Ugly

Tough day. Started off looking OK, buyable, but then things went to hell in a handbag in the afternoon. Nothing feels better than stopping out though... stopping a loss feels so much better than taking a gain. I'm serious! Good night, guys.

Three Random Comments

Calling your wife "My Slender Reed" (in your best W.C. Fields' accent) doesn't fly when she's six months pregnant.

When you accidentally knock the cactus off the windowsill, don't try to catch it.

Don't be ashamed of listening to Fiction Factory's "Feels Like Heaven" on repeat for two hours straight.

Ameritrade Conference Call

I just listened to AMTD's Q4 earnings call. There was a question from a guy at Millenium Partners about how Ameritrade justifies a "30% premium" over Fidelity's "$8 price." Ameritrade management handled the question well and the hedge fund guy came across as a pushy jerk, which made me wonder, "How many shares is that putz short?"

Stocks to Watch for Tuesday, October 19

Bear Raids on the Bush Contract at TradeSports?

(I think George has more important things to do, and it really doesn't take much money to wipe all the bids out in a jiffy.)

E-mini Russell 2000 Symbol?

For some reason Quote.com isn't giving me any data for the E-mini Russell 2000 (EZ04Z), which is bizarre since it gives me the big contract (RL04Z) data without a problem. It isn't listed in the CME's Vendor Symbol Guide. Anyone know if they use a special symbol here? (Barchart.com has a very nice Commodity Symbol Lookup page, by the way.)

ADDENDUM: A kind reader and fellow Quote.com user wrote to inform me that the symbol is MR ... MR04Z. I'd also like to thank the dozens of people who wrote in to offer their own symbols, none of which worked, but I appreciate the effort.

Today's Trading Idea

The Diamonds play I featured yesterday is still very much valid, but Amazon caught my eye so I decided to feature it instead of repeating the DIA set-up. Initial risk in AMZN is around $1.60 (~4%) which is on the high side, but if price returns above $45 it should offer decent reward to risk. Judicious stop management should always reduce that initial risk pretty fast when the trade moves your way.

AMZN, Daily Chart

Chart of the Day -- Light Sweet Crude Oil futures, 30-minute Chart

It has been very profitable to buy the dips off the 30-min. chart over the last month, but that easy money may be at an end. The smart people I talk with agree that Crude has probably maxed out its wave 3 advance here, so we're going to be a little more careful now.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures, 30-minute Chart

Notable New Highs & Lows

In case you didn't notice, I've started to post a screenshot of a watchlist I call Notable New Highs & Lows. Many day traders focus exclusively on stocks that are making new highs and lows, which is smart... it's especially useful to combine your knowledge of the Unusual Suspects with the Notable New Highs & Lows. I'll probably lock this content up for Members Only at some point.

What Was the Gold Price Then?

Part of the Economic History Services website, which is a fun place to visit.

Time Magazine's 50 Coolest Websites

These are the sites out of the 50 listed that I use:

• Bloglines
  Used daily; websites without RSS feeds go unread.
• Google News
  Used daily.
• Securities & Exchange Commission
  I use this site from time to time, though its search function is crude at best.
• metacritic
  I use this site along with rottentomatoes.
• craigslist
  I use the London edition.
• Yahoo! Maps and Driving Directions
  Used for driving directions.