Can Gold Drop Further?

I think gold is headed lower in the next month. So one might ask...why the heck did you close out your short position? Answer: I saw a nice profit and I took it. Plain and simple. I still believe in the trade, so I picked up three Feb $97.00 puts on (GLD) @ $0.33 each.

Here is how I am looking at this trade going into it, I'm playing with the houses money. I made a few hundred bucks on my earlier short, so I take some of that money and triple down. If the trade goes against me, I still make money overall. If I am correct in my thinking, then I should make a very nice profit.

Closed Gold Short

I sold my short position in (GLD) at $5.10 for a nice 60% + move in a couple days and closed out my entire position in Key Bank (KEY) for a nice return. I want to take up another short position using the GLD as my vehicle, however I want to let this set-up a bit more before pulling the trigger.

Short Indian Banking

I made a quick trade while waiting to go to the Colorado Rockies game today with my uncle who is in town today. I have traded ICICI Bank Ltd. (IBN) in the past when it was trading in the upper teens/lower 20's. I've decided to buy Sep 31 puts at $2.10.

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to send a quick note wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I've been doing some trading on the road and still think the consumer market remains weaker, especially the speciality restaurants. Because of this I decided to short Panera Bread (PNRA). I bought Feb 2009 $45.00 puts thinking that they will continue on the downward trend into 2009.

Christmas Sell-Off?

I think the market will be down at the end of this week. The factors that play into my thought process are year end taxable events, market still recovering from only a 0.25 rate cut, and people closing out positions to lock in year-end gains for themselves and/or stakeholders. There are a few sectors, which I think will be weaker in the near future, so I will keep an eye out for some weakness on Diana Shipping (DSX) and Dryships INC (DRYS). I will also look to short or pick up some puts on Transdigm Group (TDG).