My read on the markets today: They were glad to be out of August, giving a seemingly George Jetson-esque, “Jane, get me out of this crazy month! JAAAAAAANE!” Personally, I agree, as my portfolio finished the last day of the month with a yawn-inducing loss:

EMLC: 0.20 to $27.76 (0.73%, 0.69% overall)–bought at $27.57
GPE_PA: -0.05 to $26.65 (-0.19%, 5.36% overall)–bought at $25.295
INTC: -0.11 to $20.13 (-0.54%, -4.14% overall)–bought at $21.00
NNVC: -0.01 to $1.09 (-0.91%, -14.17% overall)–bought at $1.27
SLRC: 0.12 to $23.12 (0.52%, 11.42% overall)–bought at $20.75
XIV: -0.03 to $7.87 (-0.38%, -20.98% overall)–bought at $9.96

OVERALL: -0.01%

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!“–Peter Sellers as the President in Dr. Strangelove (written by Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern)

Happy birthday to our very own Mike and Chris! I’d ask both of you how many “paws” old you are, but I suspect that would make you centipedes!

That sound you hear is war drums starting to bang just a little louder in the Middle East.

First, we have Israel sending two more warships into the Red Sea, near their border with Egypt, after several terrorist attacks which were initiated in Egypt. Then we get Iran sending their 15th Fleet into the Red Sea (suuuuure it’s a peaceful mission!).

Add to that tension the problems in Syria, which was given ultimatums to end it’s crackdown on protests by the European Union, Russia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. If the UN Security Council initiates stiff sanctions against Syria, one theory is that President Assad will choose to attack Israel, since he will already be backed into a corner. It is safe to say that Iran would fully support this, and the Middle East would become a big war zone.

I won’t say war is inevitable, but the probability of it is growing. A long position on oil (unleveraged) is advisable now as portfolio protection.

On today’s economic front…

From Bloomberg:

U.S. factory orders probably rose 2 percent in July after a 0.8 percent decline the prior month, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts before today’s Commerce Department report. Data from ADP Employer Services may show companies added 100,000 workers this month, down from 114,000 in July.

Greetings from Germany

It looks like Germany will approve the European Financial Stability Facility after all, although the coalition government might end up losing several regional elections scheduled for next month. I would call it a small price to pay, but Germany’s guaranty of 211 billion euros is not exactly chump change…

Challenger job cuts report

CNBC is reporting, “Employers Plan to Cut 51,114 Jobs in Aug., 23% Down From July”. If you need a reason to be bullish today, this is a good one.

From a technical standpoint, the S&P 500 was confusing today. On one hand, it finished above resistance (1208); on the other hand, the dropoff at the end of the day to finish at 1212 has to leave leave you wondering about tomorrow. My guess is since the S&P was coming off a double bottom at 1121 when it broke through the resistance at 1208, tomorrow should be a continued run upwards (barring bad news, of course). But that leaves the question of: Running up to where? The next resistance I see is at 1257, although I would be surprised if the S&P gets there in one day.

As for my portfolio, I gave back to the markets most of what I made yesterday:
EMLC: 0.16 to $27.56 (0.58%, -0.04% overall)–bought at $27.57
GPE_PA: -0.07 to $26.70 (-0.26%, 5.55% overall)–bought at $25.295
INTC: -0.05 to $20.24 (-0.25%, -3.62% overall)–bought at $21.00
NNVC: 0.01 to $1.10 (0.92%, -13.39% overall)–bought at $1.27
SLRC: -0.06 to $23.00 (-0.26%, 10.84% overall)–bought at $20.75
XIV: -0.08 to $7.90 (-1.00%, -20.68% overall)–bought at $9.96

OVERALL: -2.11%

UPDATE 10:05 am:

Time for me to get rid of most of my portfolio, in preparation for my broker transfer.

First, my keepers:
1. NanoViricides (NNVC)
2. Intel (INTC)
3. Solar Capital (SLRC)
4. Market Vectors Emerging Market Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC)
5. Georgia Power Preferred (GPE_PA)

And now the holdings for sale, with initial limit sale orders:
1. PowerShares DB Gold Double Short ETN (DZZ) at $4.90
2. VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX ST ETN (XIV) at $9.15

If I can’t sell XIV near that price today, and I don’t think it’s likely, then I will just transfer it with the rest. I am not fond of holding a risky play like that for an extended period, although I may just sell off part of it just to lower my exposure.

Regardless, DZZ is going today.

I sold about 64% of my position in XIV at $7.70. After the poor consumer confidence report came out, I figured that was as good as I would get on this position. I can still claim a profit on this part of my position, but that pushed my dollar cost average back on my remaining holdings back to my original position of $9.96. My final line for the XIV I sold today:
XIV: -0.28 today, +0.39 overall to $7.70 (-3.51% today, +5.32% overall)–bought at $7.3111

UPDATE 2:18 pm:

I decided to eat my losses on DZZ and sold it at $4.30. With the Fed minutes out today, and a few Fed governors whispering sweet nothings into the gold market’s ear, I have no chance with this one. Here is the final line:
DZZ: -0.33 today, -0.50 overall to $4.30 (-7.13% today, -10.50% overall)–bought at $4.80425

I noticed that Interactive Brokers (another online brokerage) has a mobile trading platform. I am curious if any of you have any experience with it, or are currently using it, and any opinions you may have about it? (I may have some more questions for you later.)

I know I said I was going to use Tradestation, but I might change my mind. Interactive Brokers was actually my original choice, but because of the firewall at work, I dropped it. When i read they had the mobile platform, I reconsidered.

Greece is the word

It seems many European countries are upset with Finland for it’s side deal with Greece, which requires more collateral for more debt. Personally, I think they are just jealous they didn’t think of it first…

The dark side of the sun

Avoid solar power cell manufacturers. There is a glut in the industry, thanks to increased competition and productivity from Chinese manufacturers. While there will be plenty of mergers and buyouts, don’t buy one of the laggards hoping for a buyout premium, because the company is just as likely to end up in bankruptcy.

Bad news for Ford

The United Auto Workers union is going to demand higher wages for new workers from all three American car manufacturers. However, this is more of a problem for Ford, since the UAW agreed to no walkouts as part of the government bailout agreement for GM and Chrysler. The union’s reasoning for this demand is basically to give entry-level workers a middle class standard of living. Why entry-level workers should have a middle class standard of living is beyond me, but why should we worry about the success of American car companies when we have a union to support?

Latest from the mobile tech wars

Is Samsung planning to buy Hewlett-Packard’s webOS? If they do, this could put Samsung in a position to dictate the outcome of the mobile tech wars. While everyone is arguing about Apple versus Google, Samsung could be quietly maneuvering to knock them both out of it.

Keep in mind that Samsung makes parts for Apple’s iPhones and iPads, while at the same time making smartphones and tablets that run on Google’s Android operating system. However, if Samsung adds the webOS, they put themselves in a position to go head-to-head with both Apple and Google, AND still supply them separately. Samsung is setting themselves up so they can’t lose no matter who wins.

I don’t know if the markets are turning bullish suddenly, but they certainly acted like it today:

Nasdaq: +3.32%
S&P 500: +2.83%
Dow: +2.26%

Fortunately, my portfolio followed suit:
DZZ: 0.27 to $4.63 (6.19%, -3.63% overall)–bought at $4.80425
EMLC: 0.10 to $27.40 (0.37%, -0.62% overall)–bought at $27.57
GPE_PA: 0.17 to $26.77 (0.64%, 5.83% overall)–bought at $25.295
INTC: 0.52 to $20.29 (2.63%, -3.38% overall)–bought at $21.00
NNVC: -0.01 to $1.09 (-0.91%, -14.17% overall)–bought at $1.27
SLRC: 1.08 to $23.06 (4.91%, 11.13% overall)–bought at $20.75
XIV: 0.46 to $7.98 (6.12%, -3.36% overall)–bought at $8.25715

OVERALL: +3.44%

While I don’t expect tomorrow to be another day like today, I wouldn’t mind it either.

With my plan to change brokers at the end of this week, start of next week, I am trying to keep my trading limited. The only thing I have my eye on for buying is the iShares MSCI South Korea Index (EWY), but I won’t buy it today. I expect I can get it for a better price either tomorrow or Wednesday.

For selling, I plan to sell PowerShares DB Gold Double Short ETN (DZZ) no later than Wednesday, although I would prefer it was gone by tomorrow. I would also like to get out of half of my VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX ST ETN (XIV) this week, although I am willing to wait for that one. Worst case scenario, it gets traded with my other holdings.