SI
SI
discoversearch

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.
Pastimes : Home on the range where the buffalo roam -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Sig who wrote (13016)5/19/2004 8:17:14 AM
From: D.B. Cooper  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 13815
 
this last two weeks for us has been brutal also.
some our biggest losses in years. We have never been this exposed. Penni is usually sitting at maybe 50% in the market. She has our long term holds and all the "good stocks". She has come all in as they say at this bouncing along this imagenary bottom and hasn't sold. I just try swing trades ranging from a couple of hrs to weeks in the garbage.
Most of our living was made in the big bull and is pretty well protected now in fixed income etc. But this new exposure has hurt. You sure go down faster then you come up. I don't know the exact count of shares in, but for a old country boy rasied on a farm by a Dad that made it through the depression. He would whip my hide if he knew what his son was doing.
We will be selling a lot IF these stocks go past our price that we have set. we will be selling with trailing stops in affect from today.
the price of gas has to be factored in now for the lower and mid income familes. I don't know how with this much credit that America carries that they can handle this shock.

Sig some of these companies are creating great earnings. Take AMAT which we still have a small position from before the bull years. Been carrying that stock for years. They had great earnings and after hrs last night they where down what .05. Gimmie a break. The longer I trade the more confinced this market is rigged. LTB and hold is out forever in this house. Bank on that.

I voted for this president but this war without finding WMD and Hallburent has got me bugged. I will most likely vote Nader this time. Senators from Mass. bother me for some reason. I mostly don't talk about much politcs or religion, I learned that lesson in the service

Well its 500am here on the West Coast and everyone is asleep. Going to down to the kitchen and make a pot of coffee and get ready.
My spell checker has crapped so exuse the usual mistakes

Take Care



To: Sig who wrote (13016)5/19/2004 11:24:33 AM
From: im a survivor  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 13815
 
<<This has been the most vicious market I've seen in many years for the past twoo months. >>

Couple of points..as I said yesterday and as I think you mentioned also....many stocks are WAY down, yet the averages are still up....remember on the way up, when we were at these same numbers in the dow and naz? 90% of the stocks I own or have on watchlists are down considerably from the levels they were at last time we were at these numbers with the averages......

I believe you mainly play with calls, correct? Well, you make alot more when things go up with calls versus stock, but same on way down...lose more with calls then with stock....

Plus, at least with stock, you can hang on as long as you are not margined, but calls, you not only have a time frame you are betting on, but you also have 'time decay'....even if things dont go down, you lose simply by time going by.....so calls are great and provide tremendous leverage and great % gains when things are going well, but you can lose your azz when things are going down if you are not very, very careful....

In this market, if you buy some calls and place a 10% stop loss to limit your losses, imo, you are better off taking 10% of your buy and simply flushing it....In an up market, you can be patient with calls as even a really bad week can be made up if overall tone of market is up...but in this market, and especially with calls, you cannot be patient or you may find yourself with 75%+ losses in a blink. There is so much volatility that a 10% stop loss is more then likely going to be stopped out, unless you happen to time things just right and get in and out at just the right times which is tough to do, especially in a skitso market such as this.....and frankly, the 'cheaper' stocks get, the less appealing calls are.....Sure, as stocks get cheap, so do the calls and they can pop up huge %'s on a decent up move on a 'cheap' stock.....but, with the stock so cheap why be greedy, looking for home run returns, when it is safer to hit singles and doubles with stock versus a home run or striking out with calls.....

MANY advantages to calls over stock, but in this market calls can be very dangerous. On the flip side, nothing wrong with writing CC's on long positions and trade those calls as we go up and down....a tad bit of protection..make a few bucks each month...get to play the volatility a little more safely......anyway, good luck....I would assume today would be a good day to do some selling into this strong green.......BWTFDIKA



To: Sig who wrote (13016)5/19/2004 2:48:43 PM
From: John Koligman  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 13815
 
Sig,

Dell is exhibit one. Kemble keeps hyping it's great growth, but who cares if the stock was 20 points higher five years ago. The stock was a nice trader for the past few years as it cycled between the low and high twenties multiple times, but as a 'blue chip tech' how much of a LTBH has it been?

Best regards,
John

PS - My MO is day trade and take longer term positions in quality tech when it gets smashed. It's about the only thing that seems to work okay. It's the reason I mentioned Nokia recently and how it would be nice to get some around 10 or 11 for a good percentage longer term trade. Kind of like buying Time Warner in the single digits and dumping in the mid teens.