NSpolar,
>>>Sharp, what you been up to lately investment wise, if you don't mind?
What is the oil patch mood in your neighborhood?
Not real positive up here in north country.<<<
My thinking over the last few weeks is that we are approaching an intermediate term market top. The VIX is saying beware - (be very aware) - and I find the general enthusiasm for a recovery and flakey stocks a bit much.
I've been buying some put positions lately like QQQ, FNM, IBM, JPM. Also shorting some shares like LEN, LLTC. Other than that I'm sitting on a large percentage of PM stocks and some selected energy stocks. The moves in PAAS, NEM, and SWC lately have made me quite happy.
The mood in my part of the patch, offshore drilling, isn't very good at the moment. Our rig utilization is still going down, and there are not many prospects out there for contract extensions / new work. I had a lunch with a friend at BP who summed it up pretty well, he said the majors need a price spike to stick around for a while before they react to it at all. Sort of a time weighting on the price of crude. So far the majors haven't budged with these higher crude & gas prices, so that's why my industry is still not rebounding.
But, I see most energy people on SI are looking across the valley - and that has been very successful so far.
Sharp |
