Articles from the Experts
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Option Block 213: Waxing Nostalgic about Floor Days Trading Block: Apple hits 11-month low and is hovering around $500 strike off news of decreasing iPhone demand. Apple selloff put some vol back into the market. Good earnings -- despite the Apple news, 80% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so have beat their earnings estimates. A lot of volume in Dell. Odd Block: Puts trade in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ERIC); large call seller in Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW), and calls trading in Sealed Air Corp. (SEE). Xpress Block: The Marches have gone up this week. Russell and ETFs. Gold, Facebook and weeklies. The Mail Block: Home Ec tips from our listeners Tweet from Money Hat - Seabass is crazy! There is no difference between the shiny and dull sides of tin foil. That's just an old wives tale. Email from Paul - Venice, FL - Can I sell covered calls on a convertible preferred stock? In particular BAC.PR.L. I chose this name because it pays a roughly 9% dividend yield, but I would like to augment that income stream if possible. Thank you for your insight and for your informative (and surprisingly entertaining) program. I didn’t know I could have such a good time learning about options trading. Around the Block: Earnings, earnings, earnings! Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, US Bank Corp. |
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Option Block 212: Sweep the Leg, Johnny Trading Block: There was a broad rally across the street, but VIX cash languishing yet again. Alcoa earnings send out a resounding "meh," with the stock essentially unchanged. It’s a premium sellers dream. BATS executes hundreds of thousands of transactions outside NBBO. CBOE rebranding: "Execute Success." Are you sure about that?
Odd Block: Calls trading in Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) calls trade, large blocks of opening calls trade on Deckers Outdoor Corp. (DECK), and interesting call trading in GT Solar International Inc. (GTAT).
Xpress Block: The Idea Hub feature "Walk Limit" has reached version 2 on the OX platform. Now it’s fully customizable! Strategy Block: Harvesting credit spreads using multiple weeklies with Uncle Mike.
Around the Block: Interesting earning on the horizon: CITI, BAC, and INTC all on 1/17. GS on 1/16 before the bell. |
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Option Block 210: New Year, No Volatility Trading Block: It’s the first episode of 2013! The world hasn't ended, since the heroes in Congress once again settled on a deal. Volatility update. Odd Block: Takeover talks spur call trading in Zipcar (ZIP), and a large VXX put spread trades. Xpress Block: Earnings season begins next week with Alcoa on 1/8. Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw expands upon volatility, using VIX as a weather vane, and selling puts, all wrapped within a well-told story. Mail Block: Question from Chandra B - Natick, MA: Hey Mark, I love the Radio show...I find myself wanting the next show because I something new every episode. My question is: How should a trader handle stop losses on a naked call/put and/or a vertical spread. When should you call it quits? IBD mentions 8% for stocks, but what is the level for options? Thanks. Around the Block: How low can vol go? Earnings next week, how big could they be? |
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Option Block 209: 2012 Year in Review
2012 Year in Review Block: A lot of whip-saw action in the market today, given the uncertainty in Washington. ETPs have added substantial end-of-day volatility. Scandal in the retail market, specifically the implosion of PFG, has lead to a steady decline in retail options volume. Peak 6 acquired Penson and created Apex Clearing, which caused a lot of problems. A lot of price movement in the underlying in Apple this year. A big SPY dividend trade ended up costing millions of dollars due to a clearing error. VIX is cheap, vol is low - we've heard this non-sense all year. Knight trading collapsed. Hurricane Sandy closed the markets in New York for two full days. ICE acquired NYSE Group. The expansion of weeklies continues to be a big story. Mini Apple will be release next year in March. Worst trade of the year: Someone had the bright idea to buy 20,000 VIX Feb 70 calls. |
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Option Block 208: Options Fuel the Exchange War Trading Block: News is circulating of a potentially sizable acquisition/merger of ICE and NYSE Euronext, which includes ARCA and AMEX. The market was fractionally up on the day. Jan vol futures are still trading below cash. RIMM closed to the upside. Odd Block: A pickup of bullish paper in the XLF, a three-legged trade in the iShares Dow Jones Transportation Index (IYT). Xpress Block: What's new at the Idea Hub? Plus, a question from Max S: When I put on a spread in Xtend, it displays the positions in my position list, but when I go to close a position, I can only one-click close the spread one leg at a time. Is there a way to one-click close a multi-leg spread through Xtend or through the website? Around the Block: Positioning for a potential dive off the fiscal cliff. Happy holidays from The Options Insider. |
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Option Block 207: Ratio Combos and Weekly Premium Trading Block: We saw a broad rally across the market as rumors of a deal to avert the fiscal cliff are spreading. There was also a mild VIX selloff today. Mark put on my first taste of Apple last week - Dec 465/455 put spread. The latest on GLD. Miami Options Exchange (MIAX) finally launches. Bill Brodsky stepping down as Chairman & CEO of the CBOE. Odd Block: Large Call Buying in Endeavor International Corp. (END), calls trading in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and calls trading in Financial Sector SPDR (XLF). Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson is in the OX hot seat today and discusses the walk limit product, as well as what's new at the Idea Hub. He also answers this Tweet from Mr. Penny Stock: Alex - Does OX have a premium buying section of the Idea Hub to go with the premium selling section? Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw discusses using a ratio combo. Around the Block: RIMM and Nike earnings are coming up. It should be an interesting expiration week with the fiscal cliff looming. |
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Option Block 206: The Secret World of Open Interest Trading Block: It was a bloody day on the market; screens were nothing but a sea of red. Apple is now creating its own vol excitement, this time in the 500's. Is Tosaw a degenerate weekly premium seller? VIX cash headed towards the upside. GLD is at a 13 vol -- how low can it go? Odd Block: More bullish trading in Quicksilver, Inc. (ZQK) and Golden Minerals Co. (AUMN), also selling paper in AuRico Gold, Inc. (AUQ). Plus, a comment from Duffy: What's the best way to tell if a particular options activity is closing or opening transaction? Thank for your help. Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson discusses the latest developments at OX. Google seems to be displacing Apple in term of chatter amongst customers. More interesting ideas being kicked out from the "Idea Hub.” Strategy Block: Tosaw discusses the importance of synthetics, and how they relate to collars. Around the Block: Earnings: Oracle 12/18, RIMM 12/20. RIMM is actually seeing some life recently. |
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Option Block 205: The Great Collar Debate Trading Block: Most of the market was unchanged today. Vol levels in Apple have been attractively low, is Tosaw back on the short put train? GLD sees a little move to the upside. Odd Block: Unusual activity in: Dole Food Co, (DOLE), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM), and iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ). Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson discusses the latest and most interesting trade ideas from the "Idea Hub." A $10 OTM put spread in Apple. Listener Mail: Our listeners drive the bus for a while.
Around the Block: Keeping an eye on FOMC rate decision, gold, and the Euro. Be sure to have your tax plans in place as the year draws to a close. |
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Option Block 204: Juicy AAPL Puts Trading Block: Market roughly unchanged on the day. Apple reversing its recent selloff on renewed Apple TV rumors. Apple & FoxConn also investing in American manufacturing and distribution. Holiday sales looking strong so far. Jobless claims drop after Hurricane Sandy. Sirius declares dividend and buys back $2B worth of shares. Are they yet another company trying to move up their special dividend to avoid next year's tax increase? Odd Block: Put calendar buying in SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), selling put spreads in iShares MSCI Index Fund (EFA), and buying calls in Zynga, Inc. (ZNGA). Xpress Block: Joe Cusack is in the OX hot seat today and discusses some of the latest developments at OX and interesting trade ideas from the "Idea Hub". Strategy Block: Uncle Tosaw discusses weeklies in this strategy block. Around the Block: Fiscal cliff. Fiscal cliff. Fiscal Cliff. Non-farms in the morning. Weekend approaching but vol still has some legs. |
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Option Block 203: Still Talking About the Fiscal Cliff Trading Block: A bit of a selloff across most of the major indices. Apple only up slightly today. Ford trading around the 11.5-11.40 range. Odd Block: Andrew Giovinazzi gets to run through some of the interesting and unusual activity he saw in the market, including: Leap Frog (LF), Verisign (VRSN), and BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (BMTI). Xpress Block: A slow day at OX. Alex Jacobson takes the reins and discusses the idea hub. Around the Block: Still waiting for some kind of news out of Washington about the fiscal cliff. Keep an eye on the special dividend news. |