401K review

Anything that has European issues in it is no good right now as evidenced by 50 day average being below the 200 day average. If I was a great technician I would have followed them closer and sold sooner. But for now they have come up a bit off their lows. Long term still a sell. I will be watching these closely to see about selling. AEPGX and RERFX. Everything else owned in 401K has the 50 day average moving down, not a good thing. But these are long term accounts, I hope to be rewarded for my patience.

Futures

Futures have been up nice all night. I've been dreaming about them all night, thinking that they have retraced. But each time I wake up they have made a higher high. Technicians are expecting head and shoulders TOP to be put in, many are fearful. As and if the market motors higher yet, they will push it more as they jump late on the bandwagon. As for me, I never jumped ship.

Biding time

I am mostly just reading these days with glimpses at the market. I've opened a futures account but have little funds to trade with yet. Mainly I want to learn some of the fundamentals of the products and follow along to see if I can trade them without getting too wrapped up in gyrations.

I've been doing that with my trading accounts this month and doing well.

I've been reading commodity futures books from the Commodity Research Bureau and from I think CBOE. Great stuff. As Jim Rogers said, breakfast will never be the same again. In my opinion, these are must reads for market participants, even if you do not follow futures markets. I'd rather have a palladium coin than a gold one.

Brief scan

Looking at ETFs I follow not much is worth going long. Gaz decent b/o, UUP up, TLT also. QID and many things look to be in a giant wedge with difficulty determining the direction of breakout pending. I am not liking that RJI looks closer to a sell than a buy based upon turtle trend trading rules. I am liking the peace that has come by making only one trade this month.

I am surprised that my brokers internet forum has not had any responses to a question I posted with regards to trading just based upon end of day data.

I like the big cajones this guy exhibited shorting the market intraday up.

With apologies to Don Miller

Emotions

I absolutely hate some of the emotions that go along with investing. Trading can be so much like chasing a high, sex, or other addictions. The all consuming thrill of planning, pursuit, stalking, and pouncing. And the emotional let down. I imagine that there is a whole biochemical thing going on in the brain and body also. I hate the days where I am wrapped up in that cycle when sitting in front of the computer.

Everybody gets what they want out of the market.

The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

A Letter to Our Leaders

President Obama and others in Political Power,

I am unaware of the back room discussions that have taken place in regards to the BP oil now contaminating our planet so forgive me for not fully recognizing your wonderful leadership. Forgive me also for not being a man of letters.

A true leader is proactive, not reactive. It is far past time for greater action on your parts to stop the oil now poisoning the lives of many. This is not a BP problem, it is a world environmental health problem. Allow me to armchair quarterback from my vantage point.

It is time to draw together the world oil leaders in one room and shut them in together. Attendance is not optional. Halt all work that is ongoing on other jobs, bring the big brain engineers together, the university scientists, the Army Corp of Engineers, the Coast Guard, the environmentalists, and any young up and coming Doogie Howsers. I also want large conglomerate manufacturers along with smaller specialty shops to be present. Once in the room, tell the facts as they are. Explain the construction of this oil well along with the known problems down deep. Have BP explain their efforts and what the data shows. Then get out some giant chalkboard and brainstorm. No idea too small or big, no expense too much, no effort too small or large. Write it all down. By the way, I suggest you give immunity to BP for any evidence they provide, as the data they have is crucial for an understanding of the problems.

Next, command, nationalize, or socialize all manufacturing efforts needed to provide support for all the ideas that could work to fix this problem. There is not a red blooded American that would not serve with honor to help fix this. Delay is not acceptable. This is an international emergency.

Then throw the full support of the US into the financial backing of this effort, with the forward announced plan to raise US fuel taxes to whatever level is needed. Combine this with whatever desired ideas you or others might have cooking with regards to US energy policy. Think big, this can be your legacy.

Then implement all the solutions at once. Be working on all solutions at the same time, not one and then another.

I'd suggest getting some Kennedy guys on board for whatever oversight panel you are working on. I forget where the two you named came from, but their pedigrees read like they are from the same cloth of many before them.

If I were a leader of this nation, I would have done this a while ago.

Respectfully,
A US Citizen.

FTD

Book Review

I've recently finished Jim Rogers Hot Commodities. A good read, perhaps helpful to balance a portfolio for those that have not thought of various vehicles to invest in. He talks about the following paper, follow the link to download it.

Facts and Fantasies about Commodities Futures
Gary Gorton and K. Geert Rouwenhorst, February 2005