CapitalistAttitude.com

If you are looking to save money, then the first place to start is your insurance policies. If it’s been a long time since you looked at your policy, then it really is time to shop around. The Internet has made the insurance industry very competitive. It is no longer the world of getting your policy from your Cousin Lou. It’s time to get the best bang for your buck. It’s easy to shop around and get quotes from several large insurance companies form Auto to Renter’s insurance. The problem may be where to start looking. Since I recently went through this process let me give you some reviews

COMPREHENSIVE QUOTES

Hometown Quotes

I like the landing page. It was clean and easily navigable. I like the idea of finding a good local agent so I give them kudos on their name.

Strengths

• All types of insurance covered
• Brief questions
• Local agents
• Five Offers
• No obligation
• All major carriers including Allstate , Metlife, and State Farm

LIFE INSURANCE

Insure.com

If you are looking for life insurance then Insure is a good place to start. It has a moderate information landing page form. It is a few health related questions. But the power is the results.

It has a full page full of results with quotes on many different products. It will give you many options and a quick yardstick to test your current policy.

Strengths

• 30 major carriers
• Quick and Easy
• Fast comprehensive results

More Than Just Insurance

Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has a good site that will give information on more than just Life insurance. It also includes investment products, annuities, disability and estate analysis. I used a Northwestern Mutual agent in Connecticut before I moved. He was very thorough so I’m giving them a shot.

Here are a few takes on the runup in Crude Oil

What’s Behind the Flare-ups in Oil Prices? Jeremy Siegel and Witold Henisz Weigh In

Blame Congress for High Oil Prices

Asian countries begin to burst the oil bubble

I will start a new feature today. I will review an investment book and give the highlights as well as how to apply their wisdom in today’s market. I will also include helpful tools like Internet resources, excel sheets, and programmed indicators and strategies.

Joel GreenBlatt How to be a stock Market Genius

We start with a book about different strategies to capture hidden profits in unique stock situations. It’s called How to Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel GreenBlatt. He ran Gotham Capital and includes a performance table with average yearly returns of 50%.

His trading axioms include

1. Pick you spots . Look for unique situations to ramp up your returns. It is similar to the Ted William’s approach to hitting. Get to know your strike zone and hit any good pitches in your zone to maximize your returns
2. The past doesn’t measure your real risk. Use the past as a yardstick but be very wary of using that a your risk possibilities. The black swan, an unforeseen event with massive impact, is always possible.
3. Use different approaches. He employs the Mr Market theory from Benjamin Graham. The Market will present many opportunities so be ready when a bargain falls in your lap. It may not be from the usual path.

In part 2, we look at his first proposed niche, Spinoffs.

The Sell signal in the SP500 is flashing again. The market is $40 form our original entry but the Average True Range has not spiked and the Russell-SP500 spread has continued to rally. Both are hitting their bands. I will enter another piece of the Sep 1275-1545 risk reversal (long put -short calls) on the violation of a daily low in the SP500.

A good article from WSJ about the last days of Bear Stearns.

Lost Opportunities Haunt Final Days of Bear Stearns

Ken Heebner of the CGM Fund has posted some unbelievable numbers. How about 80% return last year. Yes I said last year while everyone else was scrambling. He rode the housing wave up and down and jumped on the commodity boom. Check out this article

I put on a risk reversal in the Sep SP500 on May 20, 2008 with futures at 1421.00. I bought the Sep 1275 puts for 23.00 and sold the Sep 1545 calls for 13.00. My indicator for the short is a combination of two factors. I use a proxy for option volatility. It is a 10 day average of the average true range. It is highly correlated to implied volatility levels. I like to see this at a low level. The other factor is the Emini SP500- Russell Spread. The spread widens during bullish runs. I like to see it at a high level. The trigger is the combination at the same time. The last two signals were on Dec 25, 2007 and Mar 27,2008. When the setup is fired then I wait for a violation of a daily low. The delta on the position is 40. It equals the percentage of a full contract position. If you bought 10 risk reversals then you are synthetically short 4 SP futures contracts. I bought in one futures short already. The next goal would be to buy in the short calls around $1.00. The exit of the entire position would be the reversal of the entry signal. in other words a high implied volatility spike with a low SP500-Russell spread.

Today’s article roundup

A Tale of Two Housing States Real Clear Markets

Writedown Bug For Lehman Fortune

Trichet Says Shocks Aren’t Over for Europe’s Economy, WSJ Says Bloomberg

Buffett sees “long, deep” U.S. recession CNBC

Long Term Investor Screen Investors Business Daily

I’m back and will begin blogging on a regular basis now. I will still have posts on trading but will add daily links for good articles and a section on market wizards and gurus and their knowledge and it’s applications to you.

A big gap open is expected in the stock market Tuesday morning. I analyzed a selection of past -2% gaps lower. After careful analysis, I designed my anticipated pattern and game plan. My game plan is to buy after the open on a strength violation in the 5 min chart. A similar violation after 9 am is another buy target. A mid morning high will be established around 10am and I hope to have locked in a good 75% total position profit by then. I’ll look for some finishing strength after 1 pm for a strong finish into the close.