these are the smartest guys in the room

merger speculation

bought the day before earnings because the stock had been down and wanted the pop - and got it - now i'm hanging on for the ride to $140

this is my aerospace pick - even if BA is late with the 787 and it's earnings are affected, PCP will still have strong earnings. PCP is also an energy play because they make parts for tubine generators. I doubled down on bad news from BA today (787 delay). cost basis: 146.32... could have gotten in at $140, but hind sight doesnt put more cash in my account for such purchases.

giant dividend coming down the pipe and increased valuation from the merged company

reported increase in dividend, and they seem to be growing - will sell if the dems elect the next president.

i sold XOM at around 94 because oil was coming down under $80 and i figured it would be a seasonal drop.. then CVX came out with news about refining margins and the stock dropped, so I picked it up.. maybe not a good pick because it seems like oil goes up $1 and CVX goes up $.50, but oil drops $.50 and CVX drops $1.00. I don't understand why the bias to the down side, but up until around $82 oil XOM and CVX seemed to track the Goldman OIL idx very closely - then they seemed to detach. maybe worries about the crack spread?

IPO hype - boy am I an idiot for this stock. it is my single biggest soaking ever - down 16% right now from where i took it. I might let it ride for 30 days cause I could use the tax loss, but oy, it's pretty painful. this company really sucks - i think the managment is pretty crappy and really, what virgin company has been successful in the US? i can see why the brand is successful in europe and britain, but boy oh boy, this ain't europe is it? Here's the worst part of the story - they used the capital raised from the IPO to pay off part of their debt - PART of it, not all. Geez.. I'll probably amputate this limb if it bleeds to -20% before 30 days. Right now, VM's stock is bleeding like a wounded bear. I smell a class action.