CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge: #1047

I have moved up to #1047 out of 1,438,436 contestants, putting me in the top 0.08%, but have suffered a couple of small disappointments since Friday’s update.

The first disappointment was the inability of NetLogic Microsystems (NETL) to hold their early gains on Friday. The stock was up 14% in the early going, bet ended the day with only a 3.5% advance. The second disappointment was entirely of my own doing. I had expected that Wright Medical Group (WMGI) would report before the close today and it now looks like I jumped the gun there. This was my screw-up, as I failed to confirm the anticipated timing of the earnings announcement before placing the trade. It is possible that this Texas-based company may report before the bell and give me some much needed volatility, but that is looking increasingly unlikely as the day wears on.

The silver lining, if there is one, is that the WMGI trade, which is down about 1.5% at the moment, may have saved me from jumping in to ICICI Bank (IBN), which is down over 7% at the moment. IBN, an Indian bank, and Kookmin Bank (KB), a South Korean bank up 2% so far today, were the other two finalists in my daily search for earnings volatility.

Getting back to horns, J. J. Johnson (pictured above) is probably the greatest jazz trombonist who has ever lived. His collaborations with fellow trombonist Jay Winding are legendary and would be an excellent first stop for anyone interested in checking out Johnson’s talents.

CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge: #1280

You would think that a nice 2.2% gain (thank you GSIC) in addition to maxing out on the $3000 ‘bonus bucks’ trivia winnings would have served me well on a day in which the markets were essentially flat. That was not the case yesterday, as the AMZN bus rolled past me – just like the BIDU bus has done today – and I ended up dropping 20 places to #1280. One of these days, I need to catch a ride on that bus…

Thanks to these gains, my portfolio was up to $1.73 million coming in to the trading day, still good enough to keep me in the top 0.1% of the 1,382,297 contestants. It looks like I could be moving up a little today, perhaps even in to the top 1000, as I have all my chips on NetLogic Microsystems (NETL), whose positive earnings report has the stock up 7% at the moment, down from a 14% advance earlier this morning.

On the horn front, if old mono recordings of Dennis Brain are not your thing, try the more modern recordings of Barry Tuckwell. As luck would have it, he is responsible for what may be the second best recording of the Mozart Horn Concertos, but one that benefits from 1990 recording technology. In addition to the Mozart works, there are many other excellent Tuckwell recordings to choose from, including The Art of Barry Tuckwell, which is pictured at the right.