Trade Deadline...

If you follow sports there is always a part of the season where the right to trade a player from one team to another comes to a close, this is the 'trade deadline'. And in the NBA this year its come with some big names on the trading block. Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks and Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets sounds like these franchises are solidifying their rosters with serious talent.

Its time to solidify our roster of stocks with as many 'Melo's and Deron's as possible because turbulence is starting to set in on the markets. Many people forget when investing that you must really consider the entire global landscape these days. Listening to the news for a few seconds leads to a crash course in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya...and then flickers of concern with names like Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran. The unrest in these countries is the main reason why you must solidify your roster with serious talent.

I have been expecting a pullback for sometime but its always difficult to tell when it may occur. The economy is chugging along but there are still mixed data signals telling us the coast is not close to being clear. Unemployment, housing prices dropping back to historic lows, gas prices, and quantitative easing all make me uneasy. The catalyst of the pullback may oddly enough be Tunisia!! So its time to evaluate the roster and TRADE:

~ Trade your stud who's maximized their talent.
~ Trade your players who are not panning out.
~ Accumulate money to acquire the biggest stud out there (i.e., Lebron James)

I took the following actions:
~ Sold (or traded) Iron Mountain (IRM) shares for the roughly 30% gain accumulated in the last few months. This is a stud I wanted to take profits of before they reported earnings & before this pull back eats my profits.

~ Sold (or traded) Republic Services(RSG) shares for the roughly 5% gain accumulated in the last few months. This is a stud I wanted to take profits of before this pull back eats my profits. I hope to reacquire this prospect later.

~ I will buy a few Lebron James...starting with my 2 premium screen alert stocks. And keep the extra cash (or dry powder) for a rainy day