The Official MT Stockmarket thread :-)

pb if i paypal you a couple of thosand will you make me rich?

No, but you'll make me rich :-))

lol!

Hey PB,

I'd be wary about leaving trades open overnight at the moment. Little too risky for me, capital preservation and minimising risk should be high up on your agenda at the mo I would have thought!

How would you describe the way you trade?

Slightly off topic but tommorow i have a telephone interview for an asset managment company first stage jobby and it will be focused on equities can anyone recommend me anything to say or state that will make it look like i actually know what im talking about or recommend me a good page to start on the net.

Cheers Ras

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/help-and-advice/advice-banks/sectionIndex.html?in_advicepage_id=96&in_page_id=90


guide to investing and markets

.

teapot


Hey PB,

I'd be wary about leaving trades open overnight at the moment. Little too risky for me, capital preservation and minimising risk should be high up on your agenda at the mo I would have thought!

Yes mate I agree. I'm not keen on rolling over tbh; was banking on a recovery after hours. I guess the mindset's a little bit that I've held over from when I first started CFD trading back in October 07. I pretty much shorted the main indices and left them to run without checking too often. I could do this then, as there wasn't anywhere near the volatility seen in todays markets. I considered a 200 point move on the dow pretty sizeable. These days, a daily swing of less than 500 might be considered calm lol.


I have an account with cmcmarkets which allows after hours trading but I've found during fairly wild swings it can take an age (perhaps 20 or more seconds) to get a quote to close out. I appreciate that it provides a requote for me to then decide to accept or decline, but I want the requote more or less straight away. I'm trying paddypower and it does seem a little better, but the problem with this one is that it doesn't give a requote; after it thinks about my close request it will just tell me it is not possible at that price, so I have to fart about trying to close it again, and again, and again sometimes.

How would you describe the way you trade?

In these choppy times, very short term tbh. Trying to judge my stops to allow for the volatility yet allow for me to be comfortable with possible pain is pretty difficult. I look for chart signals to help make a decision. I'm by no means an expert and have much still to learn. I need to better get my head around Elliott Wave.

Yes regarding stops I have barely traded last 3 weeks due to such high volatility, although not really a rule as such I still have it written down at my trading desk, and it simply states "The markets will still be here tomorrow, will your bankroll?!"


As for elliot wave then it's not something I would ever try to use, although I can certainly make out patterns after they have happend, it doesn't allow me to make a prediction.

When people ask me how or what I do, I simply say that on occasion the price action will trend. I try to look for a trend and once started get on and then off before it has stopped, akin to jumping on a slide in the park 3/4 of the way up, and then jumping back off before you've hit the deck! I use sd to great effect in determining how big the trend is likely to be.

Where does the money you win come from Partyboy?

I mean, who ends up with less money if you do one of these 'shorts' and come out with a few grand or something.

First off great idea MT with this thread!!

I invest in mining/metals usually and small oil producers. Market is killing me at the moment in terms of paper losses but i realise that my investments are 12 months minimum.

Tuc said Aquarius Platinum but i would advise it as Platinum is really struggling at the moment, it definitely has a way to come down before its worth the buy. Like Tuc said about Rio Tinto though is a good move, its one of the major miners with its finger in a wide range of mining ventures however i would recommend BHP Billiton and Xstrata before Rio.

The industrial metals are taking a hammering at the moment. Most of my portfolio is in International Ferro Metals and i am 60% on when i bought, however the key is not to panic in this climate as both the fundamentals and balance sheet are better now than when the share price was at 150p (now 23p) so i see it as a potential tenbagger.

Paracelsus


Where does the money you win come from Partyboy?

I mean, who ends up with less money if you do one of these 'shorts' and come out with a few grand or something.

It's not a zero sum game mate, there isn't a 'loser' for every winner and vice vesa.  Your not cutting up a pizza

Basic discription of a short:

You borrow shares from someone else with a promise to return them at a later date.  For this you will pay them a fee.  Then you sell them at the current market price.  When you close this short, you buy the shares at whatever the market price is at the time.  If the price has dropped, you profit, otherwise you take a loss.

No-one does it this way usually, most will buy derivatives such as CFD's that achieve the same thing, but it's the underlying principle.

I like miners here, from a credit perspective these are now trading at all time highs in spreads, problem is that they keep going lower and with demand from places like china falling off a cliff, even the reduction in raw costs that these type of businesses endure are not enough to offset the fall in sales. I think they are a safe bet for a longer term investment, especially at these levels, but be prepared to take some pain through this volatile period.

I'm heavily long xstrata at the moment and it is causing me a world of pain!!!

JBRSS


First off great idea MT with this thread!!

I invest in mining/metals usually and small oil producers. Market is killing me at the moment in terms of paper losses but i realise that my investments are 12 months minimum.

Tuc said Aquarius Platinum but i would advise it as Platinum is really struggling at the moment, it definitely has a way to come down before its worth the buy. Like Tuc said about Rio Tinto though is a good move, its one of the major miners with its finger in a wide range of mining ventures however i would recommend BHP Billiton and Xstrata before Rio.

The industrial metals are taking a hammering at the moment. Most of my portfolio is in International Ferro Metals and i am 60% on when i bought, however the key is not to panic in this climate as both the fundamentals and balance sheet are better now than when the share price was at 150p (now 23p) so i see it as a potential tenbagger.

There is no such thing as a paper loss.
Nor is there such a thing as a potential tenbagger.

People have lost a lot of money holding the former and chasing the later.

I've always like miners, but we look to be at the end of the commodity cycle and they are driven by China alone now.  Bad news out of China = pain for miners.  Long term you might be OK, but earnings for miners can disappear if metal/ore prices drop.  Differences before economic and uneconomic mines are not that great (and I've been there before lol).

doomed. . .  were all doomed


'todays market prodiction was brought to you by the worlds media'

Firstly there is such thing as a paper loss, my holdings are much less than what i bought them at but i havent sold the shares so therefore i havent lost the money until there sold.

Secondly i see the potential of IFL with the long term demand for ferro metals, massive reserves and increased production to have my target price higher than 230p, so therefore thats 1000% increase and a tenbagger

Also population will continue to boom (set to rise to 7.5 billion by 2020) meaning that metals will be needed to accomadate. The LEDW is developing too at a much increased rate, after the financial markets have settled then there economies will grow much quicker

We all have our views and in the market people get it wrong but these massive drops in the market are a great opportunity to be buying in or averaging down your holdings like i will be doing in a week or so

I am also trying to get into investment with shares. Knowing what to buy is the difficult part. I have £1000 and was actually planning to get RBS's shares in the hope that their share price will go up in a few years from now.  Will this be wise or is there a chance to loose it all? 

JBRSS


Firstly there is such thing as a paper loss, my holdings are much less than what i bought them at but i havent sold the shares so therefore i havent lost the money until there sold.

Secondly i see the potential of IFL with the long term demand for ferro metals, massive reserves and increased production to have my target price higher than 230p, so therefore thats 1000% increase and a tenbagger

Also population will continue to boom (set to rise to 7.5 billion by 2020) meaning that metals will be needed to accomadate. The LEDW is developing too at a much increased rate, after the financial markets have settled then there economies will grow much quicker

We all have our views and in the market people get it wrong but these massive drops in the market are a great opportunity to be buying in or averaging down your holdings like i will be doing in a week or so

Average down is not an investment strategy, it's a suicide note.

Sorry to be blunt, but the markets are going to teach you some harsh lessons.  You'll be much better at this game if you take note.

JBRSS


Firstly there is such thing as a paper loss, my holdings are much less than what i bought them at but i havent sold the shares so therefore i havent lost the money until there sold.

Secondly i see the potential of IFL with the long term demand for ferro metals, massive reserves and increased production to have my target price higher than 230p, so therefore thats 1000% increase and a tenbagger

Also population will continue to boom (set to rise to 7.5 billion by 2020) meaning that metals will be needed to accomadate. The LEDW is developing too at a much increased rate, after the financial markets have settled then there economies will grow much quicker

We all have our views and in the market people get it wrong but these massive drops in the market are a great opportunity to be buying in or averaging down your holdings like i will be doing in a week or so

I'll try and be a bit clearer about where your going wrong with this (and, yes you are going wrong!).

There is no such thing as a paper loss unless you are paper trading i.e. not using money.  Your shares are only worth what they can be sold for on a given day, your loss is a real loss and you must never forget that.

I don't know much about IFL, but a simple question is what timeframe do you expect your tenfold increase to occur over?  Also, how did you calculate the target price?

As for 'average down' never, ever do this.  Cut your loss!  A time tested adage is 'cut your losses and let your winners run'.

If you are a long term investor (i.e. 5-10 year outlook) topping up core holdings on dips is a good strategy, but IFL is not a share to have as a core holding for this type of investment.

I've just brought my first shares this morning......Made a profit........22p! Abramovich watch out!