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The Best of Kass

Written by: Doug Kass 08/05/12 - 1:05 PM EDT
Tickers in this article: SPY GM
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners is known for his accurate stock market calls and keen insights into the economy, which he shares with RealMoney Pro readers in his daily trading diary.

Among his posts this past week, Kass discussed the not-so-great details in the nonfarm payrolls report, why the nondogmatic trader will win in the current environment, and why risk control is important.

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Curb Your Enthusiasm
Originally published on Friday, Aug. 3 at 9:40 a.m. EDT.

  • Beyond the headlines, the jobs picture is still cloudy.

    • The market is giddy about today's jobs report.

    I would temper the market's enthusiasm as the birth/death adjustment was 52,000 compared to 5,000 last July.

    Moreover, 13,000 of the increase was from nonfurloughed auto workers.

    And the household survey showed a loss of 195,000 jobs.

    Another negative in the jobs report was that the work week was flat in both manufacturing and the nonfarm economy, and average hourly earnings rose by only 0.1%

    Finally, the employment-to-population ratio fell to 58.4%.

    As a result, I am back hedging.

    I shorted some SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY) at $138.60.

    At the time of publication, Kass was short SPY.

    No Dogma Allowed
    Originally published on Friday, Aug. 3 at 7:31 a.m. EDT.

  • We are in a terrific setting for opportunistic traders, though it easier said than done.
    • "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
    -- Desiderius Erasmus, Adagia

    In a market without memory, the one-eyed man (and opportunistic trader) will be king.

    As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, we are likely in a well-defined trading range (1300-1410) for the S&P 500. Within the context of that range, stocks will likely remain volatile and unpredictable.

    Accordingly, this is not the backdrop for dogma or for the buy-and-hold crowd; it is, however, a terrific setting for opportunistic traders, though it easier said or written than done.