Political & Elections

TD only allow me to do covered calls. Perhaps because in retirement mode & small accounts. 

buy SGEN, July 1. @33. 

write call 40Sept@2.25 on July18. 

today SGEN is at 47 and 40Sept@7.70.  Fortunately I closed the write a two weeks later, with a loss  of just 233%. Sold SGEN at 41 in mid-Aug. 

The problem with covered calls is that if you too far out, the premium is hardly worth the risk either in a large and fast up or down move. 

BTW, this is BunsenBurner's company( she said "a genetics company with the name of the city). Met my criteri: local, could have a new technology, below its high, small float. 

-- Edited by longprime on Tuesday 17th of September 2013 09:44:21 PM

I trade within IRAs, so derivatives is prohibited except for covered calls. The last few times I used covered calls, the stock took off fast and I had to buy the calls back faster. 

Are you buying Brent or WTI? 

Where is BunsenBurner. I ought to thank her. 

Interesting that you're short term bullish, most people are not.  Has that put thing that you're doing worked out for you in the past?

yes - if you listened to Cramer tonight, he discussed Summers and said he was a one man wrecking crew.  He has frequently expressed that Bernanke was not doing the right thing with QE.  Summers is very contentious, not a consensus builder, says things exactly the way he sees them which means hearings etc would be a circus and roil the markets.

Bad omen last night; Skunk and cat in garage. I was in my underwear and with the skunk's tail raised, 5 feet away from me. [How's that for an image?]  Gotta get that door repaired.  

Anyhow, got up 5am PT. Waited for market to open at 6:30. Almost sold Z at 6:35 but decided that I needed to get some sleep. 

Shoud've looked at KR earlier, but I don't do analysis or statements of any kind. I made my profits and was happy with them. Looking at KR chart, it would appear that after hitting 41, they dropped to near 38, which was my exit point in July. Maybe KR is getting to be full valued??? My issue with KR, it is primarily a grocer but our FredMeyer's is full line department retailer a level or two aboveWalmart, and with much better service and shopping experience. 

I do not do technical analysis. I try to chose the companies that are not too obvious. I look at the charts of the stock to see if it is near the high or low, and if the stock is at either end, why?

Earlier this summer, I was into KR-because my local one-stop-shopping is FredMeyer. Great store. Should have held it a bit longer. I saw the Memorial Day traffic and asked the electronic's manager how was sales- GREAT.  In at 35 and out a month later at 38. 

I will buy low and sell high, unless if I think that some of the picks are heading downward and I need to cut the potential loss. I am in some pretty speculative & high priced stocks. 

 Since I don't watch the futures on my holdings or indexes, or ETFs, I can't comment. 

OK - I'm thinking of buying vxx and playing the volatility next week.  I presume that you will just keep your current positions and not do anything different.

So you don't think it will make a difference in the market if the taper is 15 billion a month or 85 billion a month?  You don't think it will make a difference on Friday if a new fed chief is named and it is Larry Summers?

Yes - next week could be interesting.  Actually the rest of the month will be interesting.  I expect that stocks will be moving all over the place.  What do you expect will happen to the market on Wednesday at 2:00?

Pretty good week in the market - you must have done quite well!

Why were you forced to buy back scty?  I've never heard the term funds in suspense.

Today I'm in less cash than yesterday.  I bought aapl at around 466 along with Icahn.  He probably bought more than me though.  I also bought qqq, epi, smm.

so why are you into cash ?

So, You're not a novice.

Don't believe everything you read from me. 

Cramer has been known to be very wrong. 

Cramer has a lot more money to lose than you or I. 

Cramer is diversified. 

Cramer is in business to make money for himself (CNBC, books, appearances, sponsers)

Be aware of the  Cramer Bounce.  

After listening to Jim Cramer, I think I'll buy epi also.

I watch Cramer on more than occasional basis but not strictly. I look for his interviews and commentary about companies. I look for "conviction" of the CEO. I look for something the company has that is better than their competitors and perhaps disruptive in their industry. I try to be diversified which gives the appearance of weird companies. I use or I am familiar with their products. I read Yahoo message boards. I look at the charts for +/- momentum and direction. 

ie NWN, as I mention before, I am a user of NWN. Their ace in the pocket is that they are also a "NG producer-marketer" and control pipelines in Ore. NWN is near its cyclical low. Small volumes. No gas competitors. Clean and environmental forces in OR want to move towards gas and away from hydroelectric dependency which although,  Green, kills fish. Calfornia is paying more for our electricity, and cooking water by electricity is inefficient. NWN is a recent purchase but I purchase/sell it  cyclically. 

Normal disclosures.

I currently hold NWN, SCTY,  HOT, PRI, BGS, MSFT, SUNE, RSOL.  Currently none are hedged. Cash ~20%. I am unbalanced into energy and not as diversified as I would like but can change very quickly. 

Getting back to TSLA. I see Teslas are very popular in CA,WA, and OR. Maybe because we are already trying to be greener and of newer wealth in technology.  CNBC  talking head said that Europe ought to be big for TSLA because their gas prices are 3x our cost and rising. Plus their travel distances are much smaller than ours, so the issue of running out of battery juice before getting to your destination is much less. 

Good Morning

re: insurance. The knowledgeable sources say that Investing is the top of the pyramid of taking care of one's responsibilities. ie Life Insurance, if you have family responsibilities.  Adequate financial reserves outside of insurances for unexpected job loss or similar.