1.15.08 – Somedays it just pays to go skiing

Today was a crushing day for the averages: -35 in the S&P, 221 in the Dow, 13 in the RUT. Being a long only player would be murder. I am sure my 401k is on life support. I simply can’t believe that the government doesn’t allow 401k’s to have a hedge fund option. Not a stupid 10x leverage hedge fund, but rather a fund that could by puts to hedge against market collapses. Let the government protect us… frickin’ no thanks.
Fortunately I don’t have the same restrictions as my company 401k. My IRAs are self-directed, as are my brokerage accts.
And while skiing on the yesterday and today, I was fortunate enough to ski with some great people. What an absolute pleasure. Thanks guys and Vivian.

My phone was sending me trade alerts, as I was unwinding positions at predetermined prices. Sometimes it is good to be away from the desk and just let my plans unfold.
Over the past two days I unwound several positions:
QQQQ- I didn’t like the early price action I exited the Qs for a .15 loss. I was pleased to do it. I exited @ 47.43. The Qs closed the day @ 46.55. Taking a quick loss was the right call.
C- Rolled 1 unit of 27.5p calendar from Jan to Feb. I took in a .90 Credit. The initial cost of this Jan/Mar calendar was .75. So, the roll gave me a .15 profit guaranteed. I now am long the 27.5p Feb/Mar. I also have 3 units of the 25p Feb/Mar and 5 units of the 32.5c calendar.
AIG- sold 1 unit of Jan/Feb 55p for 1.55. Initially purchased for .53. I still have 6 units of this trade on. And I have added feb 45/50/55p butterfly recently.
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ECL – Exited this APR 50/45p spread for 1.80. I didn’t like the way this was acting, and a 50MA was supporting. I exited for a quick .25 profit.
EOG – Exited 85/75p for 2.25. I took a .55 loss. This made a huge move against me on monday. I was using this weakness to exit, and minimize my loss.
DSL- Sold 1 unit of DSL Feb 30/20 for 5.80 @ 22.95. On last week’s huge 20% rally, I entered a different put spread that has nearly doubled. I have done well on this spread (220%), although it was positive theta while going into the final month of trade. I would rather take some risk off the table, and substitute it with a lower priced spread Feb 25/17.5p for 1.60, now priced @ 2.80. My underlying price target is 19.75, and the spread price figures around $4.
SGMS – Exited this 1 unit Apr 30p outright for 2.90. I exited at my target Underlying price of 28.59. I bought this for 1.20 with the underlying @ 32.80. It was a nice return. There is still some downside to this stock. But I hit my target, and I will look for better entry levels.

I am getting somewhat concerned that the FED with get into the mix before their meeting, and cause a synthetic move in the MKT. I want to lighten my exposure, but my gut tells me that we have a long way to fall. I will be using Profit Source to continue to look for New Sells.
Currently I will benefit from upward movements in:
USB
C
XLE
ANR
Downward movements will benefit:
AIG
DSL
Sideways benefits:
DTV
SCHW
Currently I am sitting on 87% cash, it will be closer to 92% by week’s end (expiry). I don’t want too much directional risk while being away from the computer so much during the week. But I would like to find some good probability plays.