Free Trades - The Temptation

Yesterday was free trading day at E*Trade. Being that I want to do some short term trades, it would have been a great day to just get in and out of stocks today and hopefully catch a few bucks this way. However, I'm not going to trade while I'm at work, so this really wouldn't have been possible for me. That being said, I was tempted. But as MoneyNing correctly points out, you shouldn't let a promotion make you make an impulsive investment. So I've stood to the side as I haven't had the time to properly investigate any stocks.

One thing I do like to do is to look at the days top gainers and losers to see if there is a trade built around them. Sometimes, a stock pops for very bad reasons, or drops for the same reason. One stock that caught my eye was CAKE, The Cheesecake Factory. I've not been a fan of this stock for a long time. Yesterday, it went up because hedgefund manager Nelson Peltz has decided to take a position.

I've always been boggled by Cheesecake Factory. The place is ALWAYS crowded despite the fact that the food is somewhat mediocre and pretty overpriced. It has a lot of choices, but one thing I have learned is that more choices is not always better. I would love to short this stock. I think it may go up slightly from here, but I don't think that Nelson Peltz buying into this stock is going to keep this stock up. He also bought into Wendy about a year ago, and well, that stock hasn't done so hot.