SHARE OF THE DAY

Starting today am gonna share something everyday in this blog...anything that may inspire, change, or nudge us to do something different for the better. So, here's my first for my trading buddies:


1. Beliefs of Successful Traders

1. The markets provide a constant stream of opportunities.
2. If I miss an opportunity, another will come along.
3. If my position is stopped out, the hypothesis that got me into the trade was incorrect.
4. I take one trade at a time, and stay in the moment with it.
5. I strive for excellence, not perfection.
6. I maximize profits by losing small.
7. I am not my trade.
8. I take complete responsibility for my thoughts, feelings and actions in the markets.

2. Beliefs of Unsuccessful Traders

1. I must be trading something all the time
2. If I lose on a trade, I feel angry, frustrated, sad or sick.   If I win on a trade, I am a happy camper.
3. If I don’t get on board with the hot tip of the day, I will miss out.
4. The markets are out to get me.
5. I am unwilling to take the stop-out, so I am turning this trade into an investment.
6. If I just keep studying and looking and reading, I will find the magical formula/indicator/guru to lead me to riches.
7. Everything has to be perfect for me to get into a trade
8. If I win, I was skillful.  If I lose, I was unlucky.

3.  Cut your losses short and let your winners run.

It is only through daily assessment of beliefs with radical honesty that a trader grows, develops and thrives. Diligent examination of beliefs and the courage to change them is an ongoing challenge that must be conquered if the trader is to move to higher levels of success. 

Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it….. Buddha

Thanks and Good Trading!

WILL TOMORROW BE A DIFFERENT MONDAY?

As i listen to today's news, it seems Europe is on the brink of disintegration. Rallies in Spain, Portugal, Italy and other cities, against austerity measures and banks' bailouts are starting to gain momentum. Today's election in Greece will decide which way EU will go  and Greece in particular.


The repercussion of such development will send shockwaves around the world.  The financial tsunami will be catastrophically enormous. There will be massive bankruns, capital flights and  defaults. 


I think we just have to let it fall where the pieces should be; rather than governments resort to bailouts and palliative measures which in the long run ...will achieve nothing. No QEs, no bailouts, no printing of more money -in short, let the banks fail; let governments default. 


This break up of the EU will metamorphose in a new economic and political order; more humane, reasonable, and propeople. Banks should not be allowed to grow too big beyond their banking duties.


I hope ill wake up to a new beginning tho how difficult and painful it may be.

THE VANISHING SPECIE

I am not talking 'bout plants/animals going extinct..but a breed of people who, due to recent global market developments,  seems to be vanishing. I am referring of course to traders who buy and hold stocks - INVESTORS in simple word!


I believe i had become one. We are what is known as DAYTRADERS, as distinct from SWINGTRADERS. Daytraders are traders who buy stocks and never hold them for a day or two. They get in and get out same day, usually relying only on technical indicators. 


The culprit of this trending phenomenon is the global economic/finacial chaos especially in Europe. This situation gives rise to the high volatility of the market all over the world considering the interconnectiveness of the economies. Most governments in the world are saddled with enormous debts beyond their capacity to repay. Financial institutions as well have high exposures to bonds and derivative mortgages. Bailouts have become necessary inorder to survive and at whatever costs even if they become unsustainable due to high interest rates. 

As  a consequence, markets all over the world are experiencing unprecedented volatility. This what gives rise to this new breed of traders!


WELCOME DAYTRADERS!

MY PERSONAL LEARNING LAST WEEK

I wouldnt elaborate much on this reflection; suffice to say, a lot happened last week that needs a conclusion.


"Those who trust will be able to accept whatever God allows. They will have peace in their hearts through all trials and tribulation. 

They will know how to survive when their material possessions are taken away.

God will not abandon those who trust. God will comfort and console those children who have complete trust in Him."

BEAR MARKET TERRITORY

Friday, June 1, 2012 had been significant for many reasons:
1. S&P 500 confirmed it has moved into the bear market territory after touching the 200 moving average for the first time this year.
2. Friday's market breakdown erased all the gains it had built since the start of the year with DOW down 274 points!


This market condition should probably persist as EU is teteering on the brink of economic collapse and break-up. More and more countries are needing bail out funds esp Spain and Italy. China's economic data are showing an accelerated decline owing to slowdown in its exports. The US as well is not performing well as shown by its Friday's jobless data. All of these factors contributed to the enormous decline in the stock market last Friday.


Let's see how the market reacts today, June 4, 2012. Hope it was just a correction.

NBA TIME...A BREAK FROM TRADES

We're now into the conference finals. In the West, its finally a match up between the Spurs and Thunders. These two teams are the top two in the whole NBA and their meeting today will be very fierce, going into the championship.


I believe the Thunder has a little edge considering their youthful line up and aggressiveness. The Spurs will gonna have a hard time containing the fast drives into the basket by Westbrook and the tall all-around shooting and rebounding ability of Durant. He is simply amazing in the court. The whole team too plays  in a clockwork precision.


The Spurs meanwhile are kinda old team and may not be able to catch up with the energy of the youthful Thunder. Dunkin for instance, has been in the NBA for quite sometime, as well as Manu G.


In the East, Its Boston vs Heat. Its a same scenario as in the West. Miami is the younger team while Boston, like the Spurs, is the aging team and it is definitely not a plus.

My guess is that it will gonna be the Thunder and the Heat in the champioship! And who will be the 2012 NBA Champion???---->OKLAHOMA THUNDER!

MY TUESDAY'S TRADE SET UPS, MAY22,2012

DOW will definitely continue to go north as in yesterday. I will augment my position therefore with the followings stocks:
         
           STOCKS    SHARES        ENTRY         EXIT
          1. BIDU          230               121.75        129.55
          2. MA               60               410.58        419.99
          3. WYNN       240               104.17        107.01
          4. PCLN           40               657.58        681.85
          5. CAT            274                 91.98        100.66
          6. YHOO       1650                 15.58         16.72


As soon as each stock hits its price target, i will gonna head for the exit and take profit. My indicators showed that above stocks will move up with the market.

So let's see how well i trade today :)
Note: Above are mine alone and does not constitute a  
          recommendation to others.

MARKET'S GOING NORTH..

Market has been spiralling downward for the past twenty days. DOW index plummeted from 12,300 to 12,369 as of the last trading day Friday, May 18, 2012. And this bearish trend may probably continue if world leaders will not act on it to prevent this from happening.

But just today i heard the G8 leaders convened and agreed unanimously to fix EU's enormous problems that may lead to its break up and possibly spread the contagion to other struggling or even recovering economies.

Are we seeing a possible reversal of the market tomorrow? Personally, i believe the market will open up tomorrow in a positive mode, and will bring smiles to both investors and traders.

So right now i am preparing my trade set ups and expect to make a little profit tomorrow. Let's see if i read it right.

THE FB IPO TODAY..WHAT COMES

I am an FB user but beyond checking status updates...i dont do much.


So, as an investor, what's in store for me?  Personally, i dont believe in FB's viability unless it can monetize the 1billion users it now has by way of ads. Besides, its ipo valuation is way too high and there are signs its too speculative. A lot will be dumping their stocks the day after to take profits.


Goodluck to its investors then!

THE WORKS OF SMART MONEY!

I didnt expect the DOW to go down any further last night. It has been red for the past two weeks triggered by uncertainties in EU and the possible exit of Greece. Unfavorable economic/financial  figures too from the US and China had been making investors wary and nervous.  After the sell off, market is supposed to stabilize as bottom-pickers take advantage of the dip.


It turned out the sell off  wasnt over; probably more bad news had filtered in esp with JPM's 3billion loss in hedging. Or investors are still expecting for the market to worsen. Or the SMARTMONEY has gone to work again!


At any rate, i changed my portfolio position anticipating a recovery. The market indeed recovered and the DOW went up 40+ index points. So i went to sleep. But that was how far the market had gone. Soon as i hit the bed, it tanked and the DOW ended the day 12632 points, down 63.35.

I ended up too with a loss, with no choice but to wait till the market recovers - afterall, my call expiration is a month away still.

BLOODY WEEK IN THE STOCK MARKET

Stock market this week will definitely be far worse than anyone would expect. China has slowed down; most in EU have reentered recession; Greece might exit the EU and the US might be sucked back into recession as well.


Like i said last week, the best thing to do is sell all your positions before it gets worse. There is no alternative to being liquid! And when everything has bottomed out, get on the buying spree and go fishing. Or if have guts, go on PUTS  or take SHORT POSITIONS.