Trolling For The Whoppers

[riverbabe]

I've started this thread by request for the comfort of those who want to converse with me without invoking a certain running shark. I have been fairly hesitant to post my portfolio and my picks up to now, because I am still on the proverbial learning curve. I tend to be a short term trader of stocks, and very occasionally a day scalper. Have just taken the plunge into shorting and have been doing okay with it. No big losses so far. Some nice profits.

I'm basically a TA person but try to do at least some DD or follow the DD done by other excellent folks on this forum. I also tend to trade a lot on news that can act as a catalyst to price and volume movement. I realize this can be dangerous, and I have been stung once or twice, so I now wade carefully into waters such as these.

Have also taken a plunge into options, so far selling calls (and buying back and selling again and buying back again) on underlying stock. Have another account where I simply trade options. Have a subscription service that I follow for advice here until I get enough experience to do it on my own. This second account is not large, so at this time I am buying/selling 1 call/put at a time so I can stay in the game a longer time before I lose it all (well, it's always a possibility with options, right?) I don't expect to get rich really quick here, but it's good experience and I'm looking to at least double the value of this options account in the next six months or less.

So welcome to anybody interested in reading this, as I go rollin' and trollin' down the river! Riverbabe

[billyjoe]

River,
At last a thread of your own. Hope we can talk about stocks as well as options. Got lost in the Rocky River Valley Sunday after a wedding. I told Mrs. Billyjoe to keep heading north and we'll eventually get out and we did nearly 7 miles later.

-------------billyjoe

[riverbabe]

River,
At last a thread of your own. Hope we can talk about stocks as well as options. Got lost in the Rocky River Valley Sunday after a wedding. I told Mrs. Billyjoe to keep heading north and we'll eventually get out and we did nearly 7 miles later.

-------------billyjoe

You found the Rocky River valley! What a great part of the Emerald Necklace! Again, you were very close to me. Probably within 1-2 miles. And you did the directions exactly right! Go north and you will always end up at or near the Lake, and you can go west (in your case) easily from there. I will be posting my current holdings tomorrow. Then I'll be AWOL for a little while to look after my almost 96 year old mother, and my brother and I have to find a nursing home quick. She may not be around long enough to move though. Not good times here. River

[Peter Hansen]

River we have all been through it

River Good Luck On the New Thread ........It would be interesting to see your picks. As far as the nursing home .......my mother in law had been in one for about 10 yrs and finally passed on about 3 yrs ago . She basically signed over her home and moved in the nursing home with mostly everything paid for the 10 yrs .....the cost towards the end was about $78K per yr. River my dad is now older .....but fortunately for him , after my mom died, he married a much younger woman about 5 yrs ago, and she has been an angel......without her he would have been dead, thank God she came into our lives.

[Peter Hansen]

River Options Hotline

River I had subscribed to "Options Hotline" and received one pick on Sunday Night ......I did make $6,000 with one Harrahs Option pick .....but then lost most of it on his other picks. Eventually I quit the service. Steve Sanoff is the editor but the problem is that his record is simply calculated from the LOWEST price the Option traded at ( IS HIS BUY SIGNAL) to the HIGHEST price the Option traded at ( IS HIS SELL SIGNAL) . Let me tell you ......those high and low prices for the options are almost IMPOSSIBLE for you to reach in the REAL world.
River I have found that the best Option to buy is a LEAP on a great large cap stock that has been beaten down by bad news ......with that kind of option you may stand a chance of winning ......GOOD LUCK!

[mimo_100]

Hello River,

I look forward to reading this thread. I always enjoy what you have to say.

My mother was in an assisted living facility not so many years ago. She slid when getting out of bed in late November 2005, broke her ankle, and never made it back to the assisted living side. Luckily the home is staffed by Catholic nuns who are so wonderful. She is much better off now that
she is in the nursing facility. They keep her busy every day. She takes a lot of medication for various reasons, but other than that, she is ok.
I hope everything works out with your mom. Just holler if I can help in any way.

Tim

[Peter Hansen]

River for Your Options a New Service

River I though you may be interested in this Options Service ......for 89 bucks .....it may be worth a shot........Let me know how it works out! The site is http://www.lombardipublishing.com/ad...tain/index.asp

[riverbabe]

River I though you may be interested in this Options Service ......for 89 bucks .....it may be worth a shot........Let me know how it works out! The site is http://www.lombardipublishing.com/ad...tain/index.asp

Thanks Peter. I see offers like that quite often and usually delete them because they sound too good to be true. The subscription I have is to the Players Performer series by Bernie Schaeffer. It is the most aggressive of his option trading offers. Although he is advertizing going for broke (i.e., 200% gains), I figure I can jump ship if I see a gain I am comfortable with without going as far as he suggests. The special price was $395 for 2 years. One of our good friends on this forum is horrified that "out of all the available really great gurus on the web" I actually went with Bernie. Maybe I can prove him wrong!

[riverbabe]

River's Current Portfolio

Okay, here's where I am as of Tuesday, October 2, 9:28 AM

RIMM (9/17) @ 86.44 -- close Oct. 1st @ 98.66

Sold 1 RIMM Oct 95 call @ 9.30
Sold 1 RIMM Oct 100 call @ 4.30

PCP (9/20) @ 138.77 -- close Oct. 1st @ 149.84

ICE (7/6) @ 154.01 -- close Oct. 1st @ 154.00

TRA (7/17) @ 29.01 -- close Oct. 1st @ 30.50

Options Account

Bot 1 SCHN Oct 70 call @ 4.00
Bot 1 AKS Oct 42.50 call @ 3.20

[riverbabe]

River's Fuller Disclosure

River's Fuller Disclosure:

In addition to the Play Money I have committed to investing on my own, I have two brokerage accounts, one individual, one IRA.

In the individual account, the stocks I currently hold are ADBE, CRDN, HSIC, INFY, NMX, OIH, SA, VLO & VNQ (new -- housing REIT). Also, some MUNI bonds.

In the IRA account, the stocks I currently hold are AKAM, AAUK, BA, GRMN, GOOG, GWW, HAL (just sold), HANS, HSIC, LMT, NMX, OXY, OIH & RIMM. I also own closed end mutual funds with an overall estimated income yield of 9.08%.

He also has my permission to buy FSLR when the available $$ and timing are right.

I keep the brokerage accounts because I totally trust the broker. It's not many people that can say that, but I have very good reason to trust him. I rolled over my 401(k) into the IRA. He knows I am no longer naive in the market, so when he suggests a trade he knows I am going to research it and we are totally open with each other. It's a great relationship. Better than a marriage almost because we have total communication without emotional commitment that could cloud judgement. (Now if he had only listened to me when AAPL was back around 80 and Spike saw it going to 120!!! Ted didn't believe me and tried to dissuade me from the trade. I really regret not making that trade anyway, Spike dearest!)

We also have a mutual commitment to a step-grandson of my sister-in-law. I was executrix of her estate. He was her excellent broker. To keep the step-grandson in line with respect to his rather large inheritance from her, I am "Auntie Barb" and he is "Uncle Ted." The grandson doesn't listen to us at his peril!

I am happy with my financial position at this time and not afraid to risk my play money in order to increase my knowledge and confidence in investing.

[billyjoe]

River,
I should have asked you before selling my HAL at a slight loss. I held that turkey for months , as soon as I gave up it went up 8 points.

------------billyjoe

[billyjoe]

River,
NMX has been a good stock for you and NYX hasn't been so good for me, but things are looking up. Recently I was comparing them and here's what I found:

Current Price---NMX--133.73

---------------NYX---85.73

P/E-----advantage NYX
12mo. sales gr.----NYX
12mo income gr.---NYX
Profit Marg.-------NMX
ROE--------------NMX
Less Debt---------NYX
RS 3 month-------NYX
RS 6 month-------NMX
RS 12 month------NYX
Dividend----------NYX
Earnings Forecast Next 12 Months NYX--35%---NMX--29%

NMX is a fine stock but I believe NYX will be close the gap in the next 12 months. Either of these along with most of the other exchanges have a bright future.

-------------billyjoe

[riverbabe]

River,
NMX has been a good stock for you and NYX hasn't been so good for me, but things are looking up. Recently I was comparing them and here's what I found:

Current Price---NMX--133.73

---------------NYX---85.73

P/E-----advantage NYX
12mo. sales gr.----NYX
12mo income gr.---NYX
Profit Marg.-------NMX
ROE--------------NMX
Less Debt---------NYX
RS 3 month-------NYX
RS 6 month-------NMX
RS 12 month------NYX
Dividend----------NYX
Earnings Forecast Next 12 Months NYX--35%---NMX--29%

NMX is a fine stock but I believe NYX will be close the gap in the next 12 months. Either of these along with most of the other exchanges have a bright future.

-------------billyjoe

Thank you billyjoeY. You have to understand that when I see terms like ROE and EPS, etc. my eyes glaze over. I am almost totally a TA person. Thanks to FA people like you and others here, I am able to overcome my obvious disability. L&K. Riverbabe

[riverbabe]

Today's Trades

Sold TRA @ 31.44 for 8.4% gain.

Sold AKS Oct 42.5 call @ 6.50 for 103% gain.

Bot 4 MSFT November 30 calls @ 1.05

Bot 1 CREE Oct 30 call @ 1.70

[riverbabe]

Another trade today

Bot 1 WYNN Nov 155 call @ 11.60