[Weekend Summary]
Dear Member:
While one can never be sure, I think the markets have shown a serious propensity to remain bearish for a while. All the major indices were down for the week and each broke through a relatively important level of support. The SP-500 broke support and it looks like the next level down could well be below 1400. The Q's were part of the downsiders club and also have formed a head and shoulders. Meanwhile, volatility has jumped. All in all, while bullish plays may be found, I believe it is time to be very, very selective when entering bullish positions with a finger ready on the trigger for reversals down. In my view, emphasis is on holding cash and/or bearish option positions.
My present inclination is to be mostly in cash and to enter new bullish plays (buying stock) only in issues that seem to offer some relatively quick potential. This week, Iamgold (IAG) filled the bill and provided a 2.36% gain before commissions in a day. While that is an awfully fast in and out for me, I try to take what the markets will give, but most trades are unlikely to open and close that fast.
With the markets acting with such volatility and with a bearish bent, I am happy to be in a position like the Blackrock Senior Hi Inc Fd which continues to pay dividends at a rate over 9% of my initial entry price.
My only other current $10 Trader position is Introgen (INGN) and as I have written repeatedly, that is purely a news play.
As I noted Monday, a number of my positions were closed out automatically as the market dipped the previous week while I was away. At a time like this, I am happy to have closed out positions with limited losses rather than let them run as markets fall. I checked and found that the winning percentage for trades closed in my $10 Trader since inception is over 75% so I can't complain too much when I take the occasional loss.
Bill
|
