Didn’t trade much today…I was out of the office until mid-afternoon. I did get stopped out of some QQQQ calls I had entered on Monday, for a smaller profit than anticipated. Actually I just got my commisions paid. 
The markets ended stronger than it looked at lunch time….I did catch some updates on my Blackberry smartphone. I do have the capability to trade off my phone, but I haven’t excersized that option…yet.
I updated to the latest version of TradeStation to get ready for the change in options nomenclature next week, Friday, February 12, 2010, the first part of the Options Symbology Initiative. The biggest difference I’ve noticed so far is slower reaction time, but I guess they haven’t started using the new symbols. I hope their programmers are looking into that speed thing!
I’ve also downloaded the latest version of StockFinder from Worden. Looks interesting but I need to learn another program language. It sure would be nice if there was a universal trading program language. Then I could concentrate on the charts and indicators rather than how to program the damn things. 
Tomorrow Initial Claims will lead the way. We’ll also have to watch CSCO and V to see if their good reports this evening will follow thru…as well as all the Thursday reports. And don’t forget Friday for what turns out to be our “monthly curse” the NonFarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate reports. Ugh!
Happy Trading!
Haven’t see one of those to the upside for a while….and volume was a bit stronger also. The markets had a lot to be happy about…great earnings reports and great car sales, except for Toyota of course. Even home sales ticked higher, but that’s probably a crock of $h!t.
Tomorrow has the potential for more good reports from IP V AMP CSCO among others and also the ADP employment report, the preview report for the governments report on Friday.
News is Good Again for Stocks, for Now.
What a screwy day on Friday, especially the end. Price was moving up vertically while the TICK was moving down….and the dollar stood still….What the $%@&* 
And all on a lousy Non-Farm Payroll report and an ugly Consumer Credit report. Next week is Options Expiration week too.
According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac, Monday of January option expiration week has been up 9 of last 13 years, but brutally down in 2009. January expiration week though, has been horrible since 1999, Dow down big 8 of last 11. And Friday, January expiration day has seen the Dow down 9 of last 11 with big losses!
So with crappy reports and opex week upon us, you would think that volatility would tick up…..but no! The VIX continued down to new 19-month lows, almost catching a 17-handle. No fear, no worries, just buy, buy, buy.
Looking at the candlestick patterns on the indexes, the week was full of Hanging Men. Except for that big up stick on Monday, the week was full of trepidation and indecision. I’m also thinking that all these end of day run-ups are artifically created by our government’s plunge protection team….buying baskets of stocks of all the indexes, easy to do when you can print money whenever you want some. Okay, so I’m a conspiracy theorist, but this will end ugly, just like all the other handouts.
If you get time this weekend, here’s some interesting reading:
And for some real spin doctors….it’s not “unemployment”, it’s “available labor.” Available Labor Rate Increases To 10.2%
This is funny, but oh so true.
It wasn’t a good Initial Claims report, unexpectedly climbing this week and revising last week’s report up also. Markets started red and then began a slow grind up for the rest of the day. It was still a mixed day at the end, no index gaining or losing much.
As I said yesterday, employment numbers will not be that important…it’s how the markets react. If jobs numbers are lower than expected, traders will sell fearing the economy won’t come back quick enough. If numbers beat expectations, traders will worry that the Fed will take away the punch bowl and raise rates sooner then expected. So there may be an upside pop, but I’m looking for a down market…if not on Friday, then Monday.
If the markets pop or move up on Friday, I’ll add to my shorts. If they happen to start diving right away I’ll just ride ‘em down….EDZ SDS QID
Have you watched GOOG the past 2 days? I guess nobody likes that new phone they announced. And AAPL VZ T and all the techs must have sympathy pains. Everybody must be getting out of tech and into banks.
More good news?…More than 6% of commercial-mortgage borrowers in the U.S. have fallen behind in their payments! Delinquency rates on loans for hotels, shopping malls and other commercial properties could rise to between 9% and 14%. Might be time for SRS again. Here’s another reason why this bailout sh!t ain’t working. Geithner’s New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure. Gee, maybe Timmy may lose his job.
And if there is anything you don’t like about my blog, please tell me. I don’t want to end up like these guys:Blogging is a dangerous business.
I traded all day for unchanged? The markets went nowhere…fast! My positions are short, but I hedge daytrading on the long side….and I was able to to take a few dollars a tick at a time. Not complaining, I just like volatility!
The VIX caught an 18-handle today, something it hasn’t done for 16 months. So there’s no problems in this market? No worries? To me the markets feel like they want to go down…feeling toppy and heavy. I guess that’s why I’ve got the short positions.
Tomorrow morning brings us the Initial Claims report, the first of a one-two punch on employment along with Fridays Non-farm Payroll. I’m thinking good or bad, the markets don’t like it, or at least reacts negatively. Let’s see. 
ADP started the job ball rolling today. Tomorrow we have Initial Job Claims and Friday is the granddaddy…Non-farm Payrolls. So ADP says we lost another quarter-million jobs in September…much better than the half- and three quarter-millions we were losing earlier this year….but still worse than expected! Ice that with some lousy Chicago PMI numbers and you would think we would have had a lot worse day than we did. And we did in the morning, but the markets clawed back to near even.
Oh yeah, there was a GDP number that was pretty good…but…can GDP even be looked at as a “real” number anymore? GDP is so manipulated with all that Fed meddling…..screwed up with pseudo-stimulus and money printing and government manipulation…. how can anyone use GDP to gauge the “real” economy from where it was a year ago. And don’t forget, there’s no consumer participation in that number! What the $%@&*
It still comes down to jobs, jobs, jobs. Sure everyone can keep paying their bills for a while, but eventually the unemployment insurance runs out and then the 401k and then savings and then family and friends, and eventually you start to default on your obligations. Speaking of mortgages, read some of these:
Mortgage Deadbeats Plague Home Market
Mortgage demand falls despite lower rates
As I step off my soapbox….yesterday was a snoozer, but today was a wild ride. You had to pay attention, but there were so many ups and downs, and many opportunities to make money. Of course when there is opportunity for gain there is opportunity for loss. But there were 100’s of opportunities….so little money! 
Wow! What a spike UP in S&P futures when that employment number came out. …like 10 points up. More jobs lost this year than since 1945! And just how does this make traders happy? Let’s see how the rest of the day pans out
P.S. Apologies for missing a couple days….technical issues with the ISP.
