Sold All Verizon Stock/Eliminated GRTPRG & Reduced GRTPRF

1. Sold Remaining GRTPRG at $12.04 and 50 GRTPRF at $12.88 (see Disclaimer) : When I discussed buying GRTPRF last fall, GRTPRF: A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, I mentioned that the market was pricing this cumulative preferred issues as if bankruptcy was a virtual certainty. At a price of $2.9, the yield was after all 75%. I merely said that I was not so sure about that possibility. Now, the market is more comfortable and I still view the situation as high risk. So I eliminated most, but not all, of my exposure. I still own some shares of the common and GRTPRF. In a sense, what I have done this month with my various positions in Glimcher is to sell the position down to the point of my comfort level, take the profits, telling myself to be content with the dividends received to date, and just forget about what little is left. As Taleb said, the bullet is always in the revolver. Duality of Long Term Risks/Stocks Under $5: Per Se Lottery Tickets/

2. Sold All Verizon Shares at $31.64 (see Disclaimer) A reader asked me the other day what did I intend to do with the Frontier Communications shares once VZ spins them out to its shareholders. One alternative that I mentioned to her was to sell my Verizon shares before the spin-out to avoid yet another tax headache next March, since LB is a magnet for tax issues. I just decided to dump my Verizon shares at a profit in both my taxable and retirement accounts. The retirement account shares had a cost basis of $28.99 from last October. I discussed buying VZ stock last in this post: Afternoon Comments 6 1 09/ Bought XLK-Pared Campbell Soup/ISM New Orders over 50/Bought VZ and Sold PHO/ added 50 FRPRJ as a gamble (subsequent to that post I sold FRPRJ).

Some of what I do is based on feel. I would have to say that the risk reduction started last week is still continuing. One factor that unnerved me some is discussed in this post from a Barrons columnist that I had noted prior to reading it. The VIX is starting to move back up, rising almost 4% today to around 26. The current pattern is of course still an Unstable VIX Pattern which has its own set of trading rules.