It's a warm day and I'm just hanging out at the Co-op.
I had mixed results from trading last week. I started off with a winning option on Whole foods. On Wednesday Red Hat reported earnings after the close. I took a chance and bought 95 shares before they reported. It was a mistake. Even though they beat the earnings the (whisper) number was even higher. The stocks went down and I sat on them Thursday and Friday and made back over half of what I was out on Wednesday.
This week I'll still be tempted to trade oil options. It seems to be in a down trend. Friday it went up because of a hurricane brewing up in the Gulf of Mexico. That will hit Thursday. I'll be tempted to buy 2 call options and 2 put options. If I remember right that is called a straddle. The idea is that you know that the stock is going to move hard but you don't know which way. One side will expire worthless but the other will make a lot of money. I might just sit on my Red Hat stock and wait until after Thursday to do anything.There's no hurry. In keeping with my (buy on Monday and sell on Tuesday) plan, I'll probably sell my stocks on Tuesday. I could buy some cheap options that only last a day or two on Wednesday. Such short-term options seem risky to me but they should be cheap.
I'm still trying to find a way to move my etchings. I did a Google search on art galleries in Rochester, MN. I found 3 that I'll call on Monday. I think my best bet is to expand my search to Minneapolis, and Chicago. I think I'll find the right galleries in the larger cities. The small towns seem to have regional galleries that display local artists works. I'm looking for a commercial gallery, not a community project. Mary suggested that I look into displaying them at an antique store. They are a few years old and they are of representations of old things so that might work. I'll have to find the right antique store.
I took down the pictures of my etchings, from my blog, because I was worried about copyright issues. They are really nice and are by an artist named Malcolm Childers.
That's all for now.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Trading
I'm still messing up my trading. I'm now out of everything because I don't want to be in while the vote goes on in Greece.
If I had left well enough alone I would have been up for the last two weeks. I had a call option on Whole Foods that would have tripled had I left it alone. I also would have been up on American Tower, Boeing, and Red Hat Software. Watching Bloomberg and CNBC has been very costly to me. Even Cramer has been giving fearful signals, lately. I get scared of the macro picture and I bail out of good positions.
I'm thinking of buying a put option on crude oil, next Monday. Someone on Bloomberg was making a very good bear case for oil. He said that the Saudis want it to go down to attack the Iranians and Russians. He also thinks they want to slow the production of American oil from fracking. It made sense to me so if oil goes up I'll buy a put or two.
I'm also looking to go back to AMT, BA, RHT, and WFM. AMT is American Tower, a cell phone tower company. BA is Boeing aircraft. RHT is Red Hat a Linux software company. And WFM is Whole Foods Marketing, an organic grocery chain. Maybe I'll take a risk and buy options.Cramer made a good case for the market to go up whichever way the vote goes, and I'm a gambler. I would like to make back everything I lost in a week or two.
Getting away from stocks, I passed the physical for the driving job. It's for the van driving from Waukon to Iowa City. I'll have to get up terribly early and I'll only be making $60/ trip for a 12 hr. day. I think it will be tax free since it is for a volunteer job. The bad news is that I'm on a backup position. I'll only be called when no one else can make it. It' better than nothing. That reminds me, I'm also thinking about going back to collecting beer cans. I can get $.05 each for them. It also tends to come to about $5/hr. I like the idea of being my own boss and it's tax free. I think I'll start tomorrow.
I had some good news about the etchings. I came up with the idea of contacting the artist and see if he could help me to sell them. The bad news is that he is too busy to help me sell them. The good news is that he is busy with something with PBS. Maybe he'll be in a PBS show and his art will appreciate. I can hope. I have to keep looking for a way to sell them. Maybe I'll get Gary to buy some on E-bay. If he makes a bunch of money on them, he might give me some. I'll see him Sunday.
That's all for now.
If I had left well enough alone I would have been up for the last two weeks. I had a call option on Whole Foods that would have tripled had I left it alone. I also would have been up on American Tower, Boeing, and Red Hat Software. Watching Bloomberg and CNBC has been very costly to me. Even Cramer has been giving fearful signals, lately. I get scared of the macro picture and I bail out of good positions.
I'm thinking of buying a put option on crude oil, next Monday. Someone on Bloomberg was making a very good bear case for oil. He said that the Saudis want it to go down to attack the Iranians and Russians. He also thinks they want to slow the production of American oil from fracking. It made sense to me so if oil goes up I'll buy a put or two.
I'm also looking to go back to AMT, BA, RHT, and WFM. AMT is American Tower, a cell phone tower company. BA is Boeing aircraft. RHT is Red Hat a Linux software company. And WFM is Whole Foods Marketing, an organic grocery chain. Maybe I'll take a risk and buy options.Cramer made a good case for the market to go up whichever way the vote goes, and I'm a gambler. I would like to make back everything I lost in a week or two.
Getting away from stocks, I passed the physical for the driving job. It's for the van driving from Waukon to Iowa City. I'll have to get up terribly early and I'll only be making $60/ trip for a 12 hr. day. I think it will be tax free since it is for a volunteer job. The bad news is that I'm on a backup position. I'll only be called when no one else can make it. It' better than nothing. That reminds me, I'm also thinking about going back to collecting beer cans. I can get $.05 each for them. It also tends to come to about $5/hr. I like the idea of being my own boss and it's tax free. I think I'll start tomorrow.
I had some good news about the etchings. I came up with the idea of contacting the artist and see if he could help me to sell them. The bad news is that he is too busy to help me sell them. The good news is that he is busy with something with PBS. Maybe he'll be in a PBS show and his art will appreciate. I can hope. I have to keep looking for a way to sell them. Maybe I'll get Gary to buy some on E-bay. If he makes a bunch of money on them, he might give me some. I'll see him Sunday.
That's all for now.
Monday, June 4, 2012
The stock market crash that wasn't
I got up this morning thinking that the stock market was sure to crash. CNBC even had a special program last night (Sunday) predicting it. I was anxious to get out of my Whole Foods option and into HDGE. I was happy that I achieved that before the market opened.
Then the market moved slowly downward. It turned out that I don't have enough HDGE to really make any money in a downturn. Towards the end of the trading day the market moved up. It ended up settling mixed. The Dow was down 12 points and the S&P and Nasdaq were both up slightly.
Tonight, Cramer said that everything was still in place for a crash, so I'll leave it in HDGE, which is an Exchange Traded Fund that bets against the market. I intend to leave it there for at least a month or until the market takes a big plunge. I always seem to take things out because I feel that I'm on the wrong side. This time I'll really try to just leave it alone.
I just put an order in to buy another 30 shares of HDGE. It's after hours so it might not be filled tonight. I'll check on it before the market opens tomorrow. By that time I might change the order to lower the price and increase the number of shares. We'll see what happens.
That's all for now.
Craig
Then the market moved slowly downward. It turned out that I don't have enough HDGE to really make any money in a downturn. Towards the end of the trading day the market moved up. It ended up settling mixed. The Dow was down 12 points and the S&P and Nasdaq were both up slightly.
Tonight, Cramer said that everything was still in place for a crash, so I'll leave it in HDGE, which is an Exchange Traded Fund that bets against the market. I intend to leave it there for at least a month or until the market takes a big plunge. I always seem to take things out because I feel that I'm on the wrong side. This time I'll really try to just leave it alone.
I just put an order in to buy another 30 shares of HDGE. It's after hours so it might not be filled tonight. I'll check on it before the market opens tomorrow. By that time I might change the order to lower the price and increase the number of shares. We'll see what happens.
That's all for now.
Craig
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Saturday night at the Co-op
I'm spending this Saturday night at the co-op. Yesterday, even Jim Cramer was a bear when it came to the stock market. He said that something has to happen in a big way to save us from falling off the edge of a stock market crash, Monday morning. It depends on President Obama getting the world's leaders to do something to keep the European Union together and solvent. I doubt that anything positive can happen. The world's leaders are too divided and incompetent to do anything constructive.
I've only got 1 option on Whole Foods. I lost $95 yesterday and I'll probably loose another $200 before I can get it sold, Monday. I'll sell it as soon as I can Monday. I was hoping for some good news yesterday. That didn't happen. Monday I'll be watching Bloomberg and probably the end of the world as we know it.
I'm expecting a massive depression. A lot of people are worried about inflation, but I think we'll go into a major depression before that can happen.
Monday morning, the informed people will be watching for the end of Western Civilization on CNBC and Bloomberg. Maybe they'll cover it on the regular channels as well.
I might be getting a job as a volunteer driver for the van going to the Iowa City VA hospital. It pays $60 a trip. It comes to about $4.00/hr. when you figure out how much time you have to spend to do it. I hope that it is tax-free. I'll have to look into that.
I'm still trying to get signed up for the clinic in Ohio for gamblers. I have the feeling that I'm not much worse than many people. I'm just getting caught up in a wicked market. I think I'll go anyway. I need to stop trying to make money with the little that I have to invest. And that little tends to be borrowed anyway.
I took a picture of Barrett at the Co-op. I caught him with his glasses off and eyes closed. I'll post it anyway. My camera was broken but I got the shutter to work by jiggling it. It's a cheap camera but I would hate to have to replace it. It works good and takes good pictures. I do need to get used to it better and maybe quit carrying it in my backpack. It gets banged up too much. Anyway here's Barrett.
That's all that I have for today. I'll post something Monday if the market crashes. I should have left my money in HDGE but good things can happen and I could be crushed in that as well.
Later.
I've only got 1 option on Whole Foods. I lost $95 yesterday and I'll probably loose another $200 before I can get it sold, Monday. I'll sell it as soon as I can Monday. I was hoping for some good news yesterday. That didn't happen. Monday I'll be watching Bloomberg and probably the end of the world as we know it.
I'm expecting a massive depression. A lot of people are worried about inflation, but I think we'll go into a major depression before that can happen.
Monday morning, the informed people will be watching for the end of Western Civilization on CNBC and Bloomberg. Maybe they'll cover it on the regular channels as well.
I might be getting a job as a volunteer driver for the van going to the Iowa City VA hospital. It pays $60 a trip. It comes to about $4.00/hr. when you figure out how much time you have to spend to do it. I hope that it is tax-free. I'll have to look into that.
I'm still trying to get signed up for the clinic in Ohio for gamblers. I have the feeling that I'm not much worse than many people. I'm just getting caught up in a wicked market. I think I'll go anyway. I need to stop trying to make money with the little that I have to invest. And that little tends to be borrowed anyway.
That's all that I have for today. I'll post something Monday if the market crashes. I should have left my money in HDGE but good things can happen and I could be crushed in that as well.
Later.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Facebook bust
Well, for the past week and a half I've been trying to buy Facebook stocks on the IPO. I sold all of my positions to have money to invest. I tried to qualify for it but I couldn't force my self to lie on the application so I wasn't able to get in the IPO. When the trading started there was a delay. I put an order in at $42 even though the IPO was at $38. I figured it would double. Well, to make a long story short, I lost $400 before I sold in the after-market. I was glad to be out. I think the overall market drove Facebook down. It is hinging on the European crisis.
That is getting worse. I now think that the banks in Greece, Italy, and Spain will have runs and it will take down the world's economy.
I wound up putting everything in an ETF with the ticker symbol HDGE. It's a bearish fund and it should go up when everything goes down. I was in it in a smaller way a week ago. Now, I feel sure that everything is going to heck.
I bought another etching by Malcolm Childers. It's named Frenchy's Flathead Flyer. I think I've already had it's picture on a previous blog.
I talked with my psychologist about going to a program in Brecksville, Ohio for compulsive gambler's. I'm starting to face the fact that I can't trade stocks. I'm wondering if anyone can.
I still haven't gone job-hunting. I think I'm putting it off because I don't want to be standing all day. I'm just getting to old for that sort of thing. I need the money, however, so it doesn't make sense to put it off anymore. I put off looking for a job to the point that I'll be competing with the high school and college students. Maybe I'll luck out and not find a job.
I was also thinking about going West and hunting for gold. I have a metal detector. and maps to some claims that I could prospect on. I just need to get my membership to the Gold Prospectors Association of America up to date and go. My car is in good shape and I could sleep in it. I'm a bit afraid that it will cost me more than I anticipate. Maybe I'm just being fearful.
I think I'll put in a cartoon that exemplifies my relationship with a waitress at Java John's, named Meg.
That is getting worse. I now think that the banks in Greece, Italy, and Spain will have runs and it will take down the world's economy.
I wound up putting everything in an ETF with the ticker symbol HDGE. It's a bearish fund and it should go up when everything goes down. I was in it in a smaller way a week ago. Now, I feel sure that everything is going to heck.
I bought another etching by Malcolm Childers. It's named Frenchy's Flathead Flyer. I think I've already had it's picture on a previous blog.
I talked with my psychologist about going to a program in Brecksville, Ohio for compulsive gambler's. I'm starting to face the fact that I can't trade stocks. I'm wondering if anyone can.
I still haven't gone job-hunting. I think I'm putting it off because I don't want to be standing all day. I'm just getting to old for that sort of thing. I need the money, however, so it doesn't make sense to put it off anymore. I put off looking for a job to the point that I'll be competing with the high school and college students. Maybe I'll luck out and not find a job.
I was also thinking about going West and hunting for gold. I have a metal detector. and maps to some claims that I could prospect on. I just need to get my membership to the Gold Prospectors Association of America up to date and go. My car is in good shape and I could sleep in it. I'm a bit afraid that it will cost me more than I anticipate. Maybe I'm just being fearful.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Defeated
The jobs numbers were bad today and the market sold off. Everything I had went down sharply and I ended up panicking and selling everything. Before I sold I checked the PEG ratio on the things I owned and found that they were all too high except for one. I sold that as well because it's starting to look like a repeat of 2011, which was a lousy year for the market.
I still have $5500 of the $7500 that I borrowed. I now have to find a job.
That is something I'm not looking forward to. I was hoping that work was behind me, but it's not.
I was looking at Jim's place a couple of days ago. It didn't turn me on but I think a person could make a profit by sitting on it. Rich people are developing near it. 90% of it is steep hill so not much could be developed. There is enough level land to put a house on, but that is about all. I guess that I could put Gary's trailer on it and live cheap. It's so remote that it doesn't appeal to me. I'm better off getting a job and living here.
McDonolds, Culvers, and Subway are hiring so it looks like I'll be making sandwiches.
I should just be glad that I have my health and there are jobs to be had. I'll have to accept that I'll have to work for the rest of my life and that is that. It's a little hard to get my head around. I was hoping to be able to make enough with my investments to make for an easy life. I might have to go live with my sister and shovel manure. It would save me a lot of rent money.
That's all for now
I still have $5500 of the $7500 that I borrowed. I now have to find a job.
That is something I'm not looking forward to. I was hoping that work was behind me, but it's not.
I was looking at Jim's place a couple of days ago. It didn't turn me on but I think a person could make a profit by sitting on it. Rich people are developing near it. 90% of it is steep hill so not much could be developed. There is enough level land to put a house on, but that is about all. I guess that I could put Gary's trailer on it and live cheap. It's so remote that it doesn't appeal to me. I'm better off getting a job and living here.
McDonolds, Culvers, and Subway are hiring so it looks like I'll be making sandwiches.
I should just be glad that I have my health and there are jobs to be had. I'll have to accept that I'll have to work for the rest of my life and that is that. It's a little hard to get my head around. I was hoping to be able to make enough with my investments to make for an easy life. I might have to go live with my sister and shovel manure. It would save me a lot of rent money.
That's all for now
Friday, March 30, 2012
Back to Trading
Well, I borrowed $7500 from a loan company and I'll be back trading, soon. I think I'll buy Rice, Hall, James Micro cap mutual fund. It's recommended by Jim Cramer in one of his books. I'm also related by my sister's marriage to the Hall in Rice, Hall and James. I'm waiting for the check to clear then I'll jump in with both feet. I think I should be able to stay ahead of the interest payments. If the market keeps going as it has been I'll be fine.
I'll be posting a picture of the outside of the eagle's nest. You can't get very close to the nest without disturbing them so I took a picture from across the road. Two of the eaglets have hatched already and the third is hatching today. The nest is eighty feet in the air. The cottonwood is near the center of the picture. It's quite distant. If you want to see the nest today, I have it posted on a previous blog.
I replaced the engine of my van. It now runs great and it has oil pressure. Now I'm tempted to replace the rear springs and shock absorbers. I also could use a trailer hitch. The old one rusted off. It fell off in front of a fire station in Calmar. It was almost all of the way off and I just broke it the rest of the way.
I went to the shrink in Coralville, yesterday. I'll see her through the video conferencing at the Decorah VA clinic. They just now opened up. I hope to see her more often than just once. I'm pretty sick with my schizophrenia. I think that is why I gamble and lose money on stock options. I think I just feel that I'm poor and that drives me to risk money.
That's all that I have, today. I think I'll buy something on E-trade. Later
Craig
I replaced the engine of my van. It now runs great and it has oil pressure. Now I'm tempted to replace the rear springs and shock absorbers. I also could use a trailer hitch. The old one rusted off. It fell off in front of a fire station in Calmar. It was almost all of the way off and I just broke it the rest of the way.
I went to the shrink in Coralville, yesterday. I'll see her through the video conferencing at the Decorah VA clinic. They just now opened up. I hope to see her more often than just once. I'm pretty sick with my schizophrenia. I think that is why I gamble and lose money on stock options. I think I just feel that I'm poor and that drives me to risk money.
That's all that I have, today. I think I'll buy something on E-trade. Later
Craig
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