precious metals

[Klaymen]

Originally Posted by Buck Fama

actually I'm surprised that you aren't up more than 7% over the last 4 months, given your asset allocation

Well, I haven't held that position for four months. I've basically just guessed for a few months and have given Etrade lots of commissions, and worked my way to where I am now.

Last week was not kind to my energy calls, and it's tough to sit there and watch it because the effect is magnified. If energy stocks go down 5%, my calls go down 10%, 20%, 50%... depending on the time horizon. For my own sanity I need to ease off on the calls with less than a 3-month horizon and keep the 1-month and 2-month bets small.

I have no background in finance but I'm picking up some of the basic ideas of how stocks are charted and analyzed. Got some books from the library.