Portfolio of the Week

[Websman]

WEbsman,
I've been following NXG for the past few months and have traded it succesfully.
I currently own no shares.
But I have been waiting for gold to start another bull run, and as soon as that happens I plan to get into NXG because it seems to move very favorably compared to gold.
I was just wondering what you are seeing in NXG right now, and why you decided to go long.

I'm just looking for a quick gain for the POTW, but I'm not considering NXG for the Vulcan portfolio at this time.

[Mary]

Showing my ignorance.

I just read the rules for the POTW game and don't understand all of them because I'm not market-savvy like Rob and the rest of you.

1. I don't know what "long" and "short" means in the stock market -- unless it is as simple as "long" means buying a stock you intend to hold for an appreciable amount of time and "short" is buying a stock you intend to sell quickly to make some fast cash, like day-trading. If that's the case, then I don't understand how "long" and "short" work for a game like this.

2. Does this game continue from week to week so that new players start out at a disadvantage? Or is the game over at market close at the end of each week and a new game starts the following week?

3. My pick each week can be to buy OR sell a particular stock? If so, if my play is to sell a certain stock, I don't know how it would have the same potential as if my play is to buy a stock.

I think I may have more questions but I'm not sure yet.

[Lyehopper]

Ask any questions you'd like here

I just read the rules for the POTW game and don't understand all of them because I'm not market-savvy like Rob and the rest of you.

1. I don't know what "long" and "short" means in the stock market -- unless it is as simple as "long" means buying a stock you intend to hold for an appreciable amount of time and "short" is buying a stock you intend to sell quickly to make some fast cash, like day-trading. If that's the case, then I don't understand how "long" and "short" work for a game like this.

2. Does this game continue from week to week so that new players start out at a disadvantage? Or is the game over at market close at the end of each week and a new game starts the following week?

3. My pick each week can be to buy OR sell a particular stock? If so, if my play is to sell a certain stock, I don't know how it would have the same potential as if my play is to buy a stock.

I think I may have more questions but I'm not sure yet.

Hey Mary.... To trade a stock "long" or "short" is not referring to a time frame.

In a long trade a stock is bought first and then sold to complete the trade. The goal is to buy low and sell higher.

In a short trade a stock is sold first (shorted or short-sold) then bought back "to cover" and complete the trade. The goal is to sell high then "cover" (buy back and repay) lower as the stock price falls and pocket the difference.

Now in order to short sell a stock you must have a margin account with your brokerage house because the shares are in reality borrowed on the front side of the trade from the broker and sold on the open market.... Then when you complete the trade you buy the shares back and pay back the borrowed shares (Margin is simply borrowed money that you pay interest on).

Click the link below to read a little discussion about short selling that occured on my thread a few months ago.

http://www.mrmarketishuge.com/showthread.php?p=59748

[IIC]

If there is any one person on this forum who doesn't have any questionable history, let him or her cast the first stone.

OK...I'll go first...



Now what did he do??? ...IIC

[Rob]

Week 43 (4), Day 2

[Rob]

Yeah, Mary, what Lyehopper told you is basically it. What he didn't tell you is that some folks consider short-selling evil, sort of like profiting on someone else's misfortune. I don't think it's "evil" really, but I don't often engage in it.

See, you're learning new stuff already.

[IIC]

Sell STEC...Buy LIFC....IIC

[IIC]

Lookin' for a Killer Conference Call...just started (LIFC)

[Rob]

How The Scoring Works

Sell STEC...Buy LIFC....IIC

Doug, I'm feeling bad for you right now, because first you got whacked big time at the open Monday when STEC gapped up 8.1%. And just now, when you sold it to buy LIFC, you lost out on another couple percentage points.

If you don't mind (and even if you do I guess) I'm going to use your trades this week as an example to show exactly how the scoring works, in case some wonder why they don't get the buy price they thought they were getting when they made the switch. This graphic explains it.

Now while STEC is not really a thinly traded stock, this nevertheless illustrates the danger of playing thinly traded stocks in this contest, particularly so if it's your first play of the week. If you sell X to buy Y, Y will not be bought until X sells, and if X only trades 5 or 10 thousand shares a day, you could be waiting quite a spell for your switch to take place. Meanwhile Y could be getting more expensive by the minute.

Play smart. Play safe. Have fun. Love your scorekeeper. Send him your finest meats and cheeses.

[IIC]

Doug, I'm feeling bad for you right now, because first you got whacked big time at the open Monday when STEC gapped up 8.1%. And just now, when you sold it to buy LIFC, you lost out on another couple percentage points.

If you don't mind (and even if you do I guess) I'm going to use your trades this week as an example to show exactly how the scoring works, in case some wonder why they don't get the buy price they thought they were getting when they made the switch. This graphic explains it.

Now while STEC is not really a thinly traded stock, this nevertheless illustrates the danger of playing thinly traded stocks in this contest, particularly so if it's your first play of the week. If you sell X to buy Y, Y will not be bought until X sells, and if X only trades 5 or 10 thousand shares a day, you could be waiting quite a spell for your switch to take place. Meanwhile Y could be getting more expensive by the minute.

Play smart. Play safe. Have fun. Love your scorekeeper. Send him your finest meats and cheeses.

Bummer...Well, at least I know I called the bottom or close to it on LIFC...However, time and sales for Naz stocks is not accurate because not all trades go thru the Central system...My T & S shows that there was a 100 sh trade at 9:32am on STEC at 8.62...But no problem...Doug

[Mary]

Long vs. Short

Now in order to short sell a stock you must have a margin account with your brokerage house because the shares are in reality borrowed on the front side of the trade from the broker and sold on the open market.... Then when you complete the trade you buy the shares back and pay back the borrowed shares (Margin is simply borrowed money that you pay interest on).

So, it's kind of like borrowing money to gamble with? I'm not likely ever to do that in reality. So I probably won't do it when I get started in this game either.

Mary

[Lyehopper]

To short or not to short....

So, it's kind of like borrowing money to gamble with? I'm not likely ever to do that in reality. So I probably won't do it when I get started in this game either.

Mary

You certainly can and should have enough ca$h in your account to cover the trade.... And you must have a certain amount of equity in the account or the brokerage won't let you borrow to short sell.... If you have ample ca$h on hand then technically you aren't borrowing anything. It's just the way the trade is structured, you must borrow shares on margin to sell short.

I don't look at investing (long or short) as "gambling" because I take calculated risks based on solid due diligence (FA, TA market and sector trends) when I trade, it's not just chance.... btw, Some of my most profitable trades have been short.... Definitely! my most devastating loses were all long trades.

[Tatnic]

You certainly can and should have enough ca$h in your account to cover the trade.... And you must have a certain amount of equity in the account or the brokerage won't let you borrow to short sell.... If you have ample ca$h on hand then technically you aren't borrowing anything. It's just the way the trade is structured, you must borrow shares on margin to sell short.

I don't look at investing (long or short) as "gambling" because I take calculated risks based on solid due diligence (FA, TA market and sector trends) when I trade, it's not just chance.... btw, Some of my most profitable trades have been short.... Definitely! my most devastating loses were all long trades.

I'm curious as to why Mary or anyone else with no trading experience would even consider shorting or trading for that matter. Mary, you'd be better off letting a professional manage your money. A professional is someone manages other people's money for a living and gets paid for it....an amatuer investor is like most of us who trade our own money.

[Lyehopper]

I'm curious as to why Mary or anyone else with no trading experience would even consider shorting or trading for that matter. Mary, you'd be better off letting a professional manage your money. A professional is someone manages other people's money for a living and gets paid for it....an amatuer investor is like most of us who trade our own money.

Ya gotta learn some how.... Plus Rockin'Rob is Mary's brother and he's a better trader than any "professional money manager" that I've seen. Plus he dosen't charge her a commission.

[skiracer]

Ya gotta learn some how.... Plus Rockin'Rob is Mary's brother and he's a better trader than any "professional money manager" that I've seen. Plus he dosen't charge her a commission.

Trading for his sister would put alot of unnecessary and unneeded pressure on Rob. A few losing trades and you would see how it affects you believe me. I have three friends who follow my trades and have put their funds in with mine which I trade for them. It involves alot of money and I've made them alot of money but everytime I exit a trade that has breached my stop loss point or worse there is that feeling that you have to make that next one a winner and that they are looking over your shoulder. It's alot of pressure and these guys are nowhere near losing money over the past 8/9 years.