What a day yesterday was! Here’s a short list of the big events that were announced yesterday:
– Alexandre Vinokourov was busted yesterday for doping in Le Tour de France (a cyclist doping- no surprise)
– Lindsay Lohan getting busted for doping (a spoiled young movie star on drugs – no suprise)
– My blog was down for about 4 hours (I know, the world was on the edge of their seat while my POS hosting company, iPowerWeb, worked it out)
– The Dow dropped 226 points (Top of its trading range and more subprime woes – no surprise)
As a new day dawns, Le Tour rolls on, Futures are up, Hollywood continues to honor young, high actors and my blog is back up. All we had to do was sleep it off for a night.
The two most important items to me of the four above, after my blog being back up, are the movement of the market and the continuation of Le Tour. I read other blogs and comments on ESPN about Vinokourav getting busted. I’m not sure why so many are surprised. It’s a dirty sport and until the tests get better many riders will continue to try to beat the system. That doesn’t mean it’s time to stop watching Le Tour or stop being a fan of the event. That’d be like all of us investors stopping our reading of the ticker tape when Martha Stewart got busted for insider trading. Yes, it happens and sucks for those of us who play by the rules to see someone making more money and “winning” more because they are taking shortcuts.
The stategy behind winning a three week cycling event is of greater importance than doping just as is the strategy needed to make money in the market over the long term is over one insider trade. Any of us can have a good day, but to avoid big losses in a crash (Vino crashed and lost time the first week of Le Tour, Lance Armstrong never did get hurt in his seven victories even if he doped) one needs to be vigilant at all times and keep one’s head in the game. Even a brief distraction after an ill-timed move can create havoc in a portfolio or race. Had I bought a bunch of calls prior to yesterday I would have taken a major spanking in the pull-back yesterday. Instead, I only had a couple of long stocks I owned and a few naked puts OTM. Based on my chart I posted on Monday, I didn’t see a huge near-term upside to the market as a whole (AMZN is bucking the mass trends) and didn’t write any new options after expiration. That kind of sensible strategy is what keeps me in the investing game. Don’t get me wrong, you have to take some chances. Levi Leipheimer has proven that. He hasn’t taken any chances and without any attacks he might not even make it to the podium this year, but his 24 year old teammate, Alberto Contador, has taken calculated risks and is in second place, with a strong shot of winning the entire race.
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