Initial investment - $13500
Target - $50000
Timeline - end of 2006
1.) Just wanted to lay my cards on a public message board...might help me be a little more disciplined with my trading. I'm open to positive criticism and any kind of help that's help me achieve this goal. During the process of trying to make money, I will occasionally be withdrawing money from my account to pay of debts etc. I'll make sure to post that also.
2.) Since I have a full time job, I may not post my trades in real time, but will make it a point to update it atleast once every day.
3.) I think I'd like to feel like there are people watching me trade and hope that gives me more discipline and help me learn.
4.) I'm pretty aggressive when it comes to trading, do not diversify too much and go by charts and patterns with a fundamental story acting as a buffer/cushion only. One of my weaknesses is that I do not set stop losses on NASDAQ/NYSE stocks, I rather prefer watching the screen from tiem to time, because I do not necessarily believe in the stop loss concept because of MM manipulation.
5.) I've stopped holding stocks thru; earnings after a major disappointment with INCX back when I first started trading in the latter half of 2004, early part of 2005.
6.) my holdings are anywhere from less than a day to a week or two weeks. I don't pattern day trade (constantly buying selling no. of times in a day) coz' as you can see, I'm yet to reach that $25K limit to do pattern day trading.
7.) I do not mind using margin where I see fit (of course only with the NASDAQ or NYSE stocks). I use Ameritrade as my primary brokerage accnt. and that's what I intend to use for this project too.
8.) Here's my format (I'll post just this format at the end of each day; wanna make it simple and straight):
Date: 7/18/06
Open trades: CHDT (bought 79K shares at ave. $0.1835)
Closed trades today: XKEM (bought 300K shares ave. $0.0405 - 7/14; sold today $0.047)
Accnt. balance: $13538.00 (includes cash holdings)
Your comments are appreciated. :)
Good luck, vic! I will be watching with great interest since our trading styles/stock selection ideas/brokerage/time line/portfolio amount/use of margin are almost identical. Look forward to the learning experience. :)
thank you very much basonista.
i look forward to reaching my goal with the help of everyone from this excellent board. glad to know our styles and other features are similar. hopefully soem day soon, we could start exchanging ideas on a personal e-mail exchange basis.
good luck with your trades. :)
What a horrendous start...but I'm not flipping CHDT...thought about it this afternoon, but decided against it eventually. Since my capital is limited, I didn't wanna get caught holding any bag on PAIV or FHAL...those who made money on those...congrats!!!
i'll know before the week ends, if today's decision was a good one or not. :-X >:D
Date: 7/19/06
Starting capital: $13500.00
Open trades: CHDT (bought 79K shares at ave. $0.1835)
Closed trades today: none
Accnt. balance: $10852.00 (includes cash holdings)
Quote from: vic666 on July 19, 2006, 12:14:40 AM
thank you very much basonista.
i look forward to reaching my goal with the help of everyone from this excellent board. glad to know our styles and other features are similar. hopefully soem day soon, we could start exchanging ideas on a personal e-mail exchange basis.
good luck with your trades. :)
That would be great, Vic! If I see anything of interest, I'll definitely shoot it your way and would appreciate any insight you have on future movers. :)
I am currently in:
VPHM (heavy stake) bought yesterday at $7.31. Not sure where this afternoon's profit taking will take it so will be watching the action tomorrow morning.
HSOA - averaged in at $6.39. My contest pick - I always put my money where my mouth is. ;) Risky play but I think the stocklemon fiasco will fade away, the traders will get there money out of it and shorts will have to begin covering before earnings. Management reiterated an increase in earnings so it will be interesting to see where this goes. A hurricane or 2 woudn't hurt either. ;)
CHDT - bought today just under .15. The wife and kids wanted to go to the zoo so I was in a hurry buying this morning and knew I should have waited. To be honest with you, I don't know where this is going next but feel good about it staying above the 20ema. A bounce would have been nice - will have to see what tomorrow brings. Bought this since eliteG is so bullish on it. Made a little earlier this year on his picks of PTSC and SUWN although I had SUWN around .26 and sold it THE DAY before it started it's move. >:( Oh well, life goes on.
Good luck with your trades. I hope you at least double your goal by Christmas. ;D
Date: 7/20/06
Starting capital: $13500.00
Open trades: AMRE (bought 690K shares at ave. $0.0112)
IHDR (bought 5K shares at ave. $0.17)
Closed trades today: CHDT (bought 79K shares ave. $0.1835; sold for a loss at ave. $0.1085)
Accnt. balance: $10756.00 (includes cash holdings)
Good luck to you, i've seen my portfolio go from $33K to $16K in 2006 :'( So I need to make a similar gain to you to have a good xmas!!
I'll be reading with great interest!
sorry, was out of town and couldn;t update the portfolio: Here's the portfolio at close on Friday:
Date:
7/21/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
PAIM (bought 2.5 mil shares at ave. $0.00295)
IHDR (bought 5K shares at ave. $0.17)
Closed trades today:
AMRE (bought 690K shares ave. $0.0112; sold for a profit at ave. $0.0115)
Accnt. balance:
$8760.00 (includes cash holdings)
Date:
7/24/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
DTGP (175K shares at ave. $0.0621)
Closed trades today:
PAIM (bought 2.5 mil shares ave. $0.00295; sold for a profit at ave. $0.0040)
IHDR (bought 5K shares at ave. $0.17; sold for loss at ave. $0.11)
Accnt. balance:
$11920.00 (includes cash holdings)
Date:
7/25/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
DTGP (175K shares at ave. $0.0621)
Closed trades today:
None
Accnt. balance:
$10760.00 (includes cash holdings)
Date:
7/26/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
LFWK (138K shares at ave. $0.063)
Closed trades today:
DTGP (sold 175K shares for a loss at ave. $0.050)
Accnt. balance:
$8735.00 (includes cash holdings)
Date:
7/27/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
PTSC (12K shares at ave. $0.91)
Closed trades today:
LFWK (sold 138K shares for a gain at ave. $0.085)
Accnt. balance:
$11300.00 (includes cash holdings)
I started with about the same amount (14k instead) last year around august and I was upto 42k around march of this year. However I lost 12k about and im sitting at 29k atm. What I did to get that was go all or nothing in small to medium cap stocks hold from 1 day to 3 months. I just aimed for about 10% gain I changed my trading style recently after the market changed turned around recently into a bearish one. I upgraded to margin and have been using shorting into the strategy and going 10k into each stock small to medium cap. So far been steadly gaining and now more diversified.
a lot of people have been getting burned by the market lately. Is it only us OTCBB/pink players? I started with 8000$ and i'm at about 5500$. I am new at trading so I didn't expect to make a lot of money, but I did gain a lot of experience. I really like your trading style, you seem to put a lot of money into the stocks that go up a lot such as PAIM and LWFK, and not as much in the losers, teach me how to do that lol. Your portoflio seems to swing wildly but I am actually using the same strategy, go big or go home. Thats what you to have a chance to get to 50,000.
I tried out otcbb and pinks and found it to risky to perserve what you have.
Date:
7/28/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
PAIV (bought 100K shares right at close, ave. $0.08)
Closed trades today:
PAIV (bought 100K shares at $0.06 ave., sold for a gain at $0.079 ave.)
PTSC (sold 12K shares for a gain at ave. $0.95)
Accnt. balance:
$13914.00 (includes cash holdings)
Quote from: nullzero on July 27, 2006, 06:13:50 PM
I started with about the same amount (14k instead) last year around august and I was upto 42k around march of this year. However I lost 12k about and im sitting at 29k atm. What I did to get that was go all or nothing in small to medium cap stocks hold from 1 day to 3 months. I just aimed for about 10% gain I changed my trading style recently after the market changed turned around recently into a bearish one. I upgraded to margin and have been using shorting into the strategy and going 10k into each stock small to medium cap. So far been steadly gaining and now more diversified.
nullzero,
thanks for your comments on my personal log. I'm in a pretty similar scenario like yourself. I started off with $2500.00 in January...peaked out at $29,000.00 in May, and lost a boatload since then. Am almost half of that amount right now.
One thing I did learn since the bearishness that began on May 11, is how to short. I had never dhorted a stock before, and it felt good to make money while the market was going down...but alas! inexpereince in shorting got to me and I failed to see the "volatility" in the market, that cause me some losses. Also, my trading style, as I mentioned is pretty aggressive. I do not diversify and I use full margin on NASDAQ stocks most of the time.
Someday by the end of the year, I hope to be more of a 3 - 5 stocks diversified trader, and be better at averaging my buys rather than "jumping all in".
One of the reasons I started this personal log is so that the better traders in this awesome site would keep an eye on my trades, and help me with their comments that in turn will help me become a better trader myself...I'd feel some kinda "sub-conscious explanation" to do to these better traders, and I welcome the positive critics out there.
Help me reach my goal, and I'll send you a $100.00 gift certificate from Red Lobster... ;)
oh, by the way, congrats on improving your strategy and making money more steadily!! good luck to you!
Quote from: hermanpu on July 27, 2006, 08:18:00 PM
a lot of people have been getting burned by the market lately. Is it only us OTCBB/pink players? I started with 8000$ and i'm at about 5500$. I am new at trading so I didn't expect to make a lot of money, but I did gain a lot of experience. I really like your trading style, you seem to put a lot of money into the stocks that go up a lot such as PAIM and LWFK, and not as much in the losers, teach me how to do that lol. Your portoflio seems to swing wildly but I am actually using the same strategy, go big or go home. Thats what you to have a chance to get to 50,000.
hermanpu,
first up, thanks for your comments! if you read my reply to nullzero on my previous post, you'd see that I too lost money since May...a bunch of it! however, I'm not down, not depressed, rather taking it as a personal challenge to reach my goal and have a great New Year.
my trading style kinda suits me, that' why I stick to it...atleast so far! I am aggressive, go all in, do not diversify (it's a negative, and I'm working on it), and use full margin on NASDAQ stocks...
my problem, in my opinion, is not in getting some real good winners, but in minimizing the losers at the same time. I do make good profits in several trades, but I also lose some big in some others. My weakness is that I do not like a losing trade, so I decide to wait it out until it turns back, but that's precisely where I go against my own trading style...read my signature, it says "long term investments are short term investments gone bad"...and I have more than a few examples to show for that.
recent example...DTGP...i got in with 138K shares at ave. $0.062...had a chance to sell at $0.07, but the daily chart clearly looked good during intraday hours, then towards the close, it ended real poor at $0.061...and I knew for sure it was gonna be a down day next...and so, had a sell order at $0.059...the stock opened at $0.063...but my order never filled and I ended up selling at $0.05 ave. for a loss, when I could have pockedted a nice profit the day before, or atleast a break-even.
there were more than a few occasions, when my sell-order (inspite of being placed under the bid) never gets filled, the stocks keeps going down, andI remove my sell order...and all of a sudden, it becomes a longer term investment (and I dont like that).
ok well, enough ramblings from me. Just help me reach my goal, and I promise to send you a $100 Red lobster gift certificate. deal? ;)
and by the way, good lukc with your trades!
NP VIC on the advice, lets all try to make some money in this horrible market! I have been averaging 3-6 positions long or short. Mostly 50% or more short though the last few months, currently im about 80% short and 20% long in my positions. Just finished added more short positions today ahead of next week. Next week may be a bearish one >:D.
watch out nullzero, today's was a critical day from the technical point of view...the chart broke thru' the 20 MA to the upside...and there was fundamental news to back it....I mean, the GDP report showed 2.5% growth in the economy, below the expectations, leading the entire market to believe that inflation is slowing down and the bearded one Bernanke will halt further rate hikes. next resistance is the 50MA at 2125 which also happens to be the resistance posed by the downtrend line from May 11.
earnings are also in good standing after almost 60% of the Dow companies reported thus far.
of course, the only thing weighing down right now is the geo-political situation, but guess what, I think the market's got that one well in stride..I mean, its getting used to the turmoil and daily reports of violence...also, we are well underway into summer season, and demand for gas should start slowing down in a few months...all that talk about $100/barrel oil will probably go by the wayside IMO.
the reason I've been playing pennies almost always the past few weeks is because they offer me a hedge against the volatility of the general market...just trade by charts and you'll almost always make a few good bucks, no matter which way the market goes.
good luck.
I have a more bearish outlook the most, but I know for certain the real estate market is hurting big time. Home Builders are getting slammed and the inventory of homes is at critical levels. If these homes dont start moving there may be a sudden decline in prices. This is not good for the future outlook, California's main economic driver the last 5 years has been real estate and real estate related industries. If real estate market takes a further decline and or nose dive we are in for some deep trouble. The past few days have seen great rallies but those rallies can be wiped out in 1 bad day. I personally would not take a long postion atm with the market being at these over bought levels in the short term like it is right now, unless there was a stock in a situations where it was running off good news, in a bullish sector right now, or the chart was to good to pass up. Remeber this volatility is not bullish its a bearish sign. Buy into weakness and sell into strength. The opposite would go for shorting, I dont believe we have much upward room to run atm on the markets. Its good to hear other peoples point of views; I enjoy the comparisions, data, and aruguments both bulls and bears turn out. It gives a more clear picture on the economy and what both traders are thinking when they trade. Good luck though Vic on your trade strategy lets make some money! ;D ;D $$
I am now neutral in the market.
The Nasdaq might found support @ 200ema (weekly scale)
& Dow Jones @ 50sma (weekly scale) ;)
Navellier Market Commentary. He makes a lot of sense, worth reading:
28th July:
Today was a big turning point for the stock market. The first estimate of second-quarter GDP growth was 2.5%, substantially softer than the 3.0% consensus, and less than half the 5.6% rate in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Weaknesses were widespread during the quarter. Meanwhile, inflation spiked to a 2.9% quarter/quarter rate and 2.3% year/year rate - both well above the Fed's inflation 'comfort zone'. Basically, the GDP report indicates that the economy is decelerating faster than expected, and inflation is picking up. So, how did the stock market respond? It rallied!
No doubt many are wondering why the market would rally. The bottom line is the Fed is done raising interest rates. Let me explain.
THE FED IS DONE RAISING KEY INTEREST RATES
Last week, the Labor Department announced that the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% in June, which represented the fourth straight month that the core CPI had risen 0.3%. The foremost culprit behind the persistent core CPI increases has been rising rental rates, as many consumers chose not to buy homes in a softening housing market, and decided to rent instead. Although previous increases in the core CPI caused market rates to increase, and the stock market to sell off, this time around the financial media finally woke up and made it clear that it has been odd that higher rental rates in a softening housing market have been the main perpetrator behind the core CPI increases.
Fortunately, on Wednesday last week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testified on Capital Hill just hours after the CPI report, and the whole world profoundly wanted to know how the Fed Chairman interpreted the latest economic data. In Bernanke's prepared testimony to Congress, the Fed Chairman stated that inflation risks remained, and that the Fed is concerned about rising prices. However, Bernanke also stated that the U.S. economy is likely to slow and this should ease inflationary pressures later, which is why the stock market rallied today on the weaker-than-expected GDP report, despite the stronger-than-expected inflation data. In a nutshell, the market is now discounting the inflation numbers since the economy is obviously slowing.
Remember the last time the Fed began to LOWER interest rates? It ignored spiking inflation, as it knew a slowdown was imminent. In other words, inflation suddenly became a lagging indicator. This scenario appears to be happening again.
The Fed Chairman also said that the full impact of past rate hikes has yet to hit the economy, as it typically takes approximately 12-18 months for a rate hike to filter in, and the Fed unleashed its first of seventeen hikes about 24 months ago. Translated from "Fedspeak," Bernanke made it perfectly clear to many on Wall Street that there is no need to raise key interest rates higher.
In fact, in recent weeks there have been other signs that the U.S. economy is slowing faster than many economists had predicted.
THE HOUSING SLOWDOWN
The housing market is braking quite rapidly, which is causing price appreciation to finally fall in many areas of the nation. In other areas, price appreciation is dawdling at best. In June, single-family housing starts fell to 1.85 million units, the lowest since November 2004, and down 18.1% since the peak in January 2006. The NAHB's index of builders' confidence is at its lowest level since December 1991. The housing affordability index is at its lowest level since the 1980s. New home sales are now down 17.3% from their record high, and the supply of new homes is now running at 6.1 months' worth, an increase of about 56% from its low in late 2004. Existing home sales are down 8.9% from their record peak in June 2005, and supply is teeming at 6.6 months' worth, about 78% higher than its low from last year.
Economists are worried that consumer spending will suffer greatly if there is a collapse in the housing market. Thus far, the housing market has not cratered, but it could if the Fed is not careful. The Fed has been targeting the housing market since it first began raising rates 24 months ago. Its intentions have been to deflate the bubble, not pop it. As such, the Fed should pause in August at the next FOMC meeting. There is no need to fan this already-burning fire.
SOFTENING BEIGE BOOK
If you don't know what the Beige Book is, it's also known as the "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District". It gets published eight times a year. Each of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its district through reports from bank and branch directors and interviews with key businessmen, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by district and sector.
This week's Beige Book report indicated a mixed picture for growth and inflation. Six of twelve districts reported slower growth during June to mid July, and two other districts reported mixed results.
Retail sales slowed in most of the twelve districts, but manufacturing continued to be strong almost everywhere. Housing markets slowed just about everywhere, except St. Louis and Dallas, which were flat to slightly up.
Pricing pressures were mixed, but prices of final goods rose only modestly in most districts.
Labor markets remained tight, but wage pressures were minimal.
"The July Beige Book shows evidence of some slowdown in growth across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts; however, the details of the report were largely positive and showed a still-healthy and expanding economy. It is particularly encouraging that inflationary pressures remain contained for the most part despite higher energy prices and a tighter labor market. Also the broad-based improvement in the manufacturing industry is also welcome news as business investment for capital goods appears to be holding up well," said Marisa DiNatale at Economy.com.
CONCLUSION
The Fed is done raising rates, and the stock market is responding. This is really good news. If the stock market can rally this strongly in the face of the tensions in the Middle East, very expensive oil, and threats from N. Korea, then it proves that investors have mostly been concerned about the Fed. Of course, this could change if things in the Middle East get out of hand, but we don't think that will happen.
Stocks are now a great buy. Second-quarter earnings will again be up double digits, and higher than analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, forward earnings estimates are still continuing to hit new highs on a weekly basis, and the Bull/Bear ratio remains bullish in a contrarian sense.
Interest rates appear to have peaked. The 10-yr Treasury closed below the 5% barrier today. The Fed funds futures contract is now predicting a pause at the August 8 FOMC meeting.
Believe it or not, consumers are feeling better! July consumer confidence rose to 106.5 (consensus 104.0), according to the Conference Board; and consumer sentiment rose to 84.9 from the 83.0 preliminary reading, according to the University of Michigan. This is great news. As long as the Fed doesn't kill the housing market, consumers appear to be hanging in there - despite near record-high gasoline prices.
Next Friday, watch out for the employment report. As long as there isn't a big surprise to the upside in payrolls, investors should continue to feel good.
Go figure the market makes no sense sometimes. Lower GDP slowing economy and we rally big time... so should we expect a rally when they pause the interest rates on august 8th or a sell off since it was already priced in? Just what if they raise rates again on 8/8 we would have to put our crash helmets on I would suppose. I just cant see the markets making new 52wk highs in face of all the stuff going on.
Date:
7/31/06
Starting capital:
$13500.00
Open trades:
SLJB (bought 49K shares right at close, ave. $0.12)
Closed trades today:
PAIV (sold 100K shares for a loss at $0.071 ave.)
Accnt. balance:
$12900.00 (includes cash holdings)
Withdrawls:
$3000.00
Net account balance:
$9900.00 (includes cash holdings)