I decided that while waiting for lower buy prices I might as well make a little money enroute. To that end, I shorted Time Warner (TWX) last Friday at $16.85. It rose a bit during the rest of Friday but is drifting lower today. This is not a major investment, just a quick position to profit if my predictions of a falling market come true. I expect to cover at about $15.50 for an 8% gain.
In other news, both Sun (SUNW) and Maxtor (MXO) are heading lower again. I’m still aiming to buy Sun at prices below $3.50. That would be a major investment, about five times the money I used in shorting Time Warner. I mentioned early in the summer that you should try getting into Maxtor below $4. That would have been good. The stock’s up some 38% in the past month. If you missed the chance to buy below $4, you’ll probably at least have the chance to buy below $5. The missed $1 gain won’t matter much to you when the $5 purchase doubles to $10, as I expect it will. Just don’t ask when.
Negative influences on the market include expensive oil, earnings warnings, rising interest rates, an economy that’s not out of the woods yet, and the ever-present risk of terrorism. They should give us enough volatility in the next couple of weeks to bring cheaper buy prices.
