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I’m Rooting For Hurricane Gustav, I’ll Tell You Why…

Posted by Timothy Sykes on Sun 31st of Aug, 2008 11:27:03 AM

This weekend, I’m glued to the computer checking and rechecking THIS link to live track of Hurricane Gustav and you know what, I hope it’s massive…

Cuz as those of the 6,000+ of you who’ve read my book An American Hedge Fund know, natural disasters offer up superior trading opportunities. Stocks of junky companies spike up in anticipation of these storms creating demand for their shitty little products and the short term volatility can be staggering.

I’ve already got a few hurrican-related stocks on my radar so tomorrow night I’m gonna do a special post on the TIMalert subscribers-only website, TIMalerts.com, and send them a special weekend email so they can be fully prepared for Tuesday’s trading session.

For all you peeps too poor/cheap to subscribe, think you can guess the stocks I’ll be talking about?

Well, do you punk?

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  • younggunz
    I mean seriously if you really want to try and be the better person quit wasting your time trying to tell off some little jew blogging in his bathrobe and go out and volunteer somewhere or donate some of your profits from trading to a charity that you believe in.

    All you're really doing here is giving him more exposure to the people that actually get the fact that what he wasn't trying to be malicious in his post and was actually just trying to point out a trend in stock prices after a disaster, the bigger the disaster the more volatile the stocks. Then they see his trading performance and all the other blogs and start actually getting interested in what he's really all about.
  • younggunz
    Wow you are all still missing the point. Tim is just a little drop in the bucket compared to the real scum of wallstreet and all the so called "professionals" who put up a false front of code and ethics.

    Sure you can go and find some cute and cuddly trader and read their blog but you're still here aren't you? People love a debate and because someone writes a post being devil's advocate about a potential hurricane you assume he is evil himself. Do you think that when he wrote it that he wasn't expecting people to respond that he was being insensitive? It's laughable to see the bleeding hearts respond when he tells you all to stop whining and stfu.

    I struggle to actually find a better way to explain the fact that what he wrote was honestly what the best case scenerio would be for trading the stocks that he likes to short. As much as you think he's being heartless to write about it there are whole companies and firms ready to take advantage of victims and their families that are 10 times as evil as you think Tim's blog is.

    What Tim said doesn't mean shit compaired to the real hearless, twisted fucks that are out there.
  • AdamN
    Mike/Jim, go make your points on ethics and professionalism elsewhere, because you are preaching on deaf ears. Tim isn't trying to get votes here to be the next president or knocking at your door in a suit and tie in hopes of converting you over to Judaism. If you are on this site to try and make money then you need to be exposed to the cold hard truth of this industry...."Nice guys finish last". I for one am here because Tim's picks and methods work for me. I could give two shits on whether he is professional or caring.
  • who cares about gaining popularity and keeping it more civil....i do this my way, i dont have to be nice/polite/fake etc, thats what drives me, keeping it real
  • Jim Laliberte
    Mike, I couldn't agree more. Nice post.

    Tim, if your calls on the market are any good at all, just imagine how many more people you would attract if you kept it more civil.

    As it is now, you might as well join the Yahoo Apple Board, same schoolyard mentality and manner.
  • haha "where the members have souls" dont go to the finance industry then! compassion will get u nowhere...as for me being impressed with myself, WTF? all i wanna do is show peoplehow to make money...my pick on TAYD today did just that. class dismissed
  • Mike Bronson (brosan)
    PS Tim, you missed your calling. You should have been an attorney.
  • Mike Bronson (brosan)
    Tim - you're certainly not a professional. Professionals have standards, codes & ethics. You're just a young man who is still quite impressed with himself. Throwing around phrases like "pussies," "whiny babies," "stfu" and the like makes you sound like a highschooler. Talking like a badass doesn't make you one. As you get a little older maybe the light will come on. Stop measuring your manhood by how many dollars you can cram into your bank account. The measure of a man is character, and you sir apparently have very little. That goes for all of your sycophantic defenders, too. Well, your site has certainly been interesting, but I think I'll return to somewhere where the members have souls. Cheers.
  • yes Jim, i'mbnot a professional, i'm a trader! tired of people being polite/nice, thats what causes losses cuz the bitter truth gets lost. today i made an easy 8% on TAYD, stock cracked 20% from my alert, if the hurrican had been bigger, i'd have made 20% on a 40% drop off its highs....too bad

    "character and integrity in the way he expresses himself."

    LOLOLOL my character/intergrity is making my subscribers $...maybze Zach should focus more on that and then he'd have more subscribers

    "How anyone would take your advice is beyond me"

    again, this is a $-making game, i help people make $...they can hate me and my cynical attitude all they want. let u and zach bass and every other polite person dethrone me on Covestor, its pathetic that i'm #1...maybe u guys should spend less time in finishing school and more time learning how to profit from the market and u'll do better/be better people/more useful to society
  • Jim Laliberte
    I happen to know Zach Bass from interacting with him on the internet. He is a very genuine and compassionate person, certainly not a "punk".

    Tim, you come off in a very unprofessional way. Actually, you sound like a real jerk - if you want the honest truth. How anyone would take your advice is beyond me. At least Zach has character and integrity in the way he expresses himself.

    I mean this as constructive criticism, not to show you any disrespect. But telling Zach to STFU kind of says it all about you, doesn't it?
  • why would i block your account? your ignorance is astounding, u attack me on a day where my latest TIMalert scored an easy 20% gain for subscribers, i've got testimonials coming out my ears. really gotta learn to read before u try to post
  • TIMFan
    Oh, blocking my account - good - you have learned from the nazis...though, they seem not to have done a through job.
  • TIMFan
    You are wrong - the DVD and book and alerts are not all that matters - you need to add to the list the following:

    - The latest and greatest penis pump
    - Viagra/Levitra/Cialis cocktails
    - Playgirl with it's pages stuck together
    - Jonathan Lebed's cell number on fast dial

    I really can go on forever....but the above 4 are his 'essentials'

    TIMFan
  • younggunz
    No Mike I think you're missing the point. Anyone debating that Tim doesn't have compassion for peoples lives are missing the point. I was personally sick and tired of hearing all the crap about it on the news myself and would have heard plenty more if it was a big disaster. I don't need to hear Tim blogging about how much he hopes everyone is safe and gets out, blah blah. If he did he sure as hell wouldn't have had +70 responses.
  • Mike Bronson (brosan)
    Dear Gass-bag, happy to do it. You must not have much of a life if that made your day.
  • i've not seen sooooo manh whiny bitches since i read a sissy value investor blog, back in 2005
  • younggunz
    OMFG I've not seen a gathering of such whinny bitches since I accidentally stumbled on a environmentalist hippie rally. How fucking hard is it to realize that Tim is just a fucking pip squeak compared to the scum that are really rooting for a disaster and actually hoping many lives are lost so that they can make some big money.

    You can piss and moan all you want about what he said just because he didn't bother to add in his post that he really doesn't want people to die, yadda yadda, blah blah. It is something that goes without saying it you've bothered to have actually been reading his blog for a while. You're just doing exactly what he'd hope some people would do too and get his exposure up. because for every whiny bitch that posts there are plenty of others that take notice and actually get him and sparks their interest in his blog and trading niche.

    I don't want anyone to die or be hurt either and before anyone decides they want to jump on me as a inconsiderate prick I suppose I'll make my disclaimer. I don't know how many of you cry babies actually did something to help last time with Katrina but I did. My whole family even helped buy presents for the children of families that were displaced for Christmas. Same goes for when a whole town near me was wiped out in a flood I went down to help clean up.

    If anything a massive hurricane would have only brought out the love and compassion that the majority of Americans truly have. Yeah there are going to be a lot of scum that crawl out from under their rocks to take advantage and all we're going to do is just short the piss out of their companies to put them back in their place down in the gutter.
  • Fxeurvsusd
    LOL this is such a good post Tim!!!
    Just what you need, some drama so the traffic goes up!!
    You are brilliant dude, just chill out a bit!
  • Hugh Gass
    Mike Bronson (brosan)

    "I guess I
  • "Please, make money. And make money from natural disasters. Just don
  • Mike Bronson (brosan)
    "I hope it's massive." Sounds like emotion to me. Plus, you keep missing the point. Please, make money. And make money from natural disasters. Just don't root for it to happen.
  • again, compassion is fine, millions of other bloggers show plenty of that, go to their blogs, this blog is how to make $ from stocks...the less emotional, the better
  • Mike Bronson (brosan)
    Hugh Gass aka Huge Ass: Funny how people like you & Sykes throw around terms like "pussies" to describe all of us (i.e. the non-sociopaths) in the world who have a little compassion. I guess I'm proud to be a pussy then.
  • CABeachBum
    We didn't say anything about you snorting coke, Tim! Why do you think we're accusing you of that? What do you have to hide? ha!

    Tim, if this is your version of foreplay, buy your girlfriend The Rabbit so she's not deprived. Poor chick!
  • hey, i dont take drugs! LOL, guys u really gotta lighten up, live a little
  • haha this is a great debate! dont read my blog again, and tell everyone not to too, thatd be great, u forget this is a blog about making $, not being politically correct or compassionate. welcome to trading buddy, i dont wish harm on anyone, just love it when natural disasters occur. as long as i can make people $, and show em how they can make it themselves, this is all just foreplay, thanks for participating!
  • Hugh Gass
    zachbass:

    "So, now people with a conscience, compassion for others, virtues and moral fortitude are pussies?"

    No...just you.
  • CABeachBum
    Zach and Bay Area Boy-

    Very well put. Tim is weak little pussy who's so bitter at the world and others' successes that he has to hide behind a pathetic blog like this. Karma is a bitch! Little fat Timmy boy will get what's coming to him.
  • So, now people with a conscience, compassion for others, virtues and moral fortitude are pussies? And guys like you that sneer in the face of the downtrodden, and abuse their plight to market their service are the brave, the courageous?

    Man, you have a warped sense of values! The fact that you defend this and joyfully profess that you can't wait to do it again says a lot about you Tim. I will never read your blog again, and I will advise everyone at every opportunity to stand clear of you and your work.
  • daaaaaamn what a bunch of pussies, cant wait til i get the opportunity to piss u bitches off again
  • taojones
    vote 1
    vote 1 again

    "vote early vote often"
    richard dayley
  • CABeachBum
    Tim Bitch-
    Why did you remove my post about rooting for a second 9/11 even if your family becomes a victim of it? Screw catastrophes...screw the loss of human life...screw morality and compassion...pennystocking is all that matters! Isn't that right, Tim?
  • yaktipper
    Tim isn't taking advantage of people, he's taking advantage of the scum that are taking advantage of people. Hurricanes make scum crawl a little further out of the cracks and shadows.

    As for the seeking alpha picks, I did my own research on them and guess what happened to all of them after Katrina hit at the end of August, 2005? Random price changes. Some went down, some went up, some stayed the same. In other words, no big get-rich-quick-in-a-day ideas there.
  • zeb Khan
    I think you must be a democrat and that says it all. I believe you must not have cared after 9/11 and I am sure you must have made a lot of money. Shame on you sir. I am an American first and every thing else comes second.
  • Mike Bronson (brosan)
    Hey, wait a minute..... uncaring, unfeeling, selfish, unscrupulous, greedy, immoral - Tim must have been the real life model for Gordon Gecko? By the way, characteristics such as having no conscience and the inability to empathize with others are the telltale signs of a sociopath.
  • Hugh Gass
    Let's let the reader's here settle this...

    If you think zachbass and others are right to bring the issue of compassion into this investment blog post, reply with "1"

    If you think he is being a total pussy and is totally off topic, reply to this post with a "2"
  • taojones
    well punk was it a cat 2 or a cat 5 . . . how many changes did i use in the catogory of this storm .. was it 6 or 8 . . . what are the chances that it will track in the least damaging corridor . . . what do you think well lets go YOU FEEL LUCKY PUNK i hope you shorted oil

    tao jones

    karma = what we use to run over a dogma
  • @ Hugh-others. It would be nice if everyone could just relocate. Unfortunately, some people are poor and can't just move and buy another house. That's why people stayed during Katrina. If your sick or there is no public transportation , not everyone has cars.
  • Mike Bronson
    What a disgusting & disgraceful thing to say. People's lives & property are at risk & you want to make some fast cash. Taking advantage of a bad situation is one thing, but rooting for it is evil. Folks like you give Capitalism a bad name.
  • Charles Upton
    nicely done again Tim, I have been following you for a while now(even got alerts for a month just out of curiosity) and I am continuously amazed at your consistent ability to "work the crowd".

    Look, everyone, Tim the meteorologist "hoping" for a big storm will do exactly the same thing as a trader "hoping" for a trade to go our way: NOTHING!

    Tim is transitioning from penny stock trading to the much more lucrative field of IM(internet marketing).
  • I can now Hugh Gass, since you have so brilliantly illustrated my point. And BTW, it is quite obvious that you know nothing of courage or lack there of. Calling me a pussy is ironically poetic justice.
  • Hugh Gass
    Dude, zachbass, like Tim said...SHUT THE FUCK UP.

    You're being a total pussy. When Mother Nature is in the driver's seat, we humans have NO CONTROL over the situation. All we can do is get out of the way and hopefully think about whether or not living somewhere is worth the inherent risks of the area's geography. Obviously, people on the Gulf Coast think the reward of living there is more valuable than the risk. Their decision was made a long time ago and they are now experiencing one of the negative consequences of that decision.

    So, quit whining about compassion man, they brought this on themselves!!!
  • Bender24
    Ben, I have to take Zach's side on this one. As someone who's seen disaster first hand, I was in Thailand during the tsunami and helped in the relief effort, it really changes a person and their outlook on life. Let me ask you Ben, have you ever cleared out a field full of dead bodies? I didn't think so.

    I realize that disasters shake up the market. It just could have been worded a little differently to not sound like TS is hoping for a huge disaster. After being in one firsthand, trust me, you'll hope to never see one.
  • my guess is TAYD
  • Hey Tim, I like most of your stuff and read your blog regularly. I just felt you stepped over the line here. And for the record, I believe the strategy is sound, just the timing and fervor of the message was inappropriate.
  • zach STFU, read my 900 other blog posts and you'll see compassions doesnt play a huge role here, go comment somewhere else for that crap
  • All you apologists for Sykes' speech are missing the point, and at the same time showing your own disregard for the human condition. Taking advantage of natural disasters and other anomalies that move the market is fine, no problem with that. In fact it is a sound strategy. That is not the objection to which so many have put forward.

    The problem is the indignation, disrespect and insensitivity for those people that will be harmed by this disaster. Time could have made his point just as effectively without being so insensitive to those facing the destruction of their property, their livelihood, and possibly even their lives.

    I'll repeat, there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of such situations, what is wrong is wishing that it is as bad as possible with complete disregard to the incredible hurt that statement may cause. Had Tim handled it more tactfully and gotten his point across without using such hurtful speech, I would have held far more respect for him as an investor and gentleman.

    By the way, this has NOTHING to do with political correctness. I despise political correctness, and deem it nothing more than liberal fascism designed to spread the dogma of narrow minded people who want to exert control over the masses. This has EVERYTHING to do with being a virtuous, ethical, and compassionate human being.
  • Ben
    Oh, and if anyone truly cares about the soon-to-be "victims" of Hurricane Gustav, I invite you to shift your attention to other websites on which you can do a positive change:

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hurric...

    Why call out Sykes for being an insensitive prick? It has been done many times already. He does not care. None of us do. It's all about the trades and the money. I was personally BORN and partially raised in the New Orleans area, and yet I take NO OFFENSE to this post mainly because I do not interpret it in some touchy feely way. This is just one man's opinion, insensitive or otherwise. Why do we always have to be 'politically correct'?
  • Ben
    This is typical Sykes writing, so those who are disgusted by an interpretation of his words haven't been on this site long enough. Sykes knows from experience that a stable market is a boring market with very few trading opportunities, so if there is any catalyst that will cause volatility (or attention to his site)---be it hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or a governor's prostitute---he will talk about it. If any of you want warmth, humility and humanness, check out the Red Cross website, but please, take your self-righteousness elsewhere. As American's we're all granted the right to free speech no matter how obnoxious the things we might say. Tim's just saying there are some huge trading opportunities coming up due to this more recent natural disaster and as a trader/blogger his main priority is to A.) think of trading ideas and B.) draw new attention to his website and hold attention to those who previously read his site by sharing his trading ideas. I truly would subscribe to TimAlerts because I see the high benefit vs. low cost basis to the service he provides, but since I cannot short stocks for the time being, I will not benefit as much from his Alerts since he does not provide Long recommendations as often. But with this hurricane coming up, Tim has already hinted through this post about which companies he will be looking into and I will be following his lead this time.
  • no idea how long these plays will be good trades, even if they will be, have zero expectations
  • LOLOLOLOL u guys are soooo soft...."without humility or compassion." yeah this is a trading blog, plenty of others gonna show compassion, here my goal is to teach others to profit from trading crappy stocks. this hurricane is one giant mother of an opportunity maker, i love it.

    as for the seeking alpha article, as i wrote earlier, its the same as taking financial advice from a bum on the street, authors/writers have little to no credibility. none of that articles plays interest me in the least

    trading is a battlefield, those who pray for mercy wont win medals of honor
  • total_keops
    As long as I can't change things and I don't have a significant impact on shit I don't care.
    Why should we not go long oil? Is it unethical?
  • mwk
    Calls em like I see's em. What r u a piece of? Cornholio. Let me guess, somewhere between an anus and a pornographic picture of an anus. Here's an alert, get your own life and you'll have something to defend or just keep on pretending and blowing up your piehole on what you think is real. imho
  • Cornholio
    You are a real piece of work Dude.
  • wnkender
    Every time I read a post, I realize that TIM is becoming an even larger sellout ("I hope this natural disaster is massive so I can make money, BTW pay me $300 dollars and I'll tell you how I'm gonna do it"). Tactless and insensitive to the extreme, Tim.

    TMK and the other free pennystocking bloggers for life!
  • dustin
    man this hurricane sux, im over here in mobile alabama and its not even rainin gustav is a fuckin pussy
  • Kmdom3
    tim cannot yet change storm paths. hurricanes and death occur whether you trade stocks or not. but if u do trade stocks, it's not respectful to make no money.

    again, pennystockers aren't the bad guys, we take advantage of opportunities already present. the bad guys are the ones who take advantage of a storm to sell crap products.
  • john
    hey guys check this site out about the PDT rule... its a petition against it


    http://tradersagainstpdt.com/
  • I don't think morals have anything to do with what he is talking about here. And Hugh has a great point. Should the hurricane hit land, people in the affected areas should have evacuated.
  • definitely not a good post Tim... You both can be a person with morals and a good trader! I think, it is just that sometimes, one does not need to take every opportunity which is there to make a profit!

    think about it

    best regards

    snobtrader
  • Hugh Gass
    If everyone evacuates like they're SUPPOSED to, there will be very little, if any, loss to human life so I'm not sure how rooting for the hurricane is inhumane. It is only the most moronic douchebags who stay that will lose their lives, and perhaps this is simply a demonstration of natural selection in action.

    It's amazing that after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans wasn't deserted. It is inevitable that massive hurricanes will hit a place like New Orleans and therefore it is totally crazy that such a city was built in the first place. Sure, maybe no one could forecast these storms when the city was founded, but you'd think people would get the picture after the first couple storms hit and destroyed everything.

    Do sailors purposely navigate their ships into storms? No. Do pilots purposely navigate their planes into tornadoes? No. Why? Because they know that putting themselves into the path of a killer storm is deadly. That and they're not retarded. How are these examples any different than purposely settling a region below sea level that is in the direct path of the worst Mother Nature has to offer? They're not. My advice to the citizens of New Orleans: wisen up and live somewhere else, or continue to suffer the reality of these disasters while corporations and investors profit.
  • Andre
    I love Tim and his systems. I really do. But for those of you who are like me: poor, cheap to subscribe to TimAlert. Here is a link for Hurricane related stocks:

    http://seekingalpha.com/article/15784-hurricane...

    It took me about 5 seconds to find. Imagine if I pass 1h search...!
  • SomeDude
    Agree with Zach Bass - post is insensitive, and just furthers the perception that the world of a trader begins and ends with profit - who cares about fellow human beings.


    "sentimentality or profits, choose one, u cant have both"

    Really? George Soros doesn't agree.
  • Bender24
    Will Gustav affect the financial sector? Any thoughts? I'm wondering if I should take my already 23% gain being long on ABK, or sell and buy back cheaper.
  • Sure he could have been more tactful, but that's not his style. JL, no I'm not some shill for oil companies I was merely saying there are people much more sinister in this world than Tim Sykes.
  • myriadz
    Tim,

    would e picks be 1-2 days hold? Just subscribed to TimAlerts. Am hoping they wont be intraday buy/sell types coz of e day trading limit crap.
  • JL
    meant "wrong direction"

    *sigh* for no edit button....lol
  • JL
    So what if the oil companies are hoping for the same? what are you their dog or something? Just because its okay for them doesn't mean its okay for you unless your moral compass is bearing in the direction then by all means ignore this.
  • I said in my first response that there's nothing wrong with profiting during all manner of economic events. It's the gloating over the storm with no humility or compassion.

    If Tim had simply pointed out that storms like Gustav present opportunities within certain sectors, and that we should be aware of what they are, then that would have been fine. But that's not what was done here.

    So Mr Proficient, are you saying that exhibiting such hubris is fine because a bunch of other soulless people do it, and so that excuses the lack of virtuosity and ethics? The words you choose, and the actions you take, and the mindfulness you display, say volumes of your character. And all I'm saying is that Tim could have gotten the same message across by choosing his words more carefully with sensitivity to those that are suffering.
  • What, none of you people think oil companies aren't hoping for the same? They love disasters like this because it limits supply which means they can charge more and make more money. Tim is only stating the obvious.
  • yaktipper
    If I would have been thinking Thursday, I would have at least shorted the entire market, 'cause I expected the hurricane to drag things down on Friday.

    Now Tuesday looks like maybe a worst-case scenario. I like the idea of donating any profits to relief efforts. I will definitely do that if I end up on the plus side.
  • Tim, by "Rooting For Hurricane Gustav" and by saying "I hope it
  • JL
    You don't have to wish for plentiful trading opportunities because they are always around but to hope that Gustav goes to epic proportions just to take advantage of that specific trading opportunity is just too much as there are human lives at risk.

    You may not wish harm on anyone but what do you think the side effect is?

    I hope that the ones that do decide to profit from this put those profits into relief efforts to help the people.
  • i dont wish harm on anybody, i just wish for plentiful trading opportunities...as i say in my college speeches, the asian tsunami was a wonderful market environment. sentimentality or profits, choose one, u cant have both
  • This is a morbid mentality and completely insensitive to the livelihood, safety and happiness of your fellow human being.

    There are plenty of trading opportunities out there, and there's nothing wrong with taking advantage when mother nature hits, but to wish this upon another human being for your own profit potential is going way over the line.

    Tim, you had to know that this would incite a deep visceral reaction, didn't you?
  • Clean Harbors (CLHB) has been on a tear, but it is not a penny stock by any stretch of the imagination.

    IPII and GV have popped the last couple days. But GV is under a dollar.
  • im hoping its not massive, the people of NO have been through enough! but you're definitely right, lots of money making opportunities come about in natural disasters!
  • Jay Zalowitz
    regular person translation: "get out of new orleans if your there, I hope nobody gets hurt,.... subscribe to my service......"
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