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Against all prognostics (bears) Phil pointed in the morning the correct direction, and in middle of day he pointed the possible move to 2.5% Incredible… I'm starting to serious believe on the program trading and the human nature behind the programing those "trade-bots".

- Spider

I am an investor, not a trader. The information at Phil's World is top-notch and always relevant. It is great to see your website thriving.

- Prof

I am a Registered Nurse, so is my wife. We work hard to take care of seven kids that are the joy of our lives. The cost for a basic membership is ALOT from our our monthly budget of spending and saving…but well worth it! Phil has allowed me to really ramp up the savings we put away for our children's college funds and our retirement.

- David

Phil/Everyone here/Thank you - What everyone here with their insightful comments (including yourself) has helped me with is that I'm greatly increasing my ability to trade more psychologically neutral, although I've got a ways to go. Two years ago I'd wake up early and my heart would race if futures weren't pointing exactly how I wanted… I've noticed an exponential leap in my discipline skills especially over this past two weeks. The old me would have ran with that trade for profits without even asking. Now I know that there are ALWAYS more trades and that I have PLENTY of options to turn a bad trade even. Also, it's more logical and less emotionally draining which lets me focus my faculties on my wife, college, my job, and studying for the ol' Series 7. Would it be safe to say that one of the most important skills to develop is the ability to adjust? I'd love to get to the point where I can look at a bracket and know, for example, what I need to sell for cover in what month in order to get my desired results. Both COF and my past DMM venture have been excellent learning experiences. Thanks, everyone. I look forward to further lessons.

- Skasiah

Phil, those OIH $80 p that you recommended last week for ~$1 are now worth $5.50!

- Greg

Phil: I am always able to figure out your trades, including the rational when put in the right context of previous comments, etc. Keep doing what you're doing. It is much appreciated, and invaluable. Your hit rate of successful trades has been very high in my 1.5 months as a member, but even more importantly is your teaching of how to repair and DD positions that haven't gone your way yet. As with most members, we all have our ‘pet' trading interests, and learning how to think about trading is much more important than a specific trade, which could see the conditions behind it change an hour later. This is the classic case, of ‘Teach us to Fish', rather than just giving us a fish once in a while. Thank you!

- Neverworkagain

As a fellow "low-end" investor I like Phil's Buy/Write strategy on solid stocks. Before I came here I loved to try to "figure things out" with very little success "TRYING TO FIGURE THINGS OUT"! I traded too much and fell in love with stocks that "should have done" what they didn't do. Now a majority of my accounts are in Buy/Writes suggested here or cash (waiting for a better time for more Buy/Writes). I use 15-20% of my total holding to short term trade and hedge. This is manageable with my full time job as a business owner. I have found Phil's system a more discipline way to achieve the returns I want without relying on my ability (more like inability to "figure things out").

- DCalrk41

Speaking of the "Man Who Planted Trees", it really works. I bought BTU back in March at $49.87. I practically bought it at the tippy top. However, I soon afterward found this site, started learning Phil's methodology(and those in the strategy section) and began selling calls/puts regularly against my bad position. As of yesterday, I still own the original 100 shares, but have brought my basis down by over $11.00. Couldn't be happier, what started out as a really bad entry, I have managed to work down to a good basis. Had I not watched that video and learned your system, I would sold out of the position, and been kicking myself for making such a bad entry.

- Hoss

I would like to thank Phil and PSW crew for the insight and assistance (even the liberals). In December I initiated long stock positions buying stock, writing calls and puts in AAPL, WFR and CHK (scaling in and out). Over the last week I have been trimming back my positions selling stock and taking out my callers and putters. I am now back to my initial 25% position that I started with in December. However this time, my cost basis on shares AAPL, WFR, and CHK is $0! With money to spare from those positions.

- Texasmotion

Phil - Moved today to send kudos. You're in my top 5 to see/read daily. I do not trade... but as former econ-finance adjunct faculty near Stanford U. I give you lots of attaboys.... and provide your links to many to spread some understanding of the mess we are in. Best to you and yours,

- HJ Kobbeman

As a retired stockbroker from a major Canadian brokerage firm, I can tell you I would never had access to these type of trade ideas, especially the hedges. Just closed out a July TZA 40/45 call spread today for a 271% gain in less than a month. I would have normally let that run but yesterday Phil commented to another member something to the effect that "you put down a $1 for a $5 upside, now that you are up 250% you have $2.5 in and you are hoping for a double." Just closed out a USO July $38 put that Phil suggested yesterday for a 49% one day gain. Thanks, Bob

- RJK

I doubled down on our USO June $35 puts on Tuesday afternoon and listened to your posting yesterday and sold 1/2 midday and the rest I sold (luckily) at the top of the market yesterday with the last 1/4 of my contracts at 100% return in less than one day!

- Samlawyer

Phil/Eric/Cwan/Matt/Cap/etc.. - I've learned so much from all of you and want to thank you. I'm up 23% this month thanks to all of your advice - Thanks, guys!

- Josiah

Peter D: great write-up for Short Strangles, Part 1, looking forward to Part 2, particularly the adjustment part.

- RMM

Praising PSW for enlightenment is a bit akin to praising the Pope for being holy. I've been reading PSW for about two months now and have learned more about investing technique and the world in general than I've learned from the books and seminars I've paid for. Thanks for the enlightenment, the education, the guidance and the truth, which is not a commodity these days, but a virtue in short supply.

- Andy Morris

I have learned more about options in the past 2 weeks as a full PSW member that the previous 5 yrs of making more bad than good option plays. The educational material alone is worth several times the price of admission. I have had an expensive education on what not to do- what is past is past- I am looking forward to profitable/fun future.

- Pstas

I have been here a year, and made most of my money back from the 14K fall. The people here are more than willing to help whe Phil cannot get to it. FWIW - This site is my brokerage firm, I was with Wells Fargo Portfolio and it was costing a fortune to trade, the costs here are more than offset with the data, trade ideas and profits you should make.. and I get a chuckle out of Cap and Phil's rantings on healtcare, guns, oh, yeah, and government….

- Pharmboy

Phil, I just wanted to say thanks for being there. The world needs more of you. Your site continues to positively change my life daily.

- Chasw

Phil - I am 3 month follower and shout a big thanks for all the good advice and training. I read all the materials and posts as suggested. I am retired CFO and took over my investments 2 years ago from broker after frustration with returns. I followed some conservative advice for retirees and have 60% bonds currently in a 5m portfolio. I had been doing covered calls on my stocks to boost returns and slowly am getting more aggressive after following your site and my son who has been with you for 6 months. I allocated 1.5m to stocks and am scaling up from 30%. I did some of the trades suggested in early June using Aug & Oct buy/writes on CSCO, WMT, MON, WFR, DO in addition to calls on XOM, CVX, PEP, PG, WM, T that I owned. Most are doing very well (4-24%) in 60 days. My good problem is that instead of getting longer, I will be making 6% quickly (50% plus annualized) and getting called away on many positions. What would you advise for getting long again. Thanks again for such a great job advising all of us!

- TXChili

Don't expect to get rich quick here, but you can get easy 30 - 50 % per year, just by buying good stocks at discount (as we often discuss), selling monthly premiums of calls and puts.

- Tchayipov

Phil: I have 263 positions - 70% in options ( balance stocks) in three portfolios with a value of 3 mil. YTD profit is about $750,000. Thanks!

- Gel1

Great calls this week!

- SNS1

I have been with this site since the beginning and i have learned more the past 3 years than the previous 10. Information and great commentary are abound. The traders on the site are second to none and my portfolio has benefited greatly.

- Kustomz

Phil - FAS - I dont know whether to be happier I averaged down and sold calls or that I got myself out of FAZ the other day…thanks for that help

- BCFla

Phil, You were on the $ today with your calls almost exactly on the turns – Krap kuhn krup (Thai for thank you very much).

- Jomptien

Well that was a fun day. Cashed out my GS 140 calls for about 35% profit and my AAPL calls for 38% gain. Not bad for 40 minutes of work. Back to 85% cash.

- Singapore Steve

Thanks to Phil (again) for the lessons on the art of the roll, selling premium and hanging tight under fire (particularly in the first hour of trading-MADNESS). Watching you manage the $25KP has really helped my trading in a big way.

- Oknoman

Just closed out my V put for 50% in 24 hours thanks Phil!

- Humvee

You guys gotta give it to phil–the voice of reason yesterday, last nite and this morning.

- Corleone

Peter D, Just a note of thanks. Eight weeks ago, I entered my first RUT strangles, when the RUT was at 625. Tomorrow, I will let them expire, with the RUT at 625 (give or take). I didn't care when the RUT went to 650, nor when it dropped to 590. Easiest, no touch money I've made in a long time.

- Judahbenhur

Archive for September, 2011

Sun Healthcare Group Lowers 2011 Guidance

by Insider Scoop - September 30th, 2011 8:30 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) today announced its updated financial guidance for the year ending December 31, 2011.

Reissuance of 2011 Financial Guidance

Sun Healthcare announced the withdrawal of its full-year 2011 guidance on August 1, 2011 in order to have time to evaluate the impact of the final rule for skilled nursing facilities that was published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 29, 2011. After completing that review, the Company is reissuing and updating its full year 2011 guidance. The significant changes include:

consolidated revenues are expected to be between $1.925 billion and $1.945 billion, compared to a previously expected range of $1.950 billion to $1.995 billion;

consolidated adjusted EBITDAR is expected to be between $237 million and $242 million, compared to a previously expected range of $259 million to $265 million; and

diluted earnings per share from continuing operations is expected to be between $0.83 and $0.94, compared to a previously expected range of $1.30 to $1.45.

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Pricing in a Recession, Liquidity Crunch, Or…

by Zero Hedge - September 30th, 2011 8:25 am

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

From Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors

Pricing in a Recession, Liquidity Crunch, Or…

The key macro driver this week has been the plan to plan a “Grand Plan”. While the market has been focused on this big headline grabbing news, something is happening in the High Yield market that is worth watching. The bottom end of the market is falling apart and this is during a period of retail inflows.

High Yield – Retail Buying, Professional Selling

HYG has been selling off this week. It is down 1% since last Friday. In the meantime, the S&P is up about 2%. So it is interesting that High Yield has underperformed by 3%. 5 year treasuries are barely down on the week, so it can’t be rates, and the high yield market doesn’t track rates that closely anyways.

My first reaction was that there must be some pretty significant outflows. But that is just not the case. HYG and JNK both had increases in shares outstanding. EPFR fund flows were positive $423 million this past week. This strikes me as very odd. High Yield price action usually tracks fund flows pretty well.

The above graph, while not great, shows that outflows typically accompany market sell-offs. The move this week is highly unusual. A big sell off in the market, but signs that retail is putting money into junk bonds. That can only lead me to the conclusion that institutions and banks are pulling back from the market. They are either worried about the potential for a recession or need to raise cash, or both. The same thing is occurring in the investment grade space where LQD is declining, spreads are widening, yet shares outstanding increased. This reminds me of the fall of 2007 when dealers were shedding all inventory because they were afraid of any risk and they were having funding issues. In investment grade, the basis went from pick 15 to pick 35. Some thought it was great opportunity to buy bonds and buy CDS. It turned out the funding pressure was persistent and that basis continued to get wider, peaking at over 100 after Lehman a year later. There isn’t the exact same feeling as 2007, but this divergence between what retail is doing and what institutions seem to be doing needs…

Posted in Immediately available to public | No Comments »

News That Matters

by Zero Hedge - September 30th, 2011 8:24 am

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by thetrader.

By www.thetrader.se

Ft.com
Three years after Lehman Brothers declared the biggest corporate bankruptcy in history, the defunct bank is approaching the end of the process as additional creditors voice their support for a final pay-out plan, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/30/689546/lehman-brothers-wind…

Bank of America, the largest US bank by deposits, is to charge its customers for using debit cards, as the beleaguered bank tries to claw back revenue in the face of new rules contained in the Dodd-Frank act. BofA said its debit card users would pay $5 a month from early next year when they used the cards to buy goods, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/30/689531/bofa-to-charge-custo…

HSBC’s China Purchasing Managers’ Index showed the factory sector contracted slightly for a third consecutive month in September, Reuters reports, while factory inflation quickened to a four-month high. The HSBC PMI, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/30/689526/china-pmis-show-thir…

Investment banking fees from mergers and acquisitions and capital raising have slumped in the third quarter to lows not seen since the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse, the FT reports. Investment banking fees – about 15 per cent of overall investment banking revenues – fell 43 per cent from the second quarter, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/30/689496/investment-banking-f…

UBS has hired executive search company Egon Zehnder International to help find a permanent chief executive officer following Oswald Grübel’s resignation, the WSJ says, citing a person familiar with the matter. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/30/689431/ubs-hires-firm-to-he…

Britain is bracing for defeat in Brussels on a critical piece of financial regulation, which would force it to cede control over the shape of key markets in the City of London, home to more than three-quarters of Europe’s derivatives trading, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/30/689426/uk-faces-defeat-over…

The German parliament has voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of measures bolster the €440bn eurozone rescue fund, and…

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TGIF – Closing a 12% Down Quarter

by Phil - September 30th, 2011 8:15 am

SPY DAILY 1,320 – That was the S&P close on June 30th.

1,160 – That was the S&P close after yesterday’s wild action. A neat 160-point drop (12%) in 3 months for the World’s largest market kind of sucks, don’t you think? My commentary in June 30th’s "It’s the End of the Quarter as We Know It" post was:

We feel fine because we cashed out on the long side (shorter-term, unhedged positions) and we really don’t care what the market does today or tomorrow but we are betting this rally reverses and we will be taking some (more) short hedges today – hopefully selling into the last legs of this fairly fake-looking rally.

My top downside picks to play the sell-off were EDZ ($17.90 at the time, now $28, which is up 36% even without using options to make a spread) and TZA ($35.50 at the time, now $51.10 – up 44%). As I said in that morning post: "I didn’t think they could take the Dollar below 75 but they hit 74.54 last night and it remains to be seen if they can hold it down in real trading, especially with the Pound weakness (see this morning’s Alert) and the Yen’s unwanted strength. Something’s gotta give and we’re betting it’s this fake, Fake, FAKE rally…."

We were shorting oil futures (/CL) at $95 (now $80, up $15,000 per contract) as we thought the holiday weekend was the end of the run but we did keep heading up to $100 (down $5,000 per contract) before finally getting a drop to $75 (up $25,000 per contract) in early August.

One funny play from that June 30th Member Chat was the VIX Aug $15/17 bull call spread at $1.20, selling the $16 puts for .50 for net .70 on the $2 spread. That just seems so cute (and obvious) with the VIX at 38.84 now (it was 30 at the end of Aug for a full 185% gain on that hedge).

Other hedges we liked in that post were the TZA Oct $31/42 bull call spread at $3, selling RUT Aug $710 puts for $2.90. The RUT puts expired worthless so net .10 on the spread that is currently $20 in the money for pretty much the full 10,900% gain.…

Tags: EDZ, FXE, GM, RUT, SPY, TZA, USO, UUP, VIX, VXX, X

Join Member's Chat - 280 Comments Here »

Daily US Opening News And Market Re-Cap: September 30

by Zero Hedge - September 30th, 2011 8:10 am

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

Submitted by Ran Squawk:

Eurozone CPI Estimate (Sep) Y/Y 3.0% vs. Exp. 2.5% (Prev. 2.5%)
Chinese Premier Wen says economic growth remains relatively fast and rapid prices have been contained.
“Operation Twist” might be more powerful than many investors expect, according to the WSJ.
The IMF is exploring how it can have at least USD 1.3tln in lending power, according to officials involved with the discussions.
German upper house approves EFSF expansion.
Bank of Spain says all Spanish banks now comply with its minimum solvency ratios.

Market Re-Cap

Today’s session has been a quiet one so far as markets digest yesterdays German EFSF vote and trading has seen light volumes heading into the month and quarter end. Weakening in the Euro currency was observed after higher than expected Eurozone CPI, which led to market participants further questioning whether the ECB will now be cutting interest rates in their monthly Governing Council meeting next week. As European bank fragility has remained in focus in recent times, news came from the EU Commission that they have temporarily approved state aid worth EUR 4.75bln to recapitalize three Spanish savings banks, although little reaction was seen in the markets. The largest moves have been seen in crude futures today with WTI and Brent trade down around USD 1, extending their quarter losses which remain on track for their biggest drop in 15 months. We’ve also seen the German upper house now approve EFSF expansion, and are awaiting final approval from Austria at today, although no time has been given.

Looking ahead to the US cash open, focus will be on the US Chicago PMI data which is expected to show a slightly lower than previous reading at 55.0, plus the final University of Michigan Confidence number 10 minutes later. Hope will be that these readings add to yesterday’s indication of some recovery in the US economy.

Asian Headlines

· Japanese Jobless Rate (Aug) M/M 4.3% vs. Exp. 4.7% (Prev. 4.7%)
Japanese CPI (Aug) Y/Y 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.1% (Prev. 0.2%)
Japanese Industrial Production (Aug P) M/M 0.8% vs. Exp. 1.5% (Prev. 0.4%), Y/Y 0.6% vs. Exp. 1.1% (Prev. -3.0%) (RTRS)
· Chinese HSBC Manufacturing PMI (Sep) M/M 49.9 vs. Prev. 49.9 (RTRS)
· Chinese Premier Wen says economic growth remains relatively fast and rapid prices have been…

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Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corporation Announces Agreement to Sell its Interest in Shandong Pacific Fiber-Optic Joint Venture

by Insider Scoop - September 30th, 2011 8:02 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corporation Limited (NASDAQ: APWC) today announced that the Company has successfully entered into an agreement to sell its 51% interest in the Shandong Pacific Fiber Optic Co., Ltd. (“SPFO”) joint venture, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company has agreed to sell its interest in SPFO to a group of investors in exchange for a total cash consideration of RMB 18.5 million (approximately $2.9 million). The sale is conditional upon the satisfactory completion of due diligence by the buyers and the procurement of certain local governmental approvals, both of which APWC currently anticipates will be completed within approximately 30 to 60 days. In addition to the consideration being paid to the Company under the agreement, the Company will be released and discharged from all of its obligations with regard to the SPFO joint venture, including the SPFO leasehold obligations.

The divesture of SPFO is an important goal of APWC’s board of directors and management to enable the Company to focus on its core wire and cable businesses that are more profitable and thereby increase shareholder value.

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Camelot Discloses Management’s Involuntary Sale of Common Stock

by Insider Scoop - September 30th, 2011 8:02 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS) today announced that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Yiming (Simon) Ma, and its Director and President, Heidi Chou, previously entered into certain margin loans, which were secured by a pledge of certain shares of the Company held by them. Due solely to market conditions and pursuant to margin calls, a total of 3,981,153 ADSs, or 15,924,612 shares, representing approximately 8.8% of the Company’s total issued and outstanding shares, were divested by one financial institution through sales on the open market and through transfers to other parties, to cover the obligations of Yiming Ma and Heidi Chou thereunder.

Mr. Yiming Ma, Camelot’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, “We were very disappointed to have to part with our Camelot shares to cover margin loans, since these transactions stand in opposition to our outlook for Camelot. Our share sales were precipitated by the extraordinary events affecting U.S.-listed China stocks in the IT services sector, and our confidence in Camelot shares remains unblemished. We do not foresee a need to sell any additional shares at this time and we plan to hold our shares for the long term.”

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Sino Clean Energy, Inc. Reconfirms Fiscal 2011 Guidance

by Insider Scoop - September 30th, 2011 8:01 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Sino Clean Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCEI) today reconfirmed its fiscal 2011 guidance and expected revenue of between $101.5 million and $110.7 million. The Company announced on the same day that its major customer, Shenyang Haizhong Heating, has completed pipeline modifications and is expected to resume operations in October as scheduled. Sino Clean Energy’s Shenyang facility is prepared to produce CWSF to supply this key customer according to its expected ramp up in demand.

Sino Clean Energy also provided additional updates about Foshan Nan Hai acquisition, third-party asset evaluation, and lawsuit against Alfred Little.

In regards to its planned Foshan Nan Hai acquisition, Sino Clean Energy has engaged Shaanxi Rongde Law Firm (“Rongde”) to conduct a comprehensive investigation and evaluation of Foshan Nan Hai’s assets, ownership structure, liabilities, and credit worthiness.

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

ECRI’s Achutan Says US Is “Entering A New Recession”

by Zero Hedge - September 30th, 2011 7:59 am

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

Last year the ECRI index was the bete noir leading indicator of the market: while the index clearly indicated the US had entered a recession, its creator Lakshman Achutan consistently refuted the findings of the index, instead pushing a contrary view that the US was in fact growing. Then came QE2 and with it s 9 month suspension of reality. That time is over, as is Achutan’s ongoing attempt to deny facts. As of a minutes ago, the ECRI’s head told Bloomberg Radio that the U.S. is “tipping into a new recession.” “He added: “We don’t make these calls lightly. When we make them, it’s because there’s an overwhelming objective message coming out of our forward-looking indicators. What is going on with the leading indicators is wildfire; it’s not reversible.” As Zero Hedge first said months ago, when it finally extracts its head from between its gluteui maximus, we expet the NBER to proclaim the re-recession as having started in June/July.

We will get the Bloomberg Radio interview as soon as possible.

Posted in Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Meanwhile In European Sovereign Default Risk…

by Zero Hedge - September 30th, 2011 7:48 am

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

While all eyes this morning are on Chinese CDS (with about an 18 month delay: about par for a centrally planned market), which has finally blown out, the shifting of attention has done nothing to fix the situation in Europe, where CDS is once again wider across the board.

5Y 10Y 5/10′s

ITALY 470/480 +21 446/460 -30/-10
SPAIN 379/389 +14 352/368 -30/-10
PORTUGAL 1090/1130 +20 825/895 -280/-220
IRELAND 660/710 -15 475/545 -205/-145
GREECE 59/63 0 60/64
BELGIUM 254/264 +11 249/263 -8/2
FRANCE 183/188 +9.5 197/203 12/17
AUSTRIA 164/174 +9 182.5/190.5 15/20
UK 91/95 +3 107.5/112.5 15/19
GERMANY 109/113 +4 128.5/133.5 17/21

XO 829/834 +41.5
MAIN 198/199.5 +9.25

Posted in Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Phil's Favorites

Crude Oil vs. Iran: Who Blinks First?

February 23rd, 2012 12:07 am

Courtesy of www.econmatters.com.

By EconMatters

Oil futures spiked more than 2% in one day to their highest level in nine months on Tuesday Feb. 21. WTI front month contract closed at $105.84, while Brent ended at $121.66 on ICE, primarily on investors fear of potential conflict over the escalating tensions between the US, Europe, Israel, and Iran. A second Greek bailout deal of €130bn (£110bn; $170bn) also helped to inject some optimism into the market (which would seem totally mis-placed as we may need to relive this Greek drama in two years). Nevertheless, the fact remains crude oil market supply and demand has not changed a bit to warrant a 2%+ price jump in one day.

...

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Zero Hedge

Scandal: Greece To Receive "Negative" Cash From "Second Bailout" As It Funds Insolvent European Banks

February 22nd, 2012 12:15 pm

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

Earlier today, we learned the first stunner of the Greek bailout package, which courtesy of some convoluted transmission mechanisms would result in some, potentially quite many, Greek workers actually paying to retain their jobs: i.e., negative salaries. Now, having looked at the Eurogroup's statement on the Greek bailout, we find another ...

Insider Scoop

Morning Social Media Outlook for Wednesday Feb 22

February 22nd, 2012 11:05 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

In recent years, traders and investors have increasingly turned to social media to discuss their investments. Now, interested parties can get a scientific look at what is being discussed on a weekly, monthly, and even hourly basis.

Provided by Social Market Analytics, here is the morning social media outlook for Wednesday, February 22.

Most Bullish

Sentiment has been most bullish this morning on two tech companies.

Sourcefire (NASDAQ: FIRE) reported stellar earnings yesterday afternoon, which prompted several analysts to upgrade their price targets on the stock. The company hit a fresh 52-week high earlier this morning, as shares surged over 23%.

Procera Networks (NASDAQ: ...

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Chart School

The Mindset For Successful Trading In Today’s Market

February 22nd, 2012 11:03 am

Courtesy of David Grandey.

In today’s market, it’s more important that ever to have a mindset to maintain a sane mental state and stay peaceful calm and centered.
Keep in mind with the markets as stretched as they are, we are in a high risk zone for pulling back as we have been in an accelerated uptrend with barely any pullback to speak of which as we all know can not continue forever — it never does. That said the music can stop at a moment’s notice and odds favor when it does it will be a gap down. So using that as a backdrop let’s look at SXCI. SXCI — SXC Health Let’s say that issue breaks above the pink line and triggers a long side trade. That’s all fine and dandy HOWEVER it’s what happens next that we have no control over. At that point it either follows through or it doesn’t. WE NOR YOU HAVE ANY CONTROL ...

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Sabrient

Sabrient Risers - 2/22/2012

February 22nd, 2012 12:00 am

Top 5 RisersStockRatingAnalysisAGBUYAn increasingly attractive expected long term growth rate and a significantly higher projected valuation from just a few weeks ago make AGCO a company to watch.PCUBUYThe recent earnings history for Southern Copper shows significant improvement while projected valuation continues to rise.PAGBUYAn increasingly attractive expected long term growth rate and a significantly higher projected valuation from just a few weeks ago make Penske a company to watch.FEICBUYAn increasingly attractive expected long term growth rate and a significantly higher projected va...

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Market Montage

Breadth is Narrowing

February 21st, 2012 2:23 pm

Submitted by Mark Hanna

Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.

Other than that rally last Thursday that caught a lot of technicians flat footed (i.e. post the Apple reversal) the breadth in this market has been relatively poor the past 5 sessions or so. The Russell 2000 has been lagging the major indexes dominated by large caps, and my watch lists have contained far more red than green. Some people have been calling it the NBA market ("Nothing but Apple") but it's been a bit broader than that – i.e. Microsoft has acted well, and some groups are still working.

A bearish take on this is of course what I cited above – breadth is narrowing which usually happens near tops. Fewer and ...

All About Trends

Mid-Day Update

February 21st, 2012 1:40 pm

Reminder: David is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Click here for the full report.

To learn more, sign up for David's free newsletter and receive the free report from All About Trends - "How To Outperform 90% Of Wall Street With Just $500 A Week." Tell David PSW sent you. - Ilene...

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Option Review

Bullish Bets Build In Wynn Resorts Weekly Options

February 21st, 2012 1:39 pm

Today’s tickers: WYNN, CTRP, DTV & WMT

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OpTrader

Swing trading portfolio - week of February 20th, 2012

February 21st, 2012 8:58 am

Reminder: OpTrader is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

This post is for all our live virtual trade ideas and daily comments. Please click on "comments" below to follow our live discussion. All of our current trades are listed in the spreadsheet below, with entry price (1/2 in and All in), and exit prices (1/3 out, 2/3 out, and All out).

We also indicate our stop, which is most of the time the "5 day moving average". All trades, unless indicated, are front-month ATM options.

Please feel free to participate in the discussion and ask any questions you might have about this virtual portfolio, by clicking on the "comments" link right below.

To learn more about the swing trading virtual portfolio (strategy, performance, FAQ, etc.), please click here

Optrader

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ETF Selector

Global Markets, Euro, Jump On Greece (FXE, SPY, EWG, UUP)

February 20th, 2012 10:36 pm

Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Monday comes and goes with no agreement on Greece until late night settlement on Greece.

European finance ministers met in Brussels Monday and deep into the night and finally, in the wee hours, apparently have struck an agreement for the next round of bailout money for Greece.

In overnight trading, the European indexes were up with the DAX gaining 1.46%, the STOXX 50 adding 1.2% and the FTSE climbing 0.7%

In Asia, major indexes were down slightly as the world waited for an answer on Greece.

The U.S. Dollar (NYSEARCA:UUP) declined after announcement of the agreement while the Euro Dollar (NYSEARCA:FXE) jumped.

The issue remains the same as it always ha...

Stock World Weekly

Stock World Weekly: Balancing Act

February 19th, 2012 3:12 am

NEW: Elliott and Ilene are available to chat with Members regarding topics presented in SWW, comments are found below each post.

Here's the most recent Stock World Weekly, Balancing Act. Click on this link to sign in or sign up to read.

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IRA Strategy/Income Trader

Weekend Virtual Portfolio Update 1/30/2012

January 30th, 2012 7:22 am

Here is a quick update of past trades and our current position. AA Money No trade this week as we wait for AA to settle. Phil remarked last week that AA seemed overvalued. In the meantime, it looks like we might have to roll our Feb 9 calls. Good thing we sold only 5 of them against our position. Last week P&L - 310.00 We lost ground last week, but we still have 11 months to sell premium! FAS Money Very good week for FAS Money as we benefited from the large amount of premium sold the previous week. We covered most of the shorts in advance of the Fed speech, but sold another set of options on Wednesday after the speech - 2 FAS calls that expired worthless on Friday, 2 FAS put that we are still holding and 2 FAZ put that we bought back for a profit on Friday. A late stick comparable to last week's almost gave us problems at the end of the day though! Last week P&L - $4277.00 IWM Money A decent week in this virtual portfo...

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Pharmboy

Biotech Investing for 2012

January 18th, 2012 1:09 am

Reminder: Pharmboy is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Finding new and exciting Biotech companies that target novel mechanisms is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Sure there are many companies working on cutting edge science, but investing in those companies to reap the rewards of their work is a very dangerous game. More often than not, companies fail because the mechanism does not pan out, the compound(s) do not have pharmacokinetics (get into the body or last very long in the body), or an adverse event happens that knocks years off a development timeline. In addition, the stock can be manipulated by market makers so investors don't know which way is up. I approach investing in biotechs as a long term prospect. I continue to like our current portfolio of biotech companies (join in chat for many of those plays), and we continually add/subtract shares and sell/buy options on ...

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About Phil:

Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...

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About Ilene:

Ilene is editor and affiliate program coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site (blogroll, archives, more). Contact Ilene to learn about our affiliate and content sharing programs.

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