March 12th, 2010
Published Daily
COMMENTARY for Friday

The Illustrious History of Friday the 13th

by Rick Ackerman on November 13, 2009 12:01 am GMT · 13 comments

We owe a debt of thanks today to our learned money-manager friend from Lake Tahoe, Rich Cash, for his labyrinthine treatise on the origins of Friday the 13th.  Here’s Rich, and we would encourage you to follow the links he has provided wherever they lead (including this one, to subscribe to his excellent service): 

I had a financial friend who was a triskaidekaphobe. He did not like the Friday the 13th film franchise genre, with 12 films now. (Will the 13th release be unlucky?) On Fridays the 13th, my friend ran and hid, fearing the end of his luck, if not his portfolio. If a month begins on Sunday, then there is a Friday the 13th. There may be from one to three Friday the 13ths a year. However, this is the last one until 2015. Will this one be unlucky for the » Read the full article


This Just In... for Saturday

Using Street Smarts to Trade Options

by Rick Ackerman on November 14, 2009 8:20 pm GMT · 0 comments

I am in San Francisco to speak at the annual conference of the  Technical Securities Analysis Association. The theme of this year’s event is stock options, and my talk has focused on an approach to trading options that is more street-smarts than rocket science.  To download the actual Powerpoint presentation, click here.