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Good Day, Not Great

December 6th, 2010

Today was another nice day. Despite the futures opening up huge in the morning we gapped huge and it was a natural selling spot.

Why was it a natural selling spot? We gapped to R4 on the open. That is either a ultra strong move or that is a nice gap to fade. It turned out to be a nice gap fade.

I started out taking profits in SOL, FSLR calls, and X stock position all before 10am.

I then bought TIE calls as I saw it regain its intraday pivot. They ended up blasting upwards and didn’t take the 45%ish gain when it was there. I held these after rechecking the daily/weekly charts plus the flyonthewall takeover chatter notice.

I did some more selling to lower risk and increase cash by cashing out the index funds 100%, sold CLF, JASO, and FCH all profitable of different proportions.

BYD was working well in a poor tape. <

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Tags: Day, Day Great

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(SMP) Standard Motor Products – Earnings Beat Estimates by 48%

December 6th, 2010

Standard Motor Products Inc. (SMP) is in a good position to benefit from the aging car population as Americans hold on to their vehicles longer. The company, which manufactures and distributes automotive replacement parts, recently reported strong third quarter results driven by solid top-line growth.

Estimates have been rising, too, sending the stock to a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy). With a 1.5% dividend yield and attractive valuation, there is a lot to like about Standard Motor.

Company Description

Standard Motor Products operates in two major segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control. Approximately two-thirds of sales come from the engine management division, with the other third coming from temperature control.

Standard Motor sells its products through the major auto parts stores, such as Advance Auto Parts (AAP), AutoZone (AZO), and O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY).

Third Quarter Results

Standard Motor reported third quarter earnings per share of $0.43, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 48%. I

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Tags: Motor Products, Products, Standard Motor, Standard Motor Products

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Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: $RF) Breakout! Yet Encountering Resistance Already?

December 2nd, 2010

Regions Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for the Regions Bank that provides a range of commercial, retail, and mortgage banking services in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. It offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, transaction accounts, money market accounts, and foreign deposits, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The companys loan portfolio comprises commercial and industrial loans, including financial and agricultural, and owner occupied mortgage and construction loans; investor real estate loans, such as commercial real estate mortgage and construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of residential first mortgage, home equity, indirect, and other consumer loans. Regions Financial Corporation, through other subsidiaries, also provides regional brokerage and investment banking products and services, such as securities brokerage, asset management, financial planning, mutual funds, securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment banking services, and trust services, as well as insurance brokerage services for various lines of personal and commercial insurance, including property, casualty, life, health, accident, credit-related insurance, and debt cancellation products.

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Tags: Financial, Financial Corporation, Regions Financial, Regions Financial Corporation

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(BBT) BB&T Analyst Upgrades Shares to Neutral

December 1st, 2010

We are upgrading our recommendation on BB&T Corp. (BBT) to Neutral from Underperform based on its balanced growth structure, continuous improvement in deposit mix and strong net interest margin (NIM).

BB&T’s third quarter 2010 adjusted earnings came in at 31 cents, a nickel ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Adjusted earnings for the reported quarter leave out merger-related charges of 1 cent per share. Considering this non-recurring item, earnings per share for the reported quarter were 30 cents compared with 23 cents in the year-ago quarter.

The results were primarily supported by improved mortgage banking income, checkcard fees, non-deposit fees and commissions and higher net interest income.However, higher provision for credit losses and increased non-interest expenses were among the negatives.

BB&T relies extensively on acquisitions to expand its revenue streams. Following the systems conversion of Colonial in the second quarter of 2010, the company is aspiring to be an active acquirer once the Southeast region experiences consolidation. The company also continues to employ a de novo growth strategy in certain markets. Si

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Tags: Neutral

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3 Concepts That Made Me A Better Trader

December 1st, 2010

1. Price is the decider – You hear Dennis Gartman saying if price is moving from the lower left to the upper right you want to be long. In a good market, its that easy. In a bad market reverse that concept.

Once you understand the concept of a trend and how to tell if a stock is in an uptrend, downtrend, or muddling nowhere, you can apply that knowledge to any chart.

The concept is easy, but for whatever reason it takes people years to understand it. It took me years to figure out that this was the way I traded best. Some traders never discover this simple concept. Some traders ignore it even when they are presented tremendous evidence of such a thing. Trust me I know these traders. Traders who are and have been short this entire up move in the market for over 120 SPX points. Don’t be that trader. Understand the simple concept of a trend and know that price is the truth.

2. Technique – Find a technique, scan, style, etc. that you can apply and reapply to find stocks, etfs, etc that you can trade regularly. This can take a long time or if you’re lucky it won’t. I have lots of techniques I use and took many hours, many years. Most thin

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“Economics 101″ Video Exposes Keynesian Consumer Spending Fallacy

November 30th, 2010

A Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation “Economics 101″ Video Exposes Keynesian Consumer Spending Fallacy.

“Keynesian stimulus schemes failed under Bush and now they are failing under Obama” said CF&P Foundation President Andrew Quinlan. “This new video hopefully will prevent similar mistakes in the future by helping people understand the importance of growth rather than redistribution.”

“Keynesian policy is based on the fallacy that you can become richer by taking money out of one pocket and putting it another pocket, but this is a zero-sum game that appeals to statists and other redistributionists,” added Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute. “Real economic growth occurs when we figure out ways to increase national income, which is why good policy means reducing the burden of government.”

Video Summary

Politicians and journalists who fixate on consumer spending are putting the cart before the horse. Consumer spending generally is a consequence of growth, not the cause of growth.

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Tags: Consumer Spending, Consumer Spending Fallacy, Fallacy, Spending Fallacy

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