3SOF

05/11/06
Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons. – General MacArthur

Rough day today, but then again, war is hell.  GIGM came through with the best quarterly performance ever!  Triple profits!  It shot up and calmed down.

Today was a big day where gravity pulled everything back down.  MGPI was up almost $5 b4 coming back down to earth – it still finished up 9%.  PEIX, IRIS, LDSH also had big reversals.

HANS fell back $16 after coming close to $200, ERS is down, SBUX fell below the 50dma, etc, etc.

Buying opportunities?  I do not know.  Keep your stops tight.

Miner EZM was up on some good words from Cramer, but other miners, like the popular CUP, was down.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ezm

STRL was sterling on great earnings, up a dollar.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=strl

JSDA broke through 10 with a lot more room to grow.  It was up 10%
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=JSDA

Have a good night – here is a joke to cheer you up:

  It was autumn, and the Indians on the remote reservation asked their
> new Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild.
>
> Since he was an Indian Chief in a modern society, he had never been
> taught the old secrets, and when he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.   But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea.

> He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and
> asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?"
>
> "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed," the
> meteorologist at the weather service responded.
>
> So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even
> more wood in order to be prepared.
>
> A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it
> going to be a very cold winter?"
>
> "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It's
> definitely going to be a very cold winter."
>
> The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect
> every scrap of wood they could find.
>
> Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again.
>
> "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"
>
> "Absolutely," the man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest
> winters ever."
>
> "How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.
>
> The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting wood like crazy."

05/12/06
"You, you, and you.....Panic.  The rest of you, come with me." – US marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.

Traders seemed to be looking for reasons to panic, but others were looking for buying opportunities.  Today was no worse than earlier in the week when stocks were flying on mineral and ethanol ecstasy.

Sure GOOG and HANS and DXPE took significant drops, but they ran up fast, dropped, and ran up again.  These are stocks and people buy them to sell them at a profit – not collect them like baseball cards.  If you are a kid, they are baseball cards.  If you are an adult, they are pictures of men.  Stocks are not collectibles; they are a means to make money.  Financial freedom!  In today's IBD, there is an article of how three high school students racked up a "50% gain in 10 weeks selecting names from the IBD 100".  Don't tell me these high school kids are smarter than you.  They are not smarter than me – and even if they are, I can always stuff them in a gym locker!

If you want to know what stocks went down, you can watch the local news or whine on the Yahoo message boards.  Everything just about went down, so if your stocks went down too, don't worry too much.

But did any go up?  IFO, my huge holding was up 7%!!  Over a dollar!!  And I bought MORE!!!  It should get a star on the walk of fame this weekend, or at least a top 10 spot in the IBD 100!  IFO was also my pick in the monthly Cool Cat Stock Picking Contest.  So maybe I'll win a cookie.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ifo

I bought component maker SIMC!  Earnings look like they will be a blowout next week and with the low float; I think it will be a winner!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=simc

I bought airplane parts maker HSR to go with LDSH.  The numbers are growing.  I owned this at 3 and sold it at 5 – it is now near 9 and I think it will be back near 10 soon.  Up 9%
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hsr

I bought EZM again.  This is a profitable mining company that got a boost from Cramer and it pulled back a bit.  I think zinc and industrial metals will continue to rise in price.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ezm

I bought NXG – and other Cramer mention has brought this mining company attention.  They had a great quarter and were wrongly downgraded!  Gold and copper are a great place to be!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=nxg

While other traders were hiding under their beds, I got out, kicked the bear in his ass and grabbed the bull by the horns.  Take control of your trading.  Educate yourself and find out how you can make this your primary source of income.  That is MY goal.

On Saturday, May 13, the USPS letter carriers are picking up packaged food you leave out to give to help the food shelters supported by Second Harvest.  All the Girl Scout cookies that were purchased from my daughter by readers will be donated in this food drive.  So feel good about yourselves.  Have a great weekend.  Snowcat

05/15/06
Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers.

I should be checking my horoscope to see if it is safe to go out.  Two of Friday's buys, miners NXG & EZM finished down 12%+.  IFO, which made it to #3 on the IBD 100 was up 7% then finished down 9% and SIMC I sold at a 30% profit due to the sharp research of Terabemo!

I will now look up those investing high school kids from Friday's IBD to ask for their help.

RTK was up on a Cramer report that the gas to fuel maker was the way of the future.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RTK

MED was looking sturdy, CHRS has earnings out on Wed. and TTM got hit bad.

Carbon fiber maker, ZOLT is a very interesting stock.  Carbon fiber can be used to build lighter, stronger structures such as bridges and cars.  The numbers are looking better, though they are not yet profitable – but this looks like one of the stocks of the future – both production-wise and as a Wall St. favorite.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=zolt

Once again I defer to Bill Gates: "Success is a lousy teacher.  It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose".

Thanks Bill.

05/16/06
When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.

Actually, the market pulled up from the dive today.  SIMC continued to fly, up 27% on a gillion time's adv.  What concerns me is the volume which is just now starting to pick up.  Prior to earnings, the adv was about 12,000.  If it can continue to trade 300k shares a day, this could be a monster.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SIMC

HSR regained footing, up 8%.   IFO is back on track, up 8% and MED came through with great earnings and was up $2.  This diet stock can be on the IBD 100 now that it is selling for over $15!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MED

IRIS, like IFO is coming back from a major dive and good earnings.  They are a medical leader in their field, Urology, and made a nice 12% leap today!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=IRIS

JSDA hit a new high, ZOLT zolted ahead, and SBUX is getting out of its funk 
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s=zolt+jsda+sbux.

I am tempted to sell my slow learners, like FCFS and PSSI, but I know that they would shoot up the second I sold them.  I am being patient with my recent mining stock purchases, EZM and NXO though I am down about 12% on each in a day (not one of my better moves).  And a few stocks I like are just about at my sell point with close to an 8% loss – CHRS, ALKS, COGO, and PCR.  I will watch closely as they are good companies, but lousy looking stocks.

One thing I have learned is that if I buy a penny stock, or a "newsletter stock" and it makes any kind of gain – I have to sell it right away.  Otherwise I will be a junk collector that ends up holding the bag.  For example, look at OTD, BRVO, CHID, PTSC, XTHN, XSNX, NIHK, GNBT.......several I was lucky enough to sell with a quick profit.  Others, like CHID, were a 40% gain that I held and is now worth chid.  Most of these types of stocks are manipulated, and not by you.  The market makers and insiders know when to get out – you should get out before them.  I think that most of the time it is the best move to take your profit and go home rather than to leave empty handed.

Good trading - Snowy   

05/17/06

Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.



That is how I felt today as I crash landed on a few stocks and bailed on others.  I preserved profits on MGPI, ADM and FIX and took bad losses on EZM and CHRS.  CHRS, the clothing store for big women had earnings that were not too bad, but it just collapsed.  I should have seen the chart falling apart long ago.



I sold ADM.  It is still the big boy in the ethanol/agriculture field, but I see support at about 38, and I am not as brazen as I was when I was buying on Friday.  I learned a painful lesson.



Not much positive news, though yesterday, the Yankees came back from a 9 run deficit to beat Texas 14 to 13 in the 9th.



IFO rose close to 20, up 7% - IRIS, MED and RTK were up a bit



Here is a link to the top lists in IBD:

http://www.investors.com/tr10/trsuform1.aspx



I am looking forward to better days, but don't worry, I got your back.........Snowy



A favorite joke to make your day better:



The National Poetry Contest had come down to the final two contestants,
a Yale graduate and a redneck from Texas.

They were given a word, then they were allowed two minutes to study the
word and come up with a poem that contained the word. The word that they
were given was "Timbuktu."

First to recite his poem was the Yale graduate. He stepped to the
microphone and said:
Slowly across the desert sand
Trekked a lonely caravan;
Men on camels, two by two
Destination Timbuktu.

The crowd went crazy! No way could the redneck top that, they thought.
The redneck calmly made his way to the microphone and recited:
Me and Tim a huntin' went.
Met three women in a pop up tent.
They was three, and we was two,
So I bucked one, and Timbuktu.

The redneck won hands down!!!!

05/18/06

I learn by going where I have to go. – Theodore Roethke, poet



I have been cleaning house today – trying to preserve any profits I can.  TTM got slaughtered on bad earnings. They are also building their $2000 car in a communist country near India.  XTHN continued the freefall by ethanol companies.  XTHN further validates my theory on newsletter pumps – fast money is made and get out before the big fall.  It is down 16% today.



MEA looks like it could be good.  But metal recycling is not a hot business at the moment.   This company got a good write up in a newsletter which gave it a boost.  Big trader Susan took a position in it today.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=mea

TTM getting slaughtered.  Down a buck.

Good thing I got rid of ADM and MGPI yesterday - down a buck.

The day started out good with many stocks up and just finished in a dismal fashion. 



SMSI followed up on a Cramer report, IFO was up 2 bucks b4 finishing down a dollar, KRSL was up $3, attracting a lot of attention until selling hit and it finished in the red.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s=jsda+HSR+SIMC+IFO+COGO+zolt+krsl+smsi+cell"



MED lost all of yesterday's profits and I am not sure it can maintain 15 through tomorrow.  A lot of marginal stocks have been having trouble staying above 15 to keep on the IBD 100.  – Look at FIX, INFA, etc.......

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=med



I keep a list of all the stocks I sold, and if the chart warrants it, I will buy it back.  Right now I am sitting tight on my money.



I made money before and I can make it again.



In the mean time, I am watching your back.  Snow

O5/19/06
Don't wait for your "ship to come in" and feel angry and cheated when it doesn't.  Get going with something small – Irene Kassorla, psychologist

Well, my ship did not come in today, but the upturn in the market in the afternoon was nice to see.  It was also an opportunity to get rid of some of the slacker stocks that I have been reluctant to dump.  And I will be especially careful when replacing them.

IFO was down over a dollar and finished up a bit – a very good sign for that stock.  I can see this as a big winner in the coming months.  Please put it on your watch list.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IFO

Another stock which was on shaky ground yesterday was MED.  It was hit yesterday by a large insider sale at the end of the day.  MED also fell hard in the morning but showed strength at the close – finishing the day over 15 – actually over 16!  This should be in the IBD 100 and hopefully get a boost.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=med

DXPE made a nice comeback from a bad drop and HANS had a nice gain so I would suspect that these would still be #1 & #2.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=dxpe

TIE, the top titanium producer announced a massive insider buy – this with the recovering market, pushed it up $4. I picked some up near $33.  It is a quality stock at a reasonable price.  http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=tie

Much of the portfolio finished in the green, but I am not totally sold on the recovery.  Miners have a big climb back.  CWPC made a nice move, and COGO followed through today.  XTHN and TTM are still getting beaten to a pulp.

I still did not jump back into the Ethanol stocks yet.  Here is an informative article on the subject: http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/060519/tc20060519225336.html?.v=1

It should be a good weekend – I am headed to the Yankees/Mets on Saturday.  It is the hottest ticket in NY.  It should be a great game as both teams are in first place.  I hope you have a great weekend too.

XXOO
Snowy

05/21/06
Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes. – von Goethe

Not much of a change today – the market did not follow through with an up day – and sank brutally again.

I lost $300 on my TIE purchase.  I thought the break out Friday might turn into something if the market changed direction, but it fizzled.

I guess puts were the right call.  I can buy some puts – that will guarantee a market turnaround.

MED made it to the IBD 100 – it was up 6%
COGO and IFO also were up nearly $1!

I sold the last of my GIGM at about even on a 12% drop and I preserved a 35% gain on my remaining SIMC.

Nothing left to buy – so keep your hands in your pockets until 2 up days.

Maybe Cramer will cheer up his audience today by announcing he has the Bird Flu.

Stay calm, I got your back........Snowy


The close call:
I was happy. My girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year, and so we decided to get married. My parents helped us in every way my friends encouraged me, and my girlfriend? She was a dream! There was only one thing bothering me, very much indeed, and that one thing was her younger sister. My prospective sister-in-law was twenty years of age, wore tight mini skirts and low cut blouses. She would regularly bend down when quite near me and I got many a pleasant view of her underwear. It had to be deliberate. She never did it when she was near anyone else.

One day little sister called and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived. She whispered to me that soon I was to be married, and she had feelings and desires for me that she couldn't overcome and didn't really want to overcome. She told me that she wanted to make love to me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister. I was in total shock and couldn't say a word.  She said, "I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want to go ahead with it just come up and get me."

I was stunned. I was frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs.  When she reached the top she pulled down her panties and threw them down the stairs at me. I stood there for a moment, then turned and went straight to the front door. I opened the door and stepped out of the house. I walked straight towards my car.

My future father-in-law was standing outside. With tears in his eyes he hugged me and said, "We are very happy that you have passed our little test. We couldn't ask for better man for our daughter. Welcome to the family."

The moral of this story is: always keep your condoms in your car.

dont forget 24 2-hour season finale snow(i got your back  )

hmm IFO and COGO are looking good..   

thx for reminding me of that joke.. LOL

24 was kind of predictible.  But those Chinese - don't forget those Chinese!  Next season he will be fighting with Chuck Norris in Shang-Hai!  Good thing Baur is a black belt in Kung Fu.  He'll kick some Chinese ass, fall in love, avert a nuclear holocost........and in the last minute, call his daughter and tell her he loves her.  All in 24 hours without going to the bathroom once.

But how will he get along without Chloe?  He will probably find the Asian version of Chloe working in a noodle joint.

Chloe will probably get her own show where all she does is make weird faces.

IFO, COGO, MED, HOM and  HSR are my 3SOF.  Stay away from those penny stox.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

05/23/06
Winning isn't everything.  Wanting to win is. – Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Yankee Pitcher

Today was a winning day – stocks were bolting upward like crazy.  TIE which I sold yesterday after a 10% drop, gained 12% today.  And this was happening with just about every stock I looked at.

But has the market turned the corner and headed back up?  Or is this a bear trap – to catch unsuspecting money and then drag it down further.  I was tempted, but kept my pants on.

Ethanol stocks were up (MGPI up 12%, but ADM was level)! Mining stocks were up (EZM up 11% but NXG was down)!  In fact, everything I sold in the past week was up big.  Even stinkers like CHID and OTD were up 13%!  XTHN was up 24%!
Why do research when I can just roll in the mud.

Today was a gift.  Oil stocks will continue to rise and demand for alternative energy will continue to grow, but stocks and the real world do not always go in the same direction.  So let's wait another day until we start taking out our wallets again.

I think the market is waiting to see who wins American Idol – Taylor is good for the economy and Katherine is for pork barrel spending.

I am taking my kids to American Idol Live in July, an investment that I can see paying off for months.

And relax, I got your back.  Snowball

LOL.. man thats hilarious. "Chloe will probably get her own show where all she does is make weird faces." 

and this is killer "I think the market is waiting to see who wins American Idol – Taylor is good for the economy and Katherine is for pork barrel spending." LMAO

yea 24 was predictable.. I wonder if that navy kid witnessing him kill Henderson will come into play.. I called everything ahead of time[using TA] (how the president was recorded and the chinese at then end) much to my family's displeasure.. lol.. anyway the Chinese direction should be interesting in January.. getting outside the US will be good for the show. 

Yeah.  The Jack Baur Power Hour!  He relied too much on his posse.  Too bad they killed off Edgar.  He loved Chinese food.

Now - is the next 24 going to start while he is on the boat or when he is in China?  Will he be able to learn Chinese in one hour?  Will he be able to learn chopsticks in one hour?

The bicycle chases through the streets of Shanghai, running for miles on the Great Wall, thousands of shameless plugs for the Olympics - sounds great.

The one thing I was able to determine from seeing the beaten Jack Baur lying on the floor with his battered face is the time the next 24 episode will start.  2:30

(tooth hurty in Chinese)

Good thing they did not get Chuck Norris to fight the terrorists in "24".  He would kick their asses and solve the crime so quickly, they'd have to rename it  "1".

05/24/06
Talent wins games.  Teamwork wins championships. – Michael Jordan

The winning team today was bird-flu stocks.  I knew that if Jim Cramer came out in a chicken costume yesterday, coughing his head off, it would have an impact on the market.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cq?d=v1&s=nvax+bcrx+crxl+qdel+gild+sva+gnbt+apt+calm+avii

The rest of the market fell flat on its face, with yesterday's winners falling back too.  Only XTHN seemed to not only keep its gains, it was up another 20%!!  The ethanol company that uses bio-trash rather than corn or soy to make ethanol announced that it plans to build a plant in Georgia.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=XTHN.OB

Buying puts is always an option in this market that seems to be doing a freefall, but I would rather sit back and wait for the dust to settle.  Indian stocks like TTM and WIT are being hit especially hard as well as gambling site GIGM and favorites like SBUX.

Do not reach for your wallets yet as there is no conformation that this correction is over.

The big showdown tonight on "American Idol" will decide the way I invest.  Taylor wins and it is a year of wild fluctuations in the market and if Katherine wins I can see stocks of companies like CHRS (big women's clothing) and KKD (Krispy Kreme) having banner years. 

Again, don't worry.  I got your back.  Snowcat

05/25/06
The roots of education are bitter, the fruits are sweet. – Aristotle, philosopher

Some tempting fruits dangled in front of my face, but I did not bite.  The market has been as unsteady as new "American Idol", Taylor's erratic behavior.  Be patient.

One great place I found to do some homework is a list of the100 Hot Growth Companies in these weeks Business Week.  Click on the company and you will get a handful of great information.  Companies I know and some I never heard of.........
http://www.businessweek.com/hot_growth/2006/index.html

I am sounding like a broken record, but IFO was up a dollar.  It was #23 on the Business Week list.  See you at 30.  http://yahoo.businessweek.com/hot_growth/2006/company/23.htm

A lot of companies were up on my watch list, but none with big volume.

HOM is on the watch list again.  It finally is pulling back.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hom

MED, IRIS and COGO are GOGOs

ALKS announced that they priced their new sobriety drug.  It is 7x what other similar drugs are going for.  The stock was up a buck on average volume.  The monthly shot is planned to cost about $700, but someone pointed out to me that an alcoholic can spend that in a couple of nights in a bar – not to mention ruin their job, family and health,
 
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/stocks/pharmaceuticals/10287557.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

Stay informed.  Education is the foundation of smart trading – not depending on internet Bozo's like me.  I love you – AND – while the market down - I got your back.  Snowy

Which of these pictures shows Snowcat: Cat of Mystery???
 
http://www.island943.com/images/dragons052106/index.htm
   
New American Idol, Taylor, reminds me of my drunk uncle dancing and singing at my sister's wedding.
His first official act as Idol is to send his Soul Patrol to Iraq to torture the Al Quaida prisoners.