I added to my NOK position today (January 18th), at $5.649 per share. NOK looks strong and I’m hoping to come along for the ride with a larger position than I started with. This purchase puts my average per share cost at $5.475 per share.
I gave up on FAZ today (January 18th), selling my whole position at 31.07 per share (bought at 34.19). Including commissions, this was good for a loss of 12.63%.
Since the day I bought it, FAZ has been telling me I was wrong — the opposite of what NOK has been telling me. So I sold FAZ and put the money into more NOK.
I bought 15 units* of SLV — iShares Silver Trust (ETF) at 29.02 per share. I want to be long silver and gold this year, and this is my first step in that direction.
*Units: Units are not equal to number of shares. I won’t be disclosing real dollar amounts or number of shares. I’ve chosen a random number to represent 1 unit and I’ll record all of my transactions converted to this measure and rounded to the nearest whole number. This will allow me to share position weighting without disclosing specifics.
I bought 12 units* of NOK — Nokia Corporation (ADR) at $5.30 per share. I’m taking a shot at Windows phones becoming at least modestly popular at some point and/or a possible Nokia takeover (probably by Microsoft).
*Units: Units are not equal to number of shares. I won’t be disclosing real dollar amounts or number of shares. I’ve chosen a random number to represent 1 unit and I’ll record all of my transactions converted to this measure and rounded to the nearest whole number. This will allow me to share position weighting without disclosing specifics.
I bought 15 units of ERX — Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3X Shs(ETF) at 48.74 per share. One of my themes for the year is to be long energy, and especially oil. The United States is eager to go to war with Iran, which will obviously cause oil to run up significantly. Even without war, we currently have the US pressuring other countries to ban Iran’s oil as well. And, as always, there should be enough fear and uncertainty throughout the year to push prices higher at some point.
*Units: Units are not equal to number of shares. I won’t be disclosing real dollar amounts or number of shares. I’ve chosen a random number to represent 1 unit and I’ll record all of my transactions converted to this measure and rounded to the nearest whole number. This will allow me to share position weighting without disclosing specifics.
I bought 14 units* of FAZ — Direxion Daily Finan. Bear 3X Shs(ETF) at 34.19 per share. I feel pretty good about going short financials for the year and this is my first investment in that direction. It might take a little while, but I think the positive outlook on the economy going around right now is nuts. Time will tell of course.
*Units: Units are not equal to number of shares. I won’t be disclosing real dollar amounts or number of shares. I’ve chosen a random number to represent 1 unit and I’ll record all of my transactions converted to this measure and rounded to the nearest whole number. This will allow me to share position weighting without disclosing specifics.
I bought 50 shares of UUP [PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Up] today. I bought it because of this blog post from Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis. From the post:
“The Dollar Sentiment Index for the Dollar Index reports just 3% bulls among traders, an extreme level only five times in the past 20 years, usually near an important low,” Prechter wrote on Aug. 5. “The last time we saw readings like this was March-July 2008, just before the dollar soared.” In other words, the “short the dollar” trade is overly crowded.
So that’s all the ‘research’ I put into this trade. I think it looks reasonable that the dollar is set for a rally, and at the very least the downside is probably limited at this level. I’ll be looking to make a few points on this and get out soon.
Here’s a chart where I made my buy (blue arrow):
I sold my full UYG position, which I entered on March 19, 2009 at 2.71 per share.
Apparently, I’m developing quite a knack for selling too soon. UYG closed the day up about 30 cents from the point I sold in the morning, which was a pretty big move to miss. Not that I’m complaining about a winning trade, but I definitely want to take note of transactions like this to hopefully learn something and do a little better the next time.
After commissions, and a dividend payment, my realized gain on this trade was 16.4%.
Bought 140 shares of FAS at 6.68, with a stop loss at 6.32.
I took a shot at FAS this morning, but I picked the wrong dip to buy. It dropped to about 6.00 a little while after I bought, and that would have been a good entry point. I entered at the wrong time, but I’m happy I set a stop-loss and stuck with it.
Realized a loss of $63.00, for a return of -6.69%.
