Market down, portfolio up

Now most who read that headline would think, "oh, you were shorting the market", but no. I was actually long all day today. How then could I make money today?

Well one, I followed my own rules yesterday and sold half of my positions for a nice gain. This morning, as the market reacted to Merrill and Amazon's announcements, I realized it would be a big up and down sort of day.

I kept track of the market as it dipped, and around 11am, the market seem to bottom, so I bought in. I bought both the Nasdaq Qs as well as Amazon stop, for basically the same reason. Technology stock I thought were being hit by a combination of profit-taking from the day before and a general feeling market sluggishness. I thought that the market was over reacting.

After lunch, I patiently watched the market fluctuate a little before inching its way up. I was happy to see the Nasdaq end up even and Amazon make some of its 17% decrease back.

What do I expect tomorrow? A lot of bargain buyers will be coming in to scoop up the cheap stuff, and the market so do well.

Sigh of Relief

As Apple announced their ridiculous amazing earnings (news here), and Microsoft poised to report their earnings on Thursday, the NASDAQ made the turn for the better as I had hoped (predicted?). The fed comments today also helped, implying that a rate cut will definitely be used if market conditions worsen.

Overall, my position is still down about 5% from where it was last Thursday, but after hours trading suggest my options so all be in the black by the time the market opens tomorrow.

Market Outlook for the Week

Well, all the interesting earnings reports are behind us. The markets really took a beating late last week, as companies across the board reported earnings below or only meeting expectations, which the street hated (the only bright spot being Google).

For me, it was a great time to buy more Nasdaq (QQQQ) calls options on the cheap. Right now, I have amassed the largest position I have ever taken in one equity, about 25% of my total funds. It is a massive bet, but I am betting that the market well view the market this week with new eyes, see plenty of buying opportunities, and price in a rate cut coming after all this negative economic news.

What do I need? I need the Nasdaq to go up about 5% from where it closed on Friday, and my options will do very well.

Go Nasdaq!

End of Week 1

It's been a great week of work. First day was the usual, twiddle the thumbs and wait for things to be set up. Tuesday and Wednesday were tied up in a sales conference meeting I was invited to. Thursday and Friday, I continued twiddling my thumbs, and I only got some real stuff to do around 5PM today. But by then, its quitting time.

My new job is a 3-year finance rotation program. I'm going through my first rotation as a regional financial office for both the New England and New York regions, while also performing some strategy work for both.

This program should allow me to round out my financial expertise, and prepare me for any financial management job, and eventually, CFO of a company.

Moved in and Ready to Start Work

Spent the weekend officially getting the last bits of my life into my new apartment. Now that I have my desktop setup and internet running, its time to tally the cost of moving. My guess is its going to be about $400 along with about $3000 scheduled for apartment furniture and upgrades.