Sorry I do not know this David Rocker you mention. How rich is he ? I do not know any filthy rich short seller. But I never said shorting the stockmarket was always stupid, only that the idea of playing both sides at all times (to be succesful) was. For ex. in the current market it's pretty obvious shorting has been a waste of your time and money (if you trade large moves that is, not scalps). But you will learn all that with experience my friend.
Yes, you are right. When I scan various stock charts I see that all stocks have moved straight up. The Nasdaq index isn't really at 2301 but is really at 5000. Nortel Networks isn't at $3.12 but really is at $80. I have been so mistaken on the strategy of short selling. Maybe with time I will reach your level of knowledge and will learn that shorting is not a good strategy. As for Rocker, the guy is "off his rocker" (pun intended) and must be one hell of a lucky guy. Thanks for the astute vacuum observations and excellent advice. I'll be certain to put it to good use.
Hey Kicking, thanks for setting me straight on shorting. I can see now how playing both sides of the market is nothing but a fools game. I've bought a new big black marker which i'm going to put to good use tonight. I'll print off my charts of interest and simply black out the down parts of the chart. All is well. Someday I'll reach your level of experience and knowledge. Thanks again.
Shorts as usual got taken for a ride yesterday before the plunge. Many were shaken out and that is why the market plunged today with no pullback whatsoever (something that has not happened in months or years actually). This is my whole point, it is IMPOSSIBLE to consistently have perfect timing on the short side in the stockmarket . There is a time to lean on the short side and another to favor the long side. Of course, the window of opportunity on the short side is always ... very short. Look , anyway why are you arguing with me, plugger? When I see posters saying you can't make money doing this or that and I think the opposite, I am happy to shut up and keep the idea for me. See the problem, too many people- clueless or bright- shorting, are you among the clueless or the bright ?
You must feel like a first rate arse about now don't you sir? The timing of this thread could not have been any better. Now that the market has closed significantly off of those levels, you continue your tirade as if nothing has occured. A man of reasonable mind would have walked away from this thread a humbled man, but a wiser man nonetheless. Now you make another foolish attempt at altering your original statement.
I don't understand how you can make such a blanket statement that shorting isn't a valid strategy. How do you tell this to a guy who shorted Nortel over $100 and rode it down to $3? How about Cisco, Intel, Globe.com and the list goes on and on. As for the indexes themselves, ever heard of "survivor bias"? The indexes look good because the crap stocks are kicked out of the index and replaced with better ones. Where is Polaroid now? If you don't believe in shorting, fine. But don't come out with your blanket statements like it's the gospel.
To think any one side is better than the other is an exercise in self-delusion. What the ultimate verdict will rest upon is the priceless axiom of "show me the money". And that requires a good ass-whippin' discipline & money management.
plugger and the other: first learn to read before trying trading I started this thread saying that even if the market dropped 20% from here the bears would still be wrong. The timing of my thread is completely irrelevant . Actually I have been bearish since Wednesday if you want to know but that only matters to me and I don't feel the need to talk about where I think the market is going in the short term. Over the long term- which was the object of my thread- one can't argue with the stockmarket record.
"Actually I have been bearish since Wednesday. Over the long term- which was the object of my thread- one can't argue with the stockmarket record." -Kicking You're absolutely right. You've been right all along. You're absolutely right and I was wrong. I've always liked that song. Good luck.