The Neo-Market Report

By stereolab

Yet again the time has arrived for our weekly visit with Neopia's leading financial experts. Joining our hosts today will be Slack-A-Roo the day trader, who will be here to discuss the ups and downs of the volatile world of "day trading." And now, here are Neil and Maria…

KAUVUTO: Hello, and thank you for joining us as we present this week's installment of The Neo-Market Report. I am your host Neil Kauvuto, Financial Editor of The Neopian Times, and as usual I am joined by my co-host Maria Blumaroono, who's on the floor of the exchange with all the latest news. Maria, I hear things are actually going well. What's the story?

BLUMAROONO: Well Neil, you've heard correctly. The market has taken a sharp incline, as investors have watched the Neodaq climb steadily throughout the week. Figuring that, after last week's collapse, the stocks had nowhere to go but up, scores of investors took to the floor on Monday's opening bell with an eye out for bargains. This sudden surge of investing has meant big jumps for a number of companies' stock prices. Leading the charge of this latest Bull Rush has been Techrobatics Fitness videos, which recovered nearly half of its value from last week's six-hundred-point collapse by surging an impressive 279 points per share. Even more stunning are the performances of Cybun Electromatics and The Presidential Palace, who each showed gains that were larger than their losses during last week's crash. Cybun rebounded from a 122-point plummet with a stunning 195 burst, while The Presidential Palace overcame a 116-point slide by posting a 159-point gain.

KAUVUTO: Following up last week's look at how this recent slide had impacted some of The Big Board's smaller stocks, it is now apparent that companies such as Buzz-A-Way Insect Removal and Kor-Bat Cricket Supplies have made much less progress in regaining consumer confidence in the wake of last week's collapse. Whereas companies like Cybun Electromatics have met, or in some cases exceeded, the losses they took a week ago, smaller businesses such as Hakaheke Island Flights have only regained ten to twenty percent of the value which they held before Chairman Grundospeck's decision to raise interest rates.

BLUMAROONO: Well, one Neopian who has continued turning a profit during these tough economic times is our guest today, a young "day trader" who goes by the name of Slack-A-Roo. As one of the many "day traders" who've recently begun popping up around the floor of the exchange, he's here to explain the ins and outs of this new phenomenon, and what effect it's having on the market. Slack-A-Roo, thanks for joining us today.

SLACK-A-ROO: Oh hey… no problem, bud.

BLUMAROONO: For those out there who don't understand what it is that you're doing, could you explain the art of "day trading" to our audience?

SLACK-A-ROO: Sure thing, man…it's basically like this; each weekday I head out to the exchange and pull up a chair in front of The Big Board. You know, it's kinda funny because everyone else there is in a suit and tie, and I'm just pretty much wearing whatever I happened to find on the floor next to my bed that morning. Well anyways, throughout the day the stock values will tend to go up and down, and what I'm doing is keeping an eye out for a stock that has risen pretty steadily for the past few days, or even the past few weeks. For example, let's say that a stock like Kau Kau Farm has been climbing pretty steadily--well, what'll happen is a few investors will think that it's peaked, so they'll cash out. This will cause the stock price to temporarily dip, and that's when I move in. I pick up a few shares of Kau Kau Farm, and then once investors see what a bargain it is, their "buy low, sell high" radar will kick in and they'll start gobbling up shares of Kau Kau Farm. Once the price starts to go back up, that's when I dump my shares and collect the profits.

KAUVUTO: Could you tell us, how long does this entire process usually take?

SLACK-A-ROO: Well, it depends on the stock, and how many shares you buy… but I'd say that most of my deals usually happen within a half hour or so. I guess I'd say that that's a pretty good timetable…somewhere in the neighbourhood of about a half an hour.

BLUMAROONO: My goodness! So much for building a portfolio, huh?

SLACK-A-ROO: Portfolio schmortfolio! You've gotta live for today, dude…it's like that wise old Kiko economist said, "There's no point in worrying about the long run, because in the long run, everybody's like dead or something." Well, I think you get the point…

BLUMAROONO: Now, are you able to make a living day trading, or do you still have a regular job?

SLACK-A-ROO: Aw man, that whole "day job" scene is for losers. At first, I used to just write down the stocks that I'd buy and keep track of how they did…you know, for practice. But once I'd been around the block a few times and figured out what I was doing, I quit my lousy job and started day trading full time.

KAUVUTO: And you're actually able to support yourself this way?

SLACK-A-ROO: Pretty much…now granted, I might not have the fanciest NeoHome, or the nicest clothes, or the most Plushies, but I manage to get by. I might live bad, but at least I don't gotta work to do it…

BLUMAROONO: Well, it looks like that's about all the time we have. For Neil Kauvuto and Slack-A-Roo, this is Maria Blumaroono saying thank you, and so long…