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Bernard Baruch's Ten Rules.

   1. Don’t speculate unless you can make it a full-time job. 

2. Beware of barbers, beauticians, waiters, of anyone, bringing gifts of ‘insider’ information or ‘tips.’ 

3. Before you buy a security, find out everything you can about the company, its management and competitors, its earnings and possibilities for growth. 

4. Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. This can’t be done – except by liars. 

5. Learn how to take your losses quickly and cleanly. Don’t expect to be right all the time. If you have made a mistake, cut your losses as quickly as possible.

 6. Don’t buy too many different securities. Better have only a few investments which can be watched.

7. Make a periodic reappraisal of all your investments to see whether changing developments have altered their prospects.

 

8. Study your tax position to know when you can sell to greatest advantage. 

9. Always keep a good part of your capital in a cash reserve. 

10. Don’t try to be a jack of all investments. Stick to the field you know best. 

Thoughts on Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Dear Reader/Traders….If u had not Read this Book…then u had not read anything……its a Bible …Buy and Read atleast once ………..

One of the fascinating things in Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is the constant interplay between duplicit and dishonest practices of Livermore himself and the crooks he deals with. It reminds one of the crossroaders book where the two best friends cheat each other with a mechanical mirror and other means in constant games between them. Only when they realize that the stake between them keeps getting smaller do they realize that they’re both getting poorer because they have to pay the third crook, the “mechanic” for the use of the mirror. The rake was constant. They both show no compunction about cheating their best friends until they realize they’ve been viged to death by a third party.

Livermore is constantly appalled that in the nefarious schemes of manipulation and cornering that the holders of worthless securities engage in with him, that his customers have no honor among mutual thieves like the crossroaders. His terms for a manipulation are as follows: suppose the manipulators have 200000 shares of a listed stock at 40. Livermore will take call on all 200000 shares of stock at 40 for 1 year. They will also put up 6 million in cash for him to make a market and engage in his own insider trading with.

I doubt that the two most wealthy fellow travelers themselves and friends of the Oval who engage in such transactions with the triangle of their colleagues in the banking, and legislative branches receive such favorable terms or insider information today, albeit they seem to have more influence on the terms and policies.

In any case, how would you value what Livermore’s normal take was for such a manipulation? He receives a call for 1 year on 2000000 shares and that’s worth about 10%, so 800000. Then use of 6 million for manipulation for 1 year, enablling him to front run with that stake. How to value that aspect? Let’s say 500000.

He engaged in these transactions in the 1920-1929 period. No wonder Livermore was worth 50 million at the height of 1929 before losing it all, and declaring bankruptcy the fourth time, and going bust for at least the twelth time in 1934, before his suicide at the Sherry Netherlands.

it reminds one of the radi0 show tag line “crime does not pay”.

The Stock Market is like a Beautiful Woman

The stock market is like a beautiful woman, always 
appealing 
challenging
fascinating
captivating
mystifying.

Appealing     The stock market appeals to everyone – the ignorant and illiterate, barbers and bartenders, brokers and bankers, best and brightest, professionals and people from all walks of life.

Generally, the stock market is perceived as a marketplace to get-rich-quick, make a fast buck, make a killing and turn rags to riches.

Challenging     The stock market challenges all kinds of players – gamblers, speculators and investors. In the game of sports, amateurs play against amateurs, professionals challenge professionals, and olympians compete with olympians on different level playing fields; whereas in the stock market, novices, amateurs and professionals challenge each other on the same level field. (more…)

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