Resorting to Gambling
by JDH on December 1, 2018
As the market bounces around, doing not much of anything, and we are left to wonder whether or not 2018 will finish in the red or the black, I’m now resorting to outright gambling.
In many cases I’m a speculator, not an investor, which is practically gambling anyway. My biggest bets of 2017 and 2018 were in the pot stocks, which did great up until the end of the summer, and have crashed since then. Fortunately I took some profits off the table in the summer, but I still hold a big position, and I’m hopeful that with legalization at the federal level in the United States inevitable, I should be solidly in the black in 2019.
Gold is another story, doing not much of anything.
So what’s the gamble?
On Friday I bought some very out of the money calls on the S&P 500, expiring on December 7. It was a very small bet, so if it goes bust, no worries.
Why the bet?
Because there is an outside chance that the the G20 summit this weekend Trump will announce a deal on something, perhaps China. The Chinese may agree to play nice, so perhaps he will announce reduced tariffs, which would make the stock market surge upwards on Monday.
If not, I close out the position at a loss.
That’s where life is these days. Silly gambles on events half way around the world.
I’ll report back next week.
Resorting to Gambling
by JDH on December 1, 2018
As the market bounces around, doing not much of anything, and we are left to wonder whether or not 2018 will finish in the red or the black, I’m now resorting to outright gambling.
In many cases I’m a speculator, not an investor, which is practically gambling anyway. My biggest bets of 2017 and 2018 were in the pot stocks, which did great up until the end of the summer, and have crashed since then. Fortunately I took some profits off the table in the summer, but I still hold a big position, and I’m hopeful that with legalization at the federal level in the United States inevitable, I should be solidly in the black in 2019.
Gold is another story, doing not much of anything.
So what’s the gamble?
On Friday I bought some very out of the money calls on the S&P 500, expiring on December 7. It was a very small bet, so if it goes bust, no worries.
Why the bet?
Because there is an outside chance that the the G20 summit this weekend Trump will announce a deal on something, perhaps China. The Chinese may agree to play nice, so perhaps he will announce reduced tariffs, which would make the stock market surge upwards on Monday.
If not, I close out the position at a loss.
That’s where life is these days. Silly gambles on events half way around the world.
I’ll report back next week.