TraderWise

Obviously the odds of success on the short side are very poor nowadays.  One area I was hoping to use as a hedge was the underperformance in China (5th worst index in the world in Q1 2010), via a short of Morgan Stanley China A Shares Fund (CAF).  But even that has now reversed, and it's time to cover - all bear hideouts are being smoked out.  I only had a 1.5% allocation since have any shorts on is harmful to your health, but I'm taking a 7% loss....

China has been up 6 sessions in a row, so our short term purchase in Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund (CAF) last Monday was well timed (under $30), I am going to head for the exits and repurchase if the fund (a) falls back or (b) jumps over resistance that it currently sits at.

We've added quite a few names the past few weeks, especially healthcare (and retail I suppose), as we "turn" the direction of the fund. I have a lot of 0.1% type of positions in the fund which are "holding stakes" waiting for better action in the stocks - I do this so I don't have to constantly say "I'm starting a new position" or "I'm closing a position". Effectively these 4 positions have been "closed" since they only sit as 0.1% stakes, but now I'm doing it formally.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is reportedly closing 300 offices and laying off up to 1,200 employees during the next year. The cuts come as Morgan Stanley merges with SmithBarney; Citigroup (NYSE:C) sold 51% of SmithBarney to Morgan Stanley last year. Shares of Morgan Stanley fell nearly 3% in trading Monday along with other financial stocks, which were driven lower by concern about the ongoing European debt crisis.

China Time Share Media Co. Ltd has filed to raise up to $75 million in an initial public offering.  The Chinese advertising service provider has applied to take "CTSM" as its NASDAQ stock ticker.  No share count nor any share price was given.  Morgan Stanley and UBS are the lead underwriters, and China International Capital and Susquehanna Financial Group are co-managers.

I started a new position in private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX) in the closing minutes yesterday at a price of roughly $6.85 (1.7% stake)

The Blackstone Group L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides alternative asset management and financial advisory services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Estate, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, and Financial Advisory.

Two transactions this morning...

It's like a soap opera around here.  After the weekend 'exchange of ideas' (for the sordid explicit details feel free to head over to the BusinessInsider) on Weibo, Morgan Stanley (MS) has not issued the traditional "buy buy buy" coverage this morning now that the quiet period is over.  You can bet their analyst was told to sit on the report by higher ups based on the embaressment this weekend.  (again it appears that no actual Morgan Stanley employee was part of this web altercation, ju

Doing some mid summer cleaning, I'm taking my marbles and going home - although the bully named Mother Market took quite a few marbles from me (stole some lunch money as well) - and closing out Sandisk (SNDK) after a very short holding period.  I more or less top ticked this name by buying the "breakout" June 16th - classic.  As this market struggles for another day, SNDK  looks like it will close below the 50 day moving average for the 4th day in a row.