When you say “position stock or option”, are you saying stock purchase on cash andor margin when dealing with stock? Also, so much of your newsletter deals with options i lose confidence when thinking about purchasing on margin. I understand your 8% rule and I guess a cash or margin purchase would follow these same guidelines. Would you please clarify your advice on this matter.

When we refer to taking a position with stock and/or a specific option, we mean the position can be taken with stock, with options, or with both if the investors so desires. When the market is good we do use margin. When the market starts to turn worse, i.e., leading stocks breaking down and higher volume selling, we start weaning positions off of margin, either selling positions as they break trendlines or support levels or by infusing some more cash into the accounts or both. Keeping strict sell rules pretty much takes you off margin automatically when trouble starts. Right now we are making no margin purchases-everything is cash, no credit. The market will have to improve dramatically for us to start venturing into margin positions again.