It’s been a wonderful start to the last quarter for 2007. As with all portfolio updates, let’s go through the week’s events!

• 10/1: The market closed at a new high of 14,087! Now that the 14,000 resistance has been shattered, expect the bull market to continue. Could it be possible to hit 15,000 by the end of the year? It might be too far away but it’s great to be optimistic.
• 10/2: EMC Corp., my largest holding, hit a new intraday high. The high had a major impact on my portfolio as I was able to liquify quite a bit of my position and take on new positions for diversification.
• 10/4:  Research in Motion reported earnings in line with estimates; however, RIMM raised guidance for the next quarter.  Raised guidance = higher profits = happier investors.  As a result, RIMM’s stock shot up 10% reaching a new high of about $114.
• 10/5: The September jobs report was released showing an expected job growth of 110,000 new jobs. The key to the report was the correction of the August report from a 4,000 job loss to a gain of about 88,000. That sent the markets upward closing near the high from Monday.

This week I closed out my EMC Oct 19 Call positions netting a total gain of about $1,400, or about 75% of the entire size of my deposits to date.  Here’s a quick glance at my current holdings and gains to date.  My gains are calculated simply as the ratio of the total value of my portfolio versus the deposits made toward the portfolio.

I’m still heavy on the technology sector.  With the proceed of the EMC calls, I’ve gone ahead and added a couple of positions in the financial sector.  With the small amount of capital I’m still working with, I’ve discovered that options are a better play for my portfolio than the common stock.  Although my losses are amplified, the gains are as well.  It’s a risk I’m willing to take in order to increase the portfolio size.

Isn’t that lovely? Please remember that these are percentages based off my deposits to date.  I’m currently at $2,000 of my own funds.  Any gains in my portfolio will look huge on a percentage basis.  Now if I only had these gains while controlling $1 million!

Earnings month begins this week with notables such as Yum! Brands reporting.  I’ll post any major earnings reports as I come across them over the coming weeks.  Take care this week!

How has your quarter started?  Drop me a line here and let us know how you’ve been doing so far this quarter or even this year!