Also keep in mind, it goes back to my arbitrage questions I had before. The SEC charges tax on the sale of securities (never been huge for me since I never traded large volumes). But a factor nonetheless.
So a strategy would be to buy on the US market; then assuming a profit on the stock, and the US$ v. CDN$ is in your favor on the sell side, you would sell on the TSE - avoiding the SEC tax. (Of course LARGE CAPs).
(assuming the currency is in your favor; it makes sense that the SEC tax is the evil doer).
That would bring up a problem with trading using the likes of Ameritrade exclusively. That strategy can only work with a broker that can deal with both sides. Well I can see dabbling with a number of brokers, and definitely have my sights on the US-CAN style of arbitrage trades.
Wot me laughing? Very sad over the past two weeks performance. Somehow I've seen these levels before. Time to go into hiding and turn my trading life around for good..
Alexander Elder
A losing trader is in denial. His equity is shrinking, but he continues to jump into trades without analyzing what is going wrong. He keeps switching between markets the way an alcoholic switches between whiskey and cheap wine. An amateur whose mind isn't strong enough to accept a small loss will eventually take the mother of all losses. A gaping hole in a trading account hurts self-esteem. A single huge loss or a series of bad losses smash a trader against his rock bottom. Most beginners collapse and wash out. The lifetime of an average speculator is measured in months, not years.
Those who survive fall into two groups. Some return to their old ways, just like alcoholics crawl into a bar after surviving a bout of delirium. They toss more money into their accounts and become customers of vendors who sell magical trading systems. They continue to gamble, only now their hands shake from the anxiety and fear when they try to pull the trigger.
A minority of traders that hit rock bottom decide to change. Recovery is a slow and solitary process. Charles Mackay, the author of one of the best books on crowd psychology, wrote almost two centuries ago that men go mad in crowds, but come to their senses slowly, and one by one.
..Food for thought indeed!
Can't find my DVD Wall Street (cripes, do I have to download that blasted thing? I BOT IT!). Well, watching the next best thing right now.. The Sting. Oh the life of a grifter.
Gordon Gekko [Wall Street]
The key to the game is your capital ... without it you can't piss in the tall weeds with the big dogs.
(That's Peter Lynch's angle wrt the use of options)
On Doyle Lonnegan [The Sting]:
The croupier at Gilman's says he never plays anything he can't win.
(Ok, Lynch again - doesn't invest in something he doesn't understand. He understands Donuts (Dunkin Donuts) but nothing about computer chips.)
B ya'all...
"When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk."
Tuco (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
"An umbrella with holes is better than no umbrella at all."
Dr. Alexander Elder on using stops.
