Holdings: Closed MGM, XLE iron condors

I've closed two April iron condors in my holdings.

MGM went wrong when the price rose sharply on a news surprise. I exited with the stock trading at $13.14, 6.7% above the entry point but 9.5% beyond the point of maximum profit.

The cost of exit was a 74¢ debit, for a loss of 40% on the options.

XLE's price shot on a sharp rise in the price crude oil, always a possibility when dealing with stocks linked to commodities. I exited with the stock at $59.55, 3.8% above my entry point but nearly 1% above the range of maximum profit.

The cost of exit was a 59¢ debit, for a loss of 29.5% on the options.

In both cases, good signal, but a directional strategy would have worked better. However, my choice of a direction-agnostic strategy matched the chart. News was the downfall of these positions.