Taking Stock: For the Short Term

I have been learning how to do short-term trading, with the aid of the now infamous Dan Fitzpatrick and his website, StockMarketMentor.com.

Making a great trade on Ashland (ASH). I got in at around $13, and am making enough to pay a month of rent.

Chicago Mercatile Exchange (CME) has yet to pan out for me.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is doing nicely, especially today. It seems to be going the same way as Ashland, but maybe that is just wishful thinking.

There seems to be a commonality between multiple stocks, in that they are moving higher in a big way, banging up against their upper bollinger bands. Of course I am not complaining, but only making an observation. The broad market also seems to be inching its' way higher each day, but there are some doubts as to if it will lead to a brand new bull market. I doubt it also. The financials appear to be making steps toward improvement and getting at least somewhat healthier, but apparently they are not lending yet.

I couldn't help but think when I heard the earnings news for Wells Fargo (WFC), "Earnings surprise? How is it a surprise? They were not a part of the sub-prime lending scheme".

I made another interesting observation, in that there is a prominence and popularity amongst the activity in residential housing auctions, like ZetaBid.com. The thing that caught my attention is that the banks have the ability to auction off a considerable portion of the "bad assets" (not necessarily MBS) that they have on their books within a month or so. It isn't necessarily a new idea, but the idea under the current conditions and causes to those conditions makes it noteworthy.