At Gravity's End

The question on the Street is evolving now to whether we'll hold and close above Dow 10,000 (that important psychological milestone), or will we see something resembling a pull-back.

I need a new career - more certain than ever now I'm very likely, definitely doomed. My only hope is Trish is off the air when 10k is hit. I'll likely be forced to sell everything if not.

Internals are strongly positive, but not severe today. INTC, JPM and Dow 10k hats are dominating the headlines, but it is the Chinese ADR's which continue dominating leadership growth.

Security software provider Asiainfo (ASIA) is the latest big breakout. ASIA is doing major volume, breaking out of a roughly 6-month base.

I like this thin name Harbin Electric (HRBN) perhaps most. This is the stock that broke out on the news they were buying another company (an accretive deal; I do like breakouts where the catalyst is driven on buying another company).

RINO (Rino International) is the exception today, but that stock was extended beyond extended, so I'm not ready to call an end to the Chinese growth-stock surge just yet. I unloaded the RINO position at the open today (>27). I will likely lay-off now at least until they price the upcoming secondary.

I don't want to speak more than that, sorry. Good luck with your shorts.

-Total Position: 100% net-long
-60% invested overall
-Pure-longs = 60%

Currently Long (according to size): RKT (7.1%), DGW (7%), HRBN (7%), CFSG (6.4%), ASIA (6.2%, going on 7%), HMIN (6.1%), ULTA (5.1%), CLW (4.2%), SWM (4%), PTI (4%), CHBT (3.6%)

Currently Short (according to size): no current position

Futures Accounts: no current position

Stuck

When the last trader on Earth sells this dollar, let me know. That's going to set-up a nice trade.

Wait. That guy is me. The dude with a hot-poker stuck to his insides.

Fine, I admit it. I waited a few days, but I admit it. Now I don't even want to make money on this trade - I just want out. That's the psychology of a bad or poorly-timed trade (poorly bench-marked in my case). Now I've got to step over my own dead body to make money here. Who wants to perform like that?

Nature of the beast I guess.

I love my job, don't get me wrong. But it can get ugly. Sticking-out multiple parts in varying directions means occasionally something's going to get whacked. This is why you have got to be disciplined. This is why you can't let a loss get momentum on you.

This is why you want to push on players stuck in such a rut. Push push push until they either break or until some miracle bails them out. They're basically a zit that has one general destiny (pressure will build and build until something pops). I want to be pushing on that zit, I don't want to be the zit.

My futures accounts lately have been the zit.

Okay, okay, it's not all bad. These same zits losing money in futures this week performed very well with equities (still!). We're all shocked at how quickly you can return-to-sender gains in futures - but we're big boys, no? We're still printing money and the other side is still giving it away.

I'm not the only incredibly successful dolt on this planet right now either. The battle between Kobe and Carmelo is epic (if you haven't seen) - an epic war between two guys who are well-matched and uber-determined to out-perform the other. One guy is older, more cold-blooded and experienced, but the other guy is coming-on, bigger and with a longer reach (and frankly, quicker on the ball/boards). Anyhow, Kobe was in the zone of zones late last night; sick, cold-blooded zone - the kind that means he'll eat your children before he blows the opportunity. He was going to make his shot from anywhere on the court and he had demonstrated this several times in the fourth quarter (with Carmelo literally in his face). So when it was down to the final few seconds and his team (Lakers I think) needs 3-points to send it into over-time - the greatest basketball coach of all freaking time designs a play to get the ball to some ancient-glory old guy who throws-up prayers these days from behind the arc. Kobe doesn't even touch the ball. The play was sent somewhere else. No way to cash in like that. Half-off greatness coupon with the expiration date expired. Jaw dropper.

When I saw that, I felt better about having misdirected this currency trade. I gave the ball to Fisher. Fisher didn't eat any little children. I'm sitting here with dollar-off egg on my face.

Fine. Today is that ever-lovely brand of pre-holiday seasonal strength. Only this time the market is a bit suspect coming in, so no whole-hog approach (if we re-cave later in the session it won't be a shocker). I did adjust for this and fortunately my longs today are walking over my shorts (hence, even though I'm still slightly net-short, equity portfolios are up nicely).

Towards the end of the day (or sooner if things should deteriorate) I expect to re-shift back to net-short. This is either a negative or else dull market now, until proven otherwise. I have my views, but I am still not sharing. I will however do my best to keep in stride with it as it develops. One half-step behind in most cases (which is unlike being the only guy left who's long the dollar).

Good long weekend. I'm going to get outside and kill something. I'll be back with my updated kill-list of shorts by Monday night. Don't do what I do - now you know why I'm always saying it/

Total Position: 1.07-to-1 net short (plays 1.19-to-1 net short considering leveraged SKF), 63% invested (NOTE: stepped out of SDS temporarily for seasonal strength. Will likely go into wkend closer to 2-1 net-short, depending).

Currently Long (according to size): ASIA ( 6.7%), CYOU (6.1%), LIHR (5.9%), SNDA (reduced, 5.7%), BKE (3.7%), PEET (2.9%)

Currently Short (according to size): SDS-long (temporarily 0%; SP500 Dbl-short), STRA (5.1%), NTRS (new, 4.1%), NDAQ (4.1%), CAL (new, 3.7%), SKF-long (3.6%; Fncl's Dbl-short), MDT (3.5%), FULT (3%), CNO (2.8%), SKYW (2.8%)
(Note: inverse-ETFs SDS and SKF represent being dbl-short the respective indices)

Futures Accounts: (still stuck and buried long these)
-Short 30% Jun Euro last night, 1.3683 ave.
-Short 20% Jun BR Pound, 1.5602 ave.

Options (relevant accounts): no position

Ruff and No-Tumble

Volume is running at a higher clip today and leadership is still rallying. So even though the market's overall gains are subtle, under the surface things remain firm.

For now.

I took body shots being net-short most of yesterday, but today is more than making up for it. I made adjustments, both yesterday and earlier today, but I'm still keeping things close to market neutral (although my longs are high-beta).

If oil prices and the Euro vs. Dollar stall-out here, I think the market will soon stall as well. Look for this. If these keep rallying, I'll keep looking for leadership names breaking out of nice set-up consolidations and key them long.

ASIA is the breakout of the day today (highly ranked stock within a highly-ranked and rising relative-strength group, breaking out of a nice looking 6.5-wk base, on a volume pace now about 3.5x's normal). It's less than perfect, but reasonable. Perfect is when RS runs to a new high ahead of the price (RS here is a little below the previous high, even though stock price is now at a NH; so, a negative divergence there); and volume would be nicer if it were running greater than 4x's normal (which it may still manage if it surges last hour). I like above 4x's ave. vol. for an indication of power in a breakout. I'm not complaining, but as such I didn't increase beyond my initial 5% attack as it broke above the 18.63 pivot earlier this session. I hold this much still and will how well it follows through.

SNDA is breaking out today as well. I didn't add from my existing position though, as the base is less than 5-weeks old and volume is not much better than 2x's average. Often it is best to trade out when there is a low-volume breakout (especially given that the previous base was extended in price), but this name has been so powerful in the past I will give it greater respect; risk losing some of the meaty gains there.

CYOU I added to earlier when it was still down on the day, since SNDA had begun exploding up and it made sense CYOU would follow. Better lucky than dumb sometimes. I'm a bit of both, which is why I out-perform most market geniuses.

Also, I'm trading MDT short following earnings released this morning; paying me a small dividend for the 400 some-odd hours I spent updating my working short list posted last night. Scroll down if you dare.

All these boring trades are being spit live via Twitter (for educational purposes only); if you come here only for the pictures then you are on the right page. Otherwise all of this is old news by now.

Blah blah blah - when is the market going to top, right? Watch the Euro. If it turns the equity market should soon follow.

But may as well grab what it is giving in the meantime. The rally may out-live all of us for all I know. That's not a recommendation however. Gotta be too late to make money now. There's only an hour left on the session.

Total Position: 1.42-to-1 net long (plays 1.06-to-1 net long considering leveraged short etf's), 56% invested

Currently Long (according to size): CYOU (9.2%), SNDA (6.6%), ASIA (new, 5.3%), WNR (5.3%), DRI (3.8%), PEET (2.8%)

Currently Short (according to size): TWM-long (reduced to 4.9%; Russell2k Dbl-short), STRA (5.3%), AIPC (4.1%), BKE (3.5%), SRS-long (2.7%; US Real Est. Dbl-short), CNO (2.2%)
(Note: inverse-ETFs TWM and SRS represent being dbl-short the respective indices)

Futures Accounts:
-Covered SPX Jun today, 904.50, from 911.75 last night
-Short 20% Jun Euro last night, 1.3577 (no stop at this moment)
-Short 10% Jun BR Pound today, 1.5499 (no stop at this moment)

Options (relevant accounts): 0.4%, Sept GM 2.00 puts, paid 1.57