My Security Trades

AGQ: bought today

2011-12-15T22:38:00.005+01:00

Seeing the price of double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) drop I bought some more today at USD 46.83

HSY: bought today

2011-12-06T19:11:00.004+01:00

After reading this story today on the BBC news site I bought some shares of Hershy (NYSE:HSY) at USD 58.525

AGQ: bought today

2011-11-25T18:56:00.000+01:00

I bought the double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) again today shortly after the open at USD56.1552

OCPNY: sold today

2011-11-18T18:40:00.002+01:00

The price of the double silver ETF ADR for Olympus Corporation (NYSEARCA:OCPNY) gapped down at the open below my stop market limit and was sold at USD 7.25, resulting in a loss of 16% in an average of 5 days.

It looks bad for OCNY

2011-11-18T12:25:00.004+01:00

In Tokyo, the price for Olympus Corporation (TYO:7733) fell again today by 16% and closed at JPY 625. I expect therefore that for the ADR for Olympus Corporation (NYSEARCA:OCPNY) my stop market limit will be reached today.

AGQ: sold today

2011-11-17T12:40:00.004+01:00

The stop market limit was reached today and my double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) was sold at 12.22 hours at USD 58.00, representing an intra-day loss of 5.0%

AGQ: bought today

2011-11-17T10:28:00.015+01:00

I bought the double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) today USD 61.05 in New York at 10.12 at hours and immediately gave a stop market order with a limit of USD 58.00.

OCPNY: stop market sell order

2011-11-16T18:51:00.002+01:00

Seeing the price of the ADR for Olympus Corporation (NYSEARCA:OCPNY) drop I give a stop market sell order with a limit of USD 8.95.

AGQ: sold today

2011-11-16T16:54:00.003+01:00

My stop limit order for the double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) was executed at the open today at USD 66.00, giving me a profit of 10.0% in 37 days.

AGQ: stop limit order

2011-11-15T23:02:00.003+01:00

There would have been a sell signal yesterday for the double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (NYSEARCA:AGQ) but I ignored it. Today, I gave a sell order with a stop limit of USD 66.00, so as to be prepared for a possible price drop after today's doji, at the same time leaving room for a possible rise.

OCPNY: bought today

2011-11-15T16:41:00.003+01:00

I bought some more ADR for Olympus Corporation (NYSEARCA: OCPNY) today at USD 10.90

TSE suspended trading of Olympus Corporation

2011-11-15T10:25:00.030+01:00

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has some interesting rules for for suspending trading of a stock and setting an upper limit at which the stock may be traded, and I read about them only today:

Tokyo Bourse: May Widen Olympus Share Trading Upper Limit
2:50a ET November 15, 2011 (Dow Jones) Tokyo Bourse: May Widen Olympus Share Trading Upper Limit

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Tuesday it may widen the daily upper limit for trading in shares of Olympus Corp. (7733.TO) later this week due to imbalanced demand and supply conditions for the issue.
Shares in Olympus soared Tuesday, marking the second-straight day of strong gains as investors grew more confident that the scandal-hit company may yet escape delisting.
While shares did not change hands due to buy orders outweighing sell instructions by close to 10 to one, by mid-afternoon Olympus shares in were quoted 19% higher than Monday's close at Y640, their maximum permissible high for the day under Tokyo rules.
The bourse said it may double the upper limit for daily trading in Olympus shares if the following conditions are met on Wednesday:

-- The issue's daily upper price limit is reached and trading volume is zero without
conducting allocation at the upper limit.
-- Trading volume remains at zero shares until the end of the afternoon session,
trades are executed at the upper daily price limit at the close of the afternoon
session with bids remaining at the upper daily price limit.

A spokeswoman at the bourse said the daily upper price limit for Olympus shares on Wednesday will be Y740. If a wider upper limit is introduced, the daily upper limit on Thursday will be Y1,040.>

-By Hiroyuki Kachi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2789; Hiroyuki.Kachi@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-15-11 0250ET

Source: Dow Jones Newswires – 2011-11-15 0250ET

Now I know why there was no volume on the shares of Olympus Corp (TYO:7733) in Tokyo today and on some other recent days and why the price jumped up from one day to the next.

OCPNY: bought today

2011-11-11T21:00:00.009+01:00

I bought the ADR for Olympus Corporation (NYSEARCA: OCPNY) today in the USA at USD 6.90

GLD: sold today

2011-11-10T20:47:00.013+01:00

I sold half of my gold ETF (NYSEARCA:GLD) holdings today at USD 172.46 at a profit of 49.3% in 1 year and 164 days.

Olympus Corporation, Japan

2011-11-09T11:20:00.002+01:00

Olympus (TYO:7733; NYSEARCA:OCPNY) has been hit by a scandal and the company yesterday admitted fraudulent accounting (http://goo.gl/2YwKK; http://goo.gl/LmkpJ). The share price dropped in Tokyo from JPY 2,526 on 13 October to JPY 584 on 8 November, a decline of 77%. For the ADR traded on the pink sheet in the USA, the price fell from USD 32.10 on 13 October to USD 9.05 on 8 November, a drop of 72%

I plan to keep an eye on Olympus and look for a good moment to buy it.

Silver bullion price trend

2011-10-14T19:42:00.003+02:00

I am beginning to wonder whether the price of silver bullion has found a new support at about USD 31.50/oz. A one-hour chart, though, does not seem ideal to look for a support line.

AGQ double silver ETF: stock split

2011-10-13T10:37:00.001+02:00

AGQ had a 2:1 stock split, which means that my cost per share is now USD 59.9888

AGQ double silver ETF: bought today

2011-10-10T17:32:00.004+02:00

Although I hope that the silver price will drop some more I bought a small quantity of the double silver ETF Pro Shares Ultra Silver (AGQ) today at USD 119.9776. I plan to buy some more when the bullion price falls to USD 27 per ounce.

Silver ETF list

2011-10-01T16:39:00.000+02:00

On this Silver ETF list for the US markets I see also the iShares Silver Trust (SLV)

Silver ETF on NYSE

2011-09-29T22:46:00.003+02:00

On NYSE, there is the double silver ETF ProShares Ultra Silver (AGQ), with a reasonable trading volume. I'll keep an eye on it and may buy some, but not just yet. Let's see how the price moves after today's Doji.

Looking at silver

2011-09-29T21:25:00.015+02:00

I'm looking at a chart of the silver ETF LSIL, traded in USD in London, and am tempted to draw a resistance line at USD 44.86, the low on 11 JAN 2011. I see a lot of speculation in this chart since January of this year and who knows, the speculative price rise may have started already in August 2010.

I think I should read up on the industrial use of silver and the supply and demand for it. Unlike gold, silver is not the common man's hedge against inflation. With a world-wide downturn of the economy, could the bullion price fall to below USD 10 again?

ZKB Gold ETF hedged (CHF)

2011-09-29T20:25:00.002+02:00

I heard about a gold ETF of the Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) hedging against the US dollar. I still have to look into it in detail but from a cursory look I learnt that I ought to buy it if I expect the USD to weaken some more against the CHF. This ETF is traded on the Swiss stock market (SIX) with the symbol ZGLDHC. Unfortunately I didn't know about it before the recent decline of the USD against CHF. I see that the same gold ETF is also available with hedges against the EUR and GBP. It is mentioned in this pamphlet of ZKB.

CS ETF on SMI: bought today

2011-08-17T20:44:00.000+02:00

My order to buy ETFS Brent Oil (SIX:CSSMI) today at the open was executed at USD CHF 54.12

Buying CS ETF on SMI

2011-08-17T08:27:00.000+02:00

The CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) has fallen 16.6% since I bought it on 21 April 2011 and I consider the time right to buy some more today at the open.

Sonova: sold today

2011-06-17T18:00:00.009+02:00

The stop-loss for Sonova (SIX:SOON) was activated today and my shares were sold at CHF 83.60. This represents a loss of 5.0% in 67 days.

Dow Jones Industrial Index

2011-06-07T08:50:00.004+02:00

The Dow Jones Industrial Index (INDEXDJX:.DJI) has been trading in a channel for the last 12 months and broke out downward two trading days ago. Time to add to my position of of the ETF ProShares Short Dow30 (NYSE:DOG)

GLD: bought today

2011-05-25T20:53:00.000+02:00

I bought GLD today at USD 148.75

GLD: bought today

2011-05-25T18:19:00.002+02:00

My order to buy GLD today at the open was executed at USD 148.75

Placed buy order for GLD

2011-05-25T10:52:00.006+02:00

I placed an order to buy the gold ETF SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) today at the open at market.

I'll buy gold today

2011-05-25T08:18:00.000+02:00

I hesitated to buy gold when the trendline gave a signal on 18 May, but today I trust the upward trend and will buy it.

Is Holcim turning around?

2011-05-19T21:28:00.000+02:00

Today's close of Holcim (SIX:HOLN) of CHF 68.30 gives a buy signal but I don't trust it. On 4 May 2011 the price gapped down to a level similar to that on 1 July 2010, and that time the price dropped to a low of CHF 59.95 before a long-term recovery started.

Buy signal for gold, but I'll wait some more

2011-05-19T08:23:00.000+02:00

The trendline I have drawn for the ZKB Gold ETF (SIX:ZGLDUS) shows a buy signal, with the price closing above the line yesterday. However, the price has been falling again during the night, as show on the 15-minute chart on goldprice.org, and therefore I won't buy the ETF yet.

How is gold doing?

2011-05-16T08:15:00.001+02:00

The general trend of the ZKB Gold ETF (SIX:ZGLDUS) is up but over the last two weeks the price has been falling. Time to look out for a buy signal, but today is not yet the right moment.

ETFS Brent Oil: bought today

2011-04-21T14:13:00.000+02:00

I bought ETFS Brent Oil (SIX:CSSMI) today at the open at USD 67.92

CS ETF on SMI: bought today

2011-04-21T10:11:00.002+02:00

I bought CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) today at the open at CHF 65.16

Thinking of buying OILB again

2011-04-20T23:23:00.005+02:00

The price of ETFS Brent Oil (LSE:OILB) kept going up after I sold it at USD 61.00 on March 15 and I am considering buying it again. I shall look at it more closely in the morning, before the market opens in London. It closed at USD 66.92 today.

Buy signal for ETF on SMI

2011-04-20T22:12:00.007+02:00

The chart for the SMI (Swiss Market Index) gives me a signal to buy the CS ETF for this index (SIX:CSSMI) again. Unless something serious happens during the night, I shall buy it at market at the open tomorrow.

Is Sonova turning around?

2011-04-14T09:13:00.003+02:00

Sonova (SIX:SOON) opened at CHF 84.50 this morning and I wonder if it is turning around or whether it will hit my stop-loss trigger of CHF 83.60 today.

Sonova: stop-loss sell order

2011-04-11T10:04:00.001+02:00

The Swiss stock exchange SIX does not allow simple stop-loss orders. Instead, a stop limit must be given in addition to the stop-loss trigger. As my bank does not allow online entry of stop orders I had to call them and gave a stop-loss sell order for Sonova (SIX:SOON) with a trigger of CHF 83.60, which is 5% below my purchase price, and a stop limit of CHF 70.00

Sonova: bought today

2011-04-11T09:58:00.001+02:00

I bought Sonova (SIX:SOON) today at the open at CHF 88.00. The price had dropped substantially on 16 March following an earnings warning and subsequently some more following news of insider trading by some board members and executives of Sonova, and I figured this was a good time to by the stock.

Similar pattern for palladium and platinum

2011-04-07T08:57:00.002+02:00

ZPAL and ZPLA show similar pattern in the 100-day chart. Both are estimated to open today below yesterday's close.

Platinum and Palladium

2011-04-06T17:57:00.006+02:00

Today's issue of a Swiss investment newsletter has an interview with Mr. Erich Meier, head of raw materials at Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB), who said from from now on he prefers palladium and platinum to gold for this year. "They are driven more by the economic development, whereas gold is the perfect inflation hedge", he said. Like for gold, ZKB has ETFs for platinum and palladium.

On the Swiss exchange SIX:
ZKB Platinum ETF
Symbol: ZPLA >
ISIN: CH0029792709

ZKB PalladiumETFSymbol: ZPAL
ISIN: CH0029792683

On the US exchange NYSE Arca:
ETFS Physical Platinum Shares
Symbol: PPLT
Fund family: ETF Securities Ltd.

ETFS Physical Palladium Shares
Symbol: PALL
Fund family: ETF Securities Ltd.

CS ETF on SMI: sold today

2011-03-29T16:00:00.007+02:00

Seeing little hope for the price to recover, I sold CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) today at 15:47 hours at CHF 63.26. Profit: 3.7% in 11 days.

CSSMI heading for sell signal

2011-03-29T13:43:00.006+02:00

I see a sales signal coming up for CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI). If it looks like it is going to close below CHF 63.72 today I will sell it before the close. Today's low so far is CHF 63.33 and if it falls below that during the afternoon I will give an order to sell at market.

Bear flag on OILB

2011-03-27T14:55:00.005+02:00

First, the Libya situation drove the price of ETFS Brent Oil (LON:OILB) up, then the prospects of a regime change in Libya sent the price down again and the tsunami in Japan added to this trend with fears of reduced demand in that country, but a week ago it went up again. It is difficult to look for a buy signal for OILB and I wonder how much attention I should give to the bear flag that is forming at the moment.

Looking for a sell signal for SSSMI

2011-03-26T14:07:00.003+01:00

It has been a week since I bought CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) and I think it is time to draw a trendline to see the sell signal when it comes.

CS ETF on SMI: bought today

2011-03-18T09:17:00.004+01:00

I bought CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) at the open today at CHF 61.01

CSSMI opening estimate

2011-03-18T08:53:00.005+01:00

Eight minutes before the opening, the opening estimate for CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) is CHF 61.17

High opening estimate for CSSMI

2011-03-18T08:35:00.005+01:00

Swissquote.ch estimates that CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) will open at CHF 62.30, but this may yet change closer to the opening time. I am changing my buy limit to CHF 61.38, which was yesterday's high, expecting that if it opens higher it will close the gap during the first few hours of trading.

Gave buy order for CSSMI

2011-03-17T19:35:00.002+01:00

I issued a buy order now for the CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI) with a limit of CHF 60.68, which was today's close, and plan to watch it at the open tomorrow to see if any adjustment is advisable.

Watching the SMI index

2011-03-17T18:59:00.009+01:00

The SMI index started falling already a week before the tsunami in Japan, so the fear of reduced exports to that country can't be the only cause. There is obviously also the increased cost of production due to the higher oil price and export problems because of the low exchange rate for the euro and the US dollar. I am, however, considering to buy an ETF on the SMI, for example the CS ETF on SMI (SIX:CSSMI), when the time seems right. It is difficult to interpret charts in the current volatile situation. Are we seeing the beginning of a world-wide downturn or is it just a temporary dip of the SMI?

ETFS Brent Oil: sold today

2011-03-15T09:39:00.008+01:00

I sold the remainder of my ETFS Brent Oil (LSE:OILB) today at USD 61.00 at a profit of 47.2% in 200 days.

Sonova: sold today

2011-03-08T09:18:00.006+01:00

I got cold feet and sold Sonova (SWX:SOON) today at the open at CHF 127.00, at a profit of 2.2% in 33 days. Regrettably, the bank through which I had bought it does not allow stop-loss orders, otherwise I would have given a stop order at CHF 126.65. I shall have to do my future trades through another bank.

Sonova: bought today

2011-02-03T13:11:00.008+01:00

I bought Sonova (SWX:SOON) today at CHF 124.30, hoping that the price will rise substantially within the next few months.

GLD: sold today

2010-11-30T20:30:00.009+01:00

I sold half of my gLD holdings today at USD135.20 at a profit of 12.4% in 200 days.

Holcim: sold today

2010-11-30T09:12:00.004+01:00

I sold Holcim (SWX:HOLN) today at the open at CHF 66.50, resulting in a loss of 1.0% in 8 days. Yesterday's close gave me a sell signal.

u-blox: sold remaining shares today

2010-11-25T16:49:00.000+01:00

I sold the remaining shares of u-blox (SWX:UBXN) today at CHF 49.20

Watching Meyer Burger

2010-11-25T15:56:00.004+01:00

Meyer Burger (SWX:MBTN) may be getting interesting in a day or two. Both MACD and Stochastics could give a buy signal.

Gold ETF: bought today

2010-11-24T09:27:00.001+01:00

I bought the Gold ETF of the Zurich Cantonal Bank (SWX:ZGLD) today at the open at CHF 4,325.43

Bad news for Sonova

2010-11-23T12:19:00.003+01:00

Sonova (SWX:SOON) opened much lower than yesterday's close, following an announcement that they were recalling an cochlear implant in the USA. I'm glad I sold my shares in good time. I shall have to look out now for an opportunity to buy it again.

Holcim not going the way I expected

2010-11-23T08:47:00.005+01:00

Holcim did close the gap yesterday, after all, three hours after the open. This should teach me not to be too rash in buying a stock. I should have paid attention also to MACD.

Holcim: bought today

2010-11-22T09:56:00.006+01:00

Holcim (SWX:HOLN) opened higher than Fridays's close and it did not look like it was going to close the gap, so I bought some at CHF 67.15 and some at 67.20, average 67.1563.

Limit order to buy Holcim

2010-11-20T08:57:00.006+01:00

Just gave an order to buy Holcim (SWX:HOLN) with a limit of CHF 66.75, which was yesterdays close.

The price might fall again to CHF 66.00, but I am speculating on it going up.

Sonova: sold all today

2010-11-19T09:55:00.004+01:00

Seeing how much sellers outnumbered buyers half an hour after the opening and because the bank where I bought them does not allow a stop-loss order, I decided to sell the rest of my shares of Sonova (SOON) at CHF 130.20, at a profit of 10.7% in 12 days.

I shall keep watching SOON, looking for the next opportunity to buy.

Holcim forming a pennant?

2010-11-18T17:59:00.008+01:00

Now that the market has closed for today I want to have a closer look at what seems like the formation of a pennant, also known as bear flag, on the chart of Holcim (SWX:HOLN). This is what Investopedia says about it:

"The pennant is identified by two converging trendlines, more horizontal, which resembles a symmetrical triangle. It is characterised by diminishing volume."

A third criterion is mentioned by stockcharts.com:

"Even though flags and pennants are common formations, identification guidlines should not be taken lightly. It is important that flags and pennants are preceded by a sharp advance or decline. Without a sharp move, the reliability of the formation becomes questionable and trading could carry added risk. Look for volume confirmation on the initial move, consolidation and resumption to augment the robustness of pattern identification."

I see that the development over the past few days meets all three criteria so far. If the price range remains within the two converging lines Friday and Monday and the volume remains low, this should be confirmation of a pennant.

Flags and pennants

2010-11-18T16:55:00.004+01:00

I am considering the possibility of using a flag or pennant to find suitable buy signals for stocks. Looking at the chart of Holcim (SWX:HOLN), it would seem that this would have been useful on several occasions in the past. It looks like there is a pennant forming right now.

Looking at Holcim

2010-11-18T11:16:00.003+01:00

Scouting for new buy candidates, I am looking at Holcim (SWX: HOLN). A news report published yesterday, only in German, says that Morgan Stanley has reduced the price target from 62.50 to 59.50, yet today the price is going up. Is this a reflection of how little the market thinks of the analysis made by Morgan Stanley.

At any rate, I am going to keep watching HOLN and see if it breaks out of the channel I have drawn on the chart.

Sonovan: sold half today

2010-11-18T09:08:00.006+01:00

After sleeping over it, I decided this morning to sell have of my shares of Sonovan (SWX:SOON) at the open and the order was executed at CHF 131.10, giving a profit of 7.8% in 49 days.

Where is Sonova going from here?

2010-11-17T18:28:00.050+01:00

I am trying to make some sense of the price chart of Sonova (SWX:SOON).

Today, it closed above the high of 129.80 immediately before the crash in December 2007. That decline ended in October 2008 with a low of 42.00

On 10 November 2009, the price gapped upward 3.4%, with a low of 116.80 on that day compared with a high of 113.00 on the previous day. Not until 28 October 2010, 20 days ago, was this gap closed with a low of 112.30 and since then the price has been on an upward trend, with just a small two-day dip along the way.

The latest all-time high, 139.80, was on 20 January 2010 and the price has been see-sawing since then, coming close to testing that high on 4 May with 139.60 and on 19 July with 136.60

What can we expect now? A continued up and down until at some point the high of 139.80 gets tested?

I searched for news to explain the increase of 7,1% over the last two days. There was the report of the 17% increase in sales during the first half of the current fiscal year, ie April–September 2010, but I understand this was what analysts had expected. Had it been a surprise, surely the price would have jumped all at once, creating a gap, but as it is it has risen steadily, hour by hour.

Lucky by mistake with Sonova

2010-11-17T17:13:00.006+01:00

I am holding too much Sonava (SOON) and meant to sell half of it today shortly after the open at CHF 126.00 but I must have forgotten to do the final mouse click and nothing got sold. In the meantime the price rose even higher and the stock is trading at CHF 130.30 at the moment.

ETFS Brent Oil: sold half today

2010-11-17T10:24:00.009+01:00

ETFS Brent Oil (LSE:OILB) also gave me a sell signal yesterday and when I saw it open today below yesterday's close I sold half of my position at USD 45.96. My cost having been USD 43.82, this represents a profit of 4.9% in 152 days. Taking into account the drop in the value of the dollar, I made a loss of 8.7% in CHF, the currency in which I traded this ETF because I do not have a USD account with this Swiss broker.

ZKB Gold ETF: sold today

2010-11-17T10:12:00.013+01:00

Gold has had a rocky ride since I first bought a ZKB Gold ETF (SWX:ZGLD) in May at CHF 4,045. Seeing yesterday's sell signal, I sold it minutes after the opening today at CHF 4,187, resulting in a profit of 3.5% in 198 days.

Holding on to Sonova

2010-11-11T21:48:00.002+01:00

Sonova (SWX:SOON) closed at CHF 119.00, below my trendline and it does not look good. Throughout the day, the price never rose above the opening price. Nevertheless, I have decided to hold on to it for the long term.

Worried about Sonova

2010-11-11T11:23:00.009+01:00

Sonova (SWX:SOON) worries me. It is trading below the trendline at the moment and if it closes below it I shall have to decide whether to sell, even at a loss. In the chart, the dashed horizontal pink line shows my average cost.

Watching gold

2010-11-11T09:31:00.004+01:00

After trading above USD 1,400 for the first time three days ago, the gold price has dancing around that line for the past 38 hours in a horizontal channel. Will it break out on the upside today?

Sonova: bought some more today

2010-11-05T18:13:00.005+01:00

The price of Sonova (SWX:Soon) did not go the way I had expected after I bought it at the end of September 2009 at CHF 121.60. There was a new buy signal two days ago, which I did not quite trust, but I now added to my position today at CHF 116.10, bringing my average cost CHF 119.60

ETFS Brent Oil: bought some more

2010-08-27T09:42:00.001+02:00

The price of ETFS Brent Oil (OILB) has been falling and I added to my position today at USD 41.44, bought at the open.

DOG: bought today

2010-07-19T09:20:00.014+02:00

Expecting the Dow Jones Industrial Index to fall, I bought the ETF ProShares Short Dow30 (NYSE:DOG) today at USD 51.84

ETFS Brent Oil: bought today

2010-06-18T09:40:00.002+02:00

Speculating on a rising price of crude oil, I bought the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) "ETFS Brent Oil (OILB)" at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at USD 43.82

DOG: sold today

2010-06-14T09:53:00.008+02:00

The trailing stop for DOG was activated today and my shares were sold at 51.42667, a loss of 4.8% in 20 days.

DOG: trailing stop sell order

2010-05-26T09:50:00.008+02:00

I give a sell order for DOG with a trailing of 5%

Reverse ETF on Dow Jones Industrial Index: bought today

2010-05-25T20:46:00.001+02:00

Speculating on the Dow Jones Index to fall, I bough the ETF ProShares Short Dow 30 (NYSE:DOG) today at 53.9999

Gold EETF: bought today

2010-05-14T09:06:00.001+02:00

I bought the gold ETF Spdr Gold TR Gold (NYSE:GLD) today via E*Trade at USD 120.31

ZKB Gold ETF: bought today

2010-05-03T10:07:00.002+02:00

Gold will go up, I figured, and bought ZKB Gold ETF (ZGLD) today at CHF 4,045.

Gold ETF: bought today

2010-04-30T09:18:00.010+02:00

I bought the gold ETF Spdr Gold (NYSE:GLD) today via Ameritrade at USD 115.4699

Holcim: sold today

2010-03-16T09:14:00.005+01:00

I didn't like the way the price of Holcim (SWX: HOLN) has been falling in the past few days and sold it today at CHF 75.60, at a profit of 3.3% in 26 days.

Holcim: bought today following buy signal

2010-02-18T11:13:00.002+01:00

After the stock closed above the trendline yesterday I bought Holcim (SWX: HOLN) at the open today, at CHF 73.20

Sonova: bought today

2009-09-30T10:55:00.001+02:00

I didn't quite trust the buy signal for Sonova (SWX:SOON) three days ago but the closing price has remained above the trend line since then and I now bought it at the open today at CHF 121.60

Quadrant: takeover

2009-09-10T11:37:00.004+02:00

The takeover offer went through and I got CHF 86.00 per share, causing me a loss of 59.3%

Holcim: getting close to a buy signal

2009-09-03T10:19:00.006+02:00

After missing out on the last few rallies on Holcim (SWX: HOLN) I am now keeping a closer eye on it. Will it give a buy signal at the end of today.

Watching Holcim

2009-08-24T10:55:00.004+02:00

I haven't followed Holcim (SWX: HOLN) for a long time and now see that I missed the start of a rally on 15 July 2009.

Novartis produces H1N1 flu vaccine

2009-06-12T11:20:00.003+02:00

The stock price is rising today following the announcement that Novartis produces a first batch of a vaccine for the H1N1 flu, known as swine flu, for clinical trials. Novartis hopes to have the vaccine approved for sale by the end of the year.

Qadrant: Aquamit takeover offer

2009-06-04T15:58:00.012+02:00

The takeover offer is now official. Quadrant sent me a letter to shareholders giving details of the bid. Aquamit offers CHF 86.00 per share. That's a bit lower than the range of CHF 86.65 to CHF 90.00 at which the stock has been trading today so far.

Quadrant: take-over bid

2009-05-05T09:38:00.006+02:00

Aquamit B.V has made a take-over bid for Quadrant. Aquavit was incorporated in the Netherlands by the Japanese company Mitsubishi and four members of the board of Qadrant specifically for this take-over.

The offer is CHF 87 per share, far below my cost of CHF 211.50 on 4 September 2007.

Yesterday, the price shot up from the previous close of CHF 70 to a high of CHF 90 and today so far the stock has been trading between CHF 89 and 90.

Sold ABB

2008-08-05T10:33:00.006+02:00

ABB (SWX: ABBN) stopped out at CHF 26.14 shortly after the open today. Loss 10.0% in 7 days.

ABB: received refund

2008-07-29T09:33:00.004+02:00

Yesterday, my broker credited me with a refund of CHF 0.48 per share on the purchase af ABB (SWX: ABBN). This reduces my cost per share to CHF 29.04 and I change my stop-loss order to CHF 26.14.

The price has gone down since I bought the stock on Friday but yesterday closed for the first the time above the open and today for the first time did not close below the open in the first 30 minutes of trading.

Evaluating ABB

2008-07-25T08:14:00.016+02:00

Yesterday, there were a lot more sellers than buyers for ABB (SWX: ABBN) from the outset and throughout the day but after the fiasco with Sonovan (SOON) I dared not risk giving a limit buy order. Today, before the open, sellers again far outnumber buyers and it will interesting to see how the price goes.

ABB has put a statement regarding the arrest of one of its employees on their website:

"ABB statement regarding Libya

Zurich, Switzerland, July 23, 2008 – ABB confirms that a Swiss employee is currently being detained by the Libyan authorities.

The ABB office in Tripoli has been temporarily closed. ABB is working closely with the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek a rapid resolution of the issue. Given the current situation, ABB will not be providing any further information."

According to an article in today's CASHdaily the price dropped not because of Kadhafi's antics but because the net profit for the second quarter was "only" 34% higher than last year. Apparently, the analysts had expected more.

It was a mistake to buy the stock before the earnings report and the usual selling frenzy that followed it.

Bought ABB

2008-07-24T09:04:00.009+02:00

With the uncertainty in stock markets I bought nothing for quite a long time but this morning, after seeing that ABB (SWX: ABBN) closed above the trendline yesterday, I placed an order to buy it at market at the open. The order got executed at CHF 29.52

Yesterday's news about the temporary closure of the ABB office in Libya and the arrest of a Swiss employee – in retaliation for the arrest in Switzerland of Hannibal Kadhafi – seems to depress the price at the moment but I expect it to recover within a few days. Just the same, I enter a stop-loss order at CHF 26.58, 10% below my pruchase price.

Missed out on Sonova

2008-05-15T09:04:00.003+02:00

I missed out on Sonava (SWX: SOON) yesterday. Buyers dominated the session throughout the day and the price closed at CHF 98.00. Today it opened at CHF 99.25 and buyers dominate again very strongly.

Next time I shall know better and order to buy at market at the open. I'll try to catch it on the next downward swing.

Buy order for Sonova

2008-05-14T08:23:00.007+02:00

I place a limit order to buy Sonova (SWX: SOON) today at CHF 92.30.

Sonova plans to increase its turnover from the current CHF 1.2 billion to 2 billion within five years, according to a media release yesterday.