Thursday, May 21, 2009

KRE

KRE puts nicely in the money, have begun to cover as I think this justified pullback has largely run its course. Most of the junk that rallied in the short squeeze, MI, SNV, RF etc... have come back 30-35%. if broader market continues to decline well I will be wrong but the easy call is done, i believe

Friday, May 8, 2009

COF

Out of COF today, 45% in 2 days not bad. Must be short squeeze. But hey needed that, why not eh....
My stalwart ACE has been underperforming by a ton, back to BVPS but it will come back

Thursday, May 7, 2009

moves

Trimmed my SKF position, as it was basically hurting too much and bought some COF yesterday. COF was up 15% yesterday and looks to open up 20% today. Should take the sting away form my SKF losses.
market has shifted from a focus on P/TB to normalized P/E. Makes sense as going from who survives to who thrives? That being said any delay in recovery or any shock and you will get a big downdraft.
Anyways have opted to position my brokerage account more conservatively as I may need that money someday if I don't get a job, and I'm letting it RIP in my IRA.
In all honesty, I left so much money on the table. Bought XL at $3.60 sold at $5.50 now over $10. Bough COF at $11 sold at $14, back in at $22, now at $26. Bought UYG at $2-$2.40, sold at $3.50, now $4.20. I think I saw the valuation opportunity in Feb-March, but I remained too risk averse. Made very good money, but could have made an absolute, once in a blue moon, killing. Very frustrating, an important lesson that I learn AGAIN.

Monday, May 4, 2009

APOL

Sold some ACE today. Still my largest position but time for a trim given its big run. RIG and BP have been very nice for me. Do I take money off the table? I will let it roll i guess. Just bought APOL, bought some puts to protect against regulatory "CAT" which i think is the only real risk there, and sold calls to help pay for the protection. SKF is hurting, I'm down 10% on that, but I am holding it as a hedge vs. the rest of my portfolio. S&P Puts looks to expire worthless, as this rally has kept on going. Still even with SKF and puts etc.. I am still up 10% YTD with a bunch of cash, vs. the market down a bit.
We shall see. SLM coming back a bit, very small position.