Options Trading
Options Volatility Watch: What’s Going On With The VIX?
If you’re an active investor – or even if you just follow the markets – it pays to know what the VIX is doing. That holds true whether or not you trade options. The VIX is an important indicator for all types of investors. First off, what’s the VIX? The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index, […]
Speculator’s Corner: Corn Prices Getting Canned
Last summer the worst drought in 70 years baked the heartland of America to a crisp. The extreme heat and lack of rainfall baked fields of corn into worthless husks. The drought ended up destroying 13% of last year’s corn crop. It resulted in the smallest production since 2006. As the temperatures rose, so did […]
Sectors To Watch: Capex To Fuel Super Bull Market
What’s the one thing the recovery from the Great Recession is lacking? If you said job growth, you’re on the right track… the unemployment rate and other employment stats are some of the most widely talked about and are certainly disappointing. But I’m talking about capex or capital expenditures. It’s the amount of money a […]
Call Options Or Put Options On Nordstrom (JWN)?
Nordstrom (JWN) is a high-end fashion retailer. They sell overpriced clothing and accessories to people that have too much money to care or wannabes that want to look like they have too much money to care. As of this writing, JWN trades for $54.40 per share. The shares are up 18% from the 52-week low of […]
Speculator’s Corner: Does Money Grow On Trees?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve already heard about the recovery in the US housing market. Just last week we found out new home sales took off like a rocket ship in January. In fact, they jumped nearly 16% to a rate of 437,000 new homes per year. It was the largest monthly […]
Sectors To Watch: Power Up Your Cash Flow With Utilities
Investing in electric utilities, multi-utilities, independent power producers, energy traders, and gas utilities isn’t as flashy as investing in a hot biotech stock or tech stock IPO. But utilities stocks are a staple for investors interested in income generation more so than growth. And for good reason… High quality dividend paying stocks like those found […]
Call Options Or Put Options On Westport Innovations (WPRT)?
Westport Innovations (WPRT) has one of the most compelling stories of any company around. But so far, the company’s performance hasn’t lived up to the hype. WPRT currently trades for $30.00 per share. The shares are up 38% from the 52-week low of $21.93 but it’s also 39% below the 52-week high of $50.19. Is […]
Covered Calls: Catch More Upside With A Buy-Write Strategy
The S&P 500 has gone up six weeks in a row and it’s trading near multi-year highs. But you wouldn’t know how well the market has performed lately by simply looking at investor sentiment. According to the weekly sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, bullish sentiment has fallen nearly 10% over the last […]
Stock Options To The Rescue! Skyworks Solutions (SWKS)
Today we’re going to look at Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) and how you can use options to reduce your risk, lock in profits, and give you upside potential. Here’s what happened… SWKS reported quarterly earnings last week. Revenue and earnings growth were in line with expectations. But their better than expected 2nd quarter outlook sent the […]
The Spread Trader: Bull Call Spread On TIBCO Software (TIBX)
TIBCO Software (TIBX) was on quite a roll going into 2012. And for good reason… TIBCO’s “two-second advantage” gives their customers the ability to capture the right information, at the right time, and act on it preemptively for a competitive advantage. As their CEO, Vivek Ranadive, puts it… “A little bit of the right information […]
