Taking One For the Team

I picked up Feb calls in YY for a quick upside move. Watching QIHU as well.

I also capitulated on my dumbshit long in LNKD. Feel free to attack me on that idea.

OA

While the next great Hindenturd Omen has circled the cubicles and office watercoolers across the land, I’m at a complete stage of disbelief right now. The market is 2% off of all time highs, and the level of anger, frustration, anxiety, nervousness, and negativity is literally suffocating. Fear and greed are the primary drivers of investor actions and emotions, and yet it seems like discouragement is on the rise lately as the market gracefully works its way to another all time high.

We’ve been circling the wagons around these market pullbacks for months. They’ve all had a very similar flow to them in terms of sentiment. However, it seems as if the level of discouragement this time does not match up with the recent excitement in the price of stocks. As if the recent move was surely something different than last, and trader’s fled from stocks thinking this was the right play. Rather than being frustrated at themselves for leaving, they should be frustrated with the noise surrounding them telling them to jump.

There are three distinct phases to bull markets cycles. Recovery, improvement, and speculation…or as Dow Theory suggests, accumulation, public participation, and excess. Where would you suggest we are in the current cycle?

For those that were around in the late 70’s, early 80’s, BusinessWeek did a nice piece that came at an inflection point in market psychology. Seems very similar to Bill Gross’ call last year that stocks are dead.

Rather than get discouraged here and jump ship in stocks, dedicate some time to making your approach better. Figure out what is working, what is not, and make changes. Trading will always be hot or cold, but there is always opportunity.

OA

This far on the day I’ve booked gains in DECK and ROVI calls. I will look for a little weakness to consider rolling out to a March expiry. I took a loss in CBIS to move the cash into HEMP, but didn’t pull the trigger.

Also, I bought up VMEM and NIHD stock and LULU calls for the volume pocket plays.

More later,

OA

I feel like I am wading through quicksand today, with my clothes on backwards, with no thoughts of value on anything relating to stocks.

It may be a bad batch of goods I took over the weekend, but when I try to think about trading here, my mind feels like its folded up into a lawn chair, stuck in a state of indifference.

The heat is on with my February paper. My success this month may come down to a 9th inning sacrifice bunt, just to get on base. Or, I may receive random gifts, like $BKS today.

Maybe we can kill some time talking about ANGI?

I took on some TSL March calls and some HEMP shares.

More later,

OA