My Portfolio

It has been a mighty long time since I have updated everyone on the state of my portfolio. Now that I have
been more active and focusing much more on my options trading. I am trying to stick to my rule where if I see
a 20% gain, I sell to crystalize the profits. I don’t always stick to it – which has gotten me into some trouble –
but I am now more inclined to be mentally strong. Especially after my GE fiasco. You’ll see.

Without any further ado! Here is a breakdown of all the option trades I have made since my very first.
September through today.

Tuesday Thoughts

A few of my thoughts as the work day progressed. Hopefully this will, at the very least, make you google something. 

For the last year it has seemed like the equities market is over-bought, too high, due for a correction, blah blah blah. It has been on my radar, seemingly with many other people as well. As we sprint into 2018 with a vengeance the market seems higher than ever and due for a setback. But are we?

Even though the major markets RSI’s are above 80 and there seemingly hasn’t been a down day since the start, 2018 is a year poised for continued growth.

Fourth Quarter Earnings

Two schools of thought.

1. "The new tax plan is going to lower the effective corporate rate and boost companies earnings. Repatriation will be big along with share buybacks, increased dividends, and other tools to increase EPS."
This was my first idea and I clung to it with vigor. I went in on depressed companies who would greatly benefit from this tax rate. GE in particular comes to mind. The first week of 2018 made me even more confident and I preached it like Joel Osteen.

2. "Remember, the first earnings report is going to be Q4. A number of companies are going to realize their tax bill will be much lower in 2018 and thus buy and expense as much as they can for the end of 2017. The beginning of the year is going to be poor."
My good friend, my much-smarter-than-me friend, pointed this out to me. The headlines are starting to show that the first earnings of 2018, which will be Q4 of 2017, are going to show a huge expense. GE is getting slammed, a few of the big banks say they are going to owe billions. The market looks poised to continue to increase but maybe earnings season number one will be slower than originally expected.

Friday Thoughts

Yield Curve
The yield curve has started flattening. When comparing January curve to December curve you can see a significant move towards horizontal. In some circles the yield curve is very impressionable.

     Why is the yield curve important and why is it [usually] sloping upward? Think about the Expectation Theory. For starters, yield is on the y-axis and maturity on the x-axis. Short term is inherently less risky meaning the interest you receive on bonds will be lower. When you start moving out - 10 years, 20 years, 30 years - the yield will increase to account for the risk of time. Most cases you'll see a fairly significant difference between the 10 year and the 30 year. Why, besides time risk?

Week of November 6th

Sunday - Since I forgot to say anything Friday, I'll start with my uninformed thoughts on the new Fed chair Jerome Powell. From what I heard, if you liked Yellen, then you'll like Powell. He seems to be a good continuation and has been Hawkish in 4 of the last 5 votes to raise rates. Meaning he voted to raise them. Which I think is a good thing. Especially when Janet had said that the Fed's goal is to return interest rates to normalcy. Looking at the big picture, normalcy is equal to about 3% or 4%.

If that is in fact the big-picture goal, then that type of mindset is important. There are signs pointing to a strengthening economy and there are signs pointing to an inflated, false high economy. If the thought is this is a strong and strengthening economy, then this is the prime time to raise interest rates. Inflation is still below the ideal levels - levels set forth by the Fed - which could be a reason for leaving them as is. But, in the event of another recession the go-to move will be to lower them again.
You can't lower them if there is nowhere else to go. I realize Germany went negative, but that shouldn't even be a thought. That just raises a whole crop of new issues.
 - The grey bars in the 'Fred' screenshot indicate recessions. Just by doing a quick once-over, you are able to see that, especially in the last 30 years, the reaction is to lower interest rates.

Week of October 30th

Monday & Tuesday & Wednesday - My portfolio is very sad now. My position in INFY is still pretty effed up from the spread. I was an idiot about CVS and it got worse. I checked this morning and saw it was down $192. Yes. At the end of the day though, it climbed to only down $169. #Nice. Except not at all.

That represents a fall of just about 50%. I am surprised it's only that bad. I didn't check all weekend after the tumultuous Friday and was expecting a fall near or around 70%/80%. Whew? CVS reports earnings in one week before market open and let me tell you, I am nervous. They have had a really rough year and even though they are expected to show growth I have a feeling it will be overshadowed by other things. Like their recent bid for insurer Aetna. At $200 dollars a share, for a total $66 billion+, they will likely have to take on debt and I don't think it is worthwhile. It looked like a retaliation move to the Amazon news the day prior. In two days, last Thursday and Friday, CVS fell a total of 9.81%. BRUTAL. Such an idiot.

I felt very ehh on Sunday, like poop on Monday, and came home with a fever yesterday. Which is why I am so delayed. Excuses, excuses I know. But, there they are.

More portfolio and actual market updates to come this week!