Profit/Gain on Week 3 of April 2008

I am still negative for this week, I guess I need sometime to gain back my momentum on March and February. I am looking forward to do better next week which has more earnings than this week.
Week 3 of April 2008

Date	Number of Shares	Profit/ Loss
14	2200	27
15	1800	-144
16	1300	61
17	2400	-102
18	1800	21
Total	9500	-137

Preview on next week (4/21/2008 to 4/25/2008)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Economic
None seen
Events
9:30am Fed's Evans gives remarks on Smart Money Week. 1:30pm Fed's Kroszner speaks on community development in Minnesota. 2:30pm Fed's Evans speaks to high school students in Illinois. Deutsche Bank Latin American Client Conference, MAGIC International Conference. Trades Ex-dividend: BBY $0.13, BK $0.24, EOC $0.798, PSD $0.25.
Earnings
Before the Open: ALDN, AME, AMLN, ACI, BAC, BOH, CNB, LLY, GCI, HAL, HBI, HAS, LEE, MAT, MRK, NVS, QXM, DGX, SAY, TNB, WFT. After the Close: ALB, BSX, BRO, CVTI, CR, DAC, DST, EFX, ETH, RE, FDG, FWRD, HPC, HXL, KRC, LNCR, LOGI, MSPD, NBR, NFLX, NVLS, OMCL, OMI, PKG, PTP, PLXT, SLG, SFG, STLD, TXN, USNA, VRTX, VNUS, VLTR, WCN, WGOV, ZRAN.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Economic
10:00am March Existing Home Sales (last 5.03M, m/m 2.9%), Feb House Price Index m/m (last –1.1%), April Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index (last 6)
Events
AFSA International Fixed Income Investors Conference. ICSC/UBSW Chain Store Sales (7:45, last +0.9%). Redbook Retail Sales (8:55, last +2.0%). ABC Consumer Confidence (last -39). Trades Ex-dividend: CL $0.40, ENI $0.39.
Earnings
Before the Open: AKS, AXE, ARB, ASTE, T, AUO, ALV, AVY, BHI, BKRS, BJS, EAT, CP, CSL, CE, CNC, CME, COH, CPO, CFC, DD, ECA, FITB, FMER, GNTX, HSC, HBAN, IEX, IIVI, JEC, JEF, JBLU, JRN, KELYA, KMB, KCI, KVHI, LAB, LXK, LMT, MCD, MDP, MICC, NCC, NS, OMC, OXPS, PCAR, PH, BTU, PNR, PAS, PTEC, RYN, ROH, SSW, SHW, SII, SNA, STI, TCB, TLAB, UAUA, UNH, USG, WDR, WAT, WU, WTNY, WYE. After the Close: RNT, AMSG, ANAD, ANEN, BRCM, CHRW, CDNS, CLMS, CLZR, CRI, CEC, CERN, CREE, CSGS, CYMI, DFG, EGP, EW, WIRE, ENTU, FCFS, FBC, FULT, HBHC, HGIC, IBKC, ILMN, INFN, IVGN, LDSH, LDIS, MANH, MOLX, NARA, NETL, NSC, NUVA, ODFL, ONNN, ORLY, PXLW, PPDI, RJF, RCRC, RHI, SEAB, SIAL, SIMG, SWKS, SSCC, TCO, TER, TRMK, TUP, VFC, VMW, VOCS, XL, YHOO, YUM, ZHNE.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Economic
4:30am Bank of England Minutes released
Events
JP Morgan China Conference. MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00, last 2.5%).
Earnings
Before the Open: AMG, APD, ATI, ABK, ABC, ABFS, ARW, ATMI, BDX, BHP, BIIB, BA, CPS, CXG, CEG, CFR, CYBI, DAL, DOV, DSL, EMC, FCL, FCX, GD, GENZ, GSK, GRP, HMA, HST, LII, LVLT, LECO, MPX, MNI, MNC, MCO, MWRK, NWA, NYB, PMTC, PBG, PFCB, PNW, PX, PDS, RGS, RIMG, ROK, RES, R, SGP, SEIC, SRP, SLGN, SPNC, TDY, TRA, SNAK, MDCO, UGI, UPS, WLP, XTO, ZBRA. During Trading Hours: BUD, EGN. After the Close: AEA, AEIS, AFL, ACL, ADS, ALL, AMZN, ECOL, AGP, AAPL, ARNA, AXYS, BEZ, BBSI, BCR, CLDN, CHIC, CMG, CTXS, CNS, CVGI, CLB, EXBD, CSGP, CVA, CCI, DSCM, EFII, EPIC, EPIQ, EQIX, EXTR, FFIV, DAVE, FNF, FADV, FR, FMC, GDI, GGG, GSIC, HLIT, HTZ, HRH, ICO, KEX, LHO, LSI, MTSN, MCGC, MRCY, MEOH, MOBE, MTSC, NFX, NE, NTRI, PTV, PRXL, PNSN, PLXS, PHM, QCOM, STR, QDEL, RMBS, RJET, RSG, RYL, SANM, SCSS, SKX, SOV, STMP, SRDX, TEX, TSCO, TQNT, TYL, UB, VARI, VAR, WOOF, VIGN, XLNX.

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Economic
8:30am March Durable Goods Orders (last –1.1%, ex transport –2.4%), Initial Jobless Claims (last 372K), Continuing Claims (last 2.984M)
10:00am March Help Wanted Index (last 21), March New Home Sales (last 590K, m/m –1.8%)
10:30am Natural Gas Inventories
Events
8:30am FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel. Trades Ex-dividend: WPO $2.15, AXA $1.593, CHA $1.091.
Earnings
Before the Open: SMLC, FLWS, MMM, ABH, AET, AAI, ALK, MO, AEP, ABI, AIT, ARTG, ABG, AZN, AGIX, AN, AVT, AVX, BLL, BDC, BHE, BDK, BMY, BC, BW, BBW, BG, CCMP, CRR, CSH, CHINA, CRA, CBR, CNH, CCE, CNMD, COP, CNX, CBE, DLX, DO, DRAD, DTG, DDE, DVD, DOW, ELNK, ELON, ECL, ELN, EME, ESV, SSP, EXC, EXR, FLIR, FRPT, F, FO, BEN, GMT, GR, HSY, HUB.B, IKN, IMN, IMCL, IPCC, IART, IDC, IMA, IVZ, ESI, JAKK, JNS, JRC, KDN, KSU, KBW, KEI, KMT, KLIC, FSTR, LLL, LH, LTM, LIFC, LYTS, MDC, MEDE, MLNM, MKSI, MOT, MWIV, NAFC, NWL, NEM, NIHD, NJR, NOC, NCX, OXY, ORI, OHI, OVRL, PTC, PTI, PCCC, PENN, PEP, PLUG, POT, PCH, PLD, QUIX, RHD, RDN, RTN, FRZ, RGC, RSTO, COL, RCL, SWY, SCG, POOL, SHPGY, SI, SPAR, SPR, SWK, HOT, STFC, SSYS, SU, SXCI, SY, SNV, BRLC, SYNT, SYPR, TROW, TASR, TTEC, TNC, TEN, TMO, TRAD, TRV, UNP, USAP, LCC, UST, VDSI, WAB, WCG, WMAR, WST, WHR, WRLD, XMSR, ZMH, ZOLL. During Trading Hours: AIMC, BPL, HTLD. After the Close: ABAX, AFFX, AYE, AMX, AXP, AFG, ACF, AMGN, ARBA, ARTC, AJG, ASIA, AVID, BIDU, BKUNA, BJRI, EPAY, BTUI, BUCY, BLDR, BLG, CLS, CX, CENX, CF, CTHR, CHRT, CAKE, CHE, CB, CCU, CCO, CNET, COBZ, COHR, COHU, COLM, RIO, DVW, CW, DDUP, DCT, DECK, DV, DDR, DXPE, EMN, ELX, EXAR, EZPW, FALC, FIS, FMD, FDRY, GNW, ROCK, HITT, HME, HUBG, IKAN, INSP, IM, INSU, IDTI, ISSI, IBKR, IOM, IRBT, ISTA, XXIA, JJSF, JNPR, KLAC, KNX, LSCC, MEE, MFE, WFR, MELI, MMSI, MTD, MCRL, MSCC, MSFT, MTX, MCRI, MRT, NCI, NTGR, N, OPWV, OPLK, OSIP, OSG, PKTR, PCTI, PKI, PFWD, PRAA, POWI, PWER, RACK, RMTR, RRC, RVI, RVBD, ROP, RRR, WINS, SCSC, SCRX, CKH, SIGI, SMTL, SIRF, PCU, SPF, STNR, SRCL, SWN, SYNA, TNL, TMA, TZOO, TRMB, GROW, UHS, VSEA, VVUS, VLCM, WRB, WDC, WGL, WLL, WMGI, YRCW, ZIGO

Friday, April 25, 2008
Economic
8:30am March Final U of Michigan (last 63.2)
Events
Trades Ex-dividend: GS $0.35, AEG $0.417.
Earnings
Before the Open: ACPW, AXL, BPO, CSUN, SUR, CCUR, CVH, CVTX, ETR, GT, IDXX, ITT, LNCE, ERIC, MBFI, NNI, GAS, OPTR, PPCO, QLTI, SAIA, VVI, WEN. After the Close: ABMD, BFAM, DHOM, ENTR.

My Trades on 14 April 2008

Today was a very thin market, not much volume. I only up gross $27 today.
My best trade for today was JCI. I shorted it because last week, it has been downgraded. But my entry point was not good enough (32.31) and I could have entered the trade since (32.60) as I know about the news.


Another trade that I should have made money but I did not was RHT, I shorted it at 19.50 but it went against me once I entered the trade. I hold on that until I see the MACD turned a slightly bullish trend then I got out. The MACD was a little bit deceiving on this trend. I should have hold it a little bit longer and if I did, I would have made more than $100 today.

Profit/Gain on Week 2 of April 2008

After a big loss on last week, I reduced my share sizes to gain back some momentum. This week, I am positive which I gained 2 last days. Next week will be a big week! There are many earnings released and there are a few economic numbers also. I will set a few rules and I think if I have disciplined to follow, I believe I should make a big gain.

Week 2 of April 2008

Date	Number of Shares	Profit/ Loss
7	1200	-130
8	1100	-40
9	1900	-12
10	1100	206
11	1600	76
Total	6900	100

Preview on next week (4/14/2008 to 4/18/2008)

Monday, April 14, 2008
Economic
8:30am March Advance Retail Sales (last –0.6%, ex autos –0.2%)
10:00am Feb Business Inventories (last 0.8%)
Events
3:15pm Fed's Warsh speaks about financial markets in New York. Trades Ex-dividend: EOG $0.12, GGP $0.50, MGRC $0.20, KWR $0.23, TOC $0.318.
Earnings
Before the Open: ETN, WERN, GWW. After the Close: AMLN, ELS, INFY, JBHT, STLY.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Economic
8:30am March PPI (last m/m 0.3%, y/y 6.4%, ex food & energy last m/m 0.5%, y/y 2.4%), April Empire Manufacturing (last –22.2)
9:00am Feb Net Long-term TIC Flows (last $62.0B), Feb Total Net TIC Flows (last $37.4B)
1:00pm April NAHB Housing Market Index (last 20)
Events
CIBC Energy Conference. RBC Platinum Group Metals Conference. SunTrust Institutional Conference. ICSC/UBSW Chain Store Sales (7:45, last 0.7%). Redbook Retail Sales (8:55, last 0.8%). ABC Consumer Confidence (last -34). Trades Ex-dividend: RRD $0.26, AYI $0.13, DLM $0.04, DMND $0.045, ABV $0.862.
Earnings
Before the Open: ADTN, BKRS, BHP, FRX, GMTN, IIIN, JNJ, MTB, MI, NTRS, PII, QXM, RF, STT, USB. After the Close: CHB, CSX, HCSG, INTC, LLTC, RLRN, RUSHA, STX, SORC, WM.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Economic
8:30am March CPI (last m/m 0.0%, y/y 4.0%; ex food & energy last m/m 0.0%, y/y 2.3%), March Housing Starts (last 1.065M), March Building Permits (last 984K)
9:15am March Industrial Production (last –0.5%), March Capacity Utilization (last 80.4%)
10:30am Crude Oil/Gasoline/Distillate Inventories
2:00pm Fed Beige Book
Events
11:45am Fed's Yellen speaks in Alameda, CA on US outlook. 12:30pm Fed's Plosser speaks on monetary policy in Pennsylvania. 8:30am FDA Pediatric Oncology Subcommittee. MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00, last 5.4%). Trades Ex-split: BBD 3-2. Trades Ex-dividend: PKI $0.07, LOW $0.08.
Earnings
Before the Open: ABT, AMB, AMR, ASML, BMI, KO, ITW, JCI, JPM, NITE, LUFK, MTOX, MTG, EDU, PJC, SSW, STJ, WFC, WWW. After the Close: ALTR, ATR, AVCT, CAVM, CNW, CCK, DTLK, EBAY, GILD, GKK, IBM, ISIL, KMP, KNX, KNL, LEG, PLCM, RMBS, SOV, SPSN, TER, UFPI.

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Economic
8:30am Initial Jobless Claims (last 357K), Continuing Claims (last 2.94M)
10:00am April Philadelphia Fed (last –17.4), March Leading Indicators (last –0.3%)
10:30am Natural Gas Inventories
Events
9:45am Fed's Kohn speaks at conference on credit markets and banking. 10:30am Fed's Prescott speaks on Fed panel. 2:00pm Fed's Fisher speaks in Chicago to the Council on Global Affairs. 3:00pm Fed's Lacker speaks to the media at the Charlotte Credit Conference. 3:15pm Fed's Calabia moderates panel on credit risk. Small & Mid Cap Financials Conference. Trades Ex-split: CHDX 3-2. Trades Ex-dividend: CVS $0.06, OEH $0.025, SHLM $0.15, FFNW $0.075.
Earnings
Before the Open: SMLC, AOS, AMFI, ECOL, AM, APH, ASPM, BK, BAX, BBT, BGG, CHINA, CHKP, CIT, CMA, CAO, CY, DHR, DSL, FCS, FHN, FRPT, GPC, HOG, HSY, HNI, RX, IART, IGT, JRC, KEY, LSTR, MAR, MMR, MEG, VIVO, MER, MLAN, NYT, NOK, NUE, ORB, PFE, PNC, BPOP, PPG, RS, RSTO, SGP, SHW, SLM, SON, LUV, SPNC, SPWR, SVU, SXCI, BRLC, AMTD, TTEC, TXT, UTEK, UTX, USAK, WSO, WCG. During Trading Hours: HTLD. After the Close: AMD, DOX, ARNA, BKUNA, COF, CX, GRRF, CYN, CTCT, CPSS, CBST, CYBS, CYT, ETFC, ESLR, FNB, FCF, GOL, GOOG, HIFN, ICUI, INFA, INPC, ISRG, KKD, LHO, MCGC, MELI, MHK, MGI, PKTR, PNFP, LGBT, PMCS, PGI, QMED, RLI, SNDK, SEP, SYK, SRDX, TPX, TMA, VASC, ZION.

Friday, April 18, 2008
Economic
None
Events
8:30am Fed's Lacker, Rosengren speak on liquidity, systemic risk. 10:45am Former Fed Chairman Greenspan, EU's Barrosso speak at a conference in Turin, Italy. 11:30am Fed's Schuermann speaks on banking. Credit Suisse Russian Utilities Conference. Trades Ex-dividend: APA $0.15.
Earnings
Before the Open: ACO, CAT, C, HON, MAN, NVR, PRSP, SLB, WB, WL, XRX. After the Close: WIT.

Good news! Apple (AAPL) broke through 150 on 3 April 2008

Apple was able to break through 150 on 3 April 2008 and It was up 1.47 to 153.08 on 4 April 2008. It was indeed for the loyal Apple Shareholders who held on the pain when there was a sell off on early January 2008.



Next, Apple will have to test the resistance at 160 and 170. I believe that it will stay at this level for a while, before the earning on Apple on 23 April 2008 (unless there is a very positive news or a very negative news on Apple before its earning).

My Trades on 3, 4 April 2008

Trades on 3 April 2008

Trades	Number of Shares	Position	Gross P&L/share	Gross P&L
Dis	200	Short	0.0	0.0
GPS	200	Short	0.04	7
HD	300	Short	-0.11	-33
MAR	100	Short	-0.21	-21
MU	500	Short	-0.13	-65
S	300	Short	-0.07	-21
STX	300	Long	-0.17	-52
Total	1900			-185

Trades on 4 April 2008

Trades	Number of Shares	Position	Gross P&L/share	Gross P&L
CVC	100	Short	0.14	14
GPS	200	Short	-0.02	-4
JEF	300	Short	0.06	19
TXN	400	Short	0.15	60
Total	1000			89

1. My best trade on 4 April 2008 was TXN. It looked weak when the market opened. I shorted 200 shares at 29.72 when it came down below the 144 Exponential Moving Average and when MACD showed bearish trend. I sized in another 200 shares when the trend confirmed by MACD at 29.58. I put a limit buy at 29.50 to take profit before the trend changed.

2. Another good trade JEF. JEF has been killed from previous day close at 17.12 to the low of the day at 16.23. It bounded back to near 144 at about 1 pm and it never broke though 144 to climb higher. I took the opportunity to short JEF and put a stop a little bit about previous open at 16.91. JEF has tested at the 144 a few times but never broke through. I sized in more when I saw the MACD confirmed the bearish trend and when it broke though the previous low. However, the exit was a bit premature as it bounded at the Bollinger band.

Summary
This week has been the worst week ever for me. I was very careless on 3 April 2008 and It was a choppy market and every trade that I got into was against me. I have traded very carefully on 4 April 2008 with lesser shares to slowly gain back my momentum and that was my only positive day at the first weeks of April 2008.

Week 1 of April 2008

Date	Number of Shares	Profit/ Loss
1	6900	-371
2	1400	-203
3	1900	-185
4	1000	89
Total	11200	-670

Overall, the first week as a full time trader, I am -670 and I am not happy with it. I will have to do more homework and be more careful on my trades and do not trade on crazy stocks. I have to be patient to wait for nice setup before getting into a trades.

Apple (AAPL) could not close above 150 on 2 April 2008

Apple opened at 149 and down 2.04 (1.36%) from previous close of 149.53 to Today close of 147.49. However, Research in Motion (RIMM - sister stock of Apple) released its earning and it beats earning and has upside guidance. In after Hours trading, RIMM up 5.46 (4.72%) and Apple also up 1.39 (0.94%) to 148.88.

Please look at the After Hours trading for RIMM and AAPL as below:-


There were rumors about the possible release of the new Iphone (3G Iphone) which also mentioned in Fast Money. I will be waiting patiently for the release of the 3G Iphone and get one on my hand in future.

My Trades on 2 April 2008

Today was not a good day for me also. I had software problem early in the morning and I could not trade until 11 am something.

Trades	Number of Shares	Position	Gross P&L/share	Gross P&L
BIG	200	Long	-0.1	-20
CA	500	Long	-0.08	-38
JEF	500	Short	-0.17	-85
LDK	200	Long	-0.20	-60
Total	1400			-203

1. The first trade that I was entered was CA which kept hitting High yesterday and today. I tried to Long it and I was killed in the pull back.

2. The second trade that I got into was JEF, most financial stocks were positive at about 1 pm but I saw that JEF turned negative and kept on coming down. I think that will be a good short. I gave it a try and put a stop at 17.41. Obviously, my stop is too tight and it triggered mt stop and go down further.
Lesson learned: I must give it some more room and do not put my stop too tight.

3. The reason I Long BIG was simple. BIG was positive in the morning and It pulled back starting from 12 pm. To short a stock that is still positive is not a good idea, so I was just watching BIG. It bound off at 144 at 5 minutes charting and it made another attempt to go up by breaking the Previous High. I long it after it broke previous High and put a stop a little bit below the previous High. I was in the money like 10 cents but I never take profit and it just came back hard after the news about the increase of crude oil price by $4.

4. My worst trade of the day was LDK. It was a crazy stock and it started to ripped to the moon at about 1:20 pm and I Long it but too late, I was in the money about 10 cents and it just suddenly tanked in front of my face.
Lesson Learned: Do not get into a crazy stock. LDK will be removed from my list today and I will never look at it again.

Apple (AAPL) on April 1, 2008

Apple (AAPL) was not left behind on this bullish market also. Apple was trading upward for the whole day and it filled up the Gap between 22 January 08 and 23 January 08. This means that it has broke through the Gap resistance and it is another confirmation that the stock will be moving higher. It is up 6.03 (4.2%) to 149.53 during the trading hours.
In the same time, the after hours trading was bullish also, it was up 0.67 cents to 150.20. So, tomorrow Apple will open above 150 and 150 will act as support level. We will have to see if this support is sustainable or not. If Apple is able to close above 150, this will be another confirmation that Apple is in bullish trend and it will go all the way to test the next resistance at 160.

My Trades on 1 April 2008

Starting from today, I will post all my trades with number of shares and my Profit/Loss in blog. I will also put the reason I got into, and how I can improve from the trades. From there, I believe I can be more disciplined, stick to my rules and become more careful before getting into any trades.

Trades	Number of Shares	Position	Gross P&L/share	Gross P&L
CA	500	Long	0.04	20
DFS	500	Long	-0.11	-53
DIS	500	Long	0.07	35
F	1500	Short	0.05	-75
GM	1000	Short	-0.02	-21
GPS	500	Long	-0.19	-95
LOW	500	Long	0.13	65
NCC	400	Short	0.09	37
NOK	500	Short	-0.28	-140
PIR	500	Long	-0.10	-49
T	500	Long	-0.19	-95
Total	6900			-371

1. One of my colleagues was calling that Nokia was hitting Low and another said that in 5 minutes charting, NOK is very far away from 144 moving average. So it might come down. I took the opportunity to short Nokia which turned out to be bad trade. It is my worst trade of the day and I am losing $140 in this single trade.
Lesson learned: I was so careless by not looking at other communication stocks like T, VZ, S as they were hitting high of the day. The whole communication sector is bullish and Nokia was just having a temporary correction.

2. After I got our from NOK, I was thinking to Long some communication stocks. My colleague was in VZ and S and he was making money in it. I compare T with VZ and it looked like T has more room to go. I Longed T and I got killed!
Lesson learned: It was about 11 am and normally this time there will be less volume as people who made money in the morning will take profit and go out for beer and lunch. I should not be so reckless to enter a position that it might made a major movement, especially after 11 am.

3. I shorted GM in the morning price: 19.39 at about 9:39 am and put a stop at 19:51. It triggered my stop. This was a bad trade. I know that today GM will release its auto sales and I did not wait for the Sales number and shorted the stock. At about 1:50 pm, the GM auto sale number was released, it was -13% compare with estimate -5.5% It was a bad number, I took advantage of that and short GM and I earned back some money. Without knowing the auto sales of Ford, I was stupidly think that F might follow as it was the sister stock and I shorted F at the same time and I lose money in it. Ford Auto sales was -7.6% versus estimate of -9.7% which was better than expected. I should have more careful and know all the information before trading any stock. I learned my lesson well.

Summary of the day
I did many bad trades today and I should be more careful. Today was a strong market and I was losing money. This is totally unacceptable! If I randomly Long any 5 stocks and don't even bother on them and close my position before the market closes, I would have made thousands of dollars.

April 1, 2008 -> My First day as Full Time Equity Trader

I did not have a good start today as I was losing money in this strong market. About 2 months ago, the 'R' word was everywhere ('R' - Recession). Since 2 weeks ago, there were talks about the worst of the credit crisis has passed and the bottom was seen. There were less appearance of the 'R' word. This made me think that when the Dow Jones Industrials index dropped 400 points on the start of the market on January 21, 2008 was the bottom. Today the Dow Jones industrials index surged nearly 400 points, and all the major indexes were up more than 3 percent. The upside of the market was primarily of the news of Lehman Brothers Holdings. Lehman said that it was forced to raise $4 Billion in capital because of growing rumors that Lehman was facing the same kind of liquidity problems that brought down Bear Stearns. Lehman Brothers Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan said that they do not want to wait until they are in defensive mode, they raised $4 billion of capital Tuesday in a deal that could boost Lehman's outstanding share count by about 15 percent, but could also stop questions about the investment bank's stability. Lehman also suspects that short sellers were spreading rumors about the company to push its stock down. Big write down from UBS ($19 Billion) convinced some that the worst might be over for the Swiss investment bank.

The Dow rose 391.47, or 3.19 percent, to 12,654.36. It marked the eighth-biggest point gain ever for the Dow, and the third time in two weeks it came close to or surpassed 400 points. There were few more reasons contributed to the gain of the market.

There were 2 economic data released on April 1, 2008:-
10:00am ISM Manufacturing prior 48.3 est. 47.5 Real:48.6
Construction Spending MoM prior –1.7% est. –1.0% Real:-0.3%

Although the ISM Manufacturing index below 50 level signals contraction in the sector, it is still better than the forecast and the better than expected construction spending also has helped to push market to new high.

My trades on 2, 3, 4 January 2008

I have been doing good on 2,3 January but did not do well on 4 January. The followings are some of my trades.

Trades on 2 January:
Earning Trades: EAT, LSI, LTD, MU, STX
Losing Trades: BIG, F, GM

Trades on 3 January:
Earning Trades: AEO, BWS, LIZ, LTD, MAT, PSS
Losing Trades: NSM

Trades on 4 January:
Earning Trades: CC, CHS, MU,
Losing Trades: DAL, EAT, JCI, MAT, NCC, STM

All above trades were in Short position. I just realized that I have been in any Long position for some time. It might due to the last couple of days the sectors that I have been watching closely (eg: Retail, Technology, Airlines) were heading South. Sometime I feel that it is easier to made money through Short position.

The main reason I was killed on 4 January was I shorted stocks which already made their move. I still need to improve at learning to watch if a stock has already made its major. No chartings for the above trades. I will need to reorganize the ways I do with my Online Trading Journey in this blog so that it is easier for me to refer back my good and bad trades. I would like to make it easier for other people to see my trades and learn something from them.

My Trades on 28 December 2007

I had many good trades on 28 December and only a few small losing trades.

Name of the Company: AMR Corp
Symbol: (NYSE: AMR)
Sector: Transportation
Industry: Airlines
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Dow was positive but I saw that Airlines Index was negative and some airlines were coming down. AMR seemed to continue yesterday's downward trend. I took profit when I think that it has made a major move.


Name of the Company: Northwest Airlines Corp.
Symbol: (NYSE: NWA)
Sector: Transportation
Industry: Airlines
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Following the AMR trade, I saw that NWA has good downward trend, I shorted it and took profit when it was near the $14 figure as I afraid it would bound back. It did bound back HARD after broke through $14 and touched the low of the day at $13.91

Name of the Company: Bricker International Inc.
Symbol: (NYSE: EAT)
Sector: Services
Industry: Restaurants
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Dow looked weak and it was almost negative, EAT had good downward trend. I shorted and took profit quick as it was still a low volume market


Name of the Company: General Motor Corporation
Symbol: (NYSE: GM)
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Industry: Auto & Truck Manufacturers
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Toyota Took away market share from GM, it had downward trend on 27 December 2007 and it continued again on 28 December.

GM happened to be my biggest winner of the day, although it has made a major move in the morning, it was still in a good downward at about 11:45pm until the low of the day at 12:45 pm. I shorted GM and sized in when I saw the trend was good.


Name of the Company: Sovereign Bancorp Inc.
Symbol: (NYSE: SOV)
Sector: Consumer Financial
Industry: S&Ls/Savings Banks
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: My colleague shorted this share and I saw that it was in a good downward trend and it has spiking volume before I got it. I took a quick profit from it at the point it started to change trend

*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts

My Trades on 27 December 2007

I had 2 good trades and 2 losing trades on 27 December. So, I just earned a little bit over the break even point.


Name of the Company: AMR Corp
Symbol: (NYSE: AMR)
Sector: Transportation
Industry: Airlines
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Oil price was up and most airlines share were dropping, I saw AMR had better trend


Name of the Company: General Motor Corporation
Symbol: (NYSE: GM)
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Industry: Auto & Truck Manufacturers
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Toyota took away market share from GM.


Name of the Company: American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
Symbol: (NYSE: AEO)
Sector: Services
Industry: Retail (Apparel)
Position: Short
Status: Failed
Reason of losing: It was initially in a good downward trend but it bounded back when I shorted, my timing of shorting was not right. It had make a major move.


Name of the Company: Mbia Inc
Symbol: (NYSE: MBI)
Sector: Financial
Industry: Insurance (Property and Casualty)
Position: Short
Status: Failed
Reason of losing: It was in a good downward trend, I shorted MBI when more people wanted to take profit so I was hurt in this trade

*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts

My Trades on 26 December 2007

26 December was another slow market day and it was a good day to short the Retail stocks. Belows were some of my trades on that day.

Name of the Company: Circuit City Stores Inc.
Symbol: (NYSE: CC)
Sector: Services
Industry: Retail (Technology)
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Retail index was in negative and CC was weak



Name of the Company: Family Dollar Stores
Symbol: (NYSE: FDO)
Sector: Services
Industry: Retail (Specialty)
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: Most retail were down, FDO was in good downward trend but I took profit too quick


Name of the Company: Payless Shoesource
Symbol: (NYSE: PSS)
Sector: Services
Industry: Retail (Apparel)
Position: Short
Status: Success!
Reason: I shorted PSS and put a STOP at $17.53 but it never triggered. I took profit before it bounded back

*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts

My Trades on 24 December 2007

Name of the Company: Delta Airlines Inc.
Symbol: DAL(NYSE)
Sector: Transportation
Industry: Airline
Position: Long
Status: Success!
Reason: Dow was strong, Airline Index was positive, most airlines were hitting High.

The market opened strong on 24 Dec but I expected it would be a low volume market as it was Christmas Eve. I Longed DAL because I think that DAL had more rooms to go up comparing with other Airlines like CAL and AMR which have already made a major move. I was right and I sized in 2 times(shown in chart) and put a tight STOP to secure my profit.

This was just another of my decent positive day, nothing big towards the end of the half day Trading. Stock market closed at 1 pm.

*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts

My Trades on 19,20,21 December 2007

I have not been doing well on these 3 days.
Here are some of my trades:-

Trades on 19 December 2007


Name of the Company: Circuit City Stores Inc.
Symbol: (NYSE: CC)
Sector: Services
Industry: Retail (Technology)
Position: Short
Status: Failed
My entry point as below:-
CC has been a weak stock for some time and it opened lower on 19 Dec compare with the previous day. After market opened for about 5 minutes, I shorted the stock. I earned some money in the beginning but after about 8 minutes, the stock just rally up in front of my face and I was hurt and got out from CC.
This has taught me not to enter a position once the market opens, I should have waited for at least 15 minutes before entering a position.



Name of the Company: Amdocs Ltd
Symbol: (NYSE: DOX)
Sector: Technology
Industry: Software & Programming
Position: Long
Status: Failed

Reason: It was upgraded to BUY on that day.
After I got out from CC, I found this stock kept on hitting my HIGH filter. I entered the long position for this stock and it went on my way and then I sized in and put a stop to secure some profit.
After a while, it triggered my STOP but I got a Bad print as there was a spread between BID and ASK and I lose money in this trade.

Trades on 20,21 December 2007
My trades on 20 and 21 were not too bad compare with 19. But still, I lose money on these 2 days.

*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts

My Trades on 18 December 2007

Today the DOW JONES opened positively and it just took a while to rally up and stayed between +50 to +80 level before 12 pm. I was looking for a strong stock to Long and I found DIS.

My best trade for today was

Name of the Company: Disney (Walt) Co
Symbol: (NYSE: DIS)
Sector: Services
Industry: Broadcasting & Cable TV
Position: Long
Status: Success!
Reason: It has been mentioned positively in Barron and it is upgraded by UBS to BUY.

I Long the DIS at $33.06 then it went against me and I sized out part of my shares. After waited for some time, DIS slowly climbed up. I sized in some shares and put a tight stop when it broke through Natural Resistance at $33.25 and I got out at $33.28 which was almost the high of the day.


*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts

My Trades on 17 December 2007

2 good trades that I have made today were BMC and MU.

Name of the Company: BMC Software Inc
Symbol: BMC (NYSE)
Sector: Technology
Industry: Software and Programming
Position: Short
Status: Success!

BMC software came out in the Barron Report as the following link, so I have included the stock inside my quote board.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB119758214674427615.html?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo

BMC Software Set for Fatter Margins
Word Count: 413 | Companies Featured in This Article: BMC Software, International Business Machines, CA

BMC Software (BMC: NYSE) By Credit Suisse ($35.30, Dec. 13, 2007)

WE ARE UPGRADING BMC Software from Neutral to Outperform and raising our target price to $41 from $34, based on an improving mainframe-software-pricing environment, our expectation for growth in mainframe software over the next several years, the upcoming release of the next generation of International Business Machines mainframe hardware, as well as the opportunity to expand operating margins above consensus expectations.

Our channel checks suggest that CA and BMC have experienced more pricing ...

When the market opened, BMC was dropping in a nice downward trend ( even through it was upgraded). So, I have decided to short the stock and gave it a try. The stock just kept on sliding down and I have shorted more. When I was in the money, I put a tight stop at around $35.15 in case other people wanted to take profit or the trend reversed. It triggered my Stop and it went down further to $34.71.




Name of the Company: Micron Technology
Symbol: MU(NYSE)
Sector: Technology
Industry: Computer Storage Devices
Position: Short
Status: Success!


The next Trade was MU. Before I traded MU (MICRON TECHNOLOGY), I knew that it will announce its earning on coming Thursday after the Market close. When I first took a look at the stock, it was about 10:30 am. I was not happy as I missed out the downward trend in the morning. So, I just shorted 100 shares to try it out. After I have shorted, my boss shorted more shares and I just followed him to short more shares on MU. We waited for some time as it was consolidating at the figure ($8) and after a while when there was not more buy pressure, it just tanked and we slowly sized out to take profit from MU.




News on MU at 11:56am http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071217/micron_mover.html?.v=1 I know that I was part of the traders who have shorted the stock!

*Please be informed that all the charts above are extracted from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts