Monday, January 25, 2021
What a difference a week makes. That’s both the beauty and danger of the financial markets. They largely generate wealth over time, but will occasionally remind you that they can take it all away at any time. At the time of this writing, the S&P 500 had dropped 10% from its highs, which puts the […]
One of the most interesting aspects of options trading is that you never quite know what traders are thinking when they make trades. It’s difficult to be 100% sure of their goals when they initiate a certain positon. Part of the mystery is due to how flexible an investment options can be. Perhaps more importantly, […]
There’s a famous Monty Python skit from the 70’s where, out of nowhere, three men dressed up like medieval Catholic priests jump into a room shouting “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”. Of course it was very much in line with the sort of random and absurd humor Monty Python is famous for. I tend to […]
As an options trader, earnings season is often one of the most enjoyable times to trade. During the heavy earnings periods, you often see plenty of large moves in individual stocks (for obvious reasons). Options can be a good way to capitalize off those big moves. However, the biggest challenge with using options for earnings […]
Most people think bonds are boring. And it’s true, if you buy a bond and just wait for the coupon payment to arrive, it is definitely an uneventful investment… boring and safe. Of course, that’s exactly why people buy bonds. However, trading bonds is a completely different matter. Bonds, even government bonds, can move as […]
One of the early financial market themes for 2018 is the renewed interest in commodities. We’ve seen early gains so far in gold, oil, and natural gas, to name a few. At least one of the drivers behind the buying is the expected increase in interest rates. As a reminder, commodities are usually priced in […]
Investors often try to figure out themes in the financial markets once a new trading year hits. 2017 was all about low volatility, cryptocurrencies, and tax reform. With tax reform out of the way, we still have low volatility and cryptocurrencies/blockchain tech on the board. What else could be in store? Obviously, the jury’s still […]
It’s no secret that options are often the investment vehicle of choice for “smart money” traders. Big funds and trading firms regularly use options to establish their biggest positions – sometimes in conjunction with stock holdings, other times just using options. It’s especially true for the most heavily traded ETFs and stocks. Less often, you’ll […]
It’s only the first week of the New Year, and there’s already plenty going on in the financial markets. While there hasn’t been much in the way of volatility, that’s only because stocks are mostly going up. In that sense, 2018 is acting much like 2017. On the other hand, one major stock that isn’t […]
It’s officially the start of a new trading year, but that doesn’t mean you have to create all new investment strategies. While there are certainly going to be some changes (possibly big ones) in 2018, there is plenty that happened in 2017 which will more or less be repeated this year. For instance, the leading […]
