Ruh oh!  I just got super busy again…  so some of the posts I’ve been planning for next few weeks are going to be delayed. 

The last few weeks, the new business really sucked ass.  Apparently, the customers have been getting their asses handed to them being in bearish interest rates trades (rates go higher).  So here I am, the noob, saying "Hey guys!  These rates are looking kind of low."  Not a great way to get myself new business.  Um... maybe I need to read some more Art of War and figure out what the customers are doing first!

And to top it off, the shape of the yield curve has been very flat, and hadn't really moved.  So there was nothing really for me to pitch the last few weeks.  I spent so much time and made so little money this month I kind of felt like a short stacker - questioning why I was doing this, when flipping burgers might pay more.

Okay... not really - I enjoy the mental challenge of looking at the rates markets.  My specialty is finding trades that make money when your view is correct, but won't lose as much money when your view is not correct.  The thing I like about trading interest rates is that you have an extra dimension (maturity) you won't find in equities and commodities.  This greatly expands the number of possibilities.  I have the choice of 20+ widely traded 3 month interest rate futures to pick from.  I can say something about the 3 month rate a year from now as compared to the 3 month rate 18 months from now, vs the 3 month rate 27 months from now.  You have interest rate futures and options (and treasuries, swaps, agencies, corporates, high yield, emerging markets, Fed funds, etc).  And most of the G7+ countries have similar instruments.

I've been getting somewhat hammered on a number of trades because of the rally, combined with a little credit risk nervousness from the EU.  A sarcastic thanks to all my friends Greece!  I feel like a sheep...  getting f*cked up the ass by Gree..  eh hem.  I digress...  Since most of the trades I do have a lower downside than upside, I've minimized the losses on my bearish trades.  In fact, I'm still UP since I first started.  I guess that's something to be proud of.  It's like that session where you run really bad, but you end up making money anyway.  Eventually, the cards are going to turn your way...

So yesterday an investor said he wanted to do all my trades, so that was a pleasant surprise.  I think it’ll give my newsletter some added credibility and it will let me build a documented track record if I ever wanted to "trade" from home.  I'm not sure trading's a direction I want to go though - most people don't realize how time-intensive trading or managing money is (later post).  But you never know.  As I've been saying all along, it's good to give yourself "life outs."  And it's a pretty good deal for him... trying to get 20-30% thru me is better than the 1% at the local bank.  I'm *pretty* sure.

In before someone says, "Yes - but how much did you lose?"