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If you have locked in long term capital gains from buying any stock or mutual fund in a taxable account, then why give up 5% simply by holding over to January 1st? To make up that 5% many investors would have to earn MORE than 5% on the same holdings, especially if they change the rule and...

The VIX was down over 9% today. It will be interesting to see how the SPY responds at 123 near the prior highs. Perhaps you'll get more of a push/pull at that point.

I recall when RIMM was having its ongoing patent dispute with NTP back in 2005. It would often get halted intraday when there was a court hearing, and then eventually would start trading again, resuming up or down several points, depending on what the judge said. It was quite wild. In your...

Yep, it was a great day for buying longs and/or selling calls. This market changes direction on a whim, and that gap will eventually fill.

Volatility is definitely picking up. The SPX held the 1,173 support level for now. Although the bulls are getting smacked when the futures get bid lower and wipe out all of the prior day's gains. The process has been repeating, with lower highs being created. Santa better hurry up, or...

The futures got bid down today, and the SPY longs from Wednesday who bought on "pathetic" volume got smoked today. Of course, there are always to sides to every trade. To each his own.

Complacency and "group think" is what drives market behavior. The overall best buying opportunity is always when you can "buy from fear and sell to greed." The SPX has rallied almost 20% in the three months from September 1st, however it also DROPPED almost 40% in the three months of...

Agreed, it could be next week, or even later. If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, then the longs who have capital gains locked in at 15% have until the end of the year to cash out. The bulls have it today, yet the volume on SPY is pathetic.

Yep. However the bulls have been seeing gains get wiped out on the following day when the futures open weak. Closely watch for a break of around 1,170 for the SPX...

A firm "where they hold your deposit for 1 year" does not make your funds insured! Only retail accounts are insured by SIPC. The "one year" lock up is an SEC rule, Rule 15c3-1, and refers to net capital requirements for broker-dealers. Usually, the firms that hold your funds for a year are...

Good point. Regardless of how one feels about the company or the government's stake, the analysts and CNBC will be probably told to keep hyping it up until Treasury breaks even, around 50/share or so. The options will start trading soon, which offers a cheaper way to play it. Also, there...

Animated clip of "Quantitative Easing Explained" regarding QE2. A bit of humor among all the chaos, enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k

Traders with independent accounts who are owed funds from VCM/TT were told that he was not going to be directly affiliated with Dimension (such as becoming a registered member). However the former prop traders from VCM/TT are using their Blackwood platform. Upon research of Dimension's 2009...

Played in the money Dec puts on SPY near the "double top formation" which worked well. Also took profits on some longs during the pullback/selloff, of course only to watch them go back up today given the hype of the GM IPO boosting the market!

They first said it woud price in the mid to upper 20's, then due to "increased demand" they priced it at 33. It opened around 35. Who knows if the earnings projections will justify the stock price. Until then, it's BOTH: the Largest IPO AND the Largest Scam!

Here's a list of prop firms to research and conduct due diligence on which firms can offer you an account for 5k and Lightspeed: http://www.traderslog.com/proprietarytradingfirms.htm The "no cap. lockup" may be difficult to avoid, it's usually for one year on all capital contributions...

You may want to try a firm called Tickdata.com. I called once to purchase a batch of data on EDGX however at that time DirectEdge was not part of an exchange (they are now). As I recall they did have access to the other exchanges, so Nasdaq and BATS are probably available. Hope that helps.

Interesting points. However, I'm not sure if the <25k props are simply going to be simply eliminated anytime soon. There are some proposed changes in the works for these type of firms, such as improving the distinction between master/sub-accounts and a new exam requirement for props that are...

Yes, it was a good interview and he's been on CNBC before and was also insightful. If the U.S. dollar continues to devalue because of QE2 and commodity prices rise, then it reduces the consumer's purchasing power which is an indirect tax on the people.

Doesn't HOLD offer a remote account? In any case, here's a link where you can research prop firms: http://www.traderslog.com/proprietarytradingfirms.htm