Borrowing phraseology from the Ragin Cajun and former advisor to President Clinton, James Carville: it’s the price action stupid! Why is the market going up with unemployment so high, consumer debt outrageous, an environment where taxes must go higher, energy 5xs the norm, housing still depressed, access to credit stunted, expensive war expenditures, the Greece failure, a weak dollar, and … Read More
Banging In and Out of Stocks
As a desk we have transitioned into focusing on Trades2Hold due to different market conditions. Scalping has diminished. C trades deemphasized. We wait for our best set ups and execute. But then Obama entered the arena looking for a fight with the Banks. Things got ugly. And as traders we need to adjust again. Back in the Fall of 08 … Read More
JToma talks Banks, SPY, and GS on CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Report
News today was focused the repayment of TARP funds by 10 of the big banks. This news has been circulating in the market for quite some time and I believe that it was priced into the financials. The TARP trade for most financials is finished! In the broader market it seems that we are continuing to trade in a range. … Read More
Don’t Fight the Tide
Part of my job as a partner at SMB is keeping an eye on what other traders on our desk are trading. I have a third monitor that is used primarily for this purpose. I find it kind of amusing when a new trader asks for a third monitor. Why would they need a third monitor? So they can spend … Read More
Bottom in Place?
This last week was out of control. I wish there was a better way to describe it. The volatility seen in the financials, specifically GS and MS was just absolutely silly. I remember I jokingly said on our morning meeting last Monday that GS could go as low as $80 and MS to $10 (they were trading at $140 and … Read More
Movie Premiere Market Talk
Last night a few of us from our desk went to a movie short premiere, “$ Game,” written by Maureen Holohan and directed by Tom Cavanaugh. Great time and excellent short. At the after party many who I did not know but who either found out what I did or recognized me from “Wall Street Warriors” approached me to talk … Read More