forgive me for my naivety here:
1. if you buy an ETF, say USO, and put in $1k, is the most you can lose $1k? it's not like a short where you can really get it handed to you, right?
2. is there an ETF or stock or other fund that is currently negative in value, like today's current price point on a barrel of oil?
3. if the answer to #2 is yes, how do gains work? let's say you bought "oil" at $-37, and then eventually it goes up to $40, do you just make $77? or, is there some dividing by zero or negative multiplier involved?
i hate oil and the impacts on the world. but i can't help but think this is a once in a lifetime bargain on it. i mean, buy and hold long enough and you should come out way ahead when things stabilize. we all know that pumped quantities will be reduced to meet storage limitations. and, demand will pick up, sometime in the next 2-12 months. how can this not go up?