The DOW is down 222 points today

hat ?
anybody still have a hat ?
i think all hats have been eaten by those saying : " i'll eat my hat if the market tanks again ! " .

( chewing on the sweaty hatband ... that's all i have left ... ... )

hbg, That's a good un; my laugh for the day. Thx.

MELI's up 6.1%

I'm going to reset my stop on that tonight.


I predict CYBX is on the rise, at least for a few days, enough to profit from it.

chai, I never believed in the concept of "day-trading." It's been proven over time that the majority of day-traders lose money, and if they happen to get ahead, it barely pays for all the commissions and trading expenses - in addition to all the time spent trading.

Rather, I believe in the long-term investment policy that has proven to pay off if one has a good mix of funds and bonds. When most investors lost 40% in 2008, my wife lost 11% and I lost 17%. Our retirement funds are pretty stable, even though we have been withdrawing from them since retirement.

We have all seen what has happened to people who's greed has taken over their rational investment philosophy to end up close to zero with the Madoffs and other crooks.

Off the top of my head, most of my stocks sell themselves anywhere between a couple of months to 9 months.

Not exactly day trading, just taking advantage of the dips.

I actively buy, but let my stops do the selling.

Last year, I bought and sold GMCR 3 different times. profiting well over 27% overall.
If I had just bought and held, I'm guessing I would have made 10%

The most I loose on the purchase of a stock is 5% or so.

Without having the spreadsheet in front of me, I'd say 75% of my purchases are all made out a group of 6 or 7 stocks. Over time, 1 drops out of favor, and I find a new favored stock.

Once I get to the point where my stop ensures I at least break even, I have no worries. (that includes commissions) Once I can raise a stop to where I make 15%, I'm a happy camper.

I'm not a day trader. I enjoy having control over my finances. Even with the 2 "crashes" we've had in the last couple of years, I'm still way ahead. I don't take a lot of risks, IMO.

I guess I must be doin' somethin' right.

chai, You're one of the few who does well on active trading; congrats!

After I retired, I didn't want to "manage" anything. Sold our income property, and consolidated all of our retirement funds into Vanguard (I also considered Fidelity).

Been happy with the results - in good times or bad, and I've been retired since 1998.

I think it's because I don't let my emotions get in the way (or at least as little as possible)

you travel so much, you don't have time to actively manage!

That's my goal, and I've accomplished it! LOL