I have the sense that trading this market is going to continue to be very challenging in the coming weeks. I continue to be hedged (longs and shorts), which means safer positions overall but dampened moves in either direction. For example, today the market is down pretty hard, and although my portfolio is up, the gains are tremendously muted.

I uncovered many short opportunities this weekend, but twice as many long opportunities. I am focused on the shorts at the moment, since I think the odds of a lurch down into the 700s on the S&P is coming up next, before the big rally. Here are a few sample charts, and I'll be posting more throughout the day.

Well, we have our 44th President now. I have a couple of things to say.

First off, I hope we as a nation can get away from the obsession that he is black. I'd rather live in a color-blind society. It means far more to me that he's freakin' smart than his pigmentation is different than mine. It's disappointing to see so much focus on his color. Truly, I hope in future years it doesn't even get mentioned.

Second, I love this country, and I hope he can do what he sets out to do. If he manages to turn this nation around and get it back into a stable and prosperous direction, he'll be heralded even one hundred years from now as one of the nation's greatest leaders. To me, the mathematics are simply against him, or anyone else who would endeavor to make things right.

Since the current financial markets instruct me to be bearish for a number of years to come, some might assume my disposition indicates a hatred for capitalism and/or this country. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I am an accomplished capitalist myself, and I'm as fond of cash as the next fellow. And I've always loved America. It's the Americans I could sometimes do without!

In any case, this is an historic day. As the old saying goes, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. And the latter is what I will continue to do, day to day.

Again, my apologies to you (and myself) for oversleeping. To say it's unlike me is a huge understatement.

I have kicked the day off by purchasing the following put options. What you see is the underlying symbol, the contingent stop price, the option symbol itself, and the quantity purchased (and at what price).

ABX 37.84 .ABXPI 3 @ 11.3
AIZ 31.44 .AIZRG 3 @ 10.9
GOOG 340.80 .GGDOD 1 @ 43.9
GWW 81.18 .GWWPQ 3 @ 13.6
MCD 64.46 .MCDOZ 6 @ 6.1
PCLN 80 .PUZPP 2 @ 17.1
PTRY 22 .PQRRF 3 @ 12
SCG 37.62 .SCGQH 5 @ 7
SCHN 42.91 .SQQQI 3 @ 13.8
SRE 44.99 .SREPJ 5 @ 8.7

Urgh. I'm usually up an hour before the open, but this time I've got a late start (half an hour into the day). I can barely see straight right now, and it's particularly exasperating since the market is obviously on the move in a big way.

I'll do a post once I've got my head on straight……..

Long Side:

Short:

I'm seeing a lot more long ideas than shorts. The above are just a small sample set.