Respect

The market.

I'm addicted to this show. Wall Street Warriors.

Good "reality" tv. The second season is filmed just after the New Year. Subprime mortgages had already killed the housing market, and the crisis began to spread.

Watching Lance and Jim, two brokers pick up new accounts, assuage their clients, and make a long bet on SanDisk that has cost them millions is the most interesting of the profiles.

In the most recent episode I watched, Jim and Lance were pounding the phones, and busy with SanDisk financial statements. All to come to the conclusion that the stock is undervalued. They bought the stock at $44, the stock hit a high of $59, on the day the episode was filmed the stock was trading at $36. That was in February of 2008, the stock continued to fall, and during it's descent never again even came back near $36. It now trades at $7, with a 1yr projection of $14.

In short, I've learned a couple things from this show.

A successful hedge fund manager is interviewed at the beginning of one of the seasons.

Number one. His advice for junior traders is "once you make a profit, never give it back." Lance and Jim got greedy, and they paid the price for not respecting the markets.

Number two. No matter how professional, how educated, the markets are a craps shoot.
No one knows what the hell may happen right now. Unless you're playing with someone else's money, you shouldn't be investing.

Rest Well.