I thought I’d just take a few days off from this blog last March when my father was in need of hospitalization,  while all the time I was investing and writing, I talk about my children as my prime motivation and taking up much of my time, energy and finances.  Now in addition to being a mother,  I had to be the daughter caring for an ailing parent.  So as much as I want to write and share what I learned,  I thought other investors / readers can live without me for some time.   So yes, dropped the  investor-author-writer-speaker gig for a while.

Still, I was watching the market, looking for  opportunity, tempted many times to open a short-term position,  but decided with all the unpredictable schedule and stress  in the hospital (being the decision-maker among other decision-makers LOL)  I am better off just getting out of the market.

But all is not lost, these are my 2 big  investing learnings:

1. We. Will. All. Get. Old.  (supply is big and growing!)
2. We will spend big on health care  (whether we like it or not)

I now have a new appreciation for the healthcare sector  🙂   plus it has a very nice looking upward trending chart for the sector quarterly earnings per share.  Look here :   https://www.yardeni.com/pub/peacocksp500.pdf

Now, I am reminded to update this blog as I wanted to share a little bit of what I read with the lady  CEO of PepsiCola Indra Nooyi saying “women can’t have it all”.   There I  was feeling relieved,   I am not the only woman letting people down. Ms. Nooyi says “she’s not sure her daughters will say  that she’s been a good mom”.  She says you just die with guilt.   And she’s  got a lot of ways to cope – have family help out, get paid help.   I get a lot of emails from many women saying they are busy moms  or professionals or business persons but still want to invest.   Many think it is something they can easily do on the side,  I say “not to scare you, but learning this and doing it  for consistently good income is hard”.   Aside from being disciplined,  you would have to dig deep WHY you want to do this.  For me,  the WHY is so much bigger for — for the future of my children and my older self   🙂

So invest money wisely, as well as on our health and good life.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/

http://www.businessinsider.com/pepsico-ceo-women-cant-have-it-all-2014-7

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US stockmarket hitting record highs again, courtesy of Walmart and because this is a consumer stock pointing to the “spending health” of the American consumer, almost all sectors were in the green. As we discuss in our workshops, some sectors are just going to have a good run more than others. With record highs happening almost every week, people are bound to ask, are we getting a reversal anytime soon? FB which had a good run has not been moving much in the last few days, normally they’d do a good jump any given day. AAPL which notched another record had been a slow-starter before making the climb for the rest of the day, but you can see in the chart it is getting some selling action already within the day. Also check the volume, those are signs of the willingness of the people to make a buying commitment. So there are two things I thought about when thinking of a position in one of the banking stocks:

• Bullish trade – premarket indicators OK, I could buy the stock, however, the highest price achieved was only 20c or so away, we have to consider how much more the stock could appreciate in value. If the breakout has happened already, is there a new catalyst being seen, could they benefit from the earnings performance of other sectors, e.g. consumer stocks and banking stocks (due to credit card business etc).
• Bearish trade – possible as prices are at the top range, but the closing prices have not gone lower, so no sell signal yet.

I am asked “When will the rally end” — as investors/traders we are always keen to know or be able to “predict”. In our workshops we discuss predicting or having an idea of where the market is headed, in a 3-point question based on Dr. Tharp’s Model. But really no one can tell for sure, what “price level” ie. we stop at DOW 21,000 given the inefficiency of the market, really, the rally ends when it ends. What we need to consider is can you afford the risk and is it well worth the reward. And in the US market, while there will always be volatility, there are more record highs in the horizon.

So if you want another income stream, or boosting your investments returns, consider investing/trading on the US market using stocks and options. I spent roughly 2 hours (spread in 3) days to study an investment/trade, monitor it lightly (with my system that I teach) and exit with profits. Of course, one has to learn to invest and so I am happy to offer my back-to-back workshops with specific and actionable ideas “Invest Right Foundation Workshop” and “US Investing Workshop”,,,, some of the topics include:
— Systems that generates profits (which you can adopt or customize)
— Avoiding the “Loss Trap”
— Investment Mindsets and Discipline
— Market Movers
— Developing your Edge (US Investing)
— Income Investing using Options (US Investing)

These will be in Manila on March 4. Email charmel@highheeledtraders.com to reserve your slot and avail of the Early Bird Rates!

To learn more about the workshop topics – please visit this link :

http://highheeledtraders.com/2015/11/20/current-workshops/

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I was right! As posted on Monday, I was positive for a rally and here we had another rally to record highs (next day!) in the US with US Fed Chair signalling rate rise soon, but gradually and strengthening economic activity (that has nothing to do with Trump admin measures as yet). She mentioned “gains in consumer spending, household income and American wealth are sustaining economic growth” as well as global crisis events healing. It was happiness in a speech. As I’ve posted in earlier my blog posts banks will be sure winners of this rate rise move, so I have taken a position last Monday with BAC breakingout of its range early in the day. BAC and banks powered on with even Goldman rising to pre-crisis records, with the Yellen speech.

So is this rally going to continue? It will, though yes, we’re going have some bumps and lurches with the Trump admin actions, and expect people to take profits. Today there will be more data coming out — on consumer spending (via the Retail Sales report) and CPI to bolster that Fed rates outlook. Although, I think both data may just add a little bit more to the values of stocks. The indices might even give the rally a rest.

In other news, Warren Buffett, the famed billionaire investors in their SEC filing had just been revealed to have loaded up on airlines (take note about 3 airlines) and a “yuge”stake (triple) on AAPL which is vote of confidence on where these stocks are headed and the economy in general, since air travel is one of those things that require a whole lot of spending money or shall we say loads of discretionary income. Remember he says he does not go in and out of investments quickly so it looks like he thinks oil prices are staying where they are or not very high. (Remember, with the US extracting its own oil and Iran back online now that the world is practically swimming in oil.) Plus, stronger dollar means more buying power / cheaper oil.

So if you want another income stream, or boosting your investments returns, consider investing/trading on the US market using stocks and options. I spent roughly 2 hours (spread in 3) days to study an investment/trade, monitor it lightly (with my system that I teach) and exit with profits. Of course, one has to learn to invest and so I am happy to offer my back-to-back workshops with specific and actionable ideas “Invest Right Foundation Workshop” and “US Investing Workshop”,,,, some of the topics include:
— Systems that generates profits (which you can adopt or customize)
— Avoiding the “Loss Trap”
— Investment Mindsets and Discipline
— Market Movers
— Developing your Edge (US Investing)
— Income Investing using Options (US Investing)

These will be in Manila on March 4. Email charmel@highheeledtraders.com to reserve your slot and avail of the Early Bird Rates!

See below for the latest and the greatest in market news!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-13/asian-stocks-to-extend-global-rally-as-bonds-drop-markets-wrap
Buffett loads up on airlines, Apple http://www.reuters.com/article/us-investment-funds-buffett-idUSKBN15T2VJ
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN15U02D
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-testimony-idUSKBN15T1ZY
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-14/yellen-sees-more-rate-hikes-needed-if-economy-stays-on-course
https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-02-15/buffett-turns-from-oracle-to-arb-with-monsanto-wager

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Surprise! US stocks rallying to records again last week, (like the previous week’s cautious mood didn’t even happen!) So much excitement (drama?) in store for investors with the Trump admin. So we can say the tide of sentiment has changed, a bit, not fully optimistic since Trump is churning out policy after policy (via Twitter!). Like what I said the other post, the upside moves possible could be from their campaign promise of tax reform and Trump must have taken my cue, coming up with the statement of “phenomenal” tax reform to come out in a “few weeks”, so some positive sentiment is here. I just noted that the two days that the “phenomenal tax reform” was still in the air, the Indices rallied but the component stocks are not the same as the rallies of old. Banks didn’t move as much, the same with tech (AAPL, MSFT, FB titans not moving much), so just to qualify the rally last week, the indices were pushed by select industries, so I’d stay away from those that have high valuations already and stick to the ones with growth, low-valuation and preferably in favorable position in Trump’s agenda.

By the way, our girl at the Fed is testifying this week, I’ve been skimming news articles saying that like what they said (or didn’t say!) in their last meeting — there is no commitment when or any timeframe for that rate rise people are told to expect, it might still be in the cards in March. Inflation and Retail Sales readings are also out this week, so if they are both up, those are good news right? It is certainly the kind of news I’d like to hear — people are spending and buying goods that companies make that can continue employing people, and that’s a good thing. Last week, UK parliament pushed that Brexit is happening (so much so that a potential France Exit or “Frexit” is not so scary anymore), Japan data came out with “moderate growth” (that is so big for deflation-plagued Japan). So by all indications, we are positive for some more rallies / record highs this year.

Monday is quiet on the economic news. Maybe there will be profit-taking ,,,with that North Korea missile event over the weekend,,,, and maybe thereafter positioning for the next few days … so keep watching. Below is a good video talking about gold, the global optimism.

So for those of you on the lookout for another income stream, consider trading on the US market using stocks and options. I spent roughly 2 hours (spread in 3) days to study the trade, monitor it lightly (with my system that I teach) and exit with profits. Of course, one has to learn to invest and so I am happy to offer my back-to-back workshops with specific and actionable ideas “Invest Right Foundation Workshop” and “US Investing Workshop”,,,, some of the topics include:
— Systems that generates profits (which you can adopt or customize)
— Avoiding the “Loss Trap”
— Investment Mindsets and Discipline
— Market Movers
— Developing your Edge (US Investing)
— Income Investing using Options (US Investing)

These will be in Manila on March 4. Email charmel@highheeledtraders.com to reserve your slot and avail of the Early Bird Rates!

Check out the details in this link!

Current Workshops

Economic Calendar here :
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/economic-calendar

Bloomberg video here :
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-12/asia-set-to-extend-global-equity-rally-yen-slides-markets-wrap

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Just in! Trump sends a letter to Chinese Premier Xi seeking constructive ties. Ahhhh a breath of fresh air from the fireworks with the new US President. For sure I am one of many taking a very cautious view of the financial markets because of US politics.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-china-idUSKBN15O06E

I’ve been seeing more headlines come up about funds going to safe haven assets and the “Trump Rally” stalling. There is also the news coming out of Europe about another potential move out by France or “Frexit”. The last good news about the NASDAQ reaching record highs last week — I noticed that the gains were not broadbased, meaning only a few companies were pushing up the index. Also with company earnings being reported, the moves might be bigger but no one can guarantee it will keep going, and some people are saying with the “rally” having pushed prices, how far could it still go? So just keep close tabs ok… I am certainly watching gold.

Nonetheless, there are surprises to the upside, we have seen the banking sector get a boost with the move to deregulate the industry,,, and we are waiting for some news about infrastructure plan / spending and tax reform which are both on the table with Trump admin.

I ended my US session early since it was the 3rd day of my open position in BAC. I bought a Put Option at the $23 strike price, which I bought when the price had not gone up the Resistance of 23.35 level, I got in at 23.25 with 15c, this is a very low risk trade given the cautious sentiment prevailing, and yesterday, the stock moved down to 22.55 which is around the Support level. I closed the trade right away, having decided there is little to gain from having the trade open at its Support with 46c premium (.46-.15 = .31 or close to 200% gain after fees). True enough, the stock had dipped just a little further to 22.45 but it closed at 22.67.

So for those of you on the lookout for another income stream, consider trading on the US market using stocks and options. I spent roughly 2 hours (spread in 3) days to study the trade, monitor it lightly (with my system that I teach) and exit with profits. Of course, one has to learn to invest and so I am happy to offer my back-to-back workshops with specific and actionable ideas “Invest Right Foundation Workshop” and “US Investing Workshop”,,,, some of the topics include
— Systems that generates profits (which you can adopt or customize)
— Avoiding the “Loss Trap”
— Investment Mindsets and Discipline
— Market Movers
— Developing your Edge (US Investing)
— Income Investing using Options (US Investing)

These will be in Manila on March 4. Email charmel@highheeledtraders.com to reserve your slot and avail of the Early Bird Rates!

Check out the details in this link!

Current Workshops

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The other day, my daughter was telling me about this particular character in Harry Potter and I said, “Dumble who?”. And she said, Mom how can you not know about Harry Potter? I said, “Oh because at the time it was all the rage, I’m quite busy with learning all I could about investing.”
But I admit sometimes I have thought of quitting investing and finding something else (more fun) to do. Yes, I’ve thought of quitting investing / trading many times. I’ve been “doing” things that traders do, keeping up with the market and such, but where is the joy? Because I remember the time that investing was all I could think about, I was just reading on and on and on, creating formula on excel spreadsheets , updating stock charts by hand etc. When I was about to give birth to my 2nd baby (I thought I’ve got the first one, this is a breeze hehe) I even have my stock charts in the hospital for “bedtime reading”.
Anyway, I said to myself, maybe I am just tired. The necessity to invest actively was quite strong but the urge to just take a break was stronger. In the end, I decided, if I restart my investing in this state of mind, I would likely just suffer losses.
So, what does a girl do to relax…. I went shopping, threw away that “diet plan”, and resolved to do things I enjoy. (When you are a mom, this should be built in to activities, but bringing up 3 children can be quite stressful, and belongs to another book!) It got a little better after that, investing was not just the “routine” that needed to be done, but I was beginning to feel that, there was that old me, raring to be in the markets, where investing is fun, and profitable!
So are you investing with less than satisfactory results? Is it fun to do AND profitable for you? If you don’t answer YES to both, you are not making the most of the profits and probably descend to a losing venture.

Why does it have to be fun? Because if not, it will be chore and a bore, and your tendency is not to do all that is required to make it a successful venture.
Do you skip a step in your trading procedure? (I have 15 steps!)
Do you complete your documentation (I have a checklist with 30 items that need to be documented)
And if you think you are having fun, but not earning the kind of money you want, then there is no point in investing. There are other ways to have fun and not have to lose money 🙂

So let’s make investing fun and profitable, shall we? These are the twin aims of my foundation workshop, and I will be conducting back-to-back workshops to be able to help investors with attaining the critical mental strategies for investing, how to make decisions and avoiding losses in the Invest Right Foundation Workshop and for those who want regular income (in US Dollars!) through an investing business, the US Stocks Investing Workshop is a must to attend — where there are strategies for every kind of market — both happening on March 4, 2016 Saturday, in Ortigas area. Check out this link for the details:

Current Workshops

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Woke up to multiple big news today from probably the biggest money players of all — the government.

First, China – raises its monetary rates in a TIGHTENING policy move. This causes money to be less available or have a “deleveraging” effect. Shares slip. Article here.
Second, Bank of Japan “offered to buy an unlimited amount of bonds at a fixed rate in an unscheduled operation.” Which is a stimulus measure. Stocks rose. (Article here)
Third, the US — announced halting of both the Dodd-Frank and Volcker Rule, apparently hated by the financial industry. “White House emphasizes approaches to removing regulatory burdens and opening up investor options”. Article here.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-02/asian-stocks-to-gain-as-china-returns-from-break-markets-wrap

It was yesterday’s news but still notable, in the Philippines, the government just made mining virtually a no-go zone for investors — shutting down mining areas and companies who are endangering the environment. Most are nickel producers. Half of the world production of Nickel is mined in the Philippines. Prices of Nickel surged. Article here.

So yes, pleased with myself that blog post yesterday, I made a reco about banking on banks — which is for the US, probably the sector that has the least worry with regards to new policies.

Which brings me to share, this is a criteria most investors miss when they go about choosing their investment. How is your investment going to perform taken together with the Big Picture – the economy, new government policies, the big money players. When I started, most of the decision is based on what I can afford (haha) and some understanding of the industry (like I have never invested in biotech – being well-aware of my limitations to understand medical terms hehe). We are all free to pick and choose what investment / stock we like. Is your investment safe from the Big Money Players?

I will be holding another set of workshops, the Invest Right Foundation Workshop and US Investing Workshop. I will be tackling how to choose stocks, the best stocks to invest in, managing risks and maintaining discipline in my next workshop on March 4 (sorry for the change, mix-up in the venue booking)

An important component of the workshop is adding another income stream  (in US Dollars! ) as well as taking advantage of the growing US economy by investing in US stocks.

Check out the details here:

Current Workshops

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-02-03/trump-to-halt-obama-fiduciary-rule-order-review-of-dodd-frank
“What investors want is more transparency and lower fees.”

Volcker Rule
What is the ‘Volcker Rule’
A federal regulation that prohibits banks from conducting certain investment activities with their own accounts, and limits their ownership of and relationship with hedge funds and private equity funds, also called covered funds. The Volcker Rule’s purpose is to prevent banks from making certain types of speculative investments that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

BREAKING DOWN ‘Volcker Rule’
Named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, the Volcker Rule disallows short-term proprietary trading of securities, derivatives, commodity futures and options on these instruments for banks’ own accounts under the premise that these activities do not benefit banks’ customers. In other words, banks cannot use their own funds to make these types of investments to increase their profits.

Read more: Volcker Rule Definition | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/volcker-rule.asp#ixzz4XbZgBsou
Follow us: Investopedia on Facebook

——–

China tightens, Japan supports

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-03/china-s-pboc-increases-interest-rates-in-open-market-operations

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Wild week with Trump travel ban knocking the wind out of the post-election rally,  with politics shaking up the market, and looking at how the world managed after the Brexit shock, I gave it three days to recover (it did in two.)  Last night, the US Fed came to the rescue, with its upbeat assessment of the economy, while leaving rates unchanged, plus, there were also pretty good earnings from AAPL and FB to bring cheer again to investors.

I was paying attention to the sectors that have been most sensitive to the happenings lately, with blockbuster earnings the  tech sector has proven itself resilient — with AAPL and FB nearing their peak prices, and MSFT also provided some push earlier,  banking stocks have also been holding up their valuations, because among the many “tweeted policies” — they seem to be the one among least affected by any immigration / travel ban, healthcare overhaul, climate change policy.   Plus you can expect them to make the most benefit out of the interest rate rises that are expected this year.

The market is not running as much in “hope” and there is more specifics to be known by the Trump admin — so there is bound to be swings in sentiment, but one thing is for sure, the US economy is in a much firmer footing, proven by company earnings and as the Fed Minutes confirms :

“Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged while acknowledging rising confidence among consumers and businesses following Donald Trump’s election victory.

“Measures of consumer and business sentiment have improved of late,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington. Policy makers reiterated their expectations for moderate economic growth, “some further strengthening” in the labor market and a return to 2 percent inflation.”

Add another income stream  (in US Dollars! ) as well as taking advantage of the growing US economy by investing in US stocks.  I will conduct a workshop in  helping you find your edge,  the best stocks to invest in, managing risks and maintaining discipline in my next workshop on March 4 (sorry for the change, mix-up in the venue booking)

Check out the details here:

Current Workshops

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I love the Chinese New Year celebrations. Even if I am not Chinese, I appreciate that they  always give advice on how one can be successful and attract abundance.

I recently read the 10 ingredients that can attract abundance or simply, good fortune.

1. Desiring – feeling deeply and giving attention as in “to sire”
2. Decreeing – to say it outward or inward, and making them motivate you (like self-talk)
3. Visualizing – Imagine it to have it,which has to be developed because most imagine things are fears
4. Affirming – mantras or  personal reminders
5. Blessing – pronouncing every good thing that comes to your life as “good” even if it appears otherwise
6. Releasing – the negatives in your life and turn everything to positive
7. Loving – practicing kindness and looking beyond the weakness of people, because God is in each of us
8. Forgiving – forgive everyone and make room for new good to come into your life
9. Thanksgiving – for when you are truly grateful, your life is wonderful.
10. Tithing – because in giving you open your hand, which will also allow you to receive from the universe and God who will give you more a hundredfold

And what  do you know, we should always practice them — New Year or not, Chinese or not. Blessings!

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“I don’t care about being the best investor. I just want a lot of money! ”

Yes, sure, why not….

But wait,  I know a lot of people, who would think it is unfair, if someone who is not really good at what they do, get paid handsomely….(or more than you, who is more competent!)

——————-

In the early days of January, I began reviewing the Peak Performance Homestudy Course of Dr. Van Tharp once again.   It is like getting physical exercise for the body, and this course is  “conditioning”  for the most important tool we have in this business, our mind.  I’ve read and re-read this material many times over the years and it is always so enriching.

It reminded me of my many misadventures in investing.  When I started investing,   I was doing it to make extra income.  I’m pretty focused on that as I had a very stressful job with lots of time away from home. Many say, they want to invest for retirement, invest for income, invest for building wealth or a large sum to be able to afford a dream — house, car or vacation.   Seminars, books, news articles, and group chats later,   the  investor  can become convinced to pursue an investing strategy,  become  one of commonly known investor either “technical” or “fundamental” investor,  and “invest for the long-term”,  but for lack of deep knowledge,  most lose money, then drop out from investing entirely.

I guess I was lucky,  because from the start, and  after so many years, trading disasters and restarts later, I am still investing, because ,,,,

I have a goal that really mattered to me.

It really bothered me if  I couldn’t get it.

I get that feeling that I am letting loved ones down, if I don’t accomplish that goal.

That goal was  — to have an investing income so I can take care of my babies, and  I know  I can only get to this goal,  if  I  learn how to invest like the very best investors invest.

How about you, what is your GOAL?  Do  you really want that goal so bad that you have to do whatever it takes to get it, by becoming competent and masterful in execution — by controlling risk, managing fear and greed, consistency etc

For those who want to step up their mastery, and become much more profitable,  the new schedule for my Invest Right Discovery Workshop for investors / traders is on February 28, 2016, back to back with US Investing Workshop.

Get the details here!

Current Workshops

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