Phil's Stock World, Stock Options Trading & Information

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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

GIVE THANKS/PHIL Have not done my 10,000 hours, but a couple of years at PSW, and moved from fishing with a single line to owner of a commercial trawler (metaphorically speaking). Now I fish with many lines. It is amazing when you go over the same information time and time again, eventually it clicks. Like planting trees; being the house, 20% sale items, selling into the excitement. and patience. I just sold an AAPL Jan 12 340/390 BCS financed by the sales of Jan 12 275 Put. The trade was put on one year ago for a net credit and exited five minutes ago for a 49 dollar per contract profit. No point in waiting till opex to see what happens, and I will just sell 10 of those VLO puts to make myself net the round 50. I no longer worry about opex coming as I have adjusted well in time for most positions that go against me. I still make some howlers (RIMM, TBT, TRGT) but I play the percentages and my winners outdistance my losers by many miles. I would never be in this position if it were not for Phil. He is a treasure, pure and simple. The goose that lays the golden egg if we care to listen and practice. Phil, a mighty big thank you.

- Winston

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

I have been trading for quite a few years and in good years made about 25%. After joining PSW, I followed closely the PSW strategy and my trading profit for this year is close to 70% to date. For fun, I like to mix in a few "Hail Mary" plays that really worked out well, but overall the simpler Buy/Write strategy, as presented by Phil so often, created the majority of the profit.

- Gel1

Phil, I don't know if I told you lately but you da man! I'm doing so much better following your guidelines. It's like you actually know what you are talking about. 8-) I've tried a lot of services and none of them are as comprehensive or honest AND successful. I appreciate all youz other guys/gals input as well…learning tons as a relative newbie to this game.

- Aclend

Phil - Thanks for the welcoming gift of the POT at a buck Just paid for this month and my membership is not even 24 hours old! looking forward to many more - bk

- Bjkeck

Joined last year and and started profitably trading options thanks to everything I have learned here. THANK YOU!!

- OnWisconsin

Phil & Ephmen85: I hadn't thought about selling the covered calls. That should be the easiest strategy for me since I'm a beginner. Thanks a bunch!

- JWick1981

Phil, I'm up 34x what I paid in fees for your service, and that only counts the trades I didn't think of myself. Thanks!

- Barfinger

Brilliant covering of the arcane, the profane , but never the mundane! Easy to understand the reason for your huge following, Phil, and why you have become a must read on my daily agenda. Please accept my complete appreciation.

- Seeking Truth

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

- Jomptien

Way to go Phil! Have I said how much I appreciate your site lately! Your ability to teach and your willingless to give others a forum to demonstrate their own skill sets makes your site remarkable. I got great help from you, jmm1951, and Iflantheman (special thanks!) today. Hell, if I have many more days like this I may even be able to sign up for a full year rather than doing it just quarterly. Tomorrow is another day but, fabulous job today!

- dclark41

Thanks Phil another great week of guiding us!

- Steven Parker

On Optrader's section yesterday he was asked how he works with AAPL as an investment. He replied that he just ‘plays with the covers'. I've got a separate portfolio where I use primarily this technique over the past 6 months. Up 60% The principles involved are stock selection, patience, patience, using covers to protect profits, rolling covers to maximize premium return, and exiting when covers are gone and stock price is high. Sometimes it's hard to remember where you learn to do this stuff, but much of it is from integrating principles I've learned here with thing I already knew. Thanks for the help on this, Phil and others.

- Iflantheman

TBT - Many thanks, Phil. I join you in your opinion favoring the Jan expirations. That's a great play. I can never thank you enough for what I have gained educationally as well as monitarily. Here it is late Sunday evening and I am able to get world class advice, just by asking for it. I feel like I am staying in a 5 star hotel, and room service is just a telephone call away!

- Gel1

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

Phil, I have the SRS 2011 $7.50 short puts you recommended awhile back. I sold them for $2.20 and now $1.51 (up 31%) although SRS has been down since inception. This was a nice mellow way to play it like you said, thanks.

- Jomptien

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

- Humvee

Took profit on QQQ 57 Puts, bot 40 at $0.07, sold 20 for $0.15 and 20 for $0.32. Thank, Phil

- Bobhu

Phil…..You have absolutely NAILED IT! This is not a bull market, nor is it a bear market. It is a Rangeish market, and it's going to stay that way for a long time (the latter is my prediction. I love the word. What I love more is the fact that I've found someone with some investing intelligence greater than mine who can assist me in playing this type of market. Your description today of how it's playing out is right on. I predict some media ‘guru' will steal your word and your description within the next few days and we'll all get to read about what ‘they' discovered about this market. Thanks Phil!

- Iflantheman

Thanks for your thoughts against buying BP ahead of earnings (yesterdays' member comments). It announced a loss of $3.3b and is down 3% in pre-market but still just above the bottom of the chaneel of $40-$50.

- mSquare

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

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

- RMM

Phil - I caught the interview…. terrific!. Your host recommended that the viewers should " go to your site, as you will be entertained ". That is for sure if you consider entertainment is laughing while you read, learn and make unbelievable leveraged profits that you never thought were possible. That is my kind of entertainment !

- Gel1

Phil, 26% on the week for the 20% I day-trade, and since drinking the kool-aid last fall, the whole portfolio has doubled. Have a great weekend !!

- JRW III

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

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

Great calls this week!

- SNS1

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

I did the same thing via your logic (sold puts that is). I glanced one time and they were already up 15% which is considered a good return for an overnight hold in most circles. This is PSW though and to us it's just another day…

- Kwan

Posts Tagged ‘charts’

THE HALLOWEEN INDICATOR

by Chart School - October 29th, 2010 2:04 pm

THE HALLOWEEN INDICATOR

Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist

The following is courtesy of Chart of the day. This is the beginning of a very strong seasonal period:

The stock market is now entering what has historically been the strongest half of the year. Today’s chart illustrates that investing in the S&P 500 from the last trading day in October (therefore referred to as the Halloween indicator) through the end of April accounted for the vast majority of S&P 500 gains since 1950. While there are some noteworthy periods during which the Halloween indicator didn’t produce (e.g. during the oil embargo of 1973-74, the dot-com bust of 2000-01, and the financial meltdown of 2007-2009), the overall out performance is compelling.

Notes:
- Where’s the Dow headed? The answer may surprise you. Find out right now with the exclusive & Barron’s recommended charts of Chart of the Day Plus.

Tags: charts, Halloween indicator, Stock Market

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

Gold Mania

by Chart School - October 22nd, 2010 3:08 pm

Gold Mania

Courtesy of Allan

This gold mania reminds me of the tech mania of the late 1990′s that culminated in the great tech bubble top of 2000. As you may recall, that ended very badly. This time around, there are our trend models, so let’s have a look at GLD:

GLD Hourly Trend Model

GLD Daily Trend Model

It’s the Daily Model that is the key here. Sitting right on the trend line, either it finds support or knives through for a SELL Signal. The hourly model above is suggesting the latter.

GLL is the double short ETF for gold and as shown on the chart below, has just reversed LONG:

GLL Daily Trend Model

Bottom line, there are reasons to be cautious on gold right now, but unless and until the Daily GLD Model reverses SHORT, the intermediate uptrend is still intact.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Allan’s “Trend Following Trading Model,” is based on his trend-following trading system for buying and selling stocks and ETFs. Most trades last for weeks to months. Allan’s offering PSW readers a special 25% discount. Click here. For more details, read this introductory article.

Tags: charts, Gold, technical analysis

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

Something wicked this way comes

by Chart School - October 15th, 2010 11:25 am

Something wicked this way comes

Courtesy of Allan

I just have to post this chart. The market last topped in October, 2007. But look here, the financials as represented by XLF, peaked in February, 2007:

XLF Weekly Trend Model

This year, XLF reversed SHORT in May and remains SHORT, although a little underwater as of today. But as shown on the above chart, the SHORT signal of early 2007 was also underwater for several weeks before the XLF came crashing down with a 71% decline.

Another omen that something wicked this way comes.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

*******

If signing up for Randy’s free webinar on options strategies (from Schwab), they require responses of $250K or more assets to invest and 36 or more trades per year.

Tags: charts, financials, stocks, XLF

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly….U.S. Dollar

by Chart School - October 14th, 2010 8:27 pm

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly….U.S. Dollar

Courtesy of Chris Kimble

I have received numerous emails recently, asking questions along this line….We have done very well of late, what could change the recent upward price action/trend? (Good, Bad & the Ugly soundtrack)

A good friend often reminds me a “blizzard starts with a single snowflake that fits on the end of your finger!” Right now positive snowflakes are all over the place…trends are moving higher and breakouts are taking place in key stock index’s!

The key to whether the quality upside move of late will continue, will most likely be determined by what the U.S. Dollar does at line (1).

Will the rising support line hold or not? This support line DOES NOT justify selling International positions (EEM, EWZ, TUR, GXG, THD) or Commodity positions (SLV, GDX, GDXJ, SLV,OIH), yet it should raise awareness that stops should be in place to protect quality gains in every holding you have!!!

Tags: charts, Stock Market, US Dollar

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

Danger Zone? Nasdaq 100

by Chart School - October 14th, 2010 7:43 pm

Danger Zone? Nasdaq 100

Courtesy of Chris Kimble

Are we entering a “Danger Zone” right now?

The phrase “Highway to the Danger Zone“ (theme song here) became popular due to the movie “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise.

I share information with several types of investors…long-term (retirement/401k plans) that don’t move monies often, (which “harvested” at the April highs). Medium term investors, that feel comfortable moving monies once a month/6 weeks and shorter-term investors that are open to adjustments frequently, yet are NOT day traders. I am not interested in day trading!!!

This post would be for the shorter-term audience, that are aggressive and open to “attempting to score on defense!”

The NDX 100 is at the top of its trading range and the VXN has created a falling wedge. During this trading channel, when the NDX is at the top of the range, wedges have formed, followed by lower prices in the NDX.

For any medium-term investors that are long the NDX, stay long and keep the 3% stop in play! For those aggressive short-term investors that are comfortable attempting to score on defense, take the inverse position here (Buy PSQ). Momentum and trends remain a positive so far. This is totally a “Power of the Pattern” play for short-term investors.

If this pattern really forces the NDX lower and changes it momentum, I will follow-up with more suggestions per scoring on defense.

Tags: charts, NDX, patterns, Stock Market

Posted in Chart School | 1 Comment »

The Trends Are Extended, Start Thinking Consolidation and Reversals, But Wait For It

by Chart School - October 14th, 2010 2:02 pm

The Trends Are Extended, Start Thinking Consolidation and Reversals, But Wait For It

Courtesy of JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN

The trends are extended on quite a few charts. The action in the US markets is being artificially inflated and supported by monetization and liquidity so it *could* continue on for some time, even until the November election. It is being fueled by the expectation of a large quantitative easing by the Fed shortly thereafter. That QE, when it arrives, is likely to be sold if it is not significant enough to meet expectations.

I am more cautious on short term positions here, and have had some short hedges on in the overnight, but deftly. It is important not to exhaust yourself expecting a trend change before it is ready to happen, and one cannot anticipate exogenous events by definition. Still, the time is ripe for one to have a significant effect should it occur.

The long term trends are all intact, but we have reached a position where we might be looking for intermediate tops and consolidations. The Fed is not infallible or omnipotent, but rather determined and capable within its limits. The combination of government and the monied interests is powerful and ruthless. Manage your money tightly and wait for the market to reveal its intentions if you are trading.

Tags: charts, Dollar, Stock Market, trends

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

Divergences

by Chart School - October 6th, 2010 7:01 pm

Divergences

Courtesy of Allan

I want everyone to be aware of a developing divergence in the market. Attached is a chart of the SPX with our Trend Model, Fibonacci levels and at the bottom of the chart, the Elliott Oscillator. The Elliott Oscillator measures momentum and its most potent use is to identify divergences between prices and momentum.

On the attached SPX chart I’ve labeled three areas of divergences between SPX prices and the Elliott Oscillator, i.e. new highs or lows in the SPX that are unaccompanied by new highs or new lows in the Elliott Oscillator. In each case the market reversed within days of the divergence. (Although the chart is only showing divergences from the past six months, this particular pattern goes back at least to 1995 when I first became aware of this indicator.) Let’s take a closer look:

(1) The first divergence on the chart occurred in late April and within days the SPX topped and fell from a high of 1212 to a low in early July of 1027.

(2) The second divergence occurred at that early July low at 1027. The market bottomed within days and has now risen to 1160.

(3) The third divergence is occurring now.

This is no guarantee of an imminent top as divergences are not an exact science and as you can see from the previous two divergences, it sometimes takes days for the market to reverse. But I look at a lot of indicators and patterns and because this one has been so reliable in the past, I wanted to pass it along.

We are still trend followers, but it doesn’t hurt to look at what could be coming down the road and cause our models to reverse. We have been waiting a long time for a tradable SELL Signal and have endured a few false alarms, but this is one more sign that a change in direction is lurking in the shadows.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

…

Tags: charts, Divergences, Stock Market

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

Bullish….Bearish… or Neither

by ilene - September 24th, 2010 1:29 pm

Chris, on being neitherish, i.e., how he views the markets. – Ilene

Bullish….Bearish… or Neither

Courtesy of Chris Kimble

Am I Bullish, Bearish or Neither?

Choice “C”…Niether!

I am of the opinion, being Bullish or Bearish are emotional states of mind. They are NOT STRATEGIES. I believe that we should invest in each asset on its own individual merits/patterns, not based upon some global macro prediction.

Did I suggest to buy the 500 index (see post) and become “BULLISH” on 8/29 because the economy was fine? NO! Bought the 500 Index due to these conditions…Bottom of channel support and a falling wedge and by the way, the fewest investors bullish since the March 2009 low. NOTHING MORE!

Did I harvest the S&P 500 position and become “BEARISH” yesterday (see post) , after an 8% gain in three weeks, because something is bad about the economy? NO! Harvested due to Fibonacci resistance at the top of a trading range. NOTHING MORE!

Did I buy Silver a month ago (see post) because something is wrong with the dollar or that inflation is going to go wild or….NOPE! I bought Silver on an upside breakout from a favorable pattern, an ascending triangle . NOTHING MORE!

Why own Emerging Markets or Brazil right now? Falling channel breakouts! (See Post) NOTHING MORE!

Why own High Yield mutual funds? A breakout of a flag pattern and above moving averages (see post) . NOTHING MORE!

Why BUY HOME BUILDERS XHB (see post) when so many people are BEARISH on this industry? Because of rising channel support plus a sizeable falling wedge after a 30% decline. NOTHING MORE! (Current gain of over 12%!)

Will we buy the 500 index and other global markets (see post) on an upside break of these long-term falling channels? YES!!!

My goal is to try to provide solutions, that will help investors “inflate portfolios, regardless of market direction by way of the Power of the Pattern!” I will leave the Bullish or Bearish elements of this business to people much smarter than myself.

Chris

Tags: bearish, bullish, charts, market, neitherish, stocks, technical analysis

Posted in Phil's Favorites | No Comments »

J&J Needs To Fix It’s Problems Fast

by Chart School - September 24th, 2010 10:47 am

J&J Needs To Fix It’s Problems Fast

Courtesy of YCharts

The announced departure of a top Johnson & Johnson executive last week, Colleen Goggins, who oversaw consumer products, could signal that J&J is moving to put its regulatory problems behind it. That would be welcome news for investors who admire J&J’s business but have been troubled by a recent series of lapses.

J&J has suffered product recalls affecting three of its businesses – over-the-counter medicines, including those sold for children; contact lenses; and hip replacement implants. J&J is accustomed to appearing in Fortune magazine as one of the most admired corporations (#4 this year), but finds itself in the September 6 issue of Fortune as the subject of an investigative story about deterioration of its quality-control operation.

That followed months of coverage of the product problems and recalls in the New York Times and other papers.

So far, despite the problems J&J shares have been moving with other pharmaceutical stocks.

JNJ, PFE, MRK, ABT, LLY Chart

And the worst of the immediate financial impact seems to be the loss of about $600 million in sales after J&J was forced to temporarily shut down an over-the-counter drug manufacturing plant at Fort Washington, Pa. That’s only 1% of J&J’s annual revenue of roughly $60 billion.

JNJ Stock Chart

The recalled over-the-counter products include forms of Motrin, Tylenol, Benadryl, Rolaids and St. Joseph Aspirin, all brands that have commanded a premium price and helped provide to J&J’s consumer business a lush profit margin (operating profits of about 17% of sales vs. about 31% for the pharma and device lines). Here are margins overall for J&J:

JNJ Stock Chart

The impact from the contact lens and hip implant recalls is less clear; in coming years J&J could end up paying for thousands of patients to have new implants installed. But the bigger threat is that J&J ceases to receive the benefit of the doubt from consumers; why buy St. Joseph Aspirin or Tylenol instead of generic brands if the J&J reputation is tarnished? And, just as importantly, will it lose the trust of regulators?

The Food and Drug Administration not only regulates the Fort Washington plant, but also oversees J&J’s efforts to license new drugs and sell medical devices. It’s not a good idea to embarrass an agency that holds that much sway over your business.

J&J is unusual…

Tags: charts, Johnson & Johnson, product recalls

Posted in Chart School | No Comments »

Major Indexes Up Against the Wall

by ilene - September 18th, 2010 7:27 pm

Major Indexes Up Against the Wall: (SPY, DIA,IWM)

Courtesy of John Nyaradi at Wall Street Sector Selector

Get a Free Trial and Free Special Report from Wall Street Sector Selector

Still locked in their long standing trading range, major indexes are now again (still) up against significant resistance levels, and of course, this situation will be resolved in one direction or other, as it always is.

This week’s technical developments favored the bearish side while the fundamental news was decidedly mixed with the macro picture and earnings blinking both positive and negative signs.

We have lots of news coming this week and so quite likely could see a resolution of this stalemate in the very near future.

Looking at My Screens

As always, the charts tell the story:

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

In the S&P 500 chart above, we can see the similarities among what has become a triple top formation with the first one in June, the second in August and now the third in September.

The first two were followed by significant declines to 1010 in June and 1040 in July. The index will find significant support at the 200 Day Moving Average at 1116 and the 50 Day Moving Average at 1093 and breaks below these points would likely yield a drop to significant support at 1040 and then 1010.…

Tags: charts, Stock Market

Posted in Phil's Favorites | 1 Comment »

Zero Hedge

The Cost Of The Combined Greek Bailout Just Rose To €320 Billion In Secured Debt, Or 136% Of Greek GDP

February 11th, 2012 11:02 am

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

Some of our German readers may be laboring under the impression that following the €110 billion first Greek bailout agreed upon and executed in May 2010, the second Greek bailout would cost a "mere" €130 billion. Alas we have new for you - as of this morning, the formal cost of rescuing Greece for the adjusted adjusted adjusted second time has just risen to €145 billion, €175 billion, a whopping €210 billion, bringing the total explicit cost of all Greek bailout funds to date (and many more in sto...

Chart School

Best Stock Market Indicator Ever: Weekend Update

February 11th, 2012 10:35 am

Courtesy of Doug Short.

The $OEXA200R (the percentage of S&P 100 stocks above their 200 DMA) is a technical indicator available on StockCharts.com that can be used to forecast conservative entry and exit points for the stock market.

The OEXA is used to find the "sweet spot" time period in the market when you have the best chance of making money. See Is This the Best Stock Market Indicator Ever? for a discussion of this technical tool.

The chart below is current through the February 3rd close.

After a major S&P correction, the conditions for safe re-entry into the market are when:

a) $OEXA200R rises above 65%. And two of the following three...

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Phil's Favorites

Violent Protests in Greece; 6 Cabinet Members Resign

February 11th, 2012 3:28 am

Violent Protests in Greece; 6 Cabinet Members Resign; LAOS leader "I Would Rather Starve Than be Under German Jackboot"; Controversy Over Missing Paragraphs

Courtesy of Mish

Imagine you are asked to sign a document but three pages were missing. Further imagine the documents you were asked to sign were written in English but you only speak Greek. Would you sign?

That is exactly the predicament Greek officials were placed in by the Troika. Here is the story sent to me by Demetri Kofinas at Capital Account.

Hello Mish

George Karatzaferis leader of LOAS political party gave a speech today addressing why he refused to sign this latest agreement. In his speech, he said that he a...

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Sabrient

Sabrient Risers - 2/11/2012

February 11th, 2012 12:00 am

Top 5 RisersStockRatingAnalysisICABUYThe projected value for Empresas ICA is still rising quickly even though past earnings have already improved significantly.XBUYThe projected value for US Steel is still rising quickly even though past earnings have already improved significantly.FEICBUYProjected value continues to rise for FEI while long term increases in earnings growth are also becoming more widely expected.ASBCBUYMany analysts are expecting higher than previously expected long term growth from Associated Bancorp, and its near-term earnings outlook is also improving....

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Insider Scoop

Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Friday February 10, 2012

February 10th, 2012 6:20 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Friday February 10, 2012:

Actuant Acquires Jeyco Pty

The Deal:
Actuant (NYSE: ATU) announced Friday that it has acquired Jeyco Pty Ltd (“Jeyco”). Headquartered near Perth, Australia, Jeyco designs and provides specialized mooring, rigging and towing systems and services to the offshore oil & gas industry in Australia and other international markets. Additionally, its highly engineered products are used in a variety of applications for other markets including cyclone mooring and marine, defense and mining tow systems. Jeyco generates annual revenues of approximately $20 million.

Actuant shares closed at $27.33 Friday, a loss of 0.18% on average volume.

...

http://www.insidercow.com/ more from Insider

Market Montage

And Still Not a Single 1% Down Day in 2012

February 10th, 2012 4:14 pm

Submitted by Mark Hanna

Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.

A little flurry of buying in the closing 5 minutes tacked on 2 S&P points and took the major indexes off the lows. Only the Russell 2000 finished with a greater than 1% loss (1.4%) as it has been relatively weak versus the senior indexes for the past few sessions. While today was the "worst day of the year" – it was quite a low bar as the previous biggest loss on the S&P 500 was -0.57%.

The S&P 500 held well above the 10 day moving average (didn't even really touch it) and did not even attempt to fill the gap from last Friday's employment report. The teflon market rolls on for now. Specul...

ETF Selector

ETFs Skid On Greece (VGK, EWG, FXE, DIA, SPY)

February 10th, 2012 4:11 pm

Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Greece was “saved” for less than 24 hours but now major ETFs around the world skid into the weekend on Greek fears

After wangling for a week or more, Greek took their new deal to the European Ministers meeting, only to have it promptly rejected and so as we go into the weekend, major global markets and ETFs have again hit the skids on Greece.

After two years of wangling, the European zone is demanding yet more and deeper cuts for Greece to qualify for the next round of bailout loans that will keep the country from going bankrupt on March 20th.

Major European and United States ETF responded negatively to the new developments:

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial ETF (NYSEARCA:...

All About Trends

Mid-Day Update

February 10th, 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

True Religion Falls Apart At The Seams After Earnings

February 10th, 2012 1:22 pm

Today’s tickers: TRLG, KR & IGT

...

OpTrader

Swing trading portfolio - week of February 6th, 2012

February 6th, 2012 9:02 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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Stock World Weekly

Stock World Weekly: The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics

February 5th, 2012 5:19 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 latest Stock World Weekly, called "The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics."

...

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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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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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