Tomorrow is Opening Day! All the statistics from last year are thrown out and we start anew. Spring has arrived with its warmer weather, flowers blossoming and sunlight extended. All those fans of non playoff teams gain a great gift- hope. No matter that the Tampa Rays failed to make the playoffs in 2009 as most predicted- this could be … Read More
TRADING WITHOUT VISIBILITY (ARQL)
I was flying home from Florida this weekend and we started hitting some serious turbulence on the descent. A woman in front of me popped open the window shade and was startled by the lack of visibility. “How can we land in this? You can’t see a thing!” she shrieked to her significant other (who looked too much like “The Situation” from … Read More
FRESH NEWS AND A LEVEL (VZ)
Not all levels are created equal. As traders we must differentiate which levels are most important. Less important levels require more checks for us to take positions. Well fresh news just might be one of those checks. VZ had fresh news today. From Forbes.com: Rumors have been circulating that a new Apple ( AAPL – news– people ) iPhone, equipped to operate through Verizon Communications’ ( VZ – news – people … Read More
Traders Ask: How Do I Work on My Stubbornness?
I received the following email from reader Brent: Dear Bella, I have followed SMB Capital since WSW on Mojo and have been following the blog for several months now. I am impressed by the quality of content that you guys release and it has helped my trading greatly. I am a remote trader for a prop firm and have been … Read More
WHY NOT TO TAKE OFF WHEN TRADING WELL
I received this email from a loyal reader which encapsulates why you should not take off when you are trading well. Trading is like being a professional athlete in that it is performance-based. Sometimes you just see the market better than at other periods. And if this is the case, sit in your seat, and enjoy these times. Squeeze every … Read More
THE STATE OF TRADING
I received this email from Reader Eric: Hello Mike, I wanted to share with you an interesting paper I found on the T3 website. http://www.knight.com/newsroom/pdfs/EquityTradinginthe21stCentury.pdf It addresses the state of trading in today’s environment. Over my year of trading I have seen successful groups on my floor completely wiped out by the changes in the trading environment. Yes, they were … Read More
POINTS OF INFLECTION (TIF)
TIF, Tiffany & Company, offered opportunity on the Open. 45.35 was the most important level. Trades off of these points of inflection offer ridiculous risk/reward opportunities. 45.35 was the most important level. After an initial upmove on the Open 45.05 held the bid. And then TIF found 45.35 but could not hold a bid at this price. Repeating white prints … Read More
SMB TRADECAST (BA)
It’s Saturday and I just arrived at SMB headquarters in downtown Manhattan. Before we get to our topic I should share that its 75 degrees, cloudless, and overall just about the most beautiful day of the year. Also its March Madness. Speaking of my own madness, WTF am I doing here! Since I am here and am giving up part … Read More