shift?

Today was a hard day in the market. There are some trends that I was looking at that have "blipped." Specifically, I am talking about WMT and HPQ. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. I would expect the market to be up but if not, the market is very concerned with the consumer confidence index and the employment rate issues. I think much of HPQ's loss today was due to Lexmark's poor performance. My gut feel is that HPQ is taking business from Lexmark and HPQ will continue its turnaround. I will let the market decide that though.

Volume

You know, I was thinking how these books on trading tell you how to look for big volume as a signal to buy or sell. I agree with them but I do not think it is that easy. Look, these institutions are smart. They don't want to put up a big flag and say, "hey look, we are buying (or selling)." No, they want to be quiet. So, don't think that volume is a big telltale sign. You have to focus on price and the close on the day.

This is fun! New Title!

Speculate : to assume a business risk in hope of gain; especially : to buy or sell in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations.

You may have noticed that I changed the title name of my blog. I must admit that it took me many years to accept the word "speculate" into my realm of thinking. I was bought up to "invest!" It seems like people feel better if they lose money on an "investment" opposed to a "speculation." Investing means you put money into something and ride out the ups and downs. This includes riding something into the ground. Investing is associated with being "responsible" and "mature." I guess that is a better way to lose money.

After about sixteen years of watching the market and "investing," I am not comfortable making a decision and putting it on autopilot. No, I want to make money! I am not too proud to change my mind if the market changes its mind about a company. Do you think a little guy like me is going to argue with the institutions out there?! No way!

10/20/2005 - WMT strong - shoot

OK - it hurts to be a speculator sometimes. I am missing out on some upward thrusts of WMT since I sold last week. F*&%!. Well, what can I learn from the transaction? First, I have to stop using intraday day data to make decisions when I am using daily close info. If you think about it, the institutions are the one that come in at the end of the day.

10/13/2005 - WMT weak

I thought WMT was going to spike up after the press said that it was undervalued and could go to the 60s this year. Well, the stock did get a bounce but after today I am not too sure that this puppy is going to move like we want. Better to step aside and wait for a clear picture to emerge.

10/10/2005 - Dis - What happened?

Dis 10/10/2005

This one did not work out. I thought it was a good trade but as you can see it did not have enough momentun to push it up. Well, it is not my falt that it is did not go up. It would be my fault if I did not do the proper thing and sell.

Discretionary Vs. Mechanical trading. Which do you like?

Cut losses stupid!