Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : Waterhouse Securities -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Pink Minion who wrote (1416)	7/4/1999 1:05:00 PM
From: James F. Hopkins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2076

HI MH; Well in one way they could be right about them not being marginable hence they should not have been approved. But the fact is they were approved and you were at risk if they had moved against you, so they need to make good. I bet who ever approved them is in deep kimshie. ----------------- There have been times I have had to inform the "broker" that the QQQ , SPY , and MDY trade for 15min after the close, also the up tick rule does not apply to them and they can be shorted on the down tick. I guess with the pickup of business they are having a hard time in getting enough brokers who are really up to speed about what all the rules really are. ------------------- My trick with the QQQ is to be long and short at the same time then sell the long position to go short. 1 it's faster when my point hits; as the sale does not need to be approved like the short did. 2 it lets me set a target to go short with a limit order, as most short orders if not done at market will be rejected. ( after all who wants to look up shares if the limit price is going to be gone, and they are not going to hold shares in reserve to lend you at some limit particularly if the demand is high ) -------------- This is not to get around the UpTick rule, as that does not apply to the QQQ, SPY or MDY, it's just faster to get short at a target and also lets me set up for a limit short. It's not without some extra cost as the short is most often done at market, as is the buy ie (short market; buy market I get hit for the spread and two commissions ) but have got into a position that lets me wind up short at my target. Still this seems to confuse some of the brokers or associates, the other day they got confused and shut down my webbroker account so I would have to call them. Man I was ticked off. And it took me an hour to find out who shut it down and get them on the phone to open it back up, then I had to go through getting web-broker back to set up my password as it killed it. The whole time I'm exposed with no way to cover my arse. This happened because the day before I put in a market short on the QQQ just before the close and it was rejected, ( crap ) I called and had them re-enter the order at 16:10 , ( she trades till 16:15 ) well it never filled even though the QQQ traded another 350K ( this was a market order too ) --------------- I do wonder if they front run my order. As it was a cinch the QQQ was going to drop the next morning. Any way it went unfilled. The next morn the qqq did drop 2 1/2 pts, but it was to late for me. Later when she went up I did another short and it took; and then my account was shut down. -------------- When I called in the guy wanted to know if I still wanted the market short from the day before as it had not filled and he said it should have, and that they could give it to me at the closing price. By now it's well above that and I was dumbfounded at why he would even suggest this, as well as ticked off that I had been shut out over such silly bullsit, I pointed out to him; had I got that short I would have covered it a long time ago, ( he acted like well how do we know that,) well he couldn't be so dumb as to think I would want to now take that short at a price 3 below the friggin bid. There was something fishy about the whole situation. ------------------- This is not waterhouse per say , as overall I get good service but from time to time you will wind up with some dumb ares, or someone personally trying to pull a fast one, lets keep in mind on the floor of the NYSE they caught some 80 floor traders front running orders last year. It's an ongoing problem through out the industry and very hard to police. ----------------------- I won't give the details, but in one case some one front run an order on me many months ago, ( I thought the order expired unfilled as it was a limit day order ) latter I find it filled even though the price only went taht low early that day, not after I placed the order At the end of the day it showed my order as unfilled. Some time after the market closed my order was filled. the next day the stock dropped a tad more So it rocked on and was in my account but I didn't know it as I didn't check for a while, but ha that next day was the low of the lows, the one they often hit just before a tender offer. The puzt that passed what he though was a bad trade in his account to me ( after hours at a better price than the low after I had placed my order ) was likely thinking he was smart the next day on it's dip, little did he know about the upcoming buy out. I made out like a bandit on a stock I thought I didn't even own. ( I never knew it till the tender offer came in the mail ) and I was sure I had not got the order filled , but went and looked any way, and there it was & then it all came to me. The front runner had screwed himself. And no I did not complain* Jim PS I have an idea of who it was too, and I have thought about setting up a trap. I didn't just fall off some cabbage truck. Playing detective has been a part time hobby of mine, it could become a full time job as I'm taking a collage course thinking it may supplement my income in my old age. It's not a bad job and requires very little physical effort, just a rat trap type mind, which it seems I have , much to the distress of the 9 kids I raised, however my guess is it developed mostly because of them <G> But again any kid who don't try to pull a fast one on their parents from time to time don't have any gumption. <G> Jim