Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The Bloodbath

The two trading days around this past weekend showed declines in all areas of the market, from the Dow and S&P 500 to bonds, the price of oil, gas and even gold! All I can say is, 'what tha?' If the money's coming out of equities, why is it not going to bonds or gold?

A few weeks ago I jumped out of a lot of my holdings, thanks to trailing stops. I checked my own meager portfolio to see that the few bets I'm holding onto right now are bleeding me: my small stake in Chinese-owned General Steel, my retirement savings in the S&P 500, and my bearish bet against Coventry Healthcare. To add insult to injury, after holding (and dropping) Countrywide for 18 months, I see it now reaching new heights that it never could rise above during my tenure. This is the kind of stuff that kills the weak of heart... and stomach. But only if you drop out now.

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