Thanks for posting this, they have more significant oil assets than I had realized. To provide a bit further background on Encana, they have largely been focusing for the past couple of years on selling of non-natural gas assets, as well as non-North American assets. Their overall goal is to essentially become a pure natural gas play focusing solely on North American assets. They now own a pretty significant percentage of natural gas assets in North America (couldn't quote an exact percent), and are in a position to do very well in the likely event of continued appreciation in natural gas prices. Going forwards, this is definately the type of stock that I would choose to hold in a longer-term account (such as a self-directed retirement account). In the shorter term, I'm kicking myself for not playing some of the Canadian energy stocks in early 2005. As for the classes, some of them are crappy, but overall I enjoy the majority of them. I knew that I wanted to get a business degree before I even started college, and the only thing that has changed over the past few years is a switch from MIS major to (you guessed it) Finance major.
Unfortunately there aren't too many hot babes in my finance classes, and I'm slowly running out of options credits (I have about 10 more classes left to finish my undergrad degree). Ah well.
Got the info on the ECA Canada version of the calls, Rob... Just to add wrt Canada and Oil: I recently signed-up with XpressTrade (may dabble in some mini-futs and mini-FX), and they have this headline trading ideas (2 of them) contemplating the possibility of Oil hitting 100/barrel Just gonna post the one related to Canada and it's not a recommendation as it's not something I know much about. *** In the currency market, the single biggest beneficiary of rising oil prices is the Canadian Dollar. As of early 2005, Canada's total proven crude oil reserves stood at 178.9 billion barrels trailing only Saudi Arabia, which holds the most proven crude oil reserves in the world (262 billion barrels). However, the vast majority of Canadian oil inventory is trapped in the sands of the Alberta province. Some analysts estimate that the region could contain as much as 300 billion barrels -- enough crude to supply US needs for over 40 years. Until recently, the cost of extraction have been prohibitive, reaching as high as $15-$20 per barrel because of the need for massive filtration equipment. However, recent advances in extraction technology have lowered the price to only $9 per barrel making the Alberta Oil Sands venture highly competitive in the present market prices. If oil prices continue climbing to record highs, Canada, which is already the biggest exporter of oil to the United States -- 1.62 million barrels per day in 2004 -- will experience a tremendous boost to its economy. The energy sector comprises 8% of the Canadian GDP while its indirect contribution to the Canadian economy is far greater. Therefore, if the price of oil continues its upward trajectory, the Canadian Dollar is likely to follow. *** To the moderator: If it's privileged info for XpressTrade members only, please delete the post. Thanks.
No problem... i'm not really familiar with ECA. For an oil-related stock, I've been watching RIG for a while. That might be the one I'll consider putting a position on. Good Trading.
I'm glad you posted that, Palawan. I've been noticing the USD dropping to new lows lately and didn't realize Canada's oil contributed so much to the strength of the Cdn dollar. I played a currency exchange between the 2 once before, and with the next-to-nothing spread at IB, was planning to play them again sometime, only now, it doesn't look like the USD will recover with much strength if the trend in the article is correct. Encana's head office is here in my hometown and if the 'sands extraction is going to boom as the new technology is promising, I think we're on prime real estate! Re-entered my ECA-TC calls at market open at same price I sold at yesterday, underlying overnight drop not as much as I thought. I noticed later that historically, as the stock approaches top of the trend, the last few days candles don't overlap hardly at all. So, I stayed in at close today, calls up to $1.60 from $1.25 yesterday. Resistance at $55, so I have a comfortable day or two yet to go, closing today at $53.80.
Nice trading on the Encana calls, Rob! I wish you continued success. Regarding the CAD/USD trading, please be careful on going by that info I posted earlier... Things are not lining up quite as easily for the Canadian $. The commercial traders are heavily short and they just added more this past week. This could be a short-term indicator, so if nothing else, I'd wait until the commcerials start covering their shorts before going long CAD. http://www.cftc.gov/dea/futures/deacmesf.htm Just be careful whichever you decide on. Good luck.
mini-update 8/26/05: Opened a call-position on the SPY SPY Oct 122 calls (spyjr) - risk capital $1800
update for the week ending 8/26/2005: gain of about $1000 for the week. current positions mark-to-market: DWA Dec 30 - comatose position. loss is currently showing $1260 since inception. AMZN Jan 06 40 puts - showing a gain of $375 VPHM Feb 06 17.5 calls - closed the position in the morning for a profit of $1500. may re-enter next week. today's market was too negative in the morning and didn't wanna hold VPHM for the possible afternoon sell-off. no afternoon sell-off in VPHM took place... NTES Dec 75 calls - closed the position for a loss of $450. not enough reason to be in this position at this time. may re-enter later. SPY Oct 122 calls - a week-long trade at the most. SPY looks to be oversold with this new "low" that hasn't been seen since July. will cut losses if price-action is not favorable. currently showing a loss of $150. Not a bad week. Any week that is positive is good Only 3 positions for now and they appear to be "tame". NTES position was too volatile for my taste. i hope the SPY position doesn't behave in the same way... i have a feeling it might, but i know it's a temporary position that i don't mind closing at any time. Good Trading...