With all the volatility this month, I thought it would be bad… but the month was basically a wash, a little higher than before. The market, though, has started to pull away a bit. My goal continues to be to beat the market, but that’s not currently happening. It’s September, so I’m easing back into some options again, buying out of the money calls.

• Last 4 weeks: 2.8%
• Last 3 months: -0.5%
• Last 12 months: +4.5%
• Year to date: +5.4% (Dow is +7.5 ytd from 12,463)

Holding for another month:

Ticker	Bought	Now	Months	Return
CLB	$101.74	$113.0	1	+11.1%	Core Laboratories NV. From the Peg_Minimalist screen.
FDP	$27.61	$26.24	1	-5.0%	Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. Sort of like overripe fruit. From the H52EgPS screen.
MCY	$53.85	$53.16	10	-1.3%	Mercury General Corp. From the LPE_YLD screen.
MDR	$79.63	$95.47	3	+19.9%	McDermott International. From the Screamers screen, then the RSPeg2 screen, but now the TREPPE screen.
PKOH	$20.80	$27.43	4	+31.9%	Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. Originally from the H52EgPS screen, then RSPeg2, but now TREPPE. Getting a little long in the tooth, though.
PFE	$26.10	$24.97	7	-4.3%	Pfizer Inc. From the LPE_YLD screen. Looks like a loss, but with dividends, it’s actually break even.

Selling these:

Ticker	Bought	Sold	Months	Return
CFI	$11.85	$9.97	1	-15.9%	Culp Inc. Well, they can’t all be winners. From the Peg_Minimalist screen.
DO	$92.90	$107.83	1	+16.1%	Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. From the TREPPE screen.
ISRG	$206.66	$223.56	1	+8.2%	Intuitive Surgical Inc. From the Screamers screen.
MLI	$37.30	$35.20	1	-5.6%	Mueller Industries Inc. From the H52EgPS screen.
NVT	$64.37	$66.58	1	+3.4%	NAVTEQ Corp. From the Screamers screen.
PCU	$96.95	$107.53	1	+10.9%	Southern Copper Corp. From the TREPPE screen.

New stocks for this month:

Ticker	Bought	Sold	Months	Return
ARTC	$57.39	$N/A	0	N/A%	Arthrocare Corp. From the RSPeg2 screen.
FOSL	$33.95	$N/A	0	N/A%	Fossil Inc. Dinosaurs? Nope, fashion accessories. From the Screamers screen.
RDEN	$24.76	$N/A	0	N/A%	Elizabeth Arden Inc. From the Peg_Minimalist screen.
SFD	$32.76	$N/A	0	N/A%	Smithfield Foods Inc. That’s fun, they’re a “hog producer.” From the H52EgPS screen.
SIGM	$43.82	$N/A	0	N/A%	Sigma Designs, Inc, a tech-video company. From the Screamers and RSPeg2 screens.
NOV	$129.06	$N/A	0	N/A%	National Oilwell Varco Inc. From the Peg_Minimalist screen.

6/3 Options:

Ticker	Bought	Sold	Months	Return
MDRBA	$7.38	$N/A	0	N/A%	MDR Feb 2008 Calls. Sell in early December.
RZJDC	$14.00	$N/A	0	N/A%	GRMN Apr 2008 Calls. Sell in early December.

The next trade will be October 1.