MDA - Market Direction Analysis

[ljk]

LG: In my experience with different brokerage firms, I've found some make you wait to use your money and some don't. I kept two brokers that are more trusting. I know different firms handle settlement differently, but I'm not so sure they aren't stretching their rights in order to do that. I always pay up and that might help, but I know there are firms that would be more strict with everyone, whether they pay up or not.

Over the years I've probably tried 16 brokers. I started trading in High School and maybe used a half dozen brokers before the discount Internet trading became available. Then I probably tried ten different brokers over the subsequent years but I kept the two I kept because they met most of my needs, proved most reliable for me, honest and fair. I've come to trust these firms even though one of them didn't do right by me during the early bear market.

I can forgive a lot, look at the overall picture. That firm has been worth keeping, and hasn't done anything arbitrary about margin calls since that time. As you point out they have the right to call in margin at any time, and even sell out your positions if they want to do that, especially if you go under the equity percentage they set. They own 70% of your stock in the best of times, and if they end up owning 90% of your stock, they really may sell you out. They don't even have to warn you! But I have found these firms to be reasonable and fair except for that one period of time. That's why one should keep a lot of leeway in the margin one uses, as you clearly suggest. If they were to sell out positions arbitrarily, whether they can do it or not legally, they'd lose their customers fast, but it can happen when you go below certain levels of equity so you don't want every turn in the market to generate a margin call.

If you only day trade, though, you can't get margin calls because you haven't held it overnight. But then you must close all positions every night, even the losing ones, even if you're sure you'll have gains if you hold a day or two.

As for the other matter, I first received an unsolicited PM that was obscene and vile. Then I received unsolicited email of that nature, which escalated to routine obscenity and death threats. I have received a dozen such emails in just a few days. I sent a copy of the PM to Matt and I finally told him about the emails, but not sent them to him as yet. I'm also considering other action.

I don't believe in posting email, though the sender does! And has even lied about it! But I can't bring myself to quite the level of posting email, even so. It violates my sense of ethics. And I'm not sure that it is an effective means for getting it to stop, though I'm sure he'd be embarrassed if others saw what he writes. I don't think my goal is to embarrass him.

Yet, I don't want to underestimate death threats. That would be foolish. We all know that people who seem to be sensible, jovial, witty and charming are sometimes the ones who turn out to be mass murderers. The Hannibal Lechter's of the world. So I don't want to underestimate this but I also haven't decided what to do, both for my own protection and to have it stop. I don't want to use a nuclear weapon to stop a flea and I don't want to find myself murdered because I was loathe to take harsher action, either.

Linda