Graham Ketilson
Saskatoon, SK surviving since 2/6/2008

About me I am a journeyman autobody technician that worked my way up to be a manager of a bodyshop at a 4 line GM dealership and in 1989 I was in a automobile accident and have not been able to work since then. I have been taking a interest in the markets and want to learn more but have not been doing so good, Oh well thats life.





rank
14096
portfolio value
$79,249.39
-20,750.61 (-20.75 %)
avg. trades/day 1.03
total trades 114
trading days 111
>> upgrade to real-time quotes
Portfolio Performance $20,750.61
best position HWK $478.50
worst position GOOG $2,198.00
last trade PKX
Sharpe ratio -2.30 Trades Made 114/5000 Annualized Return -68.23 % Return -20.75 %




Write on Graham Ketilson 's Wall


  • Airboss61

    Just stopping by to say Hey.

    Looks like something is working this week.  Don't quite agree with trader mark.  Oil is not going down much more, enough turmoil in the world to support higher prices.  Many of the producers and service companies are ridiculously cheap right now...

    8/13/2008 7:40:28 AM
  • trader_mark

    Thats a tough story Graham. Seems like you like to keep yourself busy though, and that is great! I can't be a slave to the computer either, although I do put in my fair share of time on it (trading is ironic in that it is supposed to ultimately make you free, but I have found that it is totally opposite of that). My account suffered pretty bad today since I was away from the office all day. More importantly I didn't have stops in place (broke my cardinal rule). As a result I slipped pretty bad. I can respect blue collar work. I was a landscaper for 9 years, along with a blacktop guy, and bricklayer laborer. Now I repair medical equipment, after doing an 8 year stint in the Navy as an Electronics tech. Just remember that the primary trend is down right now. There is still lots of downside left. Look at some of the ultrashort ETFs (QID, MZZ, REW, SSG, DIO, DEE, SDS). Also, if anything can be taken away from today, that is that commodities are over. Don't catch a falling knife like I just did trying to call the bottom on those. Only way I would consider getting back in them would be on a STRONG volume reversal day.

    8/4/2008 8:46:25 PM
  • Bruster

    Hey Graham, thanks for adding me.  We Canucks have to stick together!

    8/4/2008 1:15:23 AM
  • plasticman

    The Indy Mac thing brings me to another important concept in investments.  Buy or sell what you know.  Every individual has some area of expertise that they know better than the average person.  The reason I shorted Indy Mac was that I had experienced several cases of overappraised home around that times.  I asked the bank underwriter, which bank in his opinion was the worst with overappraisals.  He said Indy Mac.  So I figured that when housing turned down from the bubble, banks that over appraised would get hurt the worst.  My thesis was right, but I was early.  At that time IM was doing a great job of improving earnings by cutting expenses, and mortgage write offs hadn't really started to kick in yet.

    7/29/2008 10:54:26 AM
  • plasticman

    I don't agree with the advice of don't leave a shorted stock on the table overnight.  You should have the same or even a higher conviction on a short than you do a long.  However, you do need to approach a short in a different manner.  I reccomend that you take the amount you would like to short and divide it by three.  Initially short that amount, then if it goes substantially higher, short another third, then the final third if it still goes up.  A couple of things to remember, stocks can trade on thin air a lot longer than you ever imagined.  You get marked to the market every day, so a short going against you can really hurt until the big pay off collapse.

    When I heard that Indy-Mac closed their doors a couple of weeks ago, I almost cried.  I shorted them back in January of 2006.  I covered very quickly when they reported improved earnings.  They peaked in April 2006.  I was just a little early.

    7/29/2008 10:48:36 AM
  • bullrush77

    never leave a shorted stock on the table over night. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow unless your in the financials or the house builders or airlines! :)

    7/28/2008 8:51:50 AM
  • bullrush77

    Investopedia.com

    Shorting a stock is you are hoping it goes down on negative news or earnings reports

    Going long is your normal stock buy or equity buy.

    7/25/2008 3:38:44 PM
  • Blueomicron

    Graham  check out the Technitrader.com site.  I took their position trader course which cost about $1,200.00 and was well worth the money.  Position trading is a more concervative style that does not have you glued to a computer all the time. Go to the site and they will send you a free into CD.  I am a disabled Vet and understand where your coming from in terms of wanting to be productive.  Good Luck Eric

    7/23/2008 3:43:50 PM
  • TruTax

    Yes I got both emails that you sent.  Nice to know you.  Look forward to hearing from you again.  I don't have much time today just wanted to let you know that I got your e-mails and I'll be talking to you again.

    7/23/2008 3:31:14 PM
  • Paul Brick

    Hi Graham, glad you set up a finance home page.  When you get

    seious, you can purchase real time quotes. Be sure and follow

    your stocks each night after trading. I don't waste time with

    losers, don't fall in love with stocks either, I made that mistake

    when I first began trading. Talk to you soon.

    Paul

    7/22/2008 11:52:44 AM