For Every Barbie There's A Ken

So I’ve only got a few weeks left before I turn 30. As I look back on where life has taken me, I feel regret for all of the time, money, love, and energy I’ve wasted in my 20’s. I've accomplished a lot, but did I accomplish enough? At the same time, I feel hope and optimism for all the promise that tomorrow holds.

I’m going to be one of those people who are both older and wiser in all aspects of my life. I’m going to be one of those people who make the most of life and continue to believe in the realisation of fairy tales even if I know Santa couldn’t possibly exist.

I believe in miracles. I believe that for every Barbie there’s a Ken. I believe that life is full of possibilities if we open our minds and our hearts.

I’ve had enough of all this oh-woe-is-me... I’m ready for all the oh-wow-now-this-is-me!

I can feel it. I’m right at the threshold between what life could have been and how sweet and happy life really is.

This time it’ll be different. This time I’m doing it my way. This time I’m taking the high way because it’s faster and not because someone gave me an ultimatum.

This time, instead of thinking my brokers are trading against me, I’ll be thinking I’m the one trading against my brokers. Or maybe I’ll even listen to my brokers for a change because they're not so bad, really. They just trade against me, but if you look at it from the other side, I'm the one actually trading against them.

Someday = Today

(And now I want to thank all the producers for this is the story of my life.)

And no, I am not high on anything but life - and perhaps shopping!

My Little Black Dress Has Shrunk?

It’s official. My Little Black Dress strategy (classic bearish divergence) seems to have shrunk. Instead of potentially yielding 300-400 pips, it is at best only getting about 100 pips - and I'm only getting 8. I’ve even had to weather a few small losses. The shame and embarrassment of wearing a little black dress that suddenly isn’t so little!

The fashionable thing to do? Go back to Bergdorf Goodman for the season’s best one.

This time, I’m getting one with a bow tie detail for a more dramatic entrance. And diva that I am, it has to be silk.

As Harry Winston the sage said: “People will stare. Make it worth their while.”

Leader or Follower?

At the height of the economic crisis, when Goldman Sachs was trading at about $48, I overheard one of my Directors saying that it was a good time to buy GS.

Right before the recent rally in gold and copper prices, my friend Tim mentioned that he was long gold and copper.

Sometimes, in addition to doing your own homework, it's important to know who to follow. At the same time, developing a sense of what is overvalued and what is undervalued is obviously very important.

Is it more important to be a leader or a follower? Sometimes, it's necessary to be both.

Here's some more inspiration.

Details Count In Fashion & Trading

In fashion, people pay for seemingly insignificant details that are barely perceptible to less sensitive souls. I've discovered that this is also the case in trading.

One small detail can often make a very big difference to your bottom line. Perhaps one trade setup works better on a shorter term timeframe than a longer term timeframe. Perhaps the longer term timeframe works better with RSI or stochastics rather than MACD. Perhaps trailing your stop daily rather than hourly could enable you to gain substantially more profits.

Having the patience to look into these details can not only be eye-opening, but is also an important characteristic of highly successful people in general. It's a difference that can lead to a competitive advantage - the willingness and the passion to look at a situation from many different perspectives even if sometimes none of those perspectives seem to make any sense right at this moment.

Most people would rather spend their free time relaxing, but going into depth could be very rewarding.

To quote Harry Winston:

"Nothing perfect ever rolled off an assembly line. Perfectly symmetrical, yes, and perfectly attractive. But nothing perfect. Perfect is breathtaking. Perfect is inimitable. Perfect comes from staying awake until 2 am deciding whether to tilt a stone one hundredth of an inch this way or that."

Does the one hundredth of an inch matter that much? Yes, it often does. And with trading, it could prove to be even more important because we have a highly competitive environment here. When it comes down to it, we're basically trading against very highly intelligent A-type personalities. That's why details count.

Interesting Perspectives

Interesting view on replacing GM on the DJIA in case of a GM bankruptcy. I am highly in favour of adding Apple to the DJIA. Google, I'm not so sure about.


Obama Tax Crackdown Implications


Interesting Analysis on Forex


The Big Inflation Scare


Rich People Are More Optimistic?

Global Economic Outlook

Interesting report by Wellington Management on the global economic recovery...

Fashion Faux Pas of the Day: Christian Lacroix Files for Chapter 11

I wasn't ever a real Christian Lacroix fan, but did occasionally admire a few of their pieces.

While their bankruptcy is rather unfortunate, the way this article was written is just so wrong...

And I quote from The New York Times:

"But despite years of critical success, the company failed to break even, let alone turn a profit. Mr. Arnault sold Lacroix in 2005 to the Florida-based Falic Group, known for its Duty Free Americas chain. The Falic brothers aimed to refocus the luxury brand at the peak..."

I seriously hope the name Falic is not supposed to be pronounced the way I think it is?

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Right. So I'm bullish on equities and I have a whole bunch of micro-economic evidence that points to an imminent broader economic recovery which would lead to a higher stock market, including:

Corporate Campaigns Hint At Brand Advertising Revival. The fact that companies are now willing to invest in long term corporate branding campaigns rather than just short-term tactical and promotional strategies indicates that something is in the air. And if companies are spending on marketing, then that points to an eventual slowdown in job losses. In general, marketing expenditure tends to be the first area cut during a recession and the last area to grow after a downturn. So, this is very encouraging news.


Holiday Sales Boost May Retail Sales Numbers. People are holding onto a lot of pent-up frustration and this extends to the shopping arena. Shopaholic or not, after months of sad news and repressing their need to acquire, most people just want to throw caution to the wind and splurge - if just a little. Whether this is long term remains to be seen, but at the least, there's a glimmer of hope.


Flawless Blue Diamond Sells For Record 6M GBP At Auction. Enough said.

Is Anyone Reading My Blog? Do I Care?

All I know is that I've officially broken through a few personal resistance levels as far as my trading is concerned.

And I've had some dark days with that regard.

There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel. I now know where to place my stops, which trades I should get into, and perhaps most importantly - when to stay out of the market.

As long as I continue to work on my trading psychology and risk management, I'll slowly but surely make a ton of progress.

I'm seeing my Little Black Dress strategy (classic bearish divergence) show up again and this time, I'm listening to my intuition.

Obama Is Seriously Such A Socialist!

Sorry to say, but as a born-again semi-Republican (that's Republican - not Reptilian), Obama's efforts to get rid of LIFO accounting is not exactly appealing.

And apparently, he's doing it to finance National Healthcare Reform. Healthcare is certainly important. At the same time, I don't necessarily agree with nationalising healthcare. I just don't believe in the government interfering so much in our daily lives. Why can't people just take care of themselves and buy their own health insurance? If they can afford two cars and two TVs, why can't they afford health insurance? It's really a matter of prioritising.

I feel the whole Anti-LIFO concept is a bit penny wise, pound foolish. Anti-LIFO is definitely anti small business. So many small businesses will be adversely affected by an Anti-LIFO policy, and many will simply not survive. A wave of small business bankruptcies and more unemployment would definitely slow down the economic recovery. We cannot afford to let this happen.

I just bought a copy of FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression. I seriously need to start reading it. And so does Obama.