I was greeted by a picture of a young lady's smiling face this morning as I opened the front page of today's Investor's Business Daily. She was "showing off her new iPhone 4 outside the Apple Store in Orlando, Florida." Yes, you could tell she was a very happy person. She would be even happier if she had also purchased some of Apple's stock.

"Apple's newest smart phone was selling briskly Thursday as thousands of people lined up outside stores around the world to become among the first to own the device. Some stores sold out completely within hours," said IBD. Demand is expected to outstrip supply for months to come. Apple and its partners took more than 600,000 pre-orders on June 15, the first day people could reserve the iPhone 4. Some analysts say Apple could sell 1.5 million units in the first two days. Apple plans to ramp up production from 1.5 million iPhones a month to 4 million in July; then to a quarterly run rate of 15 million by December. Even with this homerun, iPads and iMacs continue to fly off the shelves.

All of this has not gone unnoticed. A Reuters story this morning reported that Oppenheimer estimated first-day iPhone 4 sales at 1.5 million units. Moreover, Oppenheimer also raised its fiscal 2010 earnings estimate for Apple to $14.52 per share and fiscal 2011 estimate to $17.96 per share. Our current 12-month forecasted earnings estimate, EPS, is $14.77 per share. This means that we expect Apple to be earning $14.77 per share 12 months from now. So it appears that Oppenheimer may be a bit too optimistic.

But let's take a look at a two-year Standard Graph of Apple. Adjust the graph to show EPS in the lower portion in place of RT. Note that 18 months ago, 12/24/08 to be exact, EPS hit a low point of $5.11 per share and it has going up ever since, slowly at first; then by leaps and bounds. So who knows how high Apple can fly? Oppenheimer raised its price target to $345 per share and 42 of 46 analysts who follow the stock have either a "strong buy" or "buy" rating on it. So what's keeping you from taking a bite of the Apple?

Professor Navvaro of the University of California said on CNBC last week that he likes Apple, but can't afford to buy the stock...its price is too high. Whoa, we solved that problem a long time ago. In fact, we wrote about how you can control substantial shares of Apple stock with very little capital outlay on April 23, 2010. If you read that essay and didn't understand it, never fear, Jerry's here.

Mr. D'Ambrosio, one of our best instructors, will illustrate how to set up a trade which could produce the largest returns you've ever had. So visit the VectorVest University to see Jerry's great "Strategy of the Week" presentation: "Apple Mania."

On October 2, 2009, I wrote an essay called "Double Juicy." It was part of the "Retirement" series of essays in which I described how I would go about generating $50,000 of income per year from $500,000 in financial assets. This essay described a strategy which finds optionable stocks paying dividends of at least $2.00 a year and yield at least 4%. It was called, "Optionable 2x4s." That evening, Mr. Glenn Tompkins, Manager of Educational Services, illustrated how the "Optionable 2x4s" Strategy could be used with the Option Rate of Return Tool to capture both the juicy dividend payments and the juicier option premiums.

Even though Mr. Tompkins made the implementation of this strategy look easy, I was concerned that the requirement of selling Covered Call Options to generate income was adding too much complexity for most of our subscribers. So I wrote another essay the following week called, "Managing Your Retirement Stocks." It also became clear to me that selling Covered Calls must be a vital and necessary part of any retirement strategy. I consider the gains that one makes in Capital Appreciation as cushion, but dividend payments alone cannot provide sufficient income to meet our goal of a 10% annual return. Therefore, I thought long and hard on defining a simple, no guess-work, mechanical technique of consistently generating substantial income from the "Double Juicy" concept. I believe I finally designed a rules-based system that will work.

This system is based upon the idea of receiving a nice cash payment at least once a week. When I was a kid I used to get paid in cash at the end of each week, and I found that no matter how rotten the week was, the cash payment always made me feel better. I have never gotten the same feeling from receiving a check in the mail and having my pay deposited directly into a checking account is for the birds. Nevertheless, we live in an electronic world and I still like money. So I decided to take my electronic payments on Fridays.

From the studies that we have done so far, it appears that a $100,000 portfolio will deliver $20,000 to $30,000 per year in dividend and option premium payments with this system. These numbers do not include gains or losses in stock prices. As you can imagine, however, the money received in payments can mitigate any damage done to your capital position. Another thing I like about this system is that it doesn't require a lot of attention. You only have to look at your portfolio once a week.

We are planning on introducing this system as a Special Bonus to attendees at our One-Day Options Course in Los Angeles on June 12, 2010. So why are we not presenting it as a "Strategy of the Week" presentation? Because this material would normally be part of our Options Course and I want you to learn how to trade Options. If you have already taken our Options Course, we will ship a report to you after June 15, 2010 for only $29.00. Simply, call 1-888-658-7638, and ask for the report on The Payday Portfolio.

A SLICK PROPOSITION.
As a layman, I marvel at the technology used in deep sea oil drilling. As a former Chemical Engineer who designed and built plants, I'm repelled at the sloppy, reckless work that led to the BP Oil release taking place in the Gulf of Mexico. As an investor, betting against BP early on was an easy way to make money. But there were times when it looked like they might actually "plug the damn hole." If successful, it would have given BP's stock price a boost. If not successful, BP's stock price would continue to slide down the slippery slick. There's a trade for every situation and Mr. Dan Misch, another one of our best Instructors, will demonstrate how one could have made money when the outlook was dire and when it was hopeful, but not certain. Please join Dan at the VectorVest University to see this week's intriguing "Strategy of the Week" presentation, "A Slick Proposition."

CNBC has made a living by asking controversial questions; then lining up so called experts with opposing views to debate the answers. More often than not, this little game gives off more heat than light. Take today's question, "Where is the market headed, Dow 9,000 or 11,000?," for example. It was inspired by a guest who appeared yesterday and said the market is going to go down, and the Dow is going to plunge to 5,000. Well, this is pretty scary stuff, so why not milk it?

Now guessing the market's direction is very interesting stuff, so I listened closely as Ms. Erin Burnett, Co-Anchor of Squawk on the Street, asked two guest money managers if the Dow could possibly fall to 5,000. The first expert said, "Of course, anything is possible, but he wasn't in the 5,000 camp." Nevertheless, he would not commit to where the Dow is headed. The second expert babbled something to the effect that his firm wasn't interested in short-term volatility and that investors should be using a 20-year time horizon to assess the market. He was implying, of course, that the market always goes higher over a 20-year time span. When Ms. Burnett pointed out to him, however, that the NASDAQ is still down 50% from its March 2000 high, he went off on another incomprehensible tangent. So where is the market heading?

I don't know, of course, but I do believe that Europe's bailout package which triggered Monday's explosive rally did not solve any problems. Moreover, it's naive to believe that the cause of May 6th's "Flash Crash" is unknown. Given these beliefs I am biased to the side of caution. Moreover, my old friend, who I wrote about last week and have come to trust and depend upon, is still in the C/Dn mode and is telling me that this week's bounce in stock prices is about to be toast. With the tools I have available with VectorVest, I really don't need to watch CNBC's Guessing Game.

A CALL TO USE COVERED CALLS.
As we continue to teach the Retirement Seminar, I have become more convinced that knowing how to sell Covered Calls is an essential part of insuring that you will meet your retirement goals and objectives. I didn't always look at selling Covered Calls this way. Years ago, I used to think it was just a good way to reduce risk and still achieve very acceptable rates of return. Now I see it as a sure-fire way of generating a steady stream of income. I have written many essays about Covered Calls over the years and we have made numerous "Strategy of the Week" presentations on the subject.

This week, Mr. Glenn Tompkins, Manager of Educational Services, will collect, organize and bring all this information together for us so that we may learn from it and enhance our investment performance. So join Mr. Tompkins at the VectorVest University to learn how you can reduce risk and generate considerable cash by answering "A Call to Use Covered Calls."

We're going to have a grand time at the upcoming Las Vegas Money Show and we would love to have you come see us. We'll be demonstrating a sensational new product, VectorVest 7 IntraDay in booth #201 in Caesar's Palace from May 10-13, 2010. It's loaded with fantastic new features and I'm sure you'll love it!

We also will be making Special Presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday, hosting a fabulous Customer Appreciation Reception on Wednesday evening, holding a FREE Retirement Strategies Seminar on Thursday, and giving our great new course: "Trade Like A Pro" on Friday. Here's the line-up:

Dr. Bart DiLiddo, Stock Valuation and Stock Market Cycles:__Tuesday, May 11th - 2:15 PM - Forum 4-6.
Mr. Steve Chappell, The Art of Buying Low and Selling High:_Tuesday, May 11th - 3:15PM - Forum 4-6.
Mr. Don Payton, Introduction to VectorVest 7 IntraDay:______Tuesday, May 11th - 4:15PM - Forum 4-6.
Mr. Dan Misch, How to Build a Winning Stock Portfolio:____Wednesday, May 12th - 3:15PM - Forum 24.
Mr. Steve Chappell, Winning Big the Easy Way:_____________Wednesday, May 12th - 4:15PM - Forum 24.
VectorVest Customer Appreciation Cocktail Reception:_____ Wednesday, May 12th - 7:15PM - Milano 5.
Free Retirement Strategies Seminar:________________________Thursday, May 13th - 2-5PM - Forum 8-9.
VectorVest Course: Trade Like a Pro:_________________________Friday, May 14th - 9AM -5PM - Bally's.

Yes, we will be very busy people, but not so busy that we can't chat with you, answer questions and give you super special low prices on all of our products and services. This is a show you won't want to miss. Come to Caesar's Palace. See VectorVest 7. Conquer the market. Veni. Vidi. Vici.

OPTIONS MAGIC.
I'll never forget that December day in 1999 when Qualcomm soared 194 points from 503 to 697. I couldn't believe it and I sold my shares the very next day as it dropped 50 points. There were no regrets with that one, but my problem with trading high priced stocks is that it's virtually impossible to make big percentage gains with them even if the dollar gains are huge. How often do you see a $200 stock soar 50% or more in a single day? Not very often. That's why I find myself trading $2.00 stocks so much. But I've found a way of turning stocks with triple digit prices into low-priced trades that can give me humongous percentage gains with very little skin in the game. Join Mr. Jerry D'Ambrosio at the VectorVest University for this week's "Strategy of the Week." I call it "Options Magic."