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[Javaman]

I don't buy this whole billion/million explanation. One transaction couldn't cause all of this mess with some stocks dropping to almost 0. Plus there's likely interlocks in place to prevent someone from selling far more then they own (by a factor of 1000!) There's got to be more to the story like some type of computer glitch.

 

[CharlieDigital]

I don't buy this whole billion/million explanation. One transaction couldn't cause all of this mess with some stocks dropping to almost 0.

The machines.

“To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.”

The hypothesis is that the proprietary, high speed, automated trading machines went bonkers based on the parameters in the system -- one of those being a faulty trade.

 

[kathode]

Well, ATVI earnings were positive and it's up about a percent, but that's about 20x less than what I need. The value in my calls completely collapsed this morning as it became clear there's no way a $13 May strike is going to make it. Selling out for about a 90% loss. You win some, you lose some

 

[Javaman]

Off to a good start today. O

 

[Tarazet]

Glad I didn't sell anything. I'm now back where I was at the beginning of last week.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Ha! I told you guys. Trina(TSL) is up over 20% from where I got it last week. Solars are volatile, but predictable. I should have sold off my Nintendo stock and dumped it all into Trina. It's gonna return 40% within a month. I gotta keep my eye on it for when it dips below $20 again. I once had like 500 shares of the stuff, back when it was only $6 or so. That was one of my first trades. I sold it for a few hundred dollars profit, but could have been killing it if I'd been more knowledgeable. PEACE.

 

[Ether_Snake]

No way you can predict solars. STP was up over 10% today and it means nothing to, could tank 14% the next day.

 

[Pimpwerx]

No way you can predict solars. STP was up over 10% today and it means nothing to, could tank 14% the next day.

In this case, I think it was predictable. The market blip was an anomaly, not linked to anything else. Solars have nothing but upside, long or short-term thanks to peak oil and the oil spill respectively. The market is all over the place, but dropping from $26 to $19 when the news seems good seemed like an opportune time to jump in. I was quite confident in this one, and certain it'll return to $25+. Then again, this is one of those stocks I've been watching closely since I started trading, so I'm familiar with its performance.

Yeah...if it had dropped to $15 on me, I wouldn't have said a damn thing. :lol PEACE.

 

[kathode]

Sold out of some longs that haven't been doing anything for me for close to a year (CUB, DASTY). Essentially broke even on them both. But now I have a good deal of cash to apply to new opportunities. Going to sit back and evaluate for a day or two but excited to get back into things.

 

[Ovid]

Still on the fence about when to jump into the markets. Four stocks that are on my radar are: DIS, MHP, ERTS and MRF. I have a feeling EA will be bought out at some point (by Disney?). DIS and MRF are solid stocks that pay dividends. DIS will see the beneifits of the Marvel acquisition sometime next year so I definitely see this stock trading way higher than $34. MRF (American Income Fund) pays a $0.06 monthly dividend. Keeping my money in this fund as oppossed to my savings account will yield more money in the short term while interests rates are so low. MHP has been on my watch list since June (I posted my watch list in November). Hasn't done well recently though. Currently trading under $30. Could it be the right time to buy? Stay tuned.

 

[Javaman]

I thought this was an interesting article about the dangers of using Stop-Loss orders....

While at this point there seems to be more questions than answers, we can't help but feel for some of the unsuspecting victims of this erroneous market action. But the first step in avoiding disasterous results in the short term is to avoid taking potentially perilous actions. Followers of Morningstar's exchange-traded fund research are more than likely familiar with our strong preference toward using limit orders when executing ETF trades. This helps ensure that you get a price at or extremely close to the fund's net asset value. After all, in a properly functioning market, a fund is worth simply as much as its constituent parts. If you are selling and not getting something very close to fair value, we would recommend not selling at all.

One type of trade that we vehemently avoid more than any other is known as a "stop-loss" order. Consider yourself warned: If you perform an online search for this term, you're likely to find some misleading definitions. For instance, you may come across an explanation like, "setting a stop-loss order for 10% below the price you paid for the security will limit your loss to 10%." Our main problems with this statement are that it is blatantly false, imparts a false sense of security, and can lead to truly disasterous results.

Such misinformation likely makes employing a stop-loss strategy sound appealing to a risk-averse investor who cannot actively monitor his portfolio. In the case of a traditional stop-loss order, once the "stop" price is reached, a market order to sell the security is entered. Hence, the trade will be made but not necessarily at or near the predetermined stop price. As was the case last Thursday, if there is insufficient liquidity or the market is moving quickly, there's a good chance that the order could fill at unfavorable prices.

In order for a fund to trade near net asset value, the prices of all of the individual securities in a fund must be known. A mutual fund accomplishes this by waiting to the end of the day. This periodic pricing masks the intraday volatility. There is little risk for the mutual fund company because all of the prices at the end of the day are known. But for an ETF, which trades throughout the day, waiting until the end of the day to set a price is not possible. Instead, the ETF depends on arbitrage. In order to keep the price trading near net asset value, a trader needs to be able to quickly calculate the net asset value. The magnitude and urgency of the calculations lends itself to electronic and algorithmic trading.

To paraphrase Peter Lynch, if you buy a stock with a stop-loss of 10%, the only thing you are guaranteeing is that you'll lose 10% on that trade. We couldn't agree more. In fact, we often quip that a more appropriate name for stop-loss order would be guaranteed loss order. Those of us who experienced the violent volatility that was so prevalent at the height of the credit crisis should also agree with Lynch's point of view on the matter.

The result was the malaise witnessed last Thursday--ETFs representing ownership of hundreds of stocks trading down 60% or more from the prices they were traded at less than an hour before. In our example above, what was supposed to be a limited loss of 10% essentially turned into a loss of 60% to 100%, and most of those losses were recovered in a matter of minutes for those who wisely held their postitions. This happened because there weren't any "real" bids at that moment in time. One moral of the story is to avoid using market orders. Moreover, it always pays to know what the value of your investment is at any given time. Thankfully, with ETFs you can always check the intraday indicative values, which are published every 15 seconds throughout the trading day.

 

[Barrett2]

Question; it's been over two years since I logged into my Scottrade account. I have some shares of GME that have been languishing. Im' thinking about jumping back into the market, putting some more money in my trading account, etc. Is it worth holding onto the GME position, or should I just dump it?

 

[RSTEIN]

nm

 

[Biff]

Question; it's been over two years since I logged into my Scottrade account. I have some shares of GME that have been languishing. Im' thinking about jumping back into the market, putting some more money in my trading account, etc. Is it worth holding onto the GME position, or should I just dump it?

If you've been able to go two years without caring about your GME losses, then would another two years matter? Just keep it and hope it one day reaches the 2008 highs.

If you really needed those shares (read: money) you wouldn't have let it go unattended. Unless something has dramatically changed since then where you absolutely need that money, then why crystallize those losses if you don't have to?

 

[Ovid]

In a Quixotic kind of way, SAP's acquisition plans announced last week for Sybase got me thinking about another deal that's made the rounds over the past couple of years: Apple and the potential take-out of Electronic Arts.

Sybase had been talked about as an acquisition target for years, with suitors alternating between SAP, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle. There's been lots of reasons why a deal with any of them would make sense, and finally, SAP pulled the trigger and the deal was done.

And while Electronic Arts has been mentioned as a possible takeover target by a number of "likely" suitors, ranging from Microsoft to Disney, the one that makes sense is Apple.

I know, I know: EA being acquired by Apple is an oldie, but it's still a goodie!

With Electronic Arts' most recent disappointing earnings, and its stock much closer to its 52-week low than high, and a market cap of only $5.7 billion, now would be as good a time as any for Apple to make a move. Apple's got the cash, EA is a far cheaper alternative than Activision, the tech industry overall seems to be in an acquisitive mood, and even Apple has opened up its checkbook recently for some key, though relatively small, deals.

The payoff could be handsome.

cnbc.com

It could happen but a Disney buyout makes more sense. ABC, ESPN, Madden...just makes more sense.

 

[yoopoo]

Wonderful, down again today. I've gone down 20% in less than a month...no sign of going back up :lol

 

[kathode]

What a crapfest it's been lately. Are we going to see a sub-10k Dow in the next couple days?

 

[~Kinggi~]

God, 376 drop today. Makes me sad to see it dropping all the time

 

[Tarazet]

So two months ago, I sold $15 BAC puts for May. I wasn't expecting there to ever be a question of whether they would wind up getting exercised or not. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. If it gets exercised, I'll gladly take the cheap shares.

 

[teh_pwn]

What's the reasoning behind this emotional drop in the market? Greek and Spanish debt? Because if it is the reason, that is completely irrational as those two countries make up a tiny percentage of the world GDP.

Anyway, if this panic selling continues I'm going to have to increase my 401k contribution rate back to where it was in late 2008 and in 2009. The discount is just getting too irresistible.

Edit: Just loaded up on my IRA's Euro index. Felt like stealing.

 

[kathode]

Dow is currently under 10k in after hours trading. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Ovid]

So I bought some shares of TIVO last week and started an auto investment plan for shares of DIS. I bought shares of DIS last year around this time at around $23. Pays a decent dividend and is the parent company of my employer now. I figure this stock will be around $45 sometime next year headed into 2012. We should see the benefits of the Marvel acquisition by then. Cap and Thor will both be released next year too so I'm hoping for big things.

I'm slowly dipping my feet back into the markets and it seems that this is the perfect time with the markets going down. I'll let you guys know what's next on the list.

 

[Gallbaro]

So I bought some shares of TIVO last week and started an auto investment plan for shares of DIS. I bought shares of DIS last year around this time at around $23. Pays a decent dividend and is the parent company of my employer now. I figure this stock will be around $45 sometime next year headed into 2012. We should see the benefits of the Marvel acquisition by then. Cap and Thor will both be released next year too so I'm hoping for big things.

I'm slowly dipping my feet back into the markets and it seems that this is the perfect time with the markets going down. I'll let you guys know what's next on the list.

Unless you are positive you have good insider information, you probably know this is not the kind of diversification you want.

 

[kathode]

Made 20% today on DIS calls. Thanks for the tip

 

[Ovid]

Made 20% today on DIS calls. Thanks for the tip

Tip? Sure Kathode...lol. Anyways, I think any price in the low to mid $30's is a perfect entry point for DIS shares.

 

[rage1973]

Sold my NFLX 100 calls with 200% profit in 5 days of trading.
Also sold my BAC calls with 80% profit.

 

[kathode]

I bought BAC calls but on the wrong day Still waiting for them to come back up to breakeven. Sigh.

 

[Ovid]

Okay, so based on the charts it seems as that GS has settled down. Volume has tapered of considerably from April 15th. Only up from here? I think so. I'm in next week.

 

[Puddles]

Something I've always wondered:

When a stock is plummeting and everyone is like "Sell, Sell, Sell!" who are the idiots who are buying?

 

[teh_pwn]

Something I've always wondered:

When a stock is plummeting and everyone is like "Sell, Sell, Sell!" who are the idiots who are buying?

The people that make the most money in the stock market. Following the herd statistically often yields far worse returns than holding. Say a stock goes down 50%. Selling just locks in that loss, and then you have to get 200% return to break even.

Example: Say you buy Ford in 2004:

http://www.google.com/finance?q=F

And in 2008 you sell because everyone else is selling.

However, it depends on the context...if the company is likely to go out of business that's different than following short term trends.

 

[kathode]

Ha, so I haven't updated my bookmark for this thread in forever. I just hit the bookmark then hit "last page." I just took a look at page 18, which is where my bookmark points, and saw this quote:

Can this market really fall below 13k again? What odd psychology.

Man, those were the days

 

[Ovid]

SNDK @ $47...nice. Up 400% with this baby.

 

[Ripclawe]

anyone using Sharebuilder, they changed up their prices.

Starting June 1, we’ve lowered the subscription price and trade costs of our Advantage Program and eliminated our Standard Program. As a Standard Program subscriber, you’re automatically upgraded to our new Advantage Program. You don’t pay any more, but you get all these benefits:

 

[Ovid]

anyone using Sharebuilder, they changed up their prices.

Yes. I use the New Advantage program. I don't do real-time trades anymore. $12 per month is a great price. Real-time trades for Scottrade are $7, Sharebuilder $9.95, and Zecco $4.95 (all prices are per trade).

It makes more sense to pay the $12 per month and get 12 "free" trades (comes out to a dollar per trade). And plus I seem to be a better stock picker with Sharebuilder than with Scottrade.

BTW, I have accounts with all three.

 

[Ovid]

Okay, so next on the list of purchases is MSFT (looks good at $26), more shares of DIS and JPM (want to diversify with a quality bank stock). All will be purchased early next week. This market is completely working out in my favor. I love it. Next year at this time I hope to have some decent gains.

Where's Ether Snake?

 

[kathode]

Where's anybody?

I bought GLD calls yesterday. Very happy today, although clearly bleeding red from everything else.

I hold MSFT October 28 calls. Considering adding to that position before close today. I want to see how crazy things get in the final hour. We're >300 down on the Dow as I type this.

 

[Ovid]

Where's anybody?

I bought GLD calls yesterday. Very happy today, although clearly bleeding red from everything else.

I hold MSFT October 28 calls. Considering adding to that position before close today. I want to see how crazy things get in the final hour. We're >300 down on the Dow as I type this.

Wow!!! This summer will be very interesting.

 

[Ovid]

So I narrowed down my automatic investment purchases for this week. They are as follows:

DIS (adding more to my current position; pays dividend)
ERTS (somewhat risky; purchasing based on "gut feeling" of a buyout in the near future)
IWD (conservative ETF)
MSFT(rock solid stock; pays dividend; fairly cheap IMO)
SIRI (risky stock pick)
VYM (another conservative ETF; pays a dividend)

These purchases are boring, I know, but I'm looking at long term growth. No more bullshit flipping stocks. Buy & Hold.

I mentioned purchasing JPM in my previous post. I feel that the stock still has room to fall based on the events in the Euro zone. VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF) has JPM as part of its portfolio. I'll own JPM through this ETF. I'll purchase shares of JPM when I feel the stock has reached a bottom.

These purchases are only for this week. My auto investment plan kicks in every other week.

 

[Ovid]

April - June of 2010 is the complete opposite of April - June 2009. Do u guys remember when everyone said sell in May last year?

 

[Biff]

So.. Just in case anyone in here owns BP and hasn't checked their portfolio in a while..... A little bump for you :S

NYSE:BP has taken a 15% beating today based on new information that the oil volume has been greatly, greatly underestimated, in addition to the leak of a 2009 Spill Response memo.

Your corporation could very well be looking at bankruptcy in the near future :/ The lawsuits and fines we will see after cleanup will be unprecedented. Yes, the spill is that bad. It might be time to start thinking about cutting your losses.

For anyone who's picked up BP recently, trying to catch a falling knife, sorry dudes. Re-evaluate your position immediately.

If you're caught in the middle of this, especially people who haven't recently jumped on BP in the past month or so, divorce emotion from your impending decision - whatever it may be. Good luck to all.

 

[Tarazet]

So.. Just in case anyone in here owns BP and hasn't checked their portfolio in a while..... A little bump for you :S

NYSE:BP has taken a 15% beating today based on new information that the oil volume has been greatly, greatly underestimated, in addition to the leak of a 2009 Spill Response memo.

Your corporation could very well be looking at bankruptcy in the near future :/ The lawsuits and fines we will see after cleanup will be unprecedented. Yes, the spill is that bad. It might be time to start thinking about cutting your losses.

For anyone who's picked up BP recently, trying to catch a falling knife, sorry dudes. Re-evaluate your position immediately.

If you're caught in the middle of this, especially people who haven't recently jumped on BP in the past month or so, divorce emotion from your impending decision - whatever it may be. Good luck to all.

lol no. They make $50-60 billion in profit a year. They have $100B in retained earnings. There is zero danger of bankruptcy.

 

[Slayer-33]

C went up about 10 cents or some shit.



wtb thousands of stock of C.

 

[Koopakiller]

I didn't realize there was a stock-age...

What do you guys think of Transocean (RIG)?

I invested in them a few weeks ago. I thought it would be smart to try to capitalize on the oil spill craziness but I didn't predict it would drop as low as it is now. I'm down about 45% right now. It looks like it's dropping faster and further than BP. How much lower do you think it can go? How long will it take to recover?

Other than RIG, I'm doing pretty well. I pulled out of Take Two right before the drop off, making a 20% profit. I put the earnings into EA because they're almost at a 52 week low and E3 might turn things around.

 

[kathode]

Oil is a decent long-term play IMO, but I would stay away from specific companies, particularly those embroiled in the spill mess. Too much chance for some new awful news to come out and sink you. If you want to play around with it, I'd recommend OIH - an oil services ETF. Coincidentally, RIG is their biggest holding, but only at 13.75%, so you get some benefit from diversification. You could also bet on the price of oil going up by buying USO, an ETF that simply tracks the price of oil.

Edit: Oh misread your post - you already own RIG. Sorry. No telling how low these things can go. As far as the spill goes, I'd like to say "the worst is over" but I'd have been wrong every time I would've said it before.

 

[Biff]

lol no. They make $50-60 billion in profit a year. They have $100B in retained earnings. There is zero danger of bankruptcy.

I was aware of the facts you gave before writing my post. Might take a year, maybe two.. But, when the first fines come out - and they will be in the billions - we'll have a better idea of what kind of lawsuits BP will be seeing in the coming years.

The images of dead birds and fish are just starting to surface. In a month, BP's public image will be irreversibly destroyed throughout the world. They will be blacklisted by all developed economies, perhaps even many emerging markets.

Pink sheets, ahoy!

 

[kathode]

I was aware of the facts you gave before writing my post. Might take a year, maybe two.. But, when the first fines come out - and they will be in the billions - we'll have a better idea of what kind of lawsuits BP will be seeing in the coming years.

The images of dead birds and fish are just starting to surface. In a month, BP's public image will be irreversibly destroyed throughout the world. They will be blacklisted by all developed economies, perhaps even many emerging markets.

Pink sheets, ahoy!

Like Exxon? (Granted, the BP spill is larger)

 

[Tarazet]

I was aware of the facts you gave before writing my post. Might take a year, maybe two.. But, when the first fines come out - and they will be in the billions - we'll have a better idea of what kind of lawsuits BP will be seeing in the coming years.

The images of dead birds and fish are just starting to surface. In a month, BP's public image will be irreversibly destroyed throughout the world. They will be blacklisted by all developed economies, perhaps even many emerging markets.

Pink sheets, ahoy!

The worst estimates at this point are in the $40B range. That's what the market has been reacting to. Since stocks are normally priced on a P/E basis, that has more than $40B worth of impact on market cap, of course, but it still is in danger of becoming very oversold.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Peak oil will happen someday, so these companies are pretty stable financially. I don't know why the media narrative is the way it is, but I'm gonna wait until BP connects the relief well. Until then, this disaster only gets worse. If it looks like they can actually cement the relief well (no guarantee on that) then I might buy. I don't see them having to sell assets or anything crazy like that. Public image won't matter when they change their name and logo again (remember they bought up Amoco here) and gas prices are $4. All a BP station would have to do is price their gas 1 cent lower than the surrounding ones and they'll keep from losing customers. PEACE.

 

[Ovid]

On tap for purchase next week:

DEP (nice energy fund; pays dividend)
VFH (financial ETF; pays dividend)
VNQ (REIT; pays dividend)
VYM (adding shares)
MSFT (adding shares)
IWD (adding shares)
DIS (adding shares)

Switched it up a little.

EDIT: Adding T to the list.

 

[Ovid]

I'm gonna keep posting even though no one visits anymore.

I'm looking to put a sizable chunk of change in Vanguard Wellington (VWELX). The appriecation on this particular security since its inception is very attractive. I'm gonna do some more research on it tonight.

The fund invests 60% to 70% of assets in dividend-paying and, to a lesser extent, non-dividend-paying common stocks of established, medium-size and large companies.

I like this.