

whole bunch of junk bonds from Finlay, Lehman, Fedders, Metaldyne, WaMu, and BNET Communications (so-called dividend issued by EATR)

Roth IRA

BAC

Top secret restaurant stock

HWD

LEHMQ

MFG

MS

NMR

whole bunch of junk bonds from Finlay and Lehman