|  NOV 1990

A trader's tale: Post-crash profits with fast action by Patrick D. Bosold

A trader's tale: Post-crash profits with fast action by Patrick D. Bosold For most people, commodity trading means getting on an adrenalin high at the start of the trading day, scrutinizing the markets intensely, making bold buy or sell decisions under pressure and executing lightning-fast trades to make a profit—especially during a market crash. But that's not Hal Masover's philosophy. At least, not most of the time. Masover, a broker in Fairfield, IA, is of the opinion that successful commodity trading comes from patience, study and carefully considered action. ""But once in a while,"" he adds, ""I get knocked over by a trading opportunity with a brief time window. Under these circumstances, fast action can make the difference between a quick profit and an opportunity lost."" Masover saw a window of opportunity open on Friday, October 13, 1989, a day most investors thought was more like a slamming door. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 200 points that day. Many of Masover's clients and associates thought a harrowing sequel to October 19, 1987, was in store. But Masover remembered Treasury bonds rallied sharply right after the Black Monday crash. On October 20 and again on October 21,1987, T-bonds rallied to touch their daily limit of three basis points. On October 22, the December 1987 T-bonds continued to rally, closing at just three ticks below their upper limit. He calculated that an investment in those T-bonds would have produced a profit of $8,906.25 per contract in three days.

by Patrick D. Bosold