New Established Positions

I established some new call positions and picked up some shares in a small company trying to leverage the transition into electronic cigarettes and vaporizers. The company I'm referring to is Vapor Corp (VPCO). I'm not a smoker, but at my place of business, I have seen a large amount of regular smokers now choosing to use electronic cigarettes or vaporizers, so why not invest in what you see? In the options world, I'm feeling bullish on a few areas based on earnings season and large swings in pricing, so picked up some weekly and monthly call options. The first two are highly speculative and are pure volatility plays and I'm looking for large movements over a very short period of time.

Netflix (NFLX) April 24th $630.00 calls. Earnings were released April 15th.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) April 24th $213.00 calls.

ULTA Salon (ULTA) June 19th $170.00 calls. Earnings scheduled for May 28th.

Momentum Trades Using Options

I entered three new positions using call options: Celgene (CELG) April 2015 $125.00 call for $6.35 Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) May 2015 $70.00 call for $8.21 U.S. Oil ETF (USO) October 2015 $15.50 call for $3.55

The genesis for my first two choices: CELG is continued upward chart pattern and support along 10-week moving average. SWKS is coming out of some consolidation and I'm hoping will springboard higher. The choice to dip my toe into USO is strictly based on the huge downward drop. I'm thinking the volatility will level out and prices will begin to level off if not rise.

Time for Coal?

Yesterday a co-worker and I discussed the Obama plan and he is looking to make a play on the inauguration and Obama build out by investing in some coal and energy. His research has led him towards Peabody Energy Corp (BTU), Arch Coal Inc (ACI), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF), and CEMEX S.A.B de C.V. (CX).

Another option would be to invest in an ETF such as Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL). Some concerns going forward with this play is its large foreign exposure into China and the lower volume, so it may be hard to trade this actively.

Foreign Market Exposure

I'm looking to make a small step into the China and Emerging Markets via Exchange Traded Funds. I've got orders in a bit above the lows for yesterday in hopes of a strong market open and then a pullback during the day.

*iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI)

*BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index (ADRE)

India ETF

Just wanted to bring to peoples attention to a new ETF specifically focused on India. The ETF was created on 22 Feb 2008 and is a Large Cap Growth ETF (ticker EPI), which is run by Wisdom Tree. They have about $162M invested and their top 3 sectors according to Yahoo.com are: Industrials 32.45%, Financial 14.54%, and Energy 12.49%. I have included their site if you are interested in reading up more on this ETF. For disclosure, I am not invested in this ETF at this time. HAGO Justin!

http://www.wisdomtree.com/bannerads/india/PPC/ad1a.html?source=Google&gclid=CNqCkO692pICFRGYggodITzc-w

Managed ETF's: Good, Bad, or Ugly?

I've been reading some articles about a new investment vehicle, known as the actively managed ETF, which was recently approved by the SEC for implementation. According to Active Trader Magazine dated April 2008 p.g. 64-65, unlike traditional ETF's, which passively track an index, actively managed ETF's will function more like a mutual fund, with fund managers responsible for the composition of the fund. I wanted to get peoples thoughts on what they think about this new vehicle. Here are a few key points:

1. The SEC is limiting the amount of trades a fund can make in a week and all trades must be done the same day.

2. The fund's holdings must be posted online before the beginning of each trading morning.

3. Critic's claim these will be more expensive and less efficient than a traditional ETF.

There are many articles discussing this point, which can be found on the web, but I wanted to get other investor's input. HAGO Justin

ETF Watch

I was unable to get into RIO the past two days, but right now it's down in pre-market trading, so hopefully this downward trend continues into the open. Depending on how much further it drops, I may try and get into around $31.00 and change or lower. The telecom is still looking good, so may shift my focus from individual international telecom plays and pick up an ETF, which will hold some of the companies I like.

Going Green

Looks like the market is picking up some steam going into the upcoming fed meeting on 11 December. Just a quick little note to let everyone know I took up a small position on the strength of the solar "GREEN" play. Because I still believe there is still volatility in the market, I decided to get into an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which tracks cleaner energy and conservation practices. The ETF I chose was PBW, which I got into at $24.22. It's made a nice run-up over two days, but not looking to make a quick buck on this, unless something specatcular happens. I have thought about selling a covered call on this stock, but the Jun 08 $27.00 calls are only selling for about $2.25, so will wait out this play a bit longer before making a final decision. I must give credit to my wife for this trade because it was her slight nudge and wink that provided the catalyst.

Just an update on a few of my posts earlier. As one can probably guess all my puts are slowly dissolving away and losing value as we close in on options expiration on 21 December. I have the Jan 15 calls on FLEX, but that's not looking too hot either. Additionally, the Dec 25 call I sold back in November on VDSI may be called away as well, which is okay because I still will be making a nice profit. I guess we will all see how this market really plays out after the fed announcement, which will be the guiding light going into 2008.

iShares MSCI Australia

There is an article on iShares MSCI Australia (EWA), in which Jim Cramer lists EWA as one of his top 5 ETF's to own. I completely agree with him and the continued uncertainity within the global arena U.S./Iran/Iraq/ just adds fuel to this fire. Australia's market is very robust and is projected to grow steadily. There is some concern with regards to the fact that the stock is thinly traded when compared with traditional stocks, but is better than alot of the other ETF's out there. This ETF is near its 52-week high, but I think this is just a "resting" place before it picks up more steam. The target price that I am looking for is $30.00. Have a good one (HAGO). Of course thoughts and/or comments are always welcomed. Justin

Miners, Refiners, and Early Bird Diners

A few weeks ago I established a position in IShares MSCI Australia

(Ticker EWA) and Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. (Ticker ACH).

This stock and Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) have great exposure to

the international marketplace. EWA is comprised of almost 70% of

stocks involved in the industrial materials and financial services sectors,

both of which, I believe will do well this year. ACH is a pure play on

the continued growth within China and their continued need on all

things related to construction/growth. I'm currently looking at getting in

to some stocks based on the aging baby-boomer generation and I am

leaning towards the retirement community vice pharmaceutical

or biotechnology. Any thoughts??