Top Takes From RealMoney

The RealMoney contributors are in the business of trading and investing all day on the basis of ongoing news flow. Below, we offer the top five ideas that RealMoney contributors posted today and how they played those ideas.

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Shorting Goldman

By Doug Kass
8:24 a.m. EDT

Ever the contrarian, I have taken a small short position in Goldman Sachs(GS Quote) ahead of the earnings above $150.

It just seems to me that a better-than-expected number is embedded in the stock price.

Positions: Short GS

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Morning Prep

By Ken Wolff
8:45 a.m. EDT

The momentum this morning is pretty flat after the much-anticipated Goldman Sachs(GS Quote) earnings report. ... I am going to look for a repeat of yesterday if Goldman holds a gap down going into the open. I will be shorting early and look for a long position and another recovery from the early drop.

First Solar(FSLR Quote) and Potash(POT Quote) have been offerring some good gains if the bottom can be timed accurately...

Positions: None

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JNJ/CAT/EBAY/GOOG

By Jim Cramer
9:06 a.m. EDT

Johnson & Johnson(JNJ Quote) seems fine, but there's a horrid note out of Credit Suisse on Caterpillar(CAT Quote) -- soft vs. hard. eBay(EBAY Quote) estimates raised by Goldman, surprising but lots of negative chatter out there about lackluster Google(GOOG Quote) numbers...

Positions: Long EBAY

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PPI/Retail Sales

By Tom Graff
8:54 a.m. EDT

Big miss on PPI is pushing the Treasury market lower. The long bond was immediately down 1 1/2 points; it has now moderated a bit. I still think retail sales is the bigger deal. On that front, we got a beat on the headline number and a miss on the ex-autos number. Which is the better read?