From the monthly archives:
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is seeing option traders selling straddles this morning, with the December 950 straddle offered and trading at $147.00.
This is just over 52% volatility and is lower by three dollars from yesterday’s closing level. The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) is lower by two points today 60.04% with the [...]
{ 0 comments }
The General Motors (GM)/Chrysler merger seems to be on hold as the White House has ruled out any government money to facilitate the deal. Traders have been watching this closely this week.
GM, which traded up to $7.15 on the open yesterday, is now back in the five-dollar range.
Of course we have a [...]
{ 0 comments }
The late-day selling and buying we have seen in the overall market – causing 200-, 300-, even 400-point swings in the DJIA during the last 10 minutes – has become seemingly an everyday occurrence.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the NYSE has begun to allow specialists to place orders for 30 minutes after [...]
{ 0 comments }
Up and down … and up-and-down quickly … and up really fast!
The market again gave investors the typical bumpy ride.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) opened up 30 points higher, recovering most of last night’s late selloff only to give that all back before noon – it was able to grind higher on light volume before [...]
{ 0 comments }
Research in Motion recently announced a new smart phone offering called the Storm to compete with Apple’s iPhone. Timing may not be exactly ideal as consumer spending is slowing at a rapid rate, as per the GDP release this morning. (Personal Consumption declined a larger-than-expected 3.1%). RIMM shares are down 57% year-to-date [...]
{ 0 comments }
After Wednesday’s close, Hartford Financial (HIG) announced a net loss of $8.74 per share. The firm explained that losses come from 2.2 billion in after-tax net realized capital losses on investments in the financial sector. Subsequent to this earnings news, the stock is down roughly 50% or $9.91 today.
HIG has seen notable [...]
{ 0 comments }
OptionsHouse blog and video go live, offering information and education
Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment processing now online
CHICAGO – October 30, 2008 – OptionsHouse, LLC (“OptionsHouse”), an online retail brokerage firm, recently launched two improvements to www.optionshouse.com designed to streamline account management and educate traders.
Market Environment Necessitates Education:
Retirement savings have decreased by about $2 trillion during [...]
{ 0 comments }
After suffering a shellacking right on the close yesterday, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) cannot retain its opening bounce-back level of 955.
News that American Express (AXP) will be cutting 10% (or 7,000) jobs has focused traders on the slowing economic conditions once again. This news followed the negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) release of [...]
{ 0 comments }
As the markets continue to move dramatically multiple times each week, it makes me think about how to manage risk in this environment. I think the biggest thing people need to realize is buying 100 shares of a $50 stock probably has both higher risk and higher reward potential than it did when the [...]
{ 0 comments }
Morning trading activity in the S&P 500 index (SPX) has been dominated by risk-reversals in the December series. In other words, investors are buying upside calls and selling downside puts. Much of this volume has taken the form of large blocks.
Traders have focused on the December 1,000, 1,050, and 1,100 [...]
{ 0 comments }
