Checking In

Wow it has been an almost 1 month break since the last post. Clearly too long of a gap, but I was able to finish up my final exam period on Tuesday and a little bit of spare time is freeing up. :)

There have been some amazing developments during the past three weeks, many of which I have only a superficial understanding:

1) Gold market - it has weakened recently but touched a high of $540 an ounce. I do not think this is just a flash in the plan. Still it boggles my mind that the price can be so strong right into the face of a fed tightening plan that does not seem close to an end.

2) Interest rates - the Fed funds is now at 4.25% and 10 year bond yields (treasuries) at only 4.42%. What does this tell us about expectations regarding both inflation and economic growth? I don't know.

3) Financials - still one of the strongest sectors in the market - where are we in the cycle?

4) Portfolio - my Newmont options are back in the money (slightly) but are coming due for expiration in a few weeks. I am faced with a tough choice of whether to liquidate or roll over. And if I do decide to sell - is it worth my time to wait as the current time premium of $1.00 in the contracts will quickly decline over the coming three weeks as we approach options expiration.

I will address the gold issue re: Newmont in more depth this weekend. I also am beginning to think about what sectors I like for 2006 and how I plan to position the portfolio. It has been a great four or five months with the blog so far.

I wish everyone happy holidays and there will be more posts this weekend. :)

Best regards,

Ben