Week In Review 5-30-08

I was happy about coming out this week with a little over 1% until I ran the numbers for my screens (which I all but abandoned for my own ideas).

FUQI helped the Zweig Relative Strength 5 (8.19%) and the Zweig MACD (12.51%) screens this week.

Sometimes I really question my sanity when I try something new. I was up 15% for the month of May two weeks ago and thought I was a genius. As I watched most of it slip away the last two weeks, I wondered why I hadn't just stuck to my stock screens.

We'll see how the last 6 months of the year pans out. Maybe I'll be taught a hard lesson about trying to think my way to success in the stock market.

Still Busy

Man, the stock market is such a distraction when I'm trying to get these tests done. I didn't look much today, and that was a good thing because I lost half a percent. It was good to see some strength return to the market. We'll see how all this shakes out, but now I'll be happy to get out of May in the green.

Corey at Afraid to Trade has an interesting article about selling in May and going away (as the saying goes). Several StockPunk readers have been discussing the idea as well.

Corey has been teaching me some technical analysis stuff along with some market indicator stuff. I think it is important to continue to learn, and when guys like Corey offer their services for dirt cheap, I can't help but try to learn from the masters. I've noticed another master trader, Van K. Tharp, charges upwards of $100,000 for one-on-one tutoring. Yikes!

Gas Is Cheap

The price of gasoline is on everybody's mind, it seems. I've never had so many complete strangers talk to me while filling up my tank.

But the price of gas hasn't really bothered me. I lived in Romania over 10 years ago and the price of gas there was about $1.00 per liter or $4.00 a gallon. In a country where the average wage was $100 per month, that WAS expensive.

In London in 2000 I paid nearly 5 bucks a gallon and my friend in Ireland says that gas is now over $9.00 per gallon.

We're a whiny bunch, and we really should focus on how good we really have it. Sure gas is more than it used to be, but life is still good, we're all more rich than 99% of the world, and we're still paying less for gas than most of the world.

For more on the price of gas, MSN has a good article tonight.

Week In Review 5-23-2008

Things didn't go any better for me today. One week ago, I was flying high. This week I got kicked in the shins. For the week, my portfolio lost 9%. The market has a way of teaching guys like me painful lessons. The key is to live to fight another day. I know that what I do works over the long run. One week is just a blip. This week was a nasty blip, but a blip nonetheless.

None of my screens suffered like I did. Zweig Relative Strength 5 (down 5.92%) was brought down by GHMs 15% drop--ouch. There is a lot of good discussion on StockPunk this week about using stops and about some of the struggles Zweig screen traders had this week. There are always going to be weeks where the screens blow up on you. Most people who trade don't make money because they quit after a week like this. If you just realize that you've got to experience the bumps and bruises and just stick with the program. Don't over-think things. Just trade your plan and hang in there.

The other screens did relatively well considering the trading environment this week. Zweig MACD lost 1.79%, To the Moon was up 1.45%, and Zweig and Zacks was down 2.01%.

It will be nice to have a break on Monday (its been a long time since I've looked forward to a holiday from the market). Take the long weekend to relax, rethink, and enjoy the freedom we all enjoy to trade our money in the freest market in the world.

A kick in my buttocks

Genius on Monday morning, idiot today. I was up 13% for the month of May on Monday morning. At today's close I am barely holding on to 4%. What a mess.

This always seems to happen to me when I hit a new high. I know the market does its thing without any care about my piddly contributions, but sometimes it sure seems like it does.

I'll use this as another learning opportunity. I thought I was pretty bullet proof this month as I only had one losing day until this week. I was making way more than I needed to trade for a living, and I got a bit cocky. I was even contemplating upping my risk substantially to take advantage of my new found genius. This is all good for me, because it will help me make better decisions in the future (hopefully).

Humbled

I was up 2% at lunch time thinking I was a trading genius. At the close, my portfolio was down .80%. Just a day in the life of a stock trader.

I was hoping things would bust out a little heavier today, and it looked like they would. But something got the market a little spooked. Things seem a bit overbought anyway, so it will good to let things settle down a bit before the next leg up (if that happens).

This Week with StockPunk 5-19-2008

The Zweig screen is still pretty sparse with only 10 selections this week. With the major indexes hovering below their 200 day moving averages, everyone seems poised for either a huge breakout or a pullback. Of course no one really knows what's going to happen, so my suggestion (as always) is to just let the screens do their work.

The S&P 500 monthly chart has just peeked above its 20 period moving average. If it can hold out above there for the next couple of months, things look good for more of a long-term rally. If not, hopefully we'll avoid a repeat of 2000.

Week In Review 5-16-08

I was surprised when I looked back over the week. Based on the daily ups and downs I assumed that the broad indexes would be relatively flat for the week. They all did quite well, with the Dow up +1.82%, the S&P 500 +2.59%, Nasdaq +3.35%, and the Russell 2000 +2.92% according to the Kirk Report.

I had a good week, but it would have been better had the indexes struggled more. My portfolio made 7.94%. I am .04% away from being even for the year! Yay! What an awful 3 months that was.

I had to make 26.5% the past two months to make up for the 19% that I lost since the beginning of the year. That was a major pain in the buttocks.

Now that I'm (almost) back to even, I can set my sights on grinding out 40% for the year. With only 7 months left, it won't be easy. But I still think it's possible.

Even though I handily beat all the stock screens, it was still a bitter/sweet week since they did a pretty awesome job as well with To The Moon leading the pack. Zweig Relative Strength 5 has busted out of the gate and has a nice return for the year already at nearly 8%.

I've veered off the trading path over the last couple of months and I have been dabbling in options and trading chart patterns. I've been feeling pretty cocky about my returns until I realized that the Zweig Relative Strength 5 screen has pretty much matched what I've done in the last two months.

Week In Review 5-9-2008

This was kind of a sucky week for the broader market, but the screens did OK by comparison. To The Moon did the poorest with a loss of 3.59% for the week. A 16.76% loss in HA drug the screen down.

All the other screens beat the DOW--Zweig Relative Strength 5 lost .30% while Zweig MACD lost 1.28%. Zacks and Zweig had no picks again for this week.

I was traveling for half the week so I wasn't able to monitor things. Once again that proved to be a good thing as my portfolio was up 4.03%.

I went with my wife to Parris Island, South Carolina, to see one of the girls we took care of graduate from the Marine Corps. Here is a photo of me with her right after the ceremony. I'm the goofy looking guy on the left.

This week with StockPunk 5-5-2008

The screens didn't change much this week. Zacks and Zweig still has no candidates. The Zweig screen picked only nine stocks this week and they are mostly the same from last week.

I continue to work on my Master's Comprehensive Exams. I don't like them.

Have a good week. I'll chime in when I can.

Week In Review 5-2-2008

I got handily beaten by the stock screens this week. I was down 1.58%. Zweig Relative Strength 5 made 3.53% with a nice pop by AMED and GHM. I didn't own anything in any of my screens and I'm looking really brilliant right now.

All of the screens except "To The Moon" have climbed out of the hole and are in positive territory for the year. I am once again wondering why I even try to do better than my screens.

I don't like being busy

I just looked over my comprehensive exams for my masters degree and I'm a bit overwhelmed. I've got a couple of weeks to complete them, which means I really won't have much time for anything else.

I guess this is a great time to test my "automatic" system and see if I can really live in a world where I don't monitor the market all day.

My posts will be sporadic and short, so please feel free to e-mail me any of your brilliant ideas and if they ad to the blog I'll post them. There have been several contributors lately who are much smarter and more disciplined than I am and I think everyone has benefited from their unique perspective. Keep the information flowing as I slog through these tests!

Behave everybody!!