Well, we see a couple of things that might help you out. First, realize that we have zillions of shares of long stock in our family portfolio (mostly hedged of course, as noted by other poster)...and also note that for the last 2 days, the eMini's have been trading waaaay under fair value, right?. So, we obviously sell long stock positions and cover with futures positions instead of covering short stock which is at a premium these day. Pretty much relying on basic market mechanics. As noted in Yesterday's WSJonline. "I'm watching these gentlemen on television talking about something they have no clue about," said Don Bright, a partner at Bright Trading, a proprietary firm in Chicago that unloaded some of its stock holdings in favor of futures bets on Tuesday. Full story. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122216864852466923.html As far as continued market direction, a lot depends on what is going to be done as far as the "bailout" goes, and "how" they will try to implement it. The "persecution" of short sellers (Mr. Bush's mis-speak was rather Freudian I think) obviously isn't doing anything (except causing me, my Firm, and Goldman, nothing but headaches) to help stop the bear market at this point. Keep in mind that all this over-the-top gov't intervention is uncharted territory. "Just when I think I heard the stupidest thing ever, they just keep on talking"...(from Hank of King of the Hill, LOL). With these big swings, I am glad that our people are hedged for the most part...and the intraday trading seems to be working. Somewhat limited on the openings due to the list of "can not borrow" securities...let's hope this ends soon (as of right now, another 30 days, geez). Sorry, no crystal ball, just trade them..... FWIW, Don
Thanks Don. I'm a big believer of the theory of the efficient market & have stayed long (for long term investments) for quite a while and will continue to do so. But it's just so easy to always ? the this theory and just wanted to know what you thought
Don, Have you seen the thread in the Trading forum here on elitetrader that talks about a transaction tax on stock trades? Any thoughts on the possibility of it ever coming into existance? I imagine it would wipe out a lot of traders.
The DemoCraps are simply GREEDY FUCKS! No rational thought went into this proposal. China formerly had "transaction tax"... reduced it, then eliminated it... was a hindrance to the market.
Not sure which side is doing what, as noted before, everyone in DC seems to be running around half-cocked these days...geez, President speaks 5 minutes after the opening, LOL. Great for trading, NOT! Anyway, I doubt that this type of tax will be enacted, but if it was, it would likely be based on transaction, not per share. The politico's want to put the burden of bailout back on Wall Street instead of the general public, which, unfortunately, makes some sense....not to traders IMO, but to the big investment banks. I can just hope that we don't get lumped into some overall, not thought out very well, scheme. Stay tuned I guess. Don