With all the bailouts here and there, people are saying bailouts have cost US tax payers more than a trillion dollars. Just how much is a trillion dollars? I found this simple article and illustrations that help me understand the magnitude of a trillion dollars. Check out for yourself, “How Does One Trillion Dollars Look Like“.

I started buying stocks in November last year with a view to keeping them for the long term. However, as time goes by, and with more and more of my money invested into the stock market, I have begun to buy and sell stocks more regularly. I believe I have turned from being an investor to a trader.

Here are some signs of a stock trader addict:

1. You wish the stock market is open everyday, including weekends and public holidays.

2. You check the stock prices every minute.

3. You have high expectations of the stock market even when the economy is plummeting.

4. You are a risk taker. You risk all your money in a few stock. (Note: Usually, I will “all in” in a single stock).

5. You borrow money to buy stocks.

6. You take bigger risks to make back your losses.

If you have other “signs” you’d like to share, do post via “comment”.

I work at the offices near just next to Mid Valley. Last week, I went over to the Maybank branch over at Mid Valley to buy a banker’s cheque. Upon arriving, I was told that the system was offline and there was nothing they could do.

Have you ever experienced waiting at the Maybank branch for a long time, and finally when your queue number arrives you were told that the system is offline and to come back the next day?

I can’t believe that Maybank doesn’t have a backup plan. With Malaysian broadband known for its instability, I am sure Maybank experiences many times systems offline in a month. And this causes inconvenience to its customers.

Maybank should have a secondary broadband line. My company has 2 lines. One leased line from Streamyx broadband and another wireless broadband from Airzed. When the Streamyx line drops, we will switch to the wireless broadband. I’m simple amzed that a multi-billion company cannot even think of this simple solution.

Today is my second time bidding for an auction property. And I have been outbid again. I have set my max bid to earn at least a Rate of Return on Equity of at least 20%. There were only one other bidder and obviously he valued the property more than my valuation. We kept bidding until the end, the property sold for 21.3% higher than the reserve price.

I wanted the property because of investment. I look at yields and rate of returns. The other bidder wanted to buy the property for his own use. I suppose his reason to buy would be for savings. Instead of paying rental to the landlord, he will pay mortgage installments and build his own equity. The property is an office unit.

I set a 20% rate of return because I could buy REITs with 20% rate of return. Therefore, I didn’t bid higher. If I had bid higher, then the purchase price will increase and the rate of return will reduce. This I learned from a book. “The price you pay determines the yield.”

Today is a sad day for me. I have lost a very good chance to make back the Minply losses.

Last week, LCL failed to submit their audited financial results. This sent their stock tumbling down. I was confident that the investors had overreacted and that the stock price will go back up when LCL submits its audited financial statements. And so I bought 32,800 units at RM0.54.

Yesterday, LCL closed at RM0.50. This shook me a little. I wasn’t prepared for a 10% drop in my investment. And I regretted buying so early. I thought to myself that I should have waited for the stock to be cheaper before buying in. But what was done was history. I worked out my plan to average down my cost per unit. I sweat at the thought of additional huge sum of money I would have to risk on this counter.

This morning, to my surprise, LCL price shot up. I checked but couldn’t find any new announcement. So I thought this is my chance to bail out and wait for the price to drop further before buying. I sold out at RM0.55. But the stock kept going up and up. I didn’t know why the sudden buying craze.

Only in the afternoon did I find out that LCL had submitted its audited financial statements and that the audited results were better than the unaudited results. By the time I found out, it was already too late. I had sold too early and was too late to jump back into this counter. I could only watch and rue this missed chance. I was so close to recovering my losses. My heart aches.

Why is it when I become brave and hold on to stocks, the stocks will drop like the Minply case. And when I am weak and sell early, the stock will rise through the roof?

LCL shoots through the roof, rising 27%