《股票作手回忆录·第十二章·棉花惨败·被专家说服》第15节
When he began his talks with me about the cotton situation I not only was bearish but I was short of the market. Gradually, as I began to accept his facts and figures, I began to fear I had been basing my previous position on misinformation. Of course I could not feel that way and not cover. And once I had covered because Thomas made me think I was wrong, I simply had to go long. It is the way my mind works. You know, I have done nothing in my life but trade in stocks and commodities. I naturally think that if it is wrong to be bearish it must be right to be a bull. And if it is right to be a bull it is imperative to buy. As my old Palm Beach friend said Pat Hearne used to say, “You can’t tell till you bet!” I must prove whether I am right on the market or not; and the proofs are to be read only in my brokers’ statements at the end of the month. I started in to buy cotton and in a jiffy I had my usual line, about sixty thousand bales. It was the most asinine play of my career. Instead of standing or falling by my own observation and deductions I was merely playing another man’s game. It was eminently fitting that my silly plays should not end with that. I not only bought when I had no business to be bullish but I didn’t accumulate my line in accordance with the promptings of experience. I wasn’t trading right. Having listened, I was lost.
注释摘要
此刻利文斯顿讲的，是他在棉花市场上一次致命的自我迷失。要理解这段话的沉重，得先看清两个背景。第一，这里所说的“做空”与“做多”在当时完全是截然相反的立场：看空（bearish）意味着他认为棉花价格会下跌，于是他已经卖出开仓，处在空头部位；而“平仓”（cover）就是把空单买回来还给市场，结束空头头寸。当他开始相信珀西·托马斯的看涨数据，他就必须平掉空单，否…