Bio-dreck

Altera
(
ALTR |
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broke out on Thursday and held strong
on Friday. Altera closed at 64 on Friday, and its September
65 calls closed near 4 5/8. If you were to open a
covered-call position based on these prices, and if your
stock were to be called away at 65, you would have a return
of 7.2%.

The biotech index
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$BTK.X |
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made another valiant
effort to move higher, but it was unable to get above that
trendline. Look for buying opportunities in puts and put
spreads if it is unable to hold above its 50-day moving
average.

The VIX made another new low on Friday, and it closed
there. Continue to look for buying opportunities in OEX puts
and put spreads.

Looking Ahead

The securities brokers/dealers index
(
$XBD.D |
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remains strong and continues to trade near its highs.

P.S. Reminder: Protective stops on every trade!

P.P.S. This report is brief because David Baker and I are
off to Ontario to speak at the International Online Trading
Expo.