Feb 24
A simple solution to my trading dilemma. Only hold positions that are profitable and look promising for an extended run. No matter how much I may have been up in a position, if it comes back to the break-even point it must be sold.

Putting an end to bad trading habits is just like breaking any other bad habit like smoking. I've put many vices behind me and the method that works best for me is quitting cold turkey. To implement this concept in trading requires putting a hard fast rule into effect. That rule is:

Place a stop order at the break even point once a 2.5% gain has been achieved.
*
Intel downgraded again today but the stock is up. It's a buy.
**
It was nice to trade all week without the Cramer risk. He's baaaack - next week.

Feb 23
If the United Arab Emirates runs some ports, isn't it in their best interest to be very careful inspecting shipments? Might they be better at uncovering terrorist threats since they understand the enemy better than we do? If foreigners own America, doesn't that make us less likely to be the recepient of a foreign attack? We run their oil programs and own a great deal of their infrastructure. Why are we so unfriendly to foreign buyers? We are not giving up our right to oversee security. A phrase from the nuclear non-prolif era: Trust, but verify.
**
I have 7 positions at the moment and looking at an eighth. ALL of my positions are in the red. I don't want to bail on any of them just yet. I've seen too many of my calls recently go my way after I got out. I might be in my usual situation - being early is the same as being wrong. My thoughts on each:

GKIS - longterm hopefully, chicken market will recover
GMR - also longterm, Oil will rise again and so will this shipper, bid for 39 on the table
INTC - Oversold, pray for bounce
RMBS - Overvalued, volitile, really bad trade, hoping short squeeze is over.
EBAY - expansion plans will fail, competition for paypal.
BAB - Heavy advertising, lots of competitors in Europe, fuel costs will rise as soon as there's a breeze.
LEXG - Yesterday's daytrade, now looking for the exit

Will have to post some bad numbers in Feb. if the above scenarios fail to occur!
**
Sold LEXG for small loss. Right now I've got 6 losers and most were winners at one time or another. What's that old saying "Never let a profit turn into a loss"? I was up 500 on RMBS and now I'm down almost that much. I have a hard time taking a loss and it's twice as hard since I have to post it to the track record. This is 99% of the reason that I'm not wealthy. I'm definitely overtrading also.

I'm trying to get a little more profit out of my trades by holding them longer but my talent is for short term trades. As my stocks travel further into the red, I have placed stops on everything except INTC.
I'm hoping today was a short squeze in RMBS. The latest news about the lawsuits against the company seems to be negative for the stock. I am willing to hold this short through this rally because I KNOW it will crash at some point. **

Feb 22

Once again, Ben Stein is a voice of reason when it comes to protectionism.

It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security when buying a bellweather like Intel (INTC). I let my guard down on this stock and now it's a problem. The downgrade today isn't by a major firm. I don't buy the "conspiracy theory" that they downgrade in order to buy shares cheaper for their clients. There seems to be support at 20.15, if it holds, I'll stay in.

Feb 21

• Big week in the market. Several noted market mavens are talking about market tops.
  Walter Deemer describes the "typical" market top. Paul Desmond echoes Deemer's analysis.
  

Feb 20

• My apologies for the lack of posts last week. I was in Las vegas with my wife and a good friend. My plans were to rise early and at least watch the markets and try to stay on top of things even if I wasn't going to trade. I was unable to connect to my server through the hotel connection so I wasn't able to post.
  
• I made no trades during the week and a stop order took me out of ESLR with a moderate profit.
  
  
• During this week I will be trying to get caught up with the news and the markets. I am going to concentrate quite a bit on the short side. The long side will get it's fair share of research since I try to stay as market neutral as possible in my outlook. I'm an optimist who brings a raincoat.
  

• Today I'm off to the desert, and to visit the art exhibit at the Bellagio. Impressionism. The stop orders will have to take my place today. I never trust them to do a very good job. But it's better than losing my shirt.
  
  
• Knowing and not acting is the same as not knowing.
  
  
• Viva Las Vegas!