The sky is falling!!

[mrmarket]

Wall of worry....wall of worry. Remember the mantra...earnings earnings earnings.

[riverbabe]

Thank god for TZA today. And Novartis (NVS), still green (ADR). Just took TZA profits of >$3k. When the funds clear (3-day rule), will go TNA again.

[tiedyed1]

I share the frustration on lack of conviction or direction either way lately.

Wrote some weekly covered calls 1-2 weeks ago which has always been one of my standard plays.
A month ago this caused me to get called out with a nice gain on my biotechs and freed up cash but was and still lacking something to buy (as GILD, REGN, and CELG have not pulled back enough for me to be happy re-buying)..
Then over the past two weeks some covered calls on other sectors (insurers and airlines) are ending up being a saving grace as the stock prices are lower than the strike price.
But none of those sectors have been providing me any new strong buying signals lately.

While the BABA, AAPL, and social media stocks keep things exciting I remain focused on my older stalwarts I know best.

While I have been known to take risks, patience and safeties when available are what I am trying to focus on this month.

-Adam


.

[Louetta]

Is this the TUTs lightening up ahead of BABA? Not looking good out there. I have only 2 green positions right now.

That's what they say on CNBC but with stuff like TRIP, TWTR, LNKD, YELP down 4-6% methinks it might be more than that. Plus all my shipping stocks are down. I'm not sure people are selling Teekay tankers to buy BABA.

[riverbabe]

Is this the TUTs lightening up ahead of BABA? Not looking good out there. I have only 2 green positions right now.

[Lucavia123]

I love the optimism present on this board and I hope it comes true. For now this market has taken a beating to my portfolio which only consists of two positions now, UIHC and NVGS.

[Louetta]

People are still going out to eat on weekends. That's usually the best barometer of consumer confidence. If you can't get a table at Outback on a Saturday then the market is still good. This was an excuse for profit taking, long overdue - with Argentina as the catalyst. I don't see how an old debt in Argentina can ripple through the US Economy.

The price of honeydews was down a bit today too, another good sign.

[noshadyldy]

Thank you everyone for your input. And, Billy, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about, as similar has happened to me.

Oh, but about unemployment numbers.... CROCK OF CRAP!!!! PA for one has not extended benefits of the unemployed past 6 months. People use to get unemployment for up to 99 weeks. It is now 26 weeks and don't let the door hit you on the way out! They still don't have jobs but they are no longer on the unemployment list. The numbers look a lot better than the situation really is. If unemployment rises above a particular percentage for the state, they extend benefits. However, with this nifty little system of just dumping them off at the end of 6 months, the numbers stay low, therefore, no extensions are doled out.

[tiedyed1]

While my business is consistent and doing fine I am worried about housing. I also feel employment numbers cannot be relied upon as in previous generations as there are just too many whom have simply left the job market.
I would love to see a statistic on the percentage of dual earning married households 10 years ago compared to today. I know a LOT of married couples in their 50's where one had lost their job within the last 5 years and due to the lack of opportunities for new jobs have simply called it quits with now one working to pay the bills. These figures for new jobs in the 200k range along with lower unemployment percentages are not truly representing as much of the full population anymore.

But I do see well managed industrial companies in healthy positions for growth which cannot be ignored sooner or later.

I lost that loving feeling on Monday and have been very wary all week in respect to buying anything.
Sold a few positions by Monday but not as much as I should have, however, even with today being a painful day to watch for sure I never worried and my thoughts are secure that it will bounce back.
I was aching to buy a few great dips today and placed some low limit orders. None of them executed though and I was certainly not chasing anything.
If the drop continues tomorrow I will look to again place some low limit orders for companies like DAL, TRN, CMI as they, like many others, are great positions to have for the long haul.

-Adam
Old Hippy & Mortgage Pro

[mrmarket]

I enjoy listening to Art Cashin on CNBC. He's been saying for several years that international stuff will derail the US markets before anything else. Now we have the Ukraine/Russian sanctions stuff, the mid-east stuff and the rebels in Iraq tho that seems to have been off the front page. Then there's banking problems in Portugal and Argentina which endanger their creditors. If you believe the Fed printing money has fueled the US stock market Yellin has said much of the Fed credit buying ends in October. Bob Pisani on CNBC, another I like, talks about poor retail sentiment and poor housing numbers. RYL and BZH were down 8% early in the day. Without housing some say we are going nowhere. Also August and September are traditionally weak months if you believe in that stuff.

People are still going out to eat on weekends. That's usually the best barometer of consumer confidence. If you can't get a table at Outback on a Saturday then the market is still good. This was an excuse for profit taking, long overdue - with Argentina as the catalyst. I don't see how an old debt in Argentina can ripple through the US Economy.

[Louetta]

I enjoy listening to Art Cashin on CNBC. He's been saying for several years that international stuff will derail the US markets before anything else. Now we have the Ukraine/Russian sanctions stuff, the mid-east stuff and the rebels in Iraq tho that seems to have been off the front page. Then there's banking problems in Portugal and Argentina which endanger their creditors. If you believe the Fed printing money has fueled the US stock market Yellin has said much of the Fed credit buying ends in October. Bob Pisani on CNBC, another I like, talks about poor retail sentiment and poor housing numbers. RYL and BZH were down 8% early in the day. Without housing some say we are going nowhere. Also August and September are traditionally weak months if you believe in that stuff.

[billyjoe]

noshady, Several years ago, it might have been in 1987 but not sure, I lost 40% of my net worth in a few days. The mistake I made was going to cash and staying out of the market too long. This time we will recover, the market will be stronger than ever, and we'll look back and see a mother of buying opportunities.

-----------------billy

[noshadyldy]

I don't know, but it doesn't feel good to me. My "guess" is that it's going to teeter/totter for a little bit, give some false hope to some and then it may do a major correction. I am not one of the stock brains on here though. I can tell you with certainly that of all the stocks on my watch lists the only ones that went UP were SPCB (on about 60% decreased volume) INVN on about 17% INCREASED volume and FCEL on aprox 250% INCREASED VOLUME. And then of course, TZA was up the most as you'd expect at 6.90% jump on INCREASED volume of about 25%. But..... on such a scary day, it's interesting that FCEL reacted so well, up 0.12 for gain of 5.08%.

Maybe we can hear from some of the more skilled ones on the board. Anyone willing to give their input? Sure would be helpful to us with nervous stomachs.

[Lucavia123]

Nice wallop today and volume was higher as well. Is this the start of the fall?

[noshadyldy]

Hi Lady! The market hasn't had enough volatility the last couple of months to trade these two back and forth like before. The $SPX is in a consolidation period and the Russell2K has followed suit. I've been buying TZA on the way down and now have a full share at 15.21 (it got as low as 13.24, but I was cash-poor and missed it). Waiting for market to top out and cash in on the next big pullback. It's a little sleepy volume-wise as, apparently, the makers and shakers are enjoying their summer in the Hamptons. Experimenting a bit with SQQQ, TBT, and UVXY. Will see how that goes (red so far)

Thanks River. I can only hope to one day be be as sharp as you and a few others here with spotting these trends and make me some money. I totally appreciate it when you share your moves with us.