Downtowntrader

My Blog Has Moved to the Stocktwits Network

2011-02-09T23:21:00.003-05:00

Thank you for visiting. My Blog has moved to downtowntrader.com and is now a part of the Stocktwits Network. We have moved all of our content into the archives at the new site but I am leaving this site up due to the many sub pages still indexed by search engines. Thanks again for reading and I look forward to many more years of market commentary and trader education articles.Sincerely,JoeyFollow

Time to be Cautious

2011-01-02T22:06:00.004-05:00

While I am firmly in the camp that believes we have set a very important generational low, I have to say the market is starting to get ripe for a swift correction as it approaches some key resistance levels. Recently, I've noticed the level of bullishness on the stocktwits stream increasing and many sentiment indicators are revealing a similar pattern. While the current market still has some room

A few stocks still worth watching

2010-12-03T00:19:00.006-05:00

The markets have ripped higher the past two days and it has become increasingly more difficult to find stocks at decent buy points. Traders should always be leery of buying over extended stocks as an simple retracement could put them into a position of weakness. The last thing a trader wants is to buy a stock near a high, and then be forced to sell as the stock retraces in a normal manner.

Importing the Stocktwits 50 into Worden Telechart

2010-11-21T15:36:00.011-05:00

The Stocktwits team introduced the "Stocktwits 50" a few months ago which is a weekly list representing the stocks with the strongest fundamental and technical characteristics. While their methodology is proprietary, they focus on earnings growth, relative strength, and other technical ratings designed to filter the strongest stocks. Because the list is rebalanced weekly, they consistently have

Review of One Good Trade

2010-10-24T22:10:00.005-04:00

I have been a big fan of SMB Capital and Mike Bellafiore for several years after watching them on Wall Street Warriors and then following their trading blog, twitter account, and ultimately their shows on Stocktwits TV. I have always admired how well they are run as a prop firm and the dedication they show towards enabling the success of their traders versus the approach of other firms who are

Stocktwits 2010 Charity Poker Tournament

2010-10-17T00:02:00.003-04:00

Get ready for the Second Annual Stocktwits Community Members Charity Poker Tournament benefiting the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. The Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance is an organization dedicated to finding a cure for tuberous sclerosis while improving the lives of those affected. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in many different organs, primarily in

Trading a Narrow Range Setup

2010-09-29T22:25:00.003-04:00

As many of you who read my posts regularly know, I love trading narrow range setups. The primary reason for this is that I can greatly reduce my risk by stopping out as close to my entry as possible. This allows me to increase my risk versus reward as a multiple. In other words, if you are trying to limit yourself to trading opportunities with a minimum of 3:1 risk versus reward, it is much

What Traders can learn from Rafael Nadal

2010-09-15T22:13:00.003-04:00

As I was watching Rafael Nadal put away Novak Djokovich this Monday night to win his first US Open, I couldn't help but compare the qualities he has leveraged in improving his game to that of an aspiring trader. Nadal has literally willed himself into becoming the best tennis player in the world, amazingly enough, at a time when the best player possibly in history (Federer) is still in his prime.

Some Bullish REIT's

2010-09-13T00:18:00.008-04:00

I've written a few times over the past few months about how the REIT sector has continued to defy the bears by outperforming the general markets. As I was reviewing one of my bullish scans tonight I noticed these stocks continue to litter the top of this list. Despite the markets approaching some stiff resistance pretty soon, I continue to keep an open mind on stocks following through to the

Who Sets The Price Of A Stock?

2010-09-02T01:17:00.004-04:00

The following is a guest post from Vincenzo Desroches. Vincenzo started a financial and forex trading site after years of self taught investment and has had an interest in economics virtually his entire life.Stock Market speculation has produced thousands of millionaires in the 20th century. The historically unprecedented rise in the United States economy and equity markets during the last half

Focus on Strength

2010-08-25T23:36:00.004-04:00

I am going to preface this article by stating I don't think the markets are healthy right now. While I remain unconvinced that the markets are headed appreciably lower, I do think at best it will still take some time to absorb the recent distribution. Worst case, is that this is only the beginning of a larger decline but it is still much too early to make any assumptions. With that in mind I

Some Stocks Close to All Time Highs

2010-08-08T23:58:00.006-04:00

As I was running through charts this evening, I noticed that McDonald's Corporation (Public, NYSE:MCD) was trading very close to all time highs, which was impressive considering how weak the markets have been over the past few months. There is no sign of strength more certain than a stock trading at its highest point. Stocks trading at an all time high have no clear resistance overhead, as any

From Stalking to Buying

2010-07-22T22:53:00.004-04:00

I mentioned last week how I had been stalking a couple of stocks on the long side despite the market outlook looking bleak. I've always maintained that its good to be prepared for any move, and thus I wanted to have a few stocks that were showing relative strength just in case the markets surprised with a rally. While the markets are certainly not out of the woods, the S&P500 was able to close

Two Stocks I am Stalking

2010-07-16T00:12:00.003-04:00

I've been patiently waiting for the general markets to stabilize and have been very carefully picking my spots over the past several weeks. Despite the fact that I have been trading less frequently, I do continue to add potential longs to my watchlist. The general indexes are at an interesting spot here as the S&P500 pauses near its declining 50-day moving average. I can see multiple scenarios

3 Stocks off the beaten path

2010-07-07T23:17:00.005-04:00

In reviewing some screens tonight, I ran across three stocks that had pretty decent looking charts, yet were unfamiliar to me. While I recognize the tickers for a couple of these, I can't remember ever trading these or even adding them to my watchlist. Sometimes these unknown stocks can move well if you catch an institution sneaking in, but they also come with their caveats. Each of these are

The importance of a trading thesis

2010-07-07T00:58:00.003-04:00

The past few weeks have been one of my least active string of weeks as far as swing trading goes in the past year to year and a half. While the markets have presented ample day trading opportunities, I've found that I've only found a few 1-3 day windows in the past 2 months worth attacking. I'm sure long time followers on my twitter account have noticed my decreased updates, and this is directly

Talk Your Book - SVM

2010-06-17T21:40:00.003-04:00

I recorded a video for Stocktwits TV's "Talk your Book" show this week and the stock I chose was Silvercorp Metals Inc. (USA) (Public, NYSE:SVM). I mentioned on the show how I've been bullish on Gold, and Gold did in fact run to new all time highs today. While I've been bullish on gold, and own a gold miner, I also think Silver should begin playing catchup. The gold/silver ratio is still

Stocks Trending Higher

2010-06-10T23:01:00.007-04:00

The current market has been punishing the vast majority of stocks as it corrects a rally that stretched over a year in length. Corrections are healthy for the markets and there is no denying that they were getting ahead of themselves a few weeks ago. While the chance for a much longer and deeper correction exists, there is no evidence yet that this is nothing more than a typical run of the mill

All it takes is one bad trade

2010-05-31T23:29:00.003-04:00

I received an email from a reader asking for advice on a position that got away from him and he was commenting on how overall, he was trading very well, but this one stock set him back several weeks. One of the first thoughts that came to my mind is how important it is to be consistent as a trader. All it takes is one blow up to damage a trading account, reverse several good trades, or even ruin

Overheated Solars

2010-05-19T23:39:00.004-04:00

While I'm not convinced the markets have bottomed, the conditions are starting to become ripe for some short squeezes. Sometimes a short squeeze only lasts for an intraday spurt and other times it can last a few days. Although I don't often day trade, I will be more than happy to exit intraday if I can catch a quick move.One group that may be setting up for a short squeeze opportunity is the

The Short case for Potash

2010-05-14T00:11:00.004-04:00

The fertilizer stocks have really been weak over the past two months. Monsanto Company (Public, NYSE:MON) has just been am absolute train wreck and The Mosaic Company (Public, NYSE:MOS) has also been pretty sorry. One stock I have been watching for a breakdown in sympathy is Potash Corp./Saskatchewan (USA) (Public, NYSE:POT). I have been short this stock a few times over the past couple of weeks

This ain't normal

2010-05-06T23:03:00.003-04:00

I was having a conversation recently with a friend about how the markets were normalizing after two years of abnormal price movement. If you really think back, the past two years have seen a stock market decline of historic proportions, and a relentless, although quite measured rally back to correct a portion of the decline. Some indicators like t2108 (stocks trading above their 40-day moving

HPQ buying Palm is a win

2010-04-29T01:15:00.006-04:00

HP buying Palm is a big win..... for consumers. If Hewlett-Packard Company(Public, NYSE:HPQ) is serious about integrating Palm's Web OS into all sorts of devices then this could really throw a monkey wrench in Apple and Google's dominance in this area. I am leaving Blackberry out of this because I think this deal has nothing to do with the cell phones. HP bought a great OS and as a consumer I can

Dollar Financial attempting a breakout

2010-04-22T00:28:00.003-04:00

While I was writing my column for Investopedia this week on Credit Service companies, I kept looking back at Dollar Financial Corp. (Public, NASDAQ:DLLR). DLLR is an international financial services company serving banked and unbanked consumers. The Company provides a range of consumer financial products and services consisting of check cashing, single-payment consumer loans, longer-term

Talk Your Book - NUS

2010-04-15T22:53:00.003-04:00

I recorded another video for the Stocktwits Talk Your Book show last night. Although I typically choose stocks that are still at decent entry points, I chose Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (Public, NYSE:NUS) because although it had a sharp move already, it looks like it could just be the beginning of a larger trend move higher. I also chose it because it is following a pattern I am seeing quite