I got ****** hard last year or two years ago when the Canadian gov changed the law for trusts. I then felt betrayed by them for sending all the things 30% down overnight. Many oldies lost a big chunk of their retirement there. Let the markets rule themselves. If we short and it's dead cheap Buffet is going to buy right? If he dosen't buy AIG, there must be a reason.
It's the first time in my trading career that I experience that. I'll know for next time. Thanks So much, I was really looking forward to trade that. Had I understand that it was the locked limit...
The problem wasn't at Echo, it was at Merrill. Apparently they marked every stock has hard to borrow right before the open. It's not the money I miss. It's the achievement. I feel like I missed going to the Olympics where I was the favorite to win 5 gold medals because the plane broke down. We will NEVER see an open like this again.
Yes, I called them. Seems like one guy made a mistake, as far as I know. I couldn't short anything from 0915 til 1000. But this lack of communication is quite frustrating.
opening order strategy....badly crippled. pairs trading.....badly crippled. using an option strategy that "might" require you to be short the issue on assignment...badly crippled. looks like a viable alternative is to go long the strongest issue in an etf and short the etf (although this gets tricky because each issue accounts for a differnet per cent of the etf, ie: bac is 8% of xlf and ms is only 2.5%). modify and adapt .
Hopefully back on track today. Sort open lists and match to "do not short" lists (here if you need them: www.stocktrading.com/Tradinginfo.htm be careful, they keep adding symbols). Pre-locate early any other hard to borrow issues. WATCH CLOSELY THE PREMIUM / DISCOUNT TO FAIR VALUE FOR THE FUTURES....THEY RAN OVER $2 DOLLARS UNDER FV ALL DAY YESTERDAY, WHICH, OF COURSE, MADE ALL THE LONG STOCK HOLDERS SELL STOCK, CAUSING A GRADUAL SLIDE DOWN TYPE DAY. We sold several million in long stocks just from our own portfolio. Careful with the volume for a few days, perhaps wider layers. Check SKF for getting short on financials if you like. All the best to everyone, Don
Almost "normal" - went in a bit wide (cautious), 3 fills +18cents. Wild GE after the opening, 20 cent ticks, LOL. Don