Report Cards and the CFPA January 8, 2010March 16, 2017 INCY Suggested in June at $3.40 and again at $5.62 ten weeks ago as part of a âbasketâ of three speculative drug stocks that might double âin a year or two,â INCY has nearly doubled already. My guru says itâs doing great, with bright prospects and terrific management â but that much or all of that is now reflected in the price. So I sold most of mine yesterday at $10.81. (Thank you, guru.) I wouldnât be surprised to see it go higher. So after I sold (think, Andy, think!), I realized there might be a smarter strategy. For a friend whose spare change I manage, I didnât sell. Instead, I had him âwrite covered callsâ against his INCY shares. Someone paid my friend $1 a share for the right to âcall away his stockâ at $12.50 a share â nicely higher than the $10.81 I got â any time between now and June. If the stock heads back to $3, this will not have proved wise â but I donât see that happening. If instead it rockets through $12.50, my friend winds up with $12.50 plus that $1 premium â $13.50 â which is a good bit better than the $10.81 I got. And if it sits more or less where it is today, and he were able to do this every six months (it never works this smoothly, but just to make the point), heâd be picking up an extra $2 a share every year until he sold. OBAMAâS ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT CARD From the National Resources Defense Council (in very small part): In his first year in office, President Barack Obama and his administration have taken a remarkable number of actions to address a wide variety of environmental challenges. From investing in clean energy technology through the stimulus bills to increasing energy efficiency, the Administration has done more in its first few months to protect our air, water and communities than weâve seen in the last decade. . . . REPUBLICAN REPORT CARD So Chris Matthews asks a top Republican strategist the best things the Republicans have done for the country in the last 20 years, and, well, it was awkward. I know some of you are Republicans â and I honor your open-mindedness in visiting this site â so feel free to email me your list. A BOY NAMED SUE Transgender people made me very nervous before I actually knew any. Now that I count several as friends and have seen their courage and deep basic human dignity, the nervousness is all but gone. Isnât that the way? (Flying is unnatural and nervous-making at first, too, but soon the only issue is whether you get an aisle seat.) Donât miss Rachel Maddowâs two minutes on the Presidentâs recent transgender appointment. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY Under attack by the Republicans, the proposed CFPA is about more than just enlarging the fine print of mortgage applications. As Elizabeth Warren tells Rachel Maddow, it would have prevented the financial meltdown. Well worth your six minutes. Have a great weekend.