I am NOT a professional trader, but I have made 5 RTs on shorting CAL and made money on each one (announced to the board, last was short @ 17.41, covered half at 14, rest just above 12). Conservative speculation IMHO.

For those like me, there is another play worth considering, a short on the US dollar, GIM. A closed end mutual fund that invests in foreign treasuries (plus Australian states, Norwegian provinces, etc.). The NAV has trended up since 2001 (hefty year end dividends plus 4.2 cents/month).

Anyway the discount/premium over NAV is a good trading opportunity. Sold some last month for 9.79 (premium too rich), bought back last week at 9.01, sold at 9.72 today.

Basically GIM is a low risk investment with very decent dividends, where I "turn over" my 365+ day holdings for LT gains and more shares when the premium/discount gets too extreme.