tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87070281769599096522023-06-15T07:40:53.479-07:00Trader SpectacleTroubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-10243411882714880842011-07-07T18:42:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:42:13.051-07:00Recent Purchases: A focus towards dividendsHi Everyone and welcome back to the <u>TraderSpectacle</u>!!!<br />
<br />
Its been awhile since I have posted (I know) but I have been doing lots of reading and thinking about finances and money in general. <br />
<br />
Ill start from the top ... you should read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Its one of the few books written by a tv-talking head which ACTUALLY makes sense. Money is a tool and needs to be treated with the same respect of any other tool (hammer, car, gun, etc ...) in order to achieve a successful life. <br />
<br />
So ... what does this entail ... well for one thing I am saving A LOT more of my paycheck. I make anywhere from $1200 to $1600 a month. I have cut back my expenses and now throw anywhere from $300-700 a month into my brokerage account (I like to invest my savings and this way its harder for me to spend it - 2 week waiting period for a check kills impulse buys!). <br />
<br />
I also made 2 stock purchases today! I purchased 100 shares of AT&T (T) and 100 shares of First Commonwealth Financial (FCF). I purchased both stocks for the same reason ... DIVIDENDS!!! Please make sure you reinvest your dividends!<br />
<br />
T released a $0.43 dividend per share ... 100 shares turns into $43! And the dividend is paid quarterly!<br />
FCF is releasing a dividend on 7/27 and its expected to be between $0.08 and $0.10 which is nice since it closed today @ $5.83! FCF also has a quarterly dividend.<br />
<br />
What are you all invested in? why?<br />
<br />
<br />Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-8472160660972358312011-01-23T14:20:00.000-08:002011-01-23T14:20:44.890-08:00ITs a NEW Year!!Hi Everyone and welcome back to the TraderSpectacle!<br />
<br />
Last year was definitely an interesting year in terms of trading! I made an 11.75% return sticking mostly with video game stocks and ETFs that follow commodites (Gold and Silver)! My biggest money maker was TBT which is an 200% inverse on 10-year Treasury bonds! I will go into more detail in a bit but I wanted to say hi and wish the best of luck trading in the new year! Please follow, comment, and give any advice you have to give. If you are interested in writing an article for the TraderSpectacle please email me at traderspectacle@gmail.com<br />
<br />
<br />Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-46174144972031556932010-10-13T18:42:00.000-07:002011-01-11T11:24:51.319-08:00Wallstreet, Bank Stocks don't even Blink at Newest Foreclosure ScandalThank you <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69C6P220101013">Dan Wilchins of Reuters</a>!<br />
<br />
Now as we all know ... our current economic conditions are the product of the credit-default swap / housing crisis. So its with a bit of surprise that this headline grabbed my attention.<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69C6P220101013">Foreclosure mess doesn't dent bank stocks</a></blockquote>
Really? So a political hot potato that is all state attorney generals launching a joint investigation of the practices banks used to evict people from their homes isn't a big deal? I guess with so many of them going on, whats a few mistakes?<br />
<br />
I am not trying to slam the banks for this ... I'm just surprised wall street doesn't care or even interested about it. <br />
<br />
Case in point:<br />
<blockquote>
Bill Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Optique Capital Management was quoted saying, <span id="articleText">"this (the joint investigation) may push out mortgage foreclosures until later in the future, but I don't see how it affects the fundamental profit outlook of the banks,"</span></blockquote>
Case in point:<br />
<blockquote>
Analysts at Barclays Capital said that to the extent there's a problem, it's likely procedural. "We suspect most disputes are about court documents, not necessarily whether the borrower defaulted," wrote a team of analysts led by Jason Goldberg.</blockquote>
<br />
The article goes further ... it points to how JPM stock has risen 2.3% and how its managment seems fairly confident that, "...pretty comfortable" that at the end of the process its foreclosures were proper."<br />
<br />
I mentioned that this is a hot potato, democratic lawmakers are already calling for widespread foreclosure halts. If the banks get caught engaging in fraudulent activity especially during the bailouts than it will be interesting to see the fines, penalties, and possible jail terms.Either way the analyst's at Barclay's are right when they said, "It could take some time to clear up this issue."<span id="articleText"></span> <br />
<br />Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-33690854235046855192010-10-12T22:56:00.000-07:002010-10-12T22:58:53.668-07:00US is actively working on engineering a cheaper dollarThats what Axel Merk was quoted saying in a recent <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703440004575547553908304106.html">article</a> by <a href="http://online.wsj.com/search/term.html?KEYWORDS=TOM+LAURICELLA&bylinesearch=true">Tom Lauricella</a> in the <a href="http://wsj.com/">WSJ</a>.<br />
<br />
The full quote is:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>"The U.S is saying, 'These bad Brazilians, these bad Japanese,'" for
wanting their currencies to fall, said Axel Merk, chief investment
officer at <a href="http://www.merkfunds.com/">Merk Investments</a>. "But it's the U.S. that is actively working
on engineering a cheaper dollar."</i></blockquote>
This is interesting to keep in mind considering my previous post which can be read <a href="http://traderspectacle.blogspot.com/2010/10/default-swaps-show-hu-jintao-bond-risk.html">here</a>. Nonetheless <a href="http://online.wsj.com/search/term.html?KEYWORDS=TOM+LAURICELLA&bylinesearch=true">Lauricella</a> goes further by quoting Steven Englander<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Steven Englander, currency strategist at <a href="http://www.citigroup.com/citi/fin/index.htm">Citigroup</a>, says
that while U.S. officials would want to avoid a dollar drop that
destabilizes the stock or bond markets, "if the dollar dropped 1% a
month for the next 12 months … they wouldn't think that is a bad
outcome."</i></blockquote>
1%! Really! Dont get me wrong ... 1% isnt always insignificant but compared to the whole picture, would anyone consider 1% a true threat? <i> </i><br />
<blockquote>
<i>Some traders have been saying the dollar's recent decline was looking
overdone. Since early June it has fallen 13% against a broad basket of
currencies known as the U.S. dollar index. But bearish sentiment on the
dollar was revived Tuesday afternoon. While the markets were already
expecting the Fed to ease policy through purchases of U.S. Treasurys,
the Fed was shown to be considering other steps to have a bigger impact.</i></blockquote>
I believe this "bearish sentiment" is more than backed up and will continue into the foreseeable future.Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-17988419733640079422010-10-12T21:50:00.000-07:002010-10-12T21:50:17.747-07:00Gulf Drilling Ban Is LiftedThank you <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440004575547980425525408.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0">Stephen Power and Ann Zimmerman</a> as well as the <a href="https://order.wsj.com/sub/f3">Wall Street Journal</a>. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
The Obama administration Tuesday lifted its controversial moratorium on
deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but said it could take
weeks for companies to win regulatory approval to go back to work there.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Lifting the ban, put in place shortly after the April 20 explosion of a
drilling rig contracted by BP PLC led to a massive spill, marks another
milestone in the administration's effort to return to normal in the
Gulf. It comes more than six weeks earlier than expected, ahead of
congressional elections shaping up as a rout for Democrats.</blockquote>
Well Fellow Traders ... What do you think this concept of normalcy returning to the Gulf mean for <a href="http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do?categoryId=132&contentId=7063897">BP</a> and other oil companies?<br />Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-54155906860278095232010-10-12T19:43:00.000-07:002010-10-12T20:18:29.755-07:00Default Swaps Show China is the Strongest in the worldThank you <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-10/default-swaps-show-hu-jintao-bonds-approaching-treasuries-china-credit.html">Shelley Smith from Bloomberg</a>! I guess the crouching tiger isn't so hidden anymore!<br />
<br />
I think we as Americans get lazy sometimes about our role of dominance in the world and how that is slowly changing. <br />
<blockquote>
“Right now the strongest balance sheet in the world is
China’s,” <a href="http://www.pwpartners.com/People.aspx?SectorID=Partners&CategoryID=New%20York&MemberID=20">Daniel Arbess</a>, who runs the $2.1 billion Xerion fund
for <a href="http://www.pwpartners.com/">Perella Weinberg Partners</a> in New York, said in an interview
with Bloomberg Television on Oct. 7. “China can use that
balance sheet strength and the political centralized control
that it has over its economic policy to literally finance and
drive the ongoing urbanization and industrialization of its
economy.” <br />
The 10 basis-point difference between contracts on China
and the U.S. is the narrowest since at least January 2008,
according to data from New York-based CMA, which provides data
on the market that suggests both countries should have the
second-highest debt rankings. Credit-default swaps pay the buyer
face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the
value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000
annually in a contract protecting $10 million of debt. </blockquote>
Wait, wait, wait ... WHAT! China IS the strongest? Isn't that supposed to be "going to be the strongest" ... I guess our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailout#Other_bailouts">bailouts</a> was supposed to fix that! <br />
<br />
Say what you will about the Chinese Government ... they will continue to grow.<br />
<br />
I found the last 2 paragraphs made me the most anxious ...<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote>
"The nation’s improving credit comes as Chinese policy
makers promote greater use of the yuan abroad to reduce reliance
on the dollar. The government since the start of 2009 has
approved the currency’s use to settle cross-border transactions,
opened its interbank bond market to overseas financial
institutions and sold yuan-denominated debt in Hong Kong. <br />
“Chinese policy makers want to be seen as a stabilizing
factor,” said <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Jerome%20Booth&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja" title="Search News">Jerome Booth</a>, who helps oversee about $35 billion
as head of research at Ashmore Investment Management Ltd. in
London. “They want to become a reserve currency, and they will
become a reserve currency.</blockquote>
Of course anyone who is truly surprised by this needs to read the news a bit more! </div>Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-32341561422645430912010-10-08T17:58:00.000-07:002010-10-08T17:58:49.013-07:00Finance Terms GlossaryI am starting my own glossary of finance related terms that you will hear at some point<br />
(if you have any suggestions or would like to help please comment below or email me at traderspectacle@gmail.com)<br />
<br />
BRIC - Acronym used to group 4 countries that are all in similar state of advanced economic development. Usually used when discussing international economics. BRIC stands for Brazil . Russia . India . China .<br />
<br />
Call Option - A financial contract between 2 parties (the buyer and seller). The buyer has the <i>right but not the duty</i> to buy an agreed quantity of a particular commodity or security from the seller at a certain time (experiation date) for a certain price (the strike). The seller is obligated to sell the commodity or security if the buyer decides due to the buyer paying a fee (premium) for this right.<br />
<br />
Put Option - A financial contract between 2 parties (the buyer and seller). The buyer has the right but not the duty to sell an agreed quantity of a particular commodity or security from the seller at a certain time (expiration date) for a certain price (the strike). The seller of a put option is obligated to buy the commodity or security if the buyer decides due to the buyer paying a fee (premium) for this right.<br />
<br />
...Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-83834653110550124192010-10-08T17:43:00.000-07:002010-10-08T17:43:13.253-07:00www.dealbreaker.com is AWESOME!!Check out this site ... www.dealbreaker.com ... if you want an interesting look at the markets (other than this blog of course!)<br />
<br />
This is this site's first official shout out! www.dealbreaker.com - you are one cool site.<br />
<br />
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(I even included a pic of the title so you would recognize it when you saw it)</div>
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<br /></div>Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-9101557183083173832010-10-05T16:15:00.000-07:002010-10-05T16:15:48.441-07:00French Trader blamed for Economy<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/05/france.trader.trial/?hpt=T2">CNN</a> is reporting the fate of "rogue trader" Jerome Kerviel who was found guilty of mistrading 50 billion Euros! Of course his defense is that he didnt mistrade the money because his managers knew and signed off on what he was doing. What do you think? is Mr. Kerviel a french scapegoat for Societe Generale?<br />
<br />Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-76545848883536922782010-10-04T21:04:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:04:00.677-07:00Gainers and Losers for Monday October 4th, 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/TKqjpLZRtzI/AAAAAAAAABs/nChGNv1TvY4/s1600/Gains+and+Losers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/TKqjpLZRtzI/AAAAAAAAABs/nChGNv1TvY4/s320/Gains+and+Losers.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-14515051289595692332010-10-04T17:11:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:02:21.034-07:00Credit Card CompaniesI was paying my credit card bill and decided I wanted to see how they have been faring during these economic times. I specifically looked at 4 credit card companies:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP American Express</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;">V Visa</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA Mastercard</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS Discover Financial Services</span><br />
<br />
I first looked at the Year-To-Date (YTD) which was<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP (-3.62%)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">V (-16.26%)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA (-13.01%)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS (10.8%)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
It seems that Discover is the best company but we need to look further so lets look at the 1 month, 3 month and 6 month averages<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
1 month </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP (-6.58%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">V (1.02%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA (7.57%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS (2.83%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
3 month</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP (-0.94%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">V (0.08%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA (9.80%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS (17.85%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
6 month</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP (-6.34%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">V (-20.85%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA (-12.33%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS (6.32%)</span></div>
<br />
Now that we have tracked these companies recent performance we should examine its 1 year and 5 year averages<br />
<br />
1year averages<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP (20.19%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">V (8.03%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA (11.49%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS (6.38%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Talk about a discrepancy! Lets look at the 5 year averages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">AXP
(22.30%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">V (13.82%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">MA
(395.52%) ** Explained by age of Mastercard</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">DFS
(43.90%)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 240.0pt;">
So what are we left with? Overall Credit Card Companies do very well for themselves! (SHOCKER!!! right?!) That said Discover and American Express have both been exchanging top position in terms of performance with Discover currently on top. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
P.S. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-1005-credit-cards-20101005,0,1126646.story">Justice Department celebrates agreement with Visa and Mastercard</a><br />
<br /></div>Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-43271552697608845932010-09-16T16:53:00.000-07:002010-09-16T17:14:15.460-07:00Long LayawayHi Everyone -<br />
<br />
Well Life got in the way of the 2K-10K Challenge's postings but it is still in effect! I made a few changes to my account (some good and some bad)! Lets start with the first bit of news ... I sold <a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=SLV">SLV</a> @18.03 for a 4.98% gain! Now as I posted earlier I owned 100 shares of <a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=SLV">SLV</a> for a total profit of $85.06! Talk about good news!<br />
<br />
I then purchased 100 shares of <a href="http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:ATVI">Activision (ATVI)</a> at 11.75 on 3/18/2010. Of course right when I bought the stock it started to drop. Its current price as of today is 10.75 which is an UNREALIZED LOSS for $108.95!<br />
<br />
But that is it for the bad news ...<br />
<br />
I was shown an interesting <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.asp">ETF</a> that corresponds to twice the inverse (200%) of the Barclays Capital 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index. It is the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1965274115">ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury</a><a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=tbt">ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury (TBT)</a> which has been gaining ever since I purchased 50 shares on 9/7/2010 at a strike of $31.81. As of today <a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=tbt">TBT</a> is priced at $33.94 which is 6.1% gain ($97.55 UNREALIZED GAIN)!<br />
<br />
Why did I become so interested in <a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=tbt">TBT</a>? Well as the inverse of the USD Treasuries I felt it was a great hedge against a bond bubble which I believe exists in this recovery mode economy that we are currently experiencing. With the stock market taking a beating many investors (mostly institutions) are seeking the safety of the US Treasury Bonds. Even nations like China and Japan have been purchasing them for years (think Iraq War, US National Deficit) which has lead me to believe in the existance of a Bond Bubble This coupled with the fact that Uncle Sam's deficit is only getting bigger has lead me to believe that this bubble will be popping in the near future.<br />
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These are my thoughts ... what are yours?Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-26628054664148049682010-04-14T04:40:00.000-07:002010-09-16T17:43:52.056-07:002K to 10K Update #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> I streamlined the format used for the 2K Challenge. The Price is the current/last price the security was selling for. The Strike is the price which the security was bought for. The Price Costs is the the Price*Shares-Trade Fees. The Strike Costs is the Strike*Shares+TradeFees. <+/-> is the Price minus the Strike. [<+/->] is the Price Costs minus the Strike Costs. Trade Fees is 8.95 + X with X being any other exchange fees charged. In the cases of GLD and SLV it was $.05 and $.04 respectively.</span> </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S8WfWgkhyTI/AAAAAAAAABE/ouWK7FPIiCk/s1600/2KChallenge1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="34" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S8WfWgkhyTI/AAAAAAAAABE/ouWK7FPIiCk/s320/2KChallenge1.png" width="320" wt="true" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Ever since the subprime mortgage crisis started some traders have turned to commodities in particular precious metals as a hedge against a weakened dollar. That was a definite thought when I turned to the ETF's GLD (Gold) and SLV (Silver) which follow the precious metals. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> In the case of GLD (which is officially not part of the challenge but added to show how the chart will works) I could only work with 30 shares. If you notice, even though GLD increased $3.54 per share because I only 30 shares my profits were limited. Following a trend I waited till GLD increased to over $110 and sold it. If I had 100 shares as opposed to 30 shares I would of made a profit of $517 as opposed to $88.25. Noticing this I decided to go with SLV, an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that follows the price of Silver in the market place. I was able to purchase SLV for $17 a share on 3/18/10. I then sold it on 4/9/10 for 18.03. Even though the Price had only increased by $1.03, because I had 100 shares I was able to get $103 unrealized gain and the official profit of $85.06. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> What does all of this information tell us? Its an important lesson and is an extremely obvious yet important thing to keep in mind and that is the # of shares. Even though GLD's price increased by almost $4 I only made $80 due to the small # of shares. To further highlight this fact, SLV's price only increased by $1.03 because I owned more shares I was able to theoretically make the same amount of money.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> What is the final lesson to take from this event? I will make it a priority of mine to make sure that I have at least 100 shares per security.</span><br />
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OFFICIAL TRADE #1 Sheet:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S8Wpq6MWmmI/AAAAAAAAABM/pblQy_FTZ8c/s1600/2KChallenge1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="42" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S8Wpq6MWmmI/AAAAAAAAABM/pblQy_FTZ8c/s400/2KChallenge1.png" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div>Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-31083513359138415502010-04-05T18:13:00.000-07:002010-04-05T18:48:41.623-07:00The 2K to 10K Challenge<div>This is the 1st TraderSpectacle Challenge meant to spur wealth creation via trading. The rules are simple:<br />
<div><div></div><div>1) The amount of money in each person account will start @ $2,000.</div><div><br />
</div><div>2) The goal is to turn it into $10,000.</div><div><br />
</div><div>3) Each trade (buy/sell) will cost each person/group $8.95 (per stock per trade)</div><div><br />
</div><div>4) Stocks and securites that trade like stocks can only be used. An example of this would be an ETF. Bonds and Mutuial Funds are not an example of this.</div><div><br />
</div><div>5) Buy Sheet should look like this:</div><div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456832522644407186" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S7qQRI8Ew5I/AAAAAAAAAA0/zHfm1jZY5xE/s320/Buy.png" style="cursor: hand; height: 234px; width: 281px;" /></div><div>6) Sell Sheet should look like this:<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456833116300391954" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S7qQzsesNhI/AAAAAAAAAA8/NMgE_264rDQ/s320/Buy.png" style="cursor: hand; height: 234px; width: 281px;" /><br />
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My first post will be posted shortly. Good luck to everyone who attempts the challenge!</div></div></div>Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8707028176959909652.post-7145338282813555622010-04-05T17:47:00.000-07:002010-04-05T18:12:49.685-07:00The Beginning of the Journey<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S7qKfeg9VmI/AAAAAAAAAAc/DE98C07xKzA/s1600/open-sign.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 185px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456826171884656226" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZOKnWeC8zrY/S7qKfeg9VmI/AAAAAAAAAAc/DE98C07xKzA/s320/open-sign.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div>Interested in trading? Financial securites? $$$? This blog is meant to gather knowledge on financial securities and trading in general, as well as document individual and group efforts to make money. There will be different challenges that will be posted each with different goals that are meant to spur the creation of wealth from scratch. This blog is striving for educational and fresh so that one can truly enjoy the spectacle of trading to make money. Please question and comment on my posts, as well keep me updated in your own efforts to make money.</div></div>Troubadourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04269352380122172638noreply@blogger.com0