Trade review 3-2-10

I nailed several calls from last time:  WAVX faded.  HUSA really faded. VSTNQ also went exactly according to script. GHLV a nice morning panic dive. XTXI continued up nicely.

Weird day full of mishaps, testing out Book Trader in IB which I have never really used.

It showed when I tried my hand at a play I have no experience with, hence papered, of SQNM. This is a premarket gainer, often up on news, that is studied for continuation of the upside when the bell rings. I made a great call on this mover in the chat room I frequent, and I got in well enough. I tried to set and move a stop in BT by clicking and dragging and managed to suffer the embarrasment of triggering a sell when I had no intention of exiting! So I ended up with a small gain.

The bigger mouse slip happened when I received a live trade alert. I never buy or short sell (for real) these based on getting a stock tip, unless I already agree with and have anticipated a move myself through independent research. As usual, papering permits activity when one misses action or regrets outcomes like my exit of SQNM.

One problem with these live alerts is they are text messaged, E-mailed and announced in the chat room AFTER a group of *other* more "premium" receivers of the alert get, and act upon, IMs, or Instant Messages. As a result, prices have already been impacted through their combined actions, and even if they make no real impact on prices, the time lag is sufficient to ruin any entry acted upon in haste, as seen from the MCGC long play obtained via an alert by the same service.

The stock was IFLG, from my Watchers of last time that had cracked the 7 level, but not the mid 6s as I had hoped. I papered this as explained above and had a mediocre fill. Waiting would have produced a better entry, and this often happens and should be remembered, not only in trading alerts but in other situations!

The stock moved sideways for a while, and I held, patiently. I noticed on the main page of TWS (IB's Trader Workstation) that I had a buy to cover order applied to the stock, which was a pure market order no less, as it had not been configured or changed to a limit order stop.

I went to remove it, and somehow managed to fire it off by mistake instead of cancelling it. I could not believe it. Since I use those features all the time, it is astounding and inexplicable. Worse, the stock faded TWICE nicely not long after I had exited, and the wide spread on the bid/ask filled horribly, increasing the premium paid in exiting for a small loss. Thus ended a very strange day for me.

I still do not believe it happened, but it did!

BOT    200    SQNM    Stock    8.08    USD    ISLAND    09:12:58        1.00
SLD    200    SQNM    Stock    8.130    USD    CBSX    09:16:54    BookTrader    1.00

SLD    200    IFLG    Stock    6.8500    USD    DRCTEDGE    10:15:05        1.00
BOT    200    IFLG    Stock    6.890    USD    ARCA    11:08:11        1.00


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