Taking profits. Stopping losses

Was I right? Was I wrong?

The theory is working. Just about. We've had two days of falls in the FTSE and the Dow too. The futures market indicates that Wall Street will open lower again. If there is no improvement the open will be inside the rising wedge I've been watching. So there's a big danger that I bought back into the market at just the wrong time.

But since I bought shares that were hitting lows in their wave pattern (see last post) my UK purchases are running with minimal losses. I have to say that the performance of SVS has made up for poorer results elsewhere but that is what spreading risk is all about. I always buy a range of shares because while my crystal ball can't tell me which share will rise by 5 or 50% in a week it can show me where I to look for shares that might. (For crystal ball read educated guess.) I have to buy a selection of shares to increase my chances of finding the bright star in a cluster that may shine less brightly but still glisten.

So what next? I have to guard against the real possibility that I have screwed up on timing and will have to beat a hasty retreat. The plan is to tighten stop losses - i.e. I pull out of shares more quickly if they go the wrong way and take profits more quickly - my finger is hovering over the sell button on SVS (6.7% after costs in a week is not bad - why should I be greedy and want more. Then I still have the option of buying shorts. You can see that it's far more fun when I am holding shares.

Visitors for lunch today. I've made them a goulash , Czech style. It's a stew not the Hungarian soup.

I fried up three onions and several stalks of celery. Once they were soft I added tomato purée,a desert-spoonful each of  sweet paprika and caraway seeds and salt and pepper. In a separate pan I fried up cubed pork (I cut up a 1.5 lb tenderloin because that was the best outdoor bred cut I could find). I added a tablespoon and a half of flour to the onion mixture and then the browned pork. And then about a pint and a half of red wine mixed with a beef stock (I favour Touch of Taste). I then cooked it slowly for an hour. I left this overnight and to be heated up ready for lunch. I'm serving it with Czech dumplings. I buy a mix on the internet from Halusky . It is not possible to get the right sort of flour in the UK so a mix is the best bet.