I made no recommendation for shorting or going long. I also prefer sector trading myself. It is commonly accepted that small business normally leads a recovery and also leads a selloff hence tna and tza. The financials were downgraded yesterday by s&p (pretty significantly) that is big news hence fas faz.

I have no personal position on whether we are at the bottom or at the top of the cliff. I would comment that the way most individual investors are set up in their retirement plans that they can only make money in a rising market...what this means is that there is a small bullish bias in the market.

 

How will a single PB day work for a regular line holder?

My assumption is that I can drop a trip that I place it on, but reserve levels have to be sufficient.

Also, for pay, if I drop a 10.50 two day, will I lose the 10.50 pay and only get credit for the 3+?? PB day?

 

Boomer,

Like your posts and would love you here at Delta, but I got to call you out on that one.

When flying at the other wholly owned subsidiary I got the "welcome future Delta Captain" letter. Called one of the best FO's and told him what happened and suggested he get his stuff in ASAP. He did not want to for the exact same reasons you mention. The day he interviewed there were a couple of zoomies right out of central casting and a F18 demo pilot interviewing. He was embarassed when they went around the table talking about their backgrounds. They were not hired, but he was. Thanks to the class make up, he got in an earlier class and had the right SSN to go to the front of that class. Post NWA merger, he's almost 100 numbers senior to me!

Just finished the book "Brain Rules." About three times a chapter something would resonate with a part of the testing Delta uses in its interview process. I don't know who designed that thing, but it employs some cutting edge stuff.

Bottom line, never listen to the pilots who aren't on board and don't listen to rumors about why you might not make it. If your goal is to fly for Delta (as mine was) then copy the guys who did it. From first hand experience I assure you that it does not take a ton of PIC, or a family connection, to get the letter. It does take accuracy on the paperwork, the published prerequisites, an ability to do well on the testing, a friendly and professional attitude and a little volunteer work and leadership experience helps.

We will have the 2012 plan shortly and I'd say there are at least even odds that we'll hire. Hope you are at the front of that line. Beat the door down. Delta's a good place to be despite all of our carping. (and also hit FedEx, SWA, UPS, etc ....)

 

Spot on Scambo1.

I trade TNA, FAS and SSO (double beta). I don't really like trading the inverse. My favorite strategy is to sell puts in TNA at a .15 delta every 30 days or so. I buy them back after getting 80% of the premium. Then I rinse and repeat pretty much every month. It's a simple cash secured put. I know it's more capital intensive than some other strategies, but it doesn't require a lot of managment. If I get assigned, I sell the other side at the strike I was assigned until I get called away. What's not to like an 85% probablity of success.

I went to cash in my trading accounts on Friday. I'm waiting to reenter. I'm thinking this afternoon or tomorrow.

Now, if you didn't follow what I just said, get some education, start small and practice. If you fly an airplane, you can do this. Everything we do with a commercial airplane is risk management. Successful trading is risk management.

 

Thanks Bar.

My finger is over the send button waiting for the window to open.

In the meantime, I've been volunteering as a counselor for single moms at one of the local "establishments" - I'll get that on the resume as well.

 

Don't quote me() but I think you would get what the trip is worth for the day, on a regular line, that you use the PB day to drop. A 10:50 trip that is 5 on the first day and 5:50 on the second day would net 5 hours if the PB day was used to drop the first day. This is all assuming that the reserve coverage is good.

Denny

 

What's the best source to get the education you speak of for the non-savvy investor?

 

You asked for it.

It's a process. I started with mutual funds years ago. Then I gave some money to one of our esteemed instuctor pilots to manage. After he managed it into the ground, I got mad and decided I could do better. From there I went to VectorVest. I took advantage of their tools and trading group. They are a fine company if you just want to trade stocks. But you can only succeed if the market is going up.

I was introduced to options by some of the experienced VectorVest traders. They referred me to a local monthly trading group devoted to options education. I started looking for educational resources.

Resources that you can go to for FREE or close to FREE would be:

The Options Playbook by Brian Overby. Available for FREE at TradeKing.com website. But I like having a hard copy for a reference book. Around $24.00 at Amazon.com.

The CBOE.com (Chicago Boarad of Options Exchange) They have excellent FREE educational webcasts on their educational portion of their website. I particularly like the webcasts of Brian Overby and Dan Sheridan. Dan has 30 years of experience, his own 2 year long mentoring program and 5 years of monthly webcasts at the CBOE. Wade through them. You won't understand anything, but persist. Once you watch enough of them the light bulb will start to get brighter. It's a foreign language. Brian Overby is an excellent educator. I know both of them and they are great guys.

The simplest options strategy is the covered call and it's sister the cash secured put. We can trade both of these in our 401(k) and DC Plans at Fidelity. I use the Snider system to trade these two accounts. Really good system to trade your long term portfolio. It costs a modest amount, but you will make that amount back in the first month. You can be a beginner and still operate this system.

I use Callwriter.com to find good covered call candidiates. It is a paid service. There is a FREE newsletter archive on the public side of the website that is filled with articles that explain options and ways to trade this strategy.

Last, I love tastytrade.com. This is the new daily webcast from the founder of ThinkorSwim. Four hours each morning of options trading, entertainment and sports. You can't talk trading all the time. You have to talk about flying and yourself, too.

The bottom line is this: It takes time and effort. But it can be done. Nobody loves your money as much as you love your money. Get educated, get some practice. You will discover what is comfortable for you. You didn't become a pilot by being lazy. The loss of the pension changed everything. You have to take responsibility for your future. You will make some mistakes, everyone does. But that is not excuse for not getting educated.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to ACL,Scambo, FTB, Gunfighter, others for the business ideas; Scambo and Orvil for the investing info. Much appreciated!!

 

Umm, I think those cheerleaders are around 13 yrs old.
inappropriate.