Each morning ALJ comes into my office and requests I give him our “Best AM Idea” for the Open so he can blog about it. Bella is not a huge fan of putting out the specific trades we are considering making because he believes successful trading is about having trading skills and not about having some great trading idea. My … Read More
Stages of Successful Trading Part II
The stock I was alluding to in my first post was AMZN. It had been trending up for five days and most of our trades have been on the long side. I mentioned in the morning meeting that 147 would be a 50% move since the gap up on earnings so I would like for signs of a top as … Read More
Putting the Pieces Together
I highlighted SEED today during our Stocks In Play meeting. I mentioned a few levels that I thought would be important and how I would trade it from a bigger picture perspective. I talked about how AMZN traded yesterday and the level I viewed as the best possible entry for a long trade. I then discussed AIG and highlighted some … Read More
WoW!!
Occasionally, I give a shout out to one of the less experienced traders on the desk for sharing great trading information. I am definitely not the type of person who offers faint praise. In fact, if you talk to those who are closest to me they probably would say that I am somewhat parsimonious with my compliments. So when I … Read More
Trading A Secondary Level
JPM priced a secondary a couple of days ago at $35.25. JPM showed nice strength in the morning and traded up from around $34.40 to $35.25. One of the younger traders on the desk called out “JPM at the high of the day”. Rosie, the trainee who sits to my left immediately responded that JPM was approaching its secondary price … Read More
All Trades Are Not Created Equal
On our desk newbies are taught to look for setups where they can risk one unit to make five. By constantly looking for these great risk/reward setups they can become consistently profitable. But there is something more important one needs to recognize in order to move to the “next level”. Traders must recognize that unlike people all trades are not … Read More
Attention All RIMM Traders!
I love trading RIMM. Not because it was my most profitable stock in 2008. Well maybe partly. I love trading RIMM because it is one of those few stocks that all the major players on Wall Street trade. Hedge funds flock to RIMM when the market is moving. As do mutual fund managers, professional traders, and retail brokers. With so … Read More
Quick Nighttime Thoughts – The Turn On The Way?
The market has been offering a few clues about a possible pause in the rally run we have had over the past 4-5 weeks. The financials have been a leading sector and I wanted to point out a few things. As I discussed in our AM Meeting, there seemed to be a blow off top in the XLF and IYF … Read More