Neil: I don't recall the name of the TV Show with Consuelo Mack. Perhaps I'll catch it again this weekend ...I sit at this computer while the TV is on, and I just vaguely even pay attention to the TV. I rarely turn it on to "watch"...and I had not noticed this particular show before. In fact, it was only the last name that caught my attention. And I kept listening until I heard the stock pick she recommended ...sorry, I forgot that now ...it wasn't a Cabot special, for sure.
Speaking of which, Cabot sure through me for a "loop" (it turned out pleasant) this week. I am sort of resigned to ride out PRST, but seeing an opportunity to take some profits and consolidate some losses, I was tempted (plain scared!) a short while back, so I sold a lot of IOMG--clearly over objection of Cabot! Nobody told me there would be a "press release" that would counter the bad news syndrome! I must confess, maybe like Jason's Mother, I have done well by Cabot in the past couple of years, so I can feel guilt when I deviate from his scripture. I usually loose, however, if I go against his advice and try to "market time" a trade. Well, after I sold, the next day came the PRST press release ...and another day (or was it a weekend?) of reflection (Thank God for the weekends of reflection ...er, fishing)and all the Cabot stocks were suddenly bouncing back.
After listening more to the thread, and arriving at the realization that I had clearly over-reacted, I decided to buy back! Actually I realized that the best investment philosophy (for me, at least) is to assess the situation at the time, not at some past or future point which (due to events, circumstances, hindsight, and speculative hope)reflects a different picture. During that weekend, I concluded I had made a mistake, and the best way to rectify it was simply to admit it ...take a loss, and move right back in ...positioning myself as best I could.
Now I could have taken the opportunity to shove my "other money" into more PRST. And I truly would like to keep doing that so that I too can get over 10,000 shares, but my weekend reflection told me to "just get on with it": put the money back where it was and not be so greedy! So I did buy back ...2000 shrs IOMG.
BTW*, putting up a 1000 share block for sale doesn't mean it will go down in one 1000 share swoosh: my sale and buy-back executed in 800 share, or 200 share, blocks only. Hence, that theory that I hear about only the smaller shareholders trading, does not seem to a fair inference from looking only at the size of blocks trading at any given period.
Well, back to the IOMG story: as soon as I rectified my sin of selling IOMG ...by buying back and paying my penitence (gain to IRS, and paper loss due to buying back at such a higher price), the price lags ...I already have an additional loss from the get-go, and then Cabot suddenly says SELL. Sell? The automated telebroker hadn't even figured out yet that I had bought the stock. Why sell? I hadn't held it 24 hours and suddenly there is a rollercoaster wind from nowhere pushing the stock down, and for no known ("fundamental") reason.
I have taken losses for Cabot before, and it usually works itself out in the end. So I contemplated taking this loss too. But it seemed so much ...there's that "greed" element in every trade! Maybe if I held off, the dream would be wrong. I did end up waiting a couple of days ...actually, I put in a limit order at several points higher. It did go south, but it came back ...and sold...at a gain too! That's what I mean by Cabot's loop turning out "pleasant" after all this week. Often I have anticipated Cabot cooling on a stock, and I have positioned myself to accept and understand many of his recommendations. This past one, threw me off, however. I still can't believe I reacted by selling in the first place, but I do understand my feeling about wanting to rectify the mistake and buy back as soon as I recognized my mistake. Then I bought back ...without anticipating Cabot's word. And it came the very next day!
Oh well, this is one of those "weekend" stories ...I made a little money, not enough to pay the taxes, but close enough to call it a wash. I was distracted all week long and did not worry about PRST! (Yes, I did check the tape 4-5 times a day, however, and my "productivity" was possibly affected momentarily). And now I can sleep through the weekend knowing that on Monday or Tuesday the account will swell with the cash ...ready for a new idea ...a new adventure, a mystery, a rollercoaster, a law suit?, or maybe I'll get a greeting card in the mail (printed by PRST technology)?
I just noticed in the newspaper that a man in San Diego was mauled by a bear yesterday. It seems he was sitting on the side of the bear's pool (doing who knows what) when the bear came to investigate: "mauled" him in the groin, the story goes. By tomorrow the WSJ will likly pick up the trail and report on Monday that a "maulestor" [you have to sound this one out] attacked a Bear. The Bears of the world will unite in a class action and sue. Zoo stock will plummet. Jack likely has some puts on the San Diego Zoo already.
Maybe that was Consuelo's pick of the week. Good fishing. Cal
*(short for "by the way" maybe? I'm trying to pick up this cyperspeak,and IMHO that's what I guessed this expression to mean ...whereas, ITLR I'll possibly not have to guess so much ...it's all in the "fundamentals" isn"t it?) |
