Portfolio of the Week

[IIC]

I'm down 5+% in my POTW. I am down even more in my total real portfolio today. Today I have experienced the absolute worst day that I have ever experienced in the market since I began investing- a 6+% overall drop! This was precluded by a 1+% drop on Thursday and another 1+% drop on Friday.

The markets have effectively wiped out what has taken months to build in the matter of 16.5 total hours. I need tissues and a shoulder....

The only good part... I am still up from my total investment. But, swimming in a sea of red does not make me feel good about it.

WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

ok, I feel better now.....

No problem...The leaders are getting whacked all over the place...I look at the past few weeks as merely a temporary setback...Actually my daytrading has been going pretty good...no runners but 10 out of the last 11 have been gainers...Unfortunately, it will take 10/11 for the next 2 weeks too to make up for how much I'm dn on ABAX and ICOC...I'm not too concerned about ICOC tho. ABAX is something else...What a major dump...I paid 22.00. I know I shudda bailed...But we all make mistakes...it went below the 200sma briefly today...I'm hoping that provides support...But Hope doesn't usually go very far...Best, Doug(IIC)

[Websman]

...ABAX is something else...What a major dump...I paid 22.00. I know I shudda bailed...But we all make mistakes...it went below the 200sma briefly today...I'm hoping that provides support...But Hope doesn't usually go very far...Best, Doug(IIC)

Now I don't feel so bad about my big loss on TGB and FUEL... I'm out of them now though...All hope is gone for them.

[skiracer]

Way to go Ski!!! Maybe I can copy your success...What's your secret? Is it the Goji?

Thank you Webs. I wish I could say it was the Goji, but no Goji. Ed's out of Goji with no relief in site. I may have to set up a distillation processing plant of my own up north here. Definitely part due to circulating within the VTP inner circle has played a part in honing my stock picking abilities to their sharpest point. My ears are beginning to point up also. MED was one of my largest holdings a couple of years ago. I was into it very heavily at around $12 -13 range and rode it all the way down to under $10 which turned it into one of my biggest losers ever. I don't know how I let it go past the 7% point but I did and then I was in way past reason and couldn't bring myself to exit the position. Ended up taking a loss somewhere around 18-20 % on that trade. Lets see if I can get some of that back. That one position ruined an otherwise decent year.

[IIC]

Thank you Webs. I wish I could say it was the Goji, but no Goji. Ed's out of Goji with no relief in site. I may have to set up a distillation processing plant of my own up north here. Definitely part due to circulating within the VTP inner circle has played a part in honing my stock picking abilities to their sharpest point. My ears are beginning to point up also. MED was one of my largest holdings a couple of years ago. I was into it very heavily at around $12 -13 range and rode it all the way down to under $10 which turned it into one of my biggest losers ever. I don't know how I let it go past the 7% point but I did and then I was in way past reason and couldn't bring myself to exit the position. Ended up taking a loss somewhere around 18-20 % on that trade. Lets see if I can get some of that back. That one position ruined an otherwise decent year.

If your worst trade was only -20%...I tip my hat to you Ski...That's not so bad as long as you don't make a habit of it...Which I know you don't...My worst trade on a long position was -100% plus my buy commish...Well, actually my dad was my broker so he comped me the commish...Heck, I was only about 14 at the time.

But more recently...I bot ZIXI at about 17 and sold at 2...It wasn't a heavy trade...But I knew I shoulda been out around 12...it was a no brainer by then.

I've had plenty of disasterous trades over the years...I don't like them...especially when I know better and had time to bail w/ a small loss...But they are not that frequent and I really don't worry about them...I just try to minimize them...Sometimes I'll hold because it was a small trade...Sometimes I'll hold because I did my dd and I believe in the co. and the industry...Take WITS for example...I bot in the 14.70's in 4/04...added at 14.00 on 6/1/04...I rode it down to the 9's...In fact, I stopped mentioning it to my wife when it was tanking...Was I worried???...NO...Was I concerned???...YES...I kept thinking to myself..."Am I missing something???...Is something happenening that I don't know about"???...Well, even though it is not a Darling of Wall Street type outfit and it isn't doing that well at the moment...And I have really not made that much % wise over 2 years...As far as I'm concerned it was a fairly good LT play...I learned a lot about it...But if I had been wrong then it actually would've been disasterous to our portfolio...I would not let that much money ride like that again...But smaller amounts I still would...Doug

[skiracer]

If your worst trade was only -20%...I tip my hat to you Ski...That's not so bad as long as you don't make a habit of it...Which I know you don't...My worst trade on a long position was -100% plus my buy commish...Well, actually my dad was my broker so he comped me the commish...Heck, I was only about 14 at the time.

But more recently...I bot ZIXI at about 17 and sold at 2...It wasn't a heavy trade...But I knew I shoulda been out around 12...it was a no brainer by then.

I've had plenty of disasterous trades over the years...I don't like them...especially when I know better and had time to bail w/ a small loss...But they are not that frequent and I really don't worry about them...I just try to minimize them...Sometimes I'll hold because it was a small trade...Sometimes I'll hold because I did my dd and I believe in the co. and the industry...Take WITS for example...I bot in the 14.70's in 4/04...added at 14.00 on 6/1/04...I rode it down to the 9's...In fact, I stopped mentioning it to my wife when it was tanking...Was I worried???...NO...Was I concerned???...YES...I kept thinking to myself..."Am I missing something???...Is something happenening that I don't know about"???...Well, even though it is not a Darling of Wall Street type outfit and it isn't doing that well at the moment...And I have really not made that much % wise over 2 years...As far as I'm concerned it was a fairly good LT play...I learned a lot about it...But if I had been wrong then it actually would've been disasterous to our portfolio...I would not let that much money ride like that again...But smaller amounts I still would...Doug

I think that each an everyone one of us is suseptible to what you are talking about. We know it yet we will fall prey to it occassionally. I guess we're only humans after all. Like the other day with FLOW. I loved the stock and was up 1.25 or so. I watched it begin to fall an had every chance in the book to exit as it was going down. I gave back 1.00 before I finally did what I knew I had to do and should have done 1 point earlier. Exited after I had given back the 1 point. It's going to happen occassionally to all of us no matter how smart or in control we think we are. Human emotions.

[Karel]

Yesterday wasn't too bad, only down a bit over 1%. But over the last week or so, my portfolio dropped 10%. That is moderately boring. But I have seen it happen before, and I have always seen my portfolio recover and more. I haven't changed my trading, so I am pretty confident this will be no different. The largest part of my portfolio is in $$$Mr.Market$$$ stocks, some other picks, and a bunch from my mechanical investing experiment.

Regards,

Karel

[gerihearne]

you're huge

Yesterday wasn't too bad, only down a bit over 1%. But over the last week or so, my portfolio dropped 10%. That is moderately boring. But I have seen it happen before, and I have always seen my portfolio recover and more. I haven't changed my trading, so I am pretty confident this will be no different. The largest part of my portfolio is in $$$Mr.Market$$$ stocks, some other picks, and a bunch from my mechanical investing experiment.

Regards,

Karel

Karel ... let me say .. u are huge!!

[RL]

Rob my dart fell out of GAP please put me In ESCL thanks

[Rob]

Week 20 (7), Day 2

Skiracer's Medifast Inc. (MED) of Owings Mills, MD (Isn't that the same place Louis Rukeyser's HQ was?) added a lot of weight today. Odd for a company that specializes in weight loss products. Nevertheless, that pick was way huge this week, dude!

We all know Gateway computers, the cute little computer systems that come in the cute little black and white boxes that look like spots on a cow. The company was losing big time to Dell and HP/Compaq a couple years ago when they tried to keep from going under by selling plasma TVs and such. Well ol' Spikefader was having none o' that this week, and decided this outfit was toast. Spike shorted GTW around noon on Monday as is currently up a huge 10.82% on the deal!

2nd runner up with 2.91% so far is yet another short play. Da Mighty Kong, a.k.a. DMK, shorted Syneron Medical Ltd. (ELOS), Israel-based maker of hair and wrinkle removal devices, whose latest skill seems to be more along the lines of removing shareholder value. This company is one you may want to keep an eye on, however, (in my own personal opinion) because it does make money, and I think it deserves a bit more respect than the market is paying it lately. That said, really, really good short there, Kong!

Monday

[jiesen]

RL, now what did I just tell you??!?

[RL]

What Was I Thinking?

[Websman]

At least I'm not in last.

[spikefader]

Outstanding ski! Congrats on finding a gem!

ELOS..whose latest skill seems to be more along the lines of removing shareholder value...

lol at that comment. Yeah, nice short dmk; ELOS running for the Burnt Toast Award now that it's lost that major support. Channel turn down today green lights the intraday pivot short (22.53) tomorrow people. 2.5% risk to target 17.00 is r/r of 10. Now that's hard to pass up.

[Rob]

Whatever Happened To ...

There are a number of players who were among us last week who are not here this week. We have to bring these lost sheep back into the fold. They are:
BJ, New-born Baby, T-Fred, and Scifos.

Formerly active players absent for two weeks in a row now are: Bjdj and Dakat.

Jim Smith has been gone for three weeks now.

Then there are nine others who used to play here who've been gone for many weeks. It would be nice to have as many as possible return, so if gentle persuasion doesn't do the trick, perhaps we can try shame and humiliation. And if that doesn't work, we can move on to things like blackmail. Does anyone have any photos of these absent players in compromising situations? Do you have their spouses' email addresses?

[IIC]

There are a number of players who were among us last week who are not here this week. We have to bring these lost sheep back into the fold. They are:
BJ, New-born Baby, T-Fred, and Scifos.

Formerly active players absent for two weeks in a row now are: Bjdj and Dakat.

Jim Smith has been gone for three weeks now.

Then there are nine others who used to play here who've been gone for many weeks. It would be nice to have as many as possible return, so if gentle persuasion doesn't do the trick, perhaps we can try shame and humiliation. And if that doesn't work, we can move on to things like blackmail. Does anyone have any photos of these absent players in compromising situations? Do you have their spouses' email addresses?

I have all the guy's spouses email addy's...But none of the women's spouses