Steckler's Star Studded Stock Picks

[DSteckler]

Float < 7 million, ERG > 250

LMIA - holding the 20-day EMA and the daily RSI bottomed out at just under 56, which is bullish.

[DSteckler]

STO looks ready to go

Extremely low ADX (it dropped to 9.41 last week) and rising stochastic/RSI suggest the next move is higher.

[DSteckler]

Nice looking CHRT

Breaking out of a rising right triangle. Estimates for the next two quarters are up 118% and 119% respectively, YOY.

[DSteckler]

New oil ETF

Oil ETF could be a gusher
First fund tracking crude prices may launch next week
By John Spence, MarketWatch
Last Update: 1:17 PM ET Mar 28, 2006


BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- The American Stock Exchange is preparing to introduce the first U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking crude-oil prices next week, according to a published report Tuesday.

If approved, the ETF would represent the first time individual investors would have a convenient, liquid vehicle for taking positions in crude oil itself, rather than investing in the shares of energy companies or mutual funds.
The fund must still gain final regulatory authorization before its planned launch on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The ETF will be managed by registered commodity-pool operator Victoria Bay Asset Management LLC, according to the report.

A spokeswoman for the Amex on Tuesday morning declined to comment on a possible launch date for the oil ETF, referring to the Securities and Exchange Commission quiet period.

Last July, Victoria Bay Asset Management first filed with regulators for an oil ETF but has since changed the name from New York Oil Fund LP. According to the latest update, the offering would be called United States Oil Fund LP and trade under the ticker "USO." Its initial share price will represent the closing price of near-month oil futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The fund's investment objective is for shares to reflect the performance of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, minus expenses, according to the filing. It will invest in energy futures contracts, cash-settled options and other instruments to achieve the oil exposure, and will also hold short-term Treasuries.

The ETF is structured as a commodity pool rather than a mutual fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Since ETFs trade on exchanges like stocks, the oil fund would allow investors to take a long position in the commodity, as well as hedge against losses by going short.

Not including brokerage or commission costs, the ETF will have a management fee of 0.5% of assets, according to the filing.

Alameda, Calif.-based Victoria Bay Asset Management, formerly known as Standard Asset Management LLC, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Macro Securities Depositor LLC also has an oil ETF currently in registration, and there are already oil ETFs trading on overseas exchanges in London and Mexico.
Keen interest in fund expected

Morgan Stanley analyst Paul Mazzilli said Tuesday the U.S. Oil Fund ETF appears designed similarly to the first broad-based commodities ETF to use derivatives launched last month, Deutsche Bank Commodity Index Tracking Fund.

Also structured as a commodity pool rather than a registered investment company, the Deutsche Bank offering uses futures and "rolls" them periodically to maintain exposure to the commodities. It holds U.S. Treasury bills as collateral, which also provide a yield which offsets expenses.

Mazzilli noted the oil ETF appears well-designed, but said the sponsor, Victoria Bay, has no experience running index funds and little marketing support. He expects the fund will be successful as the first U.S.-listed oil ETF, but doubts it will experience the same fanfare as the first gold ETF, $6.1 billion StreetTracks Gold Trust , which launched in November 2004.

Other analysts agreed there could be keen interest in the oil ETF given crude's rise the past few years.
Although there are futures contracts based on oil, an ETF makes the commodity more accessible for average investors, said Dan Culloton, analyst at investment research firm Morningstar Inc.

Some investors use small amounts of commodities to diversify their stock and bond portfolios, but Culloton advised caution about leaping into oil since prices are notoriously difficult to forecast.

"There's a history of investors jumping into asset classes at their peak, so it's better to temper expectations and not to expect recent returns will continue forever," he said. "Will investors be as excited about the diversification benefits when oil is falling, and stick with it?"

Additionally, Culloton said he expects the oil fund will be less tax efficient than stock ETFs because of the tax treatment of capital gains on futures contracts.
Alex Reiss, vice president of closed-end funds and ETF research at Ryan Beck & Co., said he sees heavy demand for an oil ETF from investors who want to hedge their portfolios against geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Interest in oil has been high with some analysts predicting prices will continue to climb on supply and demand issues, he added.

However, Reiss noted "oil prices are very volatile and investors shouldn't overly concentrate their portfolios in one asset class or fund."

[DSteckler]

Rusha

Pulled back to the 50DMA yesterday and bouncing nicely today.

[DSteckler]

NTG starting to break out

Low ADX (12.20) suggests the move has legs. Both daily and weekly technicals showing bullish strength in the stock.

[DSteckler]

Lmia

Anyone discuss LMIA yet? Nice breakout on 3X ADV.

[DSteckler]

GNT huge move

Up 13% on news they received approval to start a cancer drug trial.

[DSteckler]

Nh/nl

The OTC high-low daily number has recently started to run ahead of the NYSE high-low daily number, often a good sign for the overall market.

[Runner]

Oil ETF could be a gusher
First fund tracking crude prices may launch next week
By John Spence, MarketWatch
Last Update: 1:17 PM ET Mar 28, 2006


BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- The American Stock Exchange is preparing to introduce the first U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking crude-oil prices next week, according to a published report Tuesday.

If approved, the ETF would represent the first time individual investors would have a convenient, liquid vehicle for taking positions in crude oil itself, rather than investing in the shares of energy companies or mutual funds.
The fund must still gain final regulatory authorization before its planned launch on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The ETF will be managed by registered commodity-pool operator Victoria Bay Asset Management LLC, according to the report.

A spokeswoman for the Amex on Tuesday morning declined to comment on a possible launch date for the oil ETF, referring to the Securities and Exchange Commission quiet period.

Last July, Victoria Bay Asset Management first filed with regulators for an oil ETF but has since changed the name from New York Oil Fund LP. According to the latest update, the offering would be called United States Oil Fund LP and trade under the ticker "USO." Its initial share price will represent the closing price of near-month oil futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The fund's investment objective is for shares to reflect the performance of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, minus expenses, according to the filing. It will invest in energy futures contracts, cash-settled options and other instruments to achieve the oil exposure, and will also hold short-term Treasuries.

The ETF is structured as a commodity pool rather than a mutual fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Since ETFs trade on exchanges like stocks, the oil fund would allow investors to take a long position in the commodity, as well as hedge against losses by going short.

Not including brokerage or commission costs, the ETF will have a management fee of 0.5% of assets, according to the filing.

Alameda, Calif.-based Victoria Bay Asset Management, formerly known as Standard Asset Management LLC, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Macro Securities Depositor LLC also has an oil ETF currently in registration, and there are already oil ETFs trading on overseas exchanges in London and Mexico.
Keen interest in fund expected

Morgan Stanley analyst Paul Mazzilli said Tuesday the U.S. Oil Fund ETF appears designed similarly to the first broad-based commodities ETF to use derivatives launched last month, Deutsche Bank Commodity Index Tracking Fund.

Also structured as a commodity pool rather than a registered investment company, the Deutsche Bank offering uses futures and "rolls" them periodically to maintain exposure to the commodities. It holds U.S. Treasury bills as collateral, which also provide a yield which offsets expenses.

Mazzilli noted the oil ETF appears well-designed, but said the sponsor, Victoria Bay, has no experience running index funds and little marketing support. He expects the fund will be successful as the first U.S.-listed oil ETF, but doubts it will experience the same fanfare as the first gold ETF, $6.1 billion StreetTracks Gold Trust , which launched in November 2004.

Other analysts agreed there could be keen interest in the oil ETF given crude's rise the past few years.
Although there are futures contracts based on oil, an ETF makes the commodity more accessible for average investors, said Dan Culloton, analyst at investment research firm Morningstar Inc.

Some investors use small amounts of commodities to diversify their stock and bond portfolios, but Culloton advised caution about leaping into oil since prices are notoriously difficult to forecast.

"There's a history of investors jumping into asset classes at their peak, so it's better to temper expectations and not to expect recent returns will continue forever," he said. "Will investors be as excited about the diversification benefits when oil is falling, and stick with it?"

Additionally, Culloton said he expects the oil fund will be less tax efficient than stock ETFs because of the tax treatment of capital gains on futures contracts.
Alex Reiss, vice president of closed-end funds and ETF research at Ryan Beck & Co., said he sees heavy demand for an oil ETF from investors who want to hedge their portfolios against geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Interest in oil has been high with some analysts predicting prices will continue to climb on supply and demand issues, he added.

However, Reiss noted "oil prices are very volatile and investors shouldn't overly concentrate their portfolios in one asset class or fund."

Thanks for the heads up Dave. What is the symbol? Powershares has a bunch that have been out for a little while. Most under 50.00

[DSteckler]

<< What is the symbol? >>

I imagine it will be OIL. Except on the BSE (Brookyln Stock Exchange), where the symbol will be EARL.

(ROTFLMAO!)

[DSteckler]

The symbol will be USO.

[DSteckler]

Japan

I'm holding IIF in my international ETF model but EWJ broke out of a rectangular base yesterday. The height of the base is about 1 point so the calculated target objective is around 15.20, a 7% gain.

[DSteckler]

DRRX up big pre-market

Up 5%. Didn't find any news. Durect has been trading in a tight range the past week as volume dried up.

[DSteckler]

SID looks like it may move again

Formed a descending right triangle and may run up against resistance (around 31.15) today. Dividend yield = 15.3%.