A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert (A Commentary)

Greece affecting the US economy? Has already reached the US economy but hasn't erupted yet. A number of the US states are already in a debt crisis led by California.

Gold. Gold and the US$ tend to go in opposite directions.

Gold. One of the problems is the fate of the euro. Thinks it will survive but probably at a lower level. Given the government debt crisis globally, people are going to lose faith in paper currency and will look for a real store of value, which is gold. He is looking for $1200-$1500 by year-end.

Oil. Developing nations are the major demand factor in the oil market. He is considering the Nymex Oil Bull+ ETF (HOU-T) and if oil got much cheaper and the stock market showed signs of stability, he would definitely buy it.

Natural gas. This is a great story going forward. In 2013, the US government is going to impose very heavy penalties on companies that don't meet certain emissions standards. Think the demand for natural gas will get much stronger.

(Market Call Minute.) Natural gas? Likes natural gas and you want to be buying companies at these levels.

The market has started a correction. It became over bought. Timing indicator suggests a correction until the end of May or beginning of June. After that the market will rally. We are into a ‘V’ right now. Another dip will come in October. Beyond that we will have a good time until at least the end of the year.

Canadian banks. The next big catalyst that has to happen for Canadian banks is when we see the first dividend increase. That will be your “all clear” sign that the banks are comfortable with their balance sheets and loan losses. He prefers Royal (RY-T) and Scotia (BNS-T).

How far out would you go when writing Calls? Depends on what you are trying to defend. When gold started to cross $1200 he was writing 1-month calls against the Gold ETF (GLD-N) on the expectation gold would come off. Generally, 3 months is what he would be looking for.

The Greece bailout is just kicking the can down the road. The market is awaiting details of the bailout. The market wants to see the details of a plan.China has inflation up the most in 18 months. In the housing market there could be a bubble. But overall it will be continued growth of the middle class and infrastructure spending.There is a potential for a double dip because of Greece contagion and UK debt. The US stands to be at the same point by year-end. Every market is negative year to date except North America. We are benefiting because the rest of the world is worse off.

US$. Expect the US dollar will continue to be a strong currency in the foreseeable future because the domestic economy is quite strong and getting stronger. Cdn$ is even more attractive. Europe will go through a period of austerity and that will hit their GDP growth.

Gold. Likes this sector and has been adding to this in the last few weeks. He owns both physical gold and gold producers but prefers the producers such as Red Back (RBI-T), Eldorado (ELD-T) and several others.

Caller has stocks in his RRSP where he can't write options. What about writing naked calls on these? Naked calls is essentially something you should never do. There is no reason why you can't write options in your registered account.

Covered Call Strategy. Write monthly covered calls month after month or go for long-term, say 1-year out? He prefers 6 months out which saves on trading costs over a month-by-month and on a yearly one, you don't get the same bang for the buck. This also gives you downside protection.

Canadian investors have a golden opportunity with the strong Cdn$ to buy shares in companies that are domiciled in countries where the currency is weaker. You are getting quality companies at value prices.