Sunday, February 26, 2006

Long/Short Candidates - 2/24 Close

Bleah. One of those days where nothing looks right for me. Monday will be better.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Long Candidates - 2/23 Close

A couple of short candidates showed up today, but nothing worth looking at.

BUY: LHO. Great move, great volume after a loooonnnggg horizontal move. Sell target at $41.96. (Why are all my recent sell targets crossing $10 resistance points?)

BUY
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
FRT
68.80
72.24
70.17
1.9%
CBSS
50.19
52.70
50.37
0.4%
CG
48.60
51.03
48.58
-0.04%
LHO
39.96
41.96
39.96
0.0%





PASS
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
BUCY
62.55
65.68
63.47
1.5%
CP
51.07
53.62
51.53
0.1%
LECO
46.73
49.07
46.56
-0.4%

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Long Candidates - 2/22 Close

Before I get to the candidates for tonight, a mention that nothing has hit the short screen on the last three sessions. Could there be a pullback coming in an overbought market?

Big up day for the market. I'm rejecting 42 candidates tonight, so instead of showing all the reasons, I'm just going to post one typical pass.

Pass: LECO. The retrenchment period is too short to support a 4.92% gain in one day.
BUY: CBSS on big up and big volume after a three month retrenchment. Sell target at $52.70.
BUY: CG, although volume doesn't floor me.

BUY
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
FRT
68.80
72.24
70.00
1.7%
CBSS
50.19
52.70
50.19
0.0%
CG
48.60
51.03
48.60
0.0%





PASS
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
BUCY
62.55
65.68
63.53
1.6%
CLI
45.10
47.35
47.56
5.5%
CP
51.07
53.62
52.48
2.8%
LECO
46.73
49.07
46.73
0.0%

I said:
Pass: CLI. I love it on 2/15. Now, I'm worried that there's only 30-40 cents before resistance.


I meant $2.40 before resistance. Wow. I missed the boat on this one, but I still feel like 2/15 was a much better entry point.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Long Candidates - 2/21

Pass: CP on short retrenchment and not-so-great volume.


BUY
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
FRT
68.80
72.24
68.87
0.1%





PASS
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
BUCY
62.55
65.68
63.60
1.7%
CLI
45.10
47.35
46.76
3.7%
CP
51.07
53.62
51.07
0.0%

OBT for 2/21

New article for the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) on how to land the Cirrus. No matter how I write it, 3/4 of the readers will disagree fundamentally. I'm going to go for readability vs. hard facts. At least maybe I can get some to skim it and find some tips.

New Jimmy Doane Show is Up

If you haven't heard the Jimmy Doane Show, yet, clear some time out of your life for a fest. Once you listen to one, you have to listen to them all. Highly addictive and funny; I make copies on CDs and give them to friends!

Monday, February 20, 2006

OBT for 2/20

Same OBT as yesterday. Not hard, not time consuming, just didn't get it done yesterday.

New Link

Zillow.com link added to the sidebar. They've still got a ways to go, but what they have in the database is incredible. This will be (already is) a great tool for real estate investors.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Pay Attention to Your Front Line

Someday, someone will have to explain to me how auto parts stores stay in business. Given the sheer weight of inventory they have to keep on the shelves of every store, the markup must be huge (just to pay the cost of storing the part, let alone to make a profit on it)! With rent, payroll, utilities, and insurance, I can't believe auto parts stores are profitable, let alone make enough profit to pay back the costs of opening new stores.

I have four, shall we say, project vehicles in the pipe right now. A '57 T-Bird, a '67 Mustang, a '72 United warehouse tractor, and a '91 Cavalier. As you can expect, I'm spending a considerable amount of time (and money) in auto parts stores right now. Here are four interactions with the front line personnel I've had in the last week:

Store A - Parts needed: points, condenser, and spark plugs for the Chrysler Industrial on the tractor. On walking in the store, I noticed there was no cashier. I stood by the parts desk for a couple of minutes before one of the three clerks noticed me and strolled over. After establishing that he has no way of just going to the shelf and picking up the points and condenser I needed (and had the part numbers for) without a make and model of vehicle, he brought six spark plugs out. I opened the closest box to me and showed him that the spark plug in the box was not the right spark plug, and was used to boot. The clerk took the plug from me, looked at it, threw it down on the counter, yelled "What the f...", and stormed off to find the parts manager.

Store B - Parts needed: points and condenser for the tractor. I know the drill in this store, so I knew which clerk to go to right away. While he went to look for the parts in the back, another customer walked up to the next line (I've made this mistake before, so I knew what was going to happen). The two clerks assigned to that desk finished their conversation a minute or so later and acknowleged the customer, who asked for brake shoes. Now, it's not marked, but this desk is strictly for paint customers, so the customer received the "Oh, one of these other guys will help you," line. The clerks then went back to talking while the customer stood there bewildered. Understand, he and I were the only customers in the store, and there were eight clerks working the desks; I left five minutes later and still no one had offered to help the other customer.

Store C - Parts needed: points and condenser for the tractor. Getting smarter, I asked the parts clerk for points and condenser for a '59 Dodge truck (the tractor thing was just confusing people). A few minutes later I finally had my points and condenser, so I decided to see what else I needed in the store. I loaded my arms with towels and a box of rags; the clerk appeared out of no where and said, "Here, let me take those up to the register for you," leaving me with empty arms to grab more "essentials" off the shelves.

Store C (again) - Parts needed: a headlight switch for the Mustang. The parts clerk brought two separate parts out of the back to let me see which one I wanted. I selected the right part, we moved to the register, and the clerk asked, "How did those points work?"

All three of these stores have managers. One of the managers is paying attention to the front line personnel and how they treat the store's customers. In that business, the extra mile by the front line may be the difference between sucess and failure.

Today's OBT

My One Big Thing for today is to get Bloody Mary Breakfast up and running. BMB is going to act as a good test blog. I don't want a personal diary, but I would like to use it to show how I use the actions and concepts I advocate on a day-to-day basis. We'll see...

Owning vs. Renting

David Bach's Automatic Millionaire Homeowner is getting very good reviews. Here, he gives five outstanding reasons why owning is better than renting, even in high-priced markets.

5. Homeowners Become Savers

Each time you make a mortgage payment, you're saving money. That's because with each payment you're reducing your loan balance a little -- and that, in turn, is building your equity. (This assumes you don't have an interest-only loan.) The longer you're in your home, the more equity you build, the more you save -- and the richer you get.

David's list is home economics 101, but well worth reminding yourself about. What he doesn't add to #5 above is, you don't have to buy all the house you can qualify for. It's true! You can just buy the home you need, and use the extra money that would've gone to the mortgage payment and invest it elsewhere (including buying another house).

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Long Candidates - 2/17 Close

Pass: BUCY on big volume. Recent retrenchment period too short, but it may be a good buy if it pulls back to the lower trend line.
Pass: CLI. I love it on 2/15. Now, I'm worried that there's only 30-40 cents before resistance.

Buy: FRT. New high on 412k volume. Rising Pennant? Sell target at $72.24, but may see phsych resistance at $70.


BUY
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
FRT
68.80
72.24
68.80
0.0%
PASS
Entry
Exit
Current
Change
BUCY
62.55
65.68
62.55
0.0%
CLI
45.10
47.35
45.10
0.0%