Vegetable gardening - August 2009

I tried to venture into vegetable gardening last month. My first taste of veggie gardening was when I was still a kid. I cultivated a tomato plant before. And when it grew to about 2 feet tall, I clumsily hit it with a ball. It died eventually of course. :(

Then last month, I decided to give veggie gardening a shot again. Our barangay (local barrio) gave out free seedlings of 5 different vegetable plants. I only knew 2 of them by looking at the leaves: ampalaya (bitter gourd) and Chinese kangkong (a variety of water spinach). The other 3 seedlings is a toss up among eggplant, green beans and cucumber (I guess). Funny, the barangay guy didn't know them too. :(

Some pictures I have taken since I transplanted them into bigger pots:

Ampalaya (bitter gourd) with make-shift trellis:



Chinese kangkong (water spinach variety):



Could this be green beans? Anybody who would know?


I don't know what's this (yet):

*Edited to add: This looks like a young Okra upon thorough research.

Appreciate who would know these plants. Thanks! :)

There are still others left to be transplanted. Hopefully I can find some time and good soil.

PSEi chart

I'm a bit bearish with our market right now on the basis of this technical analysis above. The Shanghai composite index was down by 6.7% today after a former Morgan Stanley Asian economist said that China stocks are "in deep bubble," and may fall another whopping 25%! Dow Jones down almost 1% as of this writing.

I'm glad to be able to liquidate most of my stocks last week. I'm holding only CMT and Vista Land and Lifescapes (VLL) now. Month-on-month, I'm a bit dissatisfied with my net return (+8%) versus PSEi (+5%) because of some stupid trades and non-trades. I was not able to participate the huge rally last Monday as well, where PSEi rocketed up by 5%, due to some technical problems with my online broker.

Portfolio invested: 33%
Cash: 67%

Mushrooms

Mom bought a home-growing edible mushrooms from a food expo last month at World Trade Center. She got it quite cheap for only Php20 each! Each one can grow mushrooms quite a bountiful of times based on our experience.

Before watering (I know, my phone camera sucks!):



Sprouting stage:


Ready-for-consumption stage:



It takes normally less than a week from sprouting before it can reach full maturity. It's tasteless in my opinion. So you need to season to taste. It's a wonderful experience to be able to harvest our own food from our backyard. I'm trying to do some vegetable growing this time. Hopefully it'll work. :)

August 20, 24 and 25 trades

I sold all my PAX at 3.4 average as it seems to be going nowhere for now. I'll try to bottom fish this one for a change. My system is always been momentum trading, but I'll try something different. Let's see if it will work. I expect this to consolidate within the range of 3.20 to 3.70. Strong resistance is very evident in the area of 3.60-3.70 as we saw a while ago. :)

I got some Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) stock at 330. I chased this one up after it's breakout of 300 and seeing DW Capital's relentless buying. But I sold too early at 335 after forgetting to cancel my GTC sell order. :(

I averaged down on CMT at 1.04. I know that I shouldn't be breaking my cardinal rule of not to average down. But I can't help it seeing bargains after CLSA dumped much last week. Pattern is still intact towards the target of 1.40. :)

CMT daily:


Yesterday, I was really pissed at my online broker as they had encountered some technical issues with the platform. I called them twice, but tried to remain as calm as possible to dictate to them my orders but unfortunately my orders weren't matched. So I missed the very BIG upside of the market yesterday. :( I realized that my trading system will not work if I have a human broker because I place and cancel orders many times during a trading day. I'll miss much opportunity (or piss off my human broker) if I have to call up and wait on the phone line just for a human broker to post my orders or cancellations. Hehe. Online trading works for me very well. I do hope that they'll do things much better next time.

Anyway, I caught up on yesterday's property sector frenzy by buying FLI and MEG at 0.95 and 1.52, respectively, today. Foreign buying is still very much alive in the property sector especially on MEG. Chartwise, inverse head and shoulders pattern in FLI is still intact with target set at 1.40. My analysis on MEG is a bit unclear. It broke out of 1.48 today with volume and quickly hit a high of 1.54, but it closed back to 1.48. And apparently, 1.60 would pose a hindrance to the ascent (TP of cup and handle).

FLI Daily:

MEG Daily:


Portfolio invested: 55%
Cash: 45%

August 17 to 19 trades

I cut many of my holdings to taper off the massacre in the market. I cut SINO at 0.245, CYBR at 0.71, half of my CMT at 0.97 (which proved to be a mistake), and APC at 0.38. Technically, it seems that SINO and APC both broke down from its support that's why I got rid of them.

Yesterday, I made a boo-boo in Benpres Holdings (BPC). I tried to position first at the bid price of 3.05 while market price was doing 3.10. I was being too conservative! So I missed this ride, only to get it at the ask price of 3.35, which was a resistance. I feared that this will not pierce this resistance, so I cut BPC a fluctuation lower. I was just being jittery in this kind of market. Man, this proved me wrong! BPC pierced this resistance on very good volume and I ended up buying this stock up at 3.55! Wakhonga! Good thing that the momentum was there till today. I sold my BPC at 3.85 today. I should be content. :) Rumor mill says that BPC will sell it's stake in Digitel (DGTL). DGTL flew today as well! Hmm...

I sold the rest of my CMT at 1.06 at a minuscule profit as this was it's previous high. When CMT was trading in the range of 0.93-0.94 yesterday, which was the previous breakout point, now turned support, I hesitated to average down my holdings, thinking that I might just overexpose myself. So I ignored it. Instead I placed my bets on PAX again at 3.375 average. Stupid me! We know what happened to PAX and CMT today. :( I ended up buying the CMT I sold at 1.06 at a higher price of 1.12! My premise is that it broke 1.06 today convincingly. Target of 1.40 is still intact based on the technical analysis on my previous post below.

Market is still jittery. I viewed what happened to both PSEi and Dow today and yesterday, respectively, as a "dead-cat-bounce." Anyway, confirmation tonight and tomorrow is still needed to prove my theory correct. If it happens that our market goes down lower tomorrow, I might add some more CMT near 1.06. Let's see. Cement stocks are in the groove lately. Election play perhaps? :)

Portfolio invested: 44%
Cash: 56%

August 12 to 14 trades

Some blue chips were beaten black and blue, and second tiers and "basuras" (third liners) were set free! My hunch is that "basuras" will take the lime light this week.

PSEi Daily:


PSEi was showing some weakness lately especially on blue chips. Measured move to 2,900 resistance seems to have respected. MACD impending crossover may trigger more selling pressures next week.

---------------

I was experiencing some difficulties with my online trading platform as, probably, it got affected as well by the South East Asia-wide internet problem. So it would be prudent to cash in some gains, if any. But I bought a minuscule Geograce Resources (GEO) again after a long long time at 0.81 on Wednesday as it looked like a valid breakout from 0.79. Volume was exceptional as well. But on the hindsight, it was a whipsaw. It closed 0.79 on Friday. Is it mimicking TUNA after it breaks out of 1.60 then crashing to 1.50 a few days after? Uh oh. :(

GEO Daily:


I cut all my IP at 2.4 as it was just moving sideways. I also sold all my GMA7 at a profit at 7.3 (TOO EARLY!), because that was its previous high. I panicked to sell on this one because I don't want to be caught again by GMA7's one-day-wonder moves. Then a barrage of buying by Regis and BDO elevated the price to close at a day high of 7.8, but it crashed back down to 7.4 on Friday! Anyway, I'm happy with the profits; grateful of God's grace. :)

I sold all my PAX as well at 3.68 average for a profit after seeing it having difficulty going up past 3.75-3.80. :) Short-term players were going in out of this stock for now. I'll get back on this one again near support.

PAX Daily:


Last Friday, I was seeing funds exiting blue chips and rotating to some second liners and basuras. I sold CYBR at 0.72 because it was consolidating at it's lows and without any meaningful accumulation. It did go down to 0.66 (previous support) and some big buying ensued. I managed to ride again on this one, but at 0.73 already (a bit late though). But it still closed up strongly at its high of 0.75 showing a strong reversal. It looks like it will test 0.80's again come this week. :)

CYBR Daily:


I got into some minuscule basuras SINO and APC Group (APC) at 0.28 and 0.42, respectively. Big volumes were traded last Friday. I wonder what were these up to. APC is forming beautifully an inverse head and shoulders formation with potential target of 0.70. :)

APC Daily:


I got into South East Asia Cement (CMT) as well at 1.04 after it broke out of the 1.00 heavy resistance with convincing volume. Charts looks to point to the area of 1.40-ish as its target. :)

CMT Daily:


Composition:
CMT = 16%
GEO = 8%
CYBR = 6%
SINO = 3%
APC = 3%
Odd-lots = 2%

Portfolio invested: 38%
Cash: 62%

Sweet Delights for Everyone

Market is very boring lately and I got some "ipits" (stuck stocks) as well. :(

Anyway, I found an amusing email that I got long ago from my friend in my old and rarely used email account. It's just an eye-opener for all sweet-tooth folks. :P The white cubes are supposed to represent sugar. So more cubes mean sweeter delights (click to enlarge):





I can't believe that strawberries account only that little sugar. Hmm...

August 10 and 11 trades

I got whipsawed twice by IP. I cut my IP at 2.3 yesterday only buy it again at 2.46 today. IP closed 2.4 today. The volume was big these past few days for IP with corresponding breakout-like whipsaws. That's why I got whipped pretty badly. Ouch! :( I'll hold this for now. I also cut my EDC at 0.10 lower than my cost after it's not going up as it supposed to be due to the pennant breakout. This is bearish. EDC closed 3.60 today.

I was able to ride PAX at 3.26 average yesterday and today, and sold them all today at 3.50. :) PAX was very wild today. It opened 3.70, then quickly went down to 3.35 and quickly went up again to 3.5. I thought it was just doing an intraday testing of support, so I bought back PAX at. 3.45. On the hindsight, it was a boo-boo. PAX closed lower today to 3.25. :( It will be make or break for PAX tomorrow!

I sold all of my AT today at 8.1 as I don't want to expose myself too much especially at these times.

I'm still very busy these days due to the ongoing due diligence audit. I guess I'm still fortunate to be able to sneak in a trade or two daily. :)

Portfolio invested: 74%
Cash: 26%

Frustrating trades

Yesterday and today are very frustrating for me. I made stupid trades, which cost me about 2% of my portfolio. :( I knew it! I shouldn't go against my instincts. The market did correct these two days.

I sold my remaining AC at 307.50 after it gapped down because of Globe Telecom's (GLO) disappointing dividends. I should have sold sooner! :( Sigh. Greediness is killing me. :(

I bought some Atlas Mining (AT) yesterday at 7.8 after it broke out of 7.6 with good volume. Apparently, due to negative market sentiments, this breakout didn't budge so much as of today. :(

I bought (and got whipsawed badly) some IPVG (IP) at 2.40 due to breakout. But heavy volume sellers marred the rise. I'm so frustrated that I didn't cut this sooner. :(

I noticed PX was the play today. But instead of riding it, I chose to buy a minuscule CYBR instead at 0.70. Arrgggh!

I'm so frustrated! I'm getting emotional with my trades. Emotions would kill me. On the hindsight, I think I even over-positioned myself despite having this kind of market. :(

Composition:
EDC = 28%
GMA7 = 19%
AT = 16%
IP = 11%
CYBR = 6%
Odd-lots = 3%

Cash: 17%

August 3 and 4 trades

Our market continued to trek up towards the 2,900 resistance level. The mining sector, particularly, Manila Mining Corp. (MA/B) and LC/B, led the rally last Monday, but its strength didn't spill over today. MA/B and LC/B opened higher but closed unchanged and lower, respectively.

PSEi Daily:


We're still within the mid-term up trend channel (red lines), but we're now nearing the "former" up trend channel support line now had become a resistance (blue lines), which is incidentally around the 2,900 area. If we're going to use the "measured move," we can see that it points also to the area of 2,900. MACD and RSI are also testing resistance levels.

PSEi Weekly:


On a bigger picture, strong resistance is seen at 3,000, but we need to be wary as well of 2,900 (encircled). Inverse head and shoulders pattern is still intact as previously mentioned.

-----------------

As market continued to trek up, I'm lightening up my exposure just in case it would turn sour. I got some MA shares last Monday at 0.024 as I saw strength in it (it went ceiling then) but sold it today at 0.025 for a measly profit. :( I was caught in heavy traffic this morning so I arrived at the office a bit late. So, I missed the high of 0.028. :( But anyway, at least it's still a profit. For those who don't know yet, MVP also announced that he's considering MA as well aside from LC. I got some feedback from various brokers that MA is a better play than LC due to the fact that the MA's mine site is adjacent to Philex's (PX) Padcal site. Better economy for PX perhaps?

I also sold half of my FLI yesterday at 0.99 as I'm seeing toppish conditions. It was confirmed today as it formed a dark cloud cover candlestick pattern (bearish). See image below:

We'll see the confirmation on Thursday to validate this short term reversal. I sold all the rest of FLI today at 1.00. :)

I also got rid of WEB at 0.055 on Monday for 5% profit after holding it for quite some time now. I decided to sell this because it was not moving much, and decided to free up some capital tied up to this so that I can buy some other stronger issues. Efficiency-wise, it was not a very profitable trade because of the length of time I held on to this, and for only a 5% profit. And, to add insult to my injury, it just shot up today and closed at 0.06! Oh man! :(

I sold half of my AC today as well at 325 for a decent 8% profit. :) It seems to have respected the neckline at 320 today (opened 325, high 327.5, but closed at its low at 320) - classic bearish meeting lines (not good). That means, in an up trend, the price opened higher than yesterday's price, but closed unchanged versus yesterday's closing. I'll hold the rest of my AC for now with mental stop set at the break of 320.

I cut all my CYBR at 0.70 today. I learned once again not to be greedy. I have already set my sights to sell this one last week at 0.80's, but I didn't. The Lord rebuked me. :( I also sold SINO at cost.

I transferred much of my sales today to acquire a truckload of Energy Development Corp. (EDC) at 4.75. It seems to me that it broke out of its flag formation with a target price in the area of 5.3. One major obstacle right now is the major resistance at 5.00.

EDC daily:


Composition:
EDC = 28%
GMA7 = 19%
AC = 13%
Odd-lots = 3%

Portfolio invested: 63%
Cash: 37%

Finally! Trades for the week

I got my break today from the on-going due diligence review so I got this chance to post. (Wait a minute, I'm doing this in my office! I'm so happy!)

The highlight of this week, aside from the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), was probably MER (on a speculation of a tender offer) hitting a high of 302.50 on Wednesday, gapping down and went to a low of 190 the next day, reaching a high of 267.50 on Friday, before closing at 229! I'm really awestruck at this volatility. This explains the volatility of PSEi this week. I knew that MER would "crash" on Thursday after seeing huge crosses at 300 the day before that, as I knew that the buyer was already satisfied (at least partially). Initially I thought MER will drag down the market, but I was pleased to see that the funds liquidated from MER were moved to other sectors particularly properties and banking. This was a good sign of healthy fund movement. We even experience huge net foreign buying yesterday!

Technical analysis of PSEi (clickable):



It seems that PSEi broke out of 2,790 and is now moving towards the next resistance at 2,880 (dotted line). It will be harder for PSEi to move up for now as the indicators are pointing to overbought levels. 2,626 remains its support. Actually it's hard for technicians like me to judge the top of the market as much of the volatility lately was skewed by MER. Reverse head and shoulders formation (bullish) is still intact.

---------------

Trades:

Remember the holding company that I said I'm looking intently? It was Ayala Corp. (AC). It is forming a reverse head and shoulders pattern beautifully with neckline at 320. I got a significant portion at 300. Should the neckline be broken convincingly, we should see target 450 to 460. :)

AC weekly:



I also bought back PAX at 2.8. 3 to 3.1 has proved to be a stubborn resistance. Thus I sold all of this at 2.85 average.

I was lured back to LC again at 0.28 due to strong volume on Monday. Well, I anticipated that this would breakout 0.28 that day too, but it didn't. I guess everyone's focus was on MER this week. I decided to cut this one at 2 fluctuations lower. Chartwise, I wasn't that bullish anymore. Negative divergences with MACD and RSI were forming. 0.25 is a very critical support.

I bought a little Minerales Industrias Corporation (MIC) as well only to cut it on the very same day. :( I was whipsawed, thinking that it broke out of 3.5. I decided to transfer my proceeds to MER and FLI. I ordered to purchase a minuscule of MER at 262.5, but only half was matched. :( I took this gamble to purchase MER because momentum was there. I threw out my technical analysis for I know it won't work on this stock. I sold MER too early the next day at 282.5 (that day hit a high of 302.5).

I got a good chunk of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) at 0.92 (a bit too high though), because it broke out of 0.87 resistance quite convincingly (with big volume). Property is in play right now, and I believe will spill over to next week together with banks.

I cut all my TUNA at one fluctuation lower than my cost because it was too slow (read: impatience).

I'm happy to hitch a ride with Cyber Bay Corp. (CYBR) at 0.75 average on rumors that a third party investor wants to buy into the company. Also, I bought a minuscule Sinophil Corp. (SINO) at 0.27 on recurring exceptional volumes and breakout.

Composition:
AC = 24%
GMA7 = 19%
FLI = 16%
WEB = 11%
CYBR = 10%
SINO = 7%
Odd-lots = 2%
*Oops! Broke cardinal rule again. :(

Portfolio invested: 89%
Cash: 11%

-----------------

The month of July brought me an additional 10% return to my portfolio. Praise God for this for He has provided to help me meet our family debt! Though I'm a bit disappointed because my benchmark increased by 19%. :( I was depressed for about 10 minutes, but I was relieved after I realized the MER factor in July.

Busy

I'm sad because I cannot update my blog (except for this one) as I've been very busy as a corporate slave lately. :( That's why I wanted to achieve financial freedom someday (read: still patiently waiting). Hopefully, trading stocks could help hasten a bit. :)

On the average, it will take me at least 2 hours to post a comprehensive blog entry. That I don't have the luxury as of now. I'll post my trades later this week. Promise. I'll just need to get rid of this due diligence review off my back :)

God bless!

July 23 and 24 trades

The Philippine market was very good yesterday, breaking out of the recent high of 2,626 convincingly in very good volume (Php4.5 billion) in response to good corporate earnings in the US. PSEi closed 2,676 or 2.5% higher than last Thursday, but consolidating most of the Friday morning in the range of 2,646 to 2,656 (probably due to indecision after breakout by investors), before the bulls finally taking over during the last hour of trading. Immediate resistance is pegged at 2,750 to 2,780, which might be a tough nut to crack.

I'm seeing a beautiful inverse head and shoulders pattern, which is bullish, forming since mid-2008 until now (refer to the clickable picture below) Yesterday could be a sign that the neckline was broken with good volume. But there's an immediate resistance above it (or could this be the real neckline? Let's see).

PSEi daily (compliments of Yahoo! Finance):


RSI is already pointing a short-term overbought condition. MACD and RSI might test their previous highs as well (MACD - mid August 2008; RSI - Oct. 2007 and June 2009). My take is that we might experience some breather in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully consolidate for now as it will be healthier for the market in the long run.

-------------------

Trades:

Last Thursday, after seeing Republic Cement Corp. (RCM) shot up to ceiling with good volume before closing lower (sad to say that I was a bit too hesitant to buy this one due to its illiquidity), I bought a minuscule position in Holcim Cement (HLCM) at 3.55 thinking of sympathy play. But it didn't budge. I decided to cut this one out at one fluctuation lower.

I sold my entire position in LC for a quick 10% profit due to a heavy wall at 0.28 :). See my technical analysis of this in my previous post. I'll get back on this one at 0.25-0.26. Rumors were circulating that MVP and Lolo's prices were miles apart. Hmm...

I also sold my NI a little too early at an average price of 9.49 thinking it will have a hard time to break 10 due to high RSI and resistance. But the jockey has a different idea in mind. :( Yesterday, it went even higher. :( But still, it's a quick 10% profit. I should be content already thinking this was my biggest position last Wednesday. Maybe God is teaching me to be content with His blessings. :)

I was glad that this PAX finally got its feet moving last Thursday after almost a month of consolidating. But I quickly got rid also it for a 10% profit due to strong resistance at 3 area. I'll get back on this one if it goes back to its previous resistance of 2.65.

I also sold the rest of MEG at 1.14 for some coffee money and transferred all of it plus some more to GMA Network (GMA7) at 6.7. It broke out yesterday with volume. Potential target is 7.4 (previous high).

GMA7 daily (courtesy of COL):


To God be all the glory! :)

Potential stocks to trade next week:
I'm looking at going back to LC and PAX if my target buying area is achieved. I'm also thinking at going into certain blue chips again: one is the holding company that I mentioned before and another that is into power.

Composition:
GMA7 = 19%
TUNA = 13%
WEB = 11%
Odd-lots = 3%

Portfolio invested: 46%
Cash: 54%

July 21 and 22 trades

PSEi was trying to mimic how Dow behaved--lots of choppiness. Both markets were experiencing some toppish signals as evidenced by lower value turnover despite in an upward trend. PSEi is yet to test the recent high of 2,626, while the Dow was already testing 8,900-ish.

PSEi was up by 19 points today to 2,612 and was led (again) by Lopez stocks, mainly MER and First Philippine Holdings (FPH), which registered a whopping Php162 million and Php60 million worth of net foreign buying, respectively. Total market turnover of Php2.8 billion was a little bit wanting for me. This just meant that there were lesser aggressive buyers today than yesterday or last week as we are approaching the resistance. Breadth was still good though with the advancers outnumbering the decliners 85 to 33 with 55 unchanged. We were net foreign buying overall of Php162 million today (MER coincidence?).

MER closed 199 today on huge volume after hitting a high of 200. Rumor mill was speculating that Ramon S. Ang (RSA, for short), president of San Miguel Corp. (SMC/B), might be enticed now to sell its MER holdings to MVP at this "spectacular" price. :)

----------

I got my documentary stamp tax refund today, which added 1.5% to my year-to-date return. :)

I realized that I was whipsawed by LC the other day (refer to my previous post) after massive selling by Felipe Yap-associated brokers. So I bought this back up at a much higher cost of 0.245 instead. :( But at least I was able to ride this one. It broke out of 0.25 resistance today confirming the flag pattern (resistance was also the 100-week moving average). LC closed today at 0.28 resistance on big volume. I expect this to hurdle this resistance tomorrow barring any unforeseen circumstances. Refer to my technical analysis below (click to enlarge):

LC daily:



LC weekly (cup and handle pattern still intact):



The holding firm that I was monitoring (refer to my previous post) was a bit shy these two days. It might test previous resistance first to confirm breakout. I'll keep my eye on this one.

I also bought a ton of NiHAO Mineral Resources (NI) the other day at 8.6 due to strength and breakout from previous resistance of 8.5. I'm still holding onto this one today. We might taste some wall on the 10th to 11.5th floors.

NI daily:



I disposed off more than 50% of my holdings of MEGA-heavy MEG at 1.08 to transfer some to Alliance Tuna (TUNA) at 1.62. Macquarie seems still has a lot of bullets to pepper hapless MEG investors like me. :( Selling to buy MER and FPH? Macquarie were top buyers of these two today (this broker was associated to MVP before. Hmm...). Buying of TUNA was based purely on breakout of 1.60 strong resistance. But we might experience some selling towards 1.68-1.70 as seen in the chart below:

TUNA daily:



I'm still holding on to the rest of my holdings. PAX looks interesting. I expect this to erupt soon as there were signs of accumulation on going. :)

Composition:
NI = 27%
PAX = 16%
TUNA = 13%
MEG = 13%
LC = 11%
WEB = 11%
Odd-lots = 3%
*I broke my cardinal rule of not to hold more than 5 stocks at a time. I guess I'm just bullish (for now). :)

Portfolio invested: 95%
Cash: 5%

Somebody didn't want to have her picture taken

Who's she? Why is she camera-shy? :)

Answer:

... Because it's her birthday today! Happy birthday Kayla_wonders!

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Trades for the day:

I dumped all my LC as Lolo (Felipe Yap, majority owner of LC and stockbroker) didn't want to cooperate. :( Good thing I still profited from it. :) I'll be keen to buy this back again if opportunity arises. I'm still holding on to the rest of my stocks. I'm looking at one holding company today. Technically speaking, it's a very good buy! Let's see tomorrow. :)

PSEi did a great move today coupled with strong volume. Big foreign buying is cornered by Lopez stocks and some properties. Heavy net foreign sellers were present in banking. Market is still intact to retest again the recent high of 2,626. European markets are up by close to 2% and Dow Futures by 0.71% as of this writing. Oil and gold are up 2%! Time to brim up your cars!

Composition:
MEG = 32%
PAX = 16% (very disappointed)
WEB = 12%
Odd-lots = 3%

Portfolio invested: 63%
Cash: 37%

July 15 and 16 trades

The Dow went up by 1% yesterday afternoon (US time) after Nouriel Roubini's "rosier" US outlook. It traded mostly flat in the morning. The Dow is now at 8,712 as of yesterday, which has confirmed the negation of the bearish head and shoulders pattern that I was saying on my July 14 post. It looks poised to test the resistance again in the area of 8,850. What worries me a bit is the volume.

On the local front, we're enjoying a long weekend. No trading today because of tropical storm "Isang," which caused the curtailment of governmental work. So since there was no central bank work, therefore there were no clearing facilities, and no trading. :( Good thing was that the PSEi confirmed the 2,500 breakout with volume and good breadth. Weekly volume increased from Php12 billion last week to Php12.3 billion this week (sans the MER block trade on four trading days only). Moving Average Convergence-Divergence (MACD) now showed a buy signal. We might test 2,626 pretty soon. :)

-----------

I increased my holdings on LC by 25%. I'm pretty happy with this one though it's now experiencing some resistance due to the 130 and 200-week moving averages. My average cost is 0.214. :)

I bought some Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPI) thinking it will rise very soon as it was near the up trend support line. It did for a while, but was met by a brick wall at 6, and was sold down to 5.7. I decided to cut it one fluctuation lower than my cost as I don't think it's going anywhere for now. :(

I sold PAX but buying it again at a higher price. :( Man! This is hard to time. My hunch is that a (big?) move is coming.

I got a truckload of Megaworld Corp. (MEG) also, but it seems that the investors were experiencing some indecision as evidenced by the doji. I realized afterwards that I had overexposed myself on this one. :( But with interest at all time low, I can't think of any way that this will not benefit property developers. Besides, OFW remittances are at record highs. :)

Composition:
MEG = 32%
LC = 25%
PAX = 15%
WEB = 11%
Odd-lots = 3%

Portfolio invested: 87%
Cash: 13%

Of Cupcakes and Muffins

I've been blogging about the stock markets for quite some time now. My mind just needs a break from being a frustrated analyzer. Ahh... What break could be better than to write about the ultimate analysis of cupcakes versus muffins?! Haha! Just kidding. I'm not in the mood to over analyze their differences for now. But, interestingly, according to this site I saw, a cupcake is defined as "a small cake, the size of an individual portion, baked in a cup-shaped mold," whereas the muffin is defined as "a small, cup-shaped quick bread, often sweetened."

Kayla_wonders and I had let our taste buds try Little Miss Muffin Cafe last Saturday. And to my surprise, according to the owners, there are indeed differences between cupcakes and muffins. I learned something new that day. Some delectable muffins they're offering (click to enlarge):




Regular muffins Php25 each; Petite muffins (partially hidden) Php10 each


Aside from that, they also offer rice toppings, desserts and other meals:


Here's what I ordered -- the Little Miss Muffin Red Healthy Linguine for only Php85. Not only it tastes great, it's seasoned with a healthy dose of tomatoes too!

Kayla_wonders is a bit Filipina that day as she took the very native Adobo Flakes with rice garnished with fresh tomatoes and salted egg, plus a complimentary drink:


All these for only Php110! Oops! Don't be fooled by that drink that was half glass empty (we were just too curious that had few sips prior to taking this picture :) ).


For those who love food-related souvenirs, they're selling some polymer clay gift items too, care of Pumpkin Beads Gift Shop. Visit that site as well for more items on sale at very affordable prices. See? Not only you got the chance to satisfy your palates, you can also bring home souvenirs that will surely make you crave for more food! Haha. Sneak peak of an item on sale:


Cuppy-06 Bag Charm


Here is our photo together with the owners of the said cafe:


From left: Me, Shirley, Kayla_wonders and Joel

Not bad if you're going to ask us. It's definitely worth coming back (it's my second time around to be honest). :)



Remember the name. It's located at 1311 Padre Algue corner Alvarado Extension Streets, adjacent to Chiang Kai Shek College (High School building), Tondo, Manila. They're open Mondays to Saturdays 9 AM till 7 PM.