Some lessons in charting

Some believe that reading charts is like reading tea leaves. Other investors rely on charts to help them decide when to buy and sell stocks. I’m a bit in-between. Learning how to read charts does need some understanding and, of course, the market or an individual stock can always turn and bite us. Nothing is […] Read more

Mid-winter portfolio update

Andy Sirski’s been studying bull put spreads. In this column, he tells you 
how it’s working for his portfolio. And, a tribute to John Clark

A lot has happened since my last column. For one thing, the Dow Jones Index came up to 14,009, within a hair of the old high set in October 2007. A lot of good stocks have made a lot of money these past 63 months. Some would call this a bull market, but most bulls […] Read more


Put spreads can make us money

Andy is moving from covered calls to put spreads. Find out how he does it, and what it’s doing for him

As you know, I like to sell covered calls on some of the stocks I own. This is a rare strategy that is not understood by many, so they call it risky. I’ve had a lot of practice selling calls these past six or seven years so I figured it was time to expand my […] Read more

Thorium technology might replace uranium

China’s is researching thorium, as a replacement for uranium in reactors. Andy Sirski explains what this could mean, gives us an update on his portfolio

In this column I will touch on research China is doing on the use of thorium instead of uranium to run reactors to produce electricity. The U.S. did a lot of work on thorium back in the 1950s but the administration wanted to develop nuclear bombs so it chose to focus on uranium instead. Now […] Read more


Things I wish I’d learned 30 years ago

Andy Sirski shares seven investing tips and strategies he wishes 
he’d known when he started investing

As we start a new investment year, I sometimes think how our life might be if we had had more financial skills 30 to 40 years ago. Not that I’m bitter. My wife and I and our family are richly blessed and I’ve learned many financial skills over the years. Still it would have been nice to […] Read more

Year-end portfolio update

A lot has happened since December 1, 2012 and most things have raised the value of my portfolio. As I write on December 18, 2012, the American administration is still playing “catch me if you can” over higher taxes and lower entitlements. From what I can find, the U.S. constitution was designed to create this […] Read more


A tribute to Alf Bryan

Alf Bryan passed away on December 3, 2012 at the nursing home in Moose Jaw, Sask. Alf was a family man, farmer and political critic but he will be best remembered as the farmer from Tagaske who scribed in Grainews under the column head “I May be wrong but…” Alf ran as a Liberal in […] Read more

Three sell signals can lock in profits

Between my last article and this one, administrations in Europe and the U.S. have set up what are called “infinite quantitative easing” or “perpetual easy money.” I believe that over the next couple of years these monetary policies will help to drive up the price of gold and silver, but both will be volatile. At […] Read more


Manage risk while following opportunities

I made a crop inspection tour from Winnipeg to Vegerville, Alta. in the middle of June. At that time, there were a lot of puddles in the fields on both sides of the road for hundreds of miles. With the hot weather since, I hear there are lots of good crops coming. I hope they […] Read more

Two indicators improve odds of making money

I sell a lot of covered calls to bring in cash flow, but buying good stocks on the low side can sure improve the odds of making money. I use one indicator to help me buy low and another to help me see when it might be a good idea to sell shares. Of course, […] Read more