I haven't posted for a week or so, because I have had zero activity in any of my accounts. Still holding TNA and TZA in my trading account. It hasn't been fun to watch, but I do believe we are poised for a break to the downside.
=======
Today, I took a long in the retirement account; Long 1000 TZA at $24.91 at approximately 2:54 pm. Sold all at $25.11 around 3:34 pm. Gain of $181. My read and entry was a good one, but my exit was early, leaving a great deal on the table as TZA rose steadily beginning about 6 minutes after my exit.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
July 22 ( $0 )
No changes.
================
Retirement Account:
11:37 am - Bought 1000 TZA @ $24.87; somewhat early at about 8 minutes before the turn.
1:25 pm - Sold 1000 TZA @ $25.02 into the big volume candle.
Gain of $130.
================
Retirement Account:
11:37 am - Bought 1000 TZA @ $24.87; somewhat early at about 8 minutes before the turn.
1:25 pm - Sold 1000 TZA @ $25.02 into the big volume candle.
Gain of $130.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
July 18
No changes to my trades.
DOW up over 1000 points and the S&P 500 up over 8% in 17 days. How the 'F' is that real?
As of today, TNA is within a few points of the FURTHEST away from its 200 day EMA since before the market crash of 2008-2009. Only exceeded by the move to the downside in August 2011, and we all know how much more extreme stock movement is when the momentum is down, given human nature. My daily historical chart doesn't go back further given the way it is set up, so I don't want to say this is unprecedented, but it certainly is exceptional.
=======
In the retirement account, I went long 1000 TZA at $25.02 at 11:03 am and exited at $25.20 at 12:44 pm. Net gain of $160.
DOW up over 1000 points and the S&P 500 up over 8% in 17 days. How the 'F' is that real?
As of today, TNA is within a few points of the FURTHEST away from its 200 day EMA since before the market crash of 2008-2009. Only exceeded by the move to the downside in August 2011, and we all know how much more extreme stock movement is when the momentum is down, given human nature. My daily historical chart doesn't go back further given the way it is set up, so I don't want to say this is unprecedented, but it certainly is exceptional.
=======
In the retirement account, I went long 1000 TZA at $25.02 at 11:03 am and exited at $25.20 at 12:44 pm. Net gain of $160.
July 17 ( $0 )
Other than last Friday, I have made no changes to my TNA TZA swing-trade. And it is a real pain in the account. The market keeps going UP UP UP in the face of bad news and obviously with good news. It is irrational but to paraphrase a wise man, "Markets will remain irrational longer than one can remain solvent."
=======
As of today's high print in TNA, with the exception of one day in August 2011, price is further away from it's 200 day moving average than at any point in the past four to five years. That includes the throes of the market crash of 2008 into 2009!
This run with very little pullback is a tremendous anomaly. This is why I'm holding. And the market moves up to inflict as much pain as possible in order to drive out all the shorts, before it retreats. So it goes higher for now and will continue until the weak hands are beaten into submission. This is the basis for the old market adage, "Your first loss is your best loss."
=======
On the bright side, I have been doing well trading in the retirement account, with recent gains of $100, $460, and $390. However, my opportunities are limited because it is not a margin account; funds must settle after a trade before being reused.
=======
As of today's high print in TNA, with the exception of one day in August 2011, price is further away from it's 200 day moving average than at any point in the past four to five years. That includes the throes of the market crash of 2008 into 2009!
This run with very little pullback is a tremendous anomaly. This is why I'm holding. And the market moves up to inflict as much pain as possible in order to drive out all the shorts, before it retreats. So it goes higher for now and will continue until the weak hands are beaten into submission. This is the basis for the old market adage, "Your first loss is your best loss."
=======
On the bright side, I have been doing well trading in the retirement account, with recent gains of $100, $460, and $390. However, my opportunities are limited because it is not a margin account; funds must settle after a trade before being reused.
Friday, July 12 ( Loss $888)
This was from last Friday. I took off 500 shares of TZA to lighten my risk some.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
July 11 ( $0 )
11:12 am : Holding my TNA and TZA trades. This market is so heavily over bought and has run steeply enough that I'll take my chances on this swing trade becoming a profitable one.
------------
-My prices per share are in the upper third or higher of this trend move, even after today's big pop.
-Because of the opening gap up, TNA is further above its 12-day exponential moving average than at any point since 2011.
-Three out of the last four trading days have been unfilled gaps up.
-We have had two straight gaps up on the weekly charts; both unfilled. One gap up week is unusual and when it does happen, it has historically been filled fairly quickly. Reiterate: we've had two unfilled weekly gaps up in a row.
-The vertical line of the run-up since June is as steep as any in the past couple years.
-And from this morning's post containing information and a chart from ZeroHedge.com: Every time in the past 20 years that the S & P 500 has been this far above its 200-day moving average, it has reversed to a point where price breaks down through the average. Every Time In 20 years.
- This commentary from another post late today at one of my favorite websites, ZeroHedge.com:
"The last 12 days have seen the S&P 500 surge 7.5% - this is the fastest run since the co-ordinated global intervention that started Thanksgiving 2011. The overnight gap open never looked like being tested and volume remained average at best all day (until the 1400ET vert-ramp took us instantaneously above the previous all-time high close - running stops on the way - and pushing volume well 'below' average). Interestingly, the sectors did not enjoy the smash higher that the indices did and all pretty much trod water from open to close (with builders best all day)."
-----------
I took a new swing trade in TZA in the retirement account this morning in the 10:15 am timeframe. Long 750 shares at $26.70. At this time, I intend to hold this one for a while, though that may change at any time. This account is not eligible for margin, so I am severely limited in the shares available to trade, otherwise I would have entered with 2000 shares.
------------
-My prices per share are in the upper third or higher of this trend move, even after today's big pop.
-Because of the opening gap up, TNA is further above its 12-day exponential moving average than at any point since 2011.
-Three out of the last four trading days have been unfilled gaps up.
-We have had two straight gaps up on the weekly charts; both unfilled. One gap up week is unusual and when it does happen, it has historically been filled fairly quickly. Reiterate: we've had two unfilled weekly gaps up in a row.
-The vertical line of the run-up since June is as steep as any in the past couple years.
-And from this morning's post containing information and a chart from ZeroHedge.com: Every time in the past 20 years that the S & P 500 has been this far above its 200-day moving average, it has reversed to a point where price breaks down through the average. Every Time In 20 years.
- This commentary from another post late today at one of my favorite websites, ZeroHedge.com:
"The last 12 days have seen the S&P 500 surge 7.5% - this is the fastest run since the co-ordinated global intervention that started Thanksgiving 2011. The overnight gap open never looked like being tested and volume remained average at best all day (until the 1400ET vert-ramp took us instantaneously above the previous all-time high close - running stops on the way - and pushing volume well 'below' average). Interestingly, the sectors did not enjoy the smash higher that the indices did and all pretty much trod water from open to close (with builders best all day)."
-----------
I took a new swing trade in TZA in the retirement account this morning in the 10:15 am timeframe. Long 750 shares at $26.70. At this time, I intend to hold this one for a while, though that may change at any time. This account is not eligible for margin, so I am severely limited in the shares available to trade, otherwise I would have entered with 2000 shares.
Saw it, Liked it, Reposting it...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-10/what-happens-next
Each time the S&P 500 has traded more than 12% above its 200-day moving-average, the following correction has not ended until the average itself was breached by price action. Fundamentally, one can tie 'events' to each of these exuberance spikes - in this case, liquidity-turns-into-a-taper - but sometimes historical prices can be a better guide to the human biases for extrapolating trends and building fragility. Given current levels that would mean a 10% drop from current levels to 1516.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Ouch
I originally put this on today's post but decided to separate it out. BlueCollarTrader is as much diary as it is a 'Blog'... it's a web log of my thoughts and activities related to the markets and my interaction with them. So, here it is:
6:36 pm: I just got in from working out in the yard and switched on CNBC. This is bad... I logged in to the brokerage account and find myself down a lot according to the futures... they're up 11 points in after hours. It appears I've horribly miscalculated and it has put me down over $4,000 as of right now. That really hurts... this is what I was thinking could happen but the odds were against it according to the charts. But, as I wrote earlier, world events and The Federal Reserve were the wild cards. And one of those cards has been played and has stung me. $4,000 is about 3% of my account so it isn't a crushing blow if I take that sort of loss. But, in contrast with my gains, it is a lot. And the fact that I could REALLY use the money now. In fact, we need trading to start paying us... providing an income. And this is a long way from paying us. In that context, it hurts a lot.
So... on the bright side, I had a very good trade in the retirement account today. Nearly a $1000 gain on one trend move. This is perhaps the worst part of this... I have the skills, the bankroll, and the will to be profitable. What I don't have is the consistent SELF-DISCIPLINE to make those gains on a daily basis. If I did, my current unrealized losses would represent a few days worth of winnings.
I still believe that the charts indicate a pullback... but with Bernanke's 'dove-ish' comments, the markets are going to sail and if I sell, I'll be down thousands of dollars. And the couple of times I've bailed out by "Throwing in the Towel," two or three days later the stock reverses and I would have been back to even or have made nice gains had I held.
Do I have faith in my reading of the charts? or, do I just "Throw in the Towel" and take a big loss in fear of even greater losses?
I am truly shocked by this move, but when the TNA didn't break down today, my gut was telling me that something was not right. But, I stuck to my thesis. And here I am...
July 10 ( $ 0 )
Mid day and still holding my TNA and TZA. market is down slightly and still showing lots of demand on dips.
No shares added or reduced today in the trading account.
More evaluation of TNA:
The vertical distance between the 12-day moving average and the high of the day yesterday on the daily chart is the second largest since November of 2011. (There were a number of instances of this prior in 2011 because of the deep drop in the overall markets during August that year and the resulting volatility). The other instance was just two weeks ago on June 24th, just prior to this steep run! In both of these, November 2011 and two weeks ago, a notable reversal soon followed.
The stochastics still register over 96 on the 0 - 100 scale so far today.
What does this mean put together with my other research notes from my prior blog post? It means that there is a high liklihood of a winning trade as I have it presently constructed. Is it a sure-winner? No way. Am I nervous about this much money on the line without a stop in place? ... I am. My concern is that there will be earnings or Federal Reserve news that will cause the markets to soar before the pullback takes place. I am uneasy because of the large number of shares that were traded between 10:10 and 10:30 am this morning... my concern being that this was buying as the price dropped. There is not a lot of volume in the move back up since 11:25 am so that is favorable to my trade, I believe.
From the June 24th low of this trend to today's high, my TNA price is exactly at the Fibonacci 23.6 % reversal line, for those who watch Fib lines.
I occasionally watch the CNBC show Fast Money. I tune out the blah blah blah that fills most of the show but tune in for the trader comments about their own moves. Joe Terranova stated on last night's show that he had taken off an S&P long trade earlier in the day in anticipation of a pullback today related to an expected negative Chinese data release overnight. he did say he wouldn't get short here though. The data was not good as he expected. The market is pulling back some today but not dramatically as I had hoped.
2:20 pm: Not happy to see the FED Minutes release result in a market spike. My unrealized losses are at the highest they've been. Especially frustrating is the fact that at 11:30 am I could have exited my TZA portion of the trade at break-even.
2:40 pm: TNA price now down to the center of the daily range... approximately $53.65 and the FED spike has abated.
2:55pm: Price dropped aggressively to the 53.35 level where buying was equally aggressive, as it has been over the past day. e.g. 2:45 pm, 12:25 pm, 12:00 pm, 11:00 through 11:25 am, 10:30 am today and yesterday at 3:50 pm and 11:20 am
This is a critical level that must be broken for my trade to move toward profitability. I am concerned how this level is providing strong support like $52.31 did on Monday afternoon. It was a solid base and a springboard for both yesterday's and today's new highs. I am surely hoping that $53.35 doesn't replicate that pattern.
3:25 pm: TNA at the highs of the day. This is not what I expected today, based on my interpretation of multi-day charts. The odd thing is, the SPY is at the middle of its daily range. This reminds me of how TNA behaved in relation to the general markets during the March and April/May move up. It was unusually exuberant to the upside compared to SPY.
3:40 pm: TNA holding its perch just under the HOD, presumably to make a jump. My morning optimism has waned greatly, but the TNA and SPY daily charts still say the same things to me. A pullback is imminent. In fact, there is a doji on the SPY as I write this at 3:42pm. It also retreated from $166 resistance earlier in the day.
4:04 pm: TNA finished the day above both moving averages and in the top one-third of the daily range. Not at all what I was expecting. SPY actually broke out of the doji formation and ended the day slightly green but certainly off its high of the day ( HOD ).
============
I did add 2000 shares of TZA to the retirement account trade; 2000 shares at $27.64 in the 9:55 candle timeframe. This brings my average cost of 3000 total shares to $27.78.
Sold these 3000 shares at $28.02 in the 11:25 am timeframe. Gain of $960. Nice entry on these 2000 shares and nearly a perfect exit. I believe this is my largest single position gain ever.
No shares added or reduced today in the trading account.
More evaluation of TNA:
The vertical distance between the 12-day moving average and the high of the day yesterday on the daily chart is the second largest since November of 2011. (There were a number of instances of this prior in 2011 because of the deep drop in the overall markets during August that year and the resulting volatility). The other instance was just two weeks ago on June 24th, just prior to this steep run! In both of these, November 2011 and two weeks ago, a notable reversal soon followed.
The stochastics still register over 96 on the 0 - 100 scale so far today.
What does this mean put together with my other research notes from my prior blog post? It means that there is a high liklihood of a winning trade as I have it presently constructed. Is it a sure-winner? No way. Am I nervous about this much money on the line without a stop in place? ... I am. My concern is that there will be earnings or Federal Reserve news that will cause the markets to soar before the pullback takes place. I am uneasy because of the large number of shares that were traded between 10:10 and 10:30 am this morning... my concern being that this was buying as the price dropped. There is not a lot of volume in the move back up since 11:25 am so that is favorable to my trade, I believe.
From the June 24th low of this trend to today's high, my TNA price is exactly at the Fibonacci 23.6 % reversal line, for those who watch Fib lines.
I occasionally watch the CNBC show Fast Money. I tune out the blah blah blah that fills most of the show but tune in for the trader comments about their own moves. Joe Terranova stated on last night's show that he had taken off an S&P long trade earlier in the day in anticipation of a pullback today related to an expected negative Chinese data release overnight. he did say he wouldn't get short here though. The data was not good as he expected. The market is pulling back some today but not dramatically as I had hoped.
2:20 pm: Not happy to see the FED Minutes release result in a market spike. My unrealized losses are at the highest they've been. Especially frustrating is the fact that at 11:30 am I could have exited my TZA portion of the trade at break-even.
2:40 pm: TNA price now down to the center of the daily range... approximately $53.65 and the FED spike has abated.
2:55pm: Price dropped aggressively to the 53.35 level where buying was equally aggressive, as it has been over the past day. e.g. 2:45 pm, 12:25 pm, 12:00 pm, 11:00 through 11:25 am, 10:30 am today and yesterday at 3:50 pm and 11:20 am
This is a critical level that must be broken for my trade to move toward profitability. I am concerned how this level is providing strong support like $52.31 did on Monday afternoon. It was a solid base and a springboard for both yesterday's and today's new highs. I am surely hoping that $53.35 doesn't replicate that pattern.
3:25 pm: TNA at the highs of the day. This is not what I expected today, based on my interpretation of multi-day charts. The odd thing is, the SPY is at the middle of its daily range. This reminds me of how TNA behaved in relation to the general markets during the March and April/May move up. It was unusually exuberant to the upside compared to SPY.
3:40 pm: TNA holding its perch just under the HOD, presumably to make a jump. My morning optimism has waned greatly, but the TNA and SPY daily charts still say the same things to me. A pullback is imminent. In fact, there is a doji on the SPY as I write this at 3:42pm. It also retreated from $166 resistance earlier in the day.
4:04 pm: TNA finished the day above both moving averages and in the top one-third of the daily range. Not at all what I was expecting. SPY actually broke out of the doji formation and ended the day slightly green but certainly off its high of the day ( HOD ).
============
I did add 2000 shares of TZA to the retirement account trade; 2000 shares at $27.64 in the 9:55 candle timeframe. This brings my average cost of 3000 total shares to $27.78.
Sold these 3000 shares at $28.02 in the 11:25 am timeframe. Gain of $960. Nice entry on these 2000 shares and nearly a perfect exit. I believe this is my largest single position gain ever.
July 9 ( $0 )
Down more as the markets climbed and TNA followed. Sure that this extended run was going to break so I added to my TZA long trade. Bought 1000 TZA at $27.79 and 1000 at $27.98. Digging a hole to possibly drown in but my review of daily charts finds that the odds of a breakdown are increasing a great deal. Not today however...
------------------
Also took long trade in TZA in the retirement account and am holding it overnight; 1000 shares at $27.78
------------------
More TNA chart research:
This 8-day run has one of the steepest climbs in the past few years; meaning very little pullback.
Two consecutive days of gap ups without filling.
Stochastic Oscillator on the daily historical chart using the 0 - 100 scale was over 98 in the pre-market and was at 96- 97 all day. Only twice since 2010 has TNA not resulted in a downturn allowing for a winner within 90 days when that level was reached. Most downturns gave opportunities for winners within two to four weeks.
Weekly charts shows two consecutive weeks of gap ups without filling. I looked back a few years at the weeklies and discovered that two consecutive weeks gapping up hasn't happened. And of the SINGLE weekly gap-ups that did happen, all but one have filled; including gaps in both up and down trends. The run up since June 24th is very rare in terms of raw momentum.
If Monday's daily chart gap-up is filled and I choose to hold my current position until then, I'll have a decent net gain from TNA and TZA.
------------------
Also took long trade in TZA in the retirement account and am holding it overnight; 1000 shares at $27.78
------------------
More TNA chart research:
This 8-day run has one of the steepest climbs in the past few years; meaning very little pullback.
Two consecutive days of gap ups without filling.
Stochastic Oscillator on the daily historical chart using the 0 - 100 scale was over 98 in the pre-market and was at 96- 97 all day. Only twice since 2010 has TNA not resulted in a downturn allowing for a winner within 90 days when that level was reached. Most downturns gave opportunities for winners within two to four weeks.
Weekly charts shows two consecutive weeks of gap ups without filling. I looked back a few years at the weeklies and discovered that two consecutive weeks gapping up hasn't happened. And of the SINGLE weekly gap-ups that did happen, all but one have filled; including gaps in both up and down trends. The run up since June 24th is very rare in terms of raw momentum.
If Monday's daily chart gap-up is filled and I choose to hold my current position until then, I'll have a decent net gain from TNA and TZA.
Monday July 8 ( $ 0 )
Found myself negative in the TNA trade from late Friday. Did not buy to cover.
---------
Bought 500 TZA at $28.50
---------
Bought 500 TZA at $28.50
Friday, July 5, 2013
July 5 ( Loss $76.74 )
At the very end of the day, I tried to scalp a 1000 shares short in TNA at $51.45. Covered half for the above-noted loss. Holding the other 500 shares for Monday. This really isn't the sort of trading I want to do, but my gut tells me a pullback is due after an eight day move up with a close so close to the high of the day.
Because this was a scalp. I'll be looking to cash this one out ASAP on Monday, especially if it is down near my target of $51 even. Potential slap in the face with no stop engaged, however.
---------
Because this was a scalp. I'll be looking to cash this one out ASAP on Monday, especially if it is down near my target of $51 even. Potential slap in the face with no stop engaged, however.
---------
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
July 3 ( $101.83 )
Short trading day with the market closing at 1:00pm in observance of the United States of America's July 4th Independence Day holiday.
=======
Two trades today in TNA. Both shorts into the primary move of the day. The first captured most of the 12:00 pm candle's pullback. The second trade was a sell at 12:23pm at $49.95; only four cents from the high print of the day. Both trades were nice entries. The first exit was timely. The second exit was far too soon, with the move I was playing reaching a low price of 49.34 at the 12:50 pm candle. I took 11 cents of the 61 cents available to me; 18%.
********************************************************************************
May blessings always fall on My Beloved Country; the noble and wise experiment in self-governance that originally chose to dismiss central authoritarianism in favor of representative republicanism. Trusting the people with their natural and rightfully inalienable rights, our founders put forth documents outlining the powers of the federal government and leaving all the rest for local authorities.
My maternal ancestors fought at Concord Bridge at the first battle of the American Revolution. Paternal ancestors arrived from Ireland and Germany in the 19th century and established a life carved out of the earth by blue-collar agricultural tenacity and hardship mostly unknown to people of our time. Grit, determination, perseverance- these are the qualities that defined most of those of the 1800's.
My late father was a World War II veteran of the United States Navy... sailing to Formosa (now Taiwan) to prepare for the invasion of the main islands of Japan when fortunately the nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war. He, like so many millions more of our fighting men and women are the reason why we have the life we have. And Independence day, like other days on the calendar, are directly attributable to them.
=========
The ideal still reigns despite her mistakes and missteps:
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
And the answer is still contained in the Preamble to the United States Constitution:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
=======
Two trades today in TNA. Both shorts into the primary move of the day. The first captured most of the 12:00 pm candle's pullback. The second trade was a sell at 12:23pm at $49.95; only four cents from the high print of the day. Both trades were nice entries. The first exit was timely. The second exit was far too soon, with the move I was playing reaching a low price of 49.34 at the 12:50 pm candle. I took 11 cents of the 61 cents available to me; 18%.
********************************************************************************
May blessings always fall on My Beloved Country; the noble and wise experiment in self-governance that originally chose to dismiss central authoritarianism in favor of representative republicanism. Trusting the people with their natural and rightfully inalienable rights, our founders put forth documents outlining the powers of the federal government and leaving all the rest for local authorities.
My maternal ancestors fought at Concord Bridge at the first battle of the American Revolution. Paternal ancestors arrived from Ireland and Germany in the 19th century and established a life carved out of the earth by blue-collar agricultural tenacity and hardship mostly unknown to people of our time. Grit, determination, perseverance- these are the qualities that defined most of those of the 1800's.
My late father was a World War II veteran of the United States Navy... sailing to Formosa (now Taiwan) to prepare for the invasion of the main islands of Japan when fortunately the nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war. He, like so many millions more of our fighting men and women are the reason why we have the life we have. And Independence day, like other days on the calendar, are directly attributable to them.
=========
The ideal still reigns despite her mistakes and missteps:
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer,James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer,James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
And the answer is still contained in the Preamble to the United States Constitution:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
July 2 ( Gain $161.72 )
Three trades of TNA in the IB trading account today resulting in three winners of 40.60, 26.00, and 95.12.
======
Sadly, I got out of my first trade too early after a great entry short; $50.22 at 11:49 am. Six cents below the high print of the day, at the start of the biggest trend move of the day... It's hard to get a better price than that. Based on that entry, I had $2.00 per share available to me; my gain was a meager 9 cents, 4 % of the total move. Plain foolishness... really.
======
I made a long trade in TNA from a retirement account and did not include it in the above totals. I took $339 on 1000 shares long at $48.32 during the 2:40 pm candle. Another good entry, going long only 11 cents from the low print of the day. I exited at about $48.65. Still early, it was a better exit than most I've performed in recent memory. This move allowed me up to $1.00 per share of gains had I traded it perfectly. I took approximately one-third of the trend as gain.
======
Sadly, I got out of my first trade too early after a great entry short; $50.22 at 11:49 am. Six cents below the high print of the day, at the start of the biggest trend move of the day... It's hard to get a better price than that. Based on that entry, I had $2.00 per share available to me; my gain was a meager 9 cents, 4 % of the total move. Plain foolishness... really.
======
I made a long trade in TNA from a retirement account and did not include it in the above totals. I took $339 on 1000 shares long at $48.32 during the 2:40 pm candle. Another good entry, going long only 11 cents from the low print of the day. I exited at about $48.65. Still early, it was a better exit than most I've performed in recent memory. This move allowed me up to $1.00 per share of gains had I traded it perfectly. I took approximately one-third of the trend as gain.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Helpful to Struggling Traders...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130627125522.htm
June 27, 2013 — Our daily routines can become so ingrained that we perform them automatically, such as taking the same route to work every day. Some behaviors, such as smoking or biting your fingernails, become so habitual that we can't stop even if we want to.
Although breaking habits can be hard, MIT neuroscientists have now shown that they can prevent them from taking root in the first place, in rats learning to run a maze to earn a reward. The researchers first demonstrated that activity in two distinct brain regions is necessary in order for habits to crystallize. Then, they were able to block habits from forming by interfering with activity in one of the brain regions -- the infralimbic (IL) cortex, which is located in the prefrontal cortex.
The MIT researchers, led by Institute Professor Ann Graybiel, used a technique called optogenetics to block activity in the IL cortex. This allowed them to control cells of the IL cortex using light. When the cells were turned off during every maze training run, the rats still learned to run the maze correctly, but when the reward was made to taste bad, they stopped, showing that a habit had not formed. If it had, they would keep going back by habit.
"It's usually so difficult to break a habit," Graybiel says. "It's also difficult to have a habit not form when you get a reward for what you're doing. But with this manipulation, it's absolutely easy. You just turn the light on, and bingo."
Graybiel, a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, is the senior author of a paper describing the findings in the June 27 issue of the journal Neuron. Kyle Smith, a former MIT postdoc who is now an assistant professor at Dartmouth College, is the paper's lead author.
Patterns of habitual behavior
Previous studies of how habits are formed and controlled have implicated the IL cortex as well as the striatum, a part of the brain related to addiction and repetitive behavioral problems, as well as normal functions such as decision-making, planning and response to reward. It is believed that the motor patterns needed to execute a habitual behavior are stored in the striatum and its circuits.
Recent studies from Graybiel's lab have shown that disrupting activity in the IL cortex can block the expression of habits that have already been learned and stored in the striatum. Last year, Smith and Graybiel found that the IL cortex appears to decide which of two previously learned habits will be expressed.
"We have evidence that these two areas are important for habits, but they're not connected at all, and no one has much of an idea of what the cells are doing as a habit is formed, as the habit is lost, and as a new habit takes over," Smith says.
To investigate that, Smith recorded activity in cells of the IL cortex as rats learned to run a maze. He found activity patterns very similar to those that appear in the striatum during habit formation. Several years ago, Graybiel found that a distinctive "task-bracketing" pattern develops when habits are formed. This means that the cells are very active when the animal begins its run through the maze, are quiet during the run, and then fire up again when the task is finished.
This kind of pattern "chunks" habits into a large unit that the brain can simply turn on when the habitual behavior is triggered, without having to think about each individual action that goes into the habitual behavior.
The researchers found that this pattern took longer to appear in the IL cortex than in the striatum, and it was also less permanent. Unlike the pattern in the striatum, which remains stored even when a habit is broken, the IL cortex pattern appears and disappears as habits are formed and broken. This was the clue that the IL cortex, not the striatum, was tracking the development of the habit.
Multiple layers of control
The researchers' ability to optogenetically block the formation of new habits suggests that the IL cortex not only exerts real-time control over habits and compulsions, but is also needed for habits to form in the first place.
"The previous idea was that the habits were stored in the sensorimotor system and this cortical area was just selecting the habit to be expressed. Now we think it's a more fundamental contribution to habits, that the IL cortex is more actively making this happen," Smith says.
This arrangement offers multiple layers of control over habitual behavior, which could be advantageous in reining in automatic behavior, Graybiel says. It is also possible that the IL cortex is contributing specific pieces of the habitual behavior, in addition to exerting control over whether it occurs, according to the researchers. They are now trying to determine whether the IL cortex and the striatum are communicating with and influencing each other, or simply acting in parallel.
"A role for the IL cortex in the regulation of habit is not a new idea, but the details of the interaction between it and the striatum that emerge from this analysis are novel and interesting," says Christopher Pittenger, an assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not part of the research team. "Thinking in the long term, it raises the question of whether targeted manipulations of the IL cortex might be useful for the breaking habits -- and exciting possibility with potential clinical ramifications."
The study suggests a new way to look for abnormal activity that might cause disorders of repetitive behavior, Smith says. Now that the researchers have identified the neural signature of a normal habit, they can look for signs of habitual behavior that is learned too quickly or becomes too rigid. Finding such a signature could allow scientists to develop new ways to treat disorders of repetitive behavior by using deep brain stimulation, which uses electronic impulses delivered by a pacemaker to suppress abnormal brain activity.
June 28, Friday ( Gain $6.58)
Made one trade, a short of TNA during the 10:30 am intra-candle pull back. This trade ended up as a break even (+ $6.58) effort. When I clicked Buy (to cover), the gain was near $30, but price jumped up just as I clicked, then continued up.
Mostly, I am trying to complete an important time-sensitive home project so my trading activities are limited presently. I hope to be back to it full time late next week.
Mostly, I am trying to complete an important time-sensitive home project so my trading activities are limited presently. I hope to be back to it full time late next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)