The Option Block

Option Block 334: Are Mini Options Dead? Trading Block: Close to close is only half the story today. Russell and the NASDAQ lead the way. Stocks that pay a nice dividend are clear outperforming stocks that do not. Three candidates selected to oversee OPRA.  Odd Block: Puts go up in Diebold Inc (DBD) A three-way trade goes up in Range Resources Corp. (RRC) Calls buyers go up in Norhtstar Realty Fin...

Option Block 333: AAPL, AMZN Earnings Roundup Trading Block: A mild rally on the street today. Apple earnings play-by-play with Uncle Mike Tosaw. A very boring Apple earnings - will this become the next Microsoft? What is the future for Apple? What is the future of the Minis? Will 7 to 1 be the death nail? Odd Block: Strangles, calls and puts trade in Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (EROC), closing...

Option Block 332: How to Waste a Good Hedge Trading Block: Back to rally mode on the street. Vol retreats yet again. Names before the bell: Haliburton (HAL), Hasbro (HAS) - After: Netflix (NFLX)   Odd Block: Put sellers trade in SBA Communications Corp. (SBAC), call buyers trade in Merrill Lynch/Market Vectors Semiconductors ETF (SMH), review from 3/27/14 - calls trade in Ares Capital Corp. (ARCC)...

Option Block 331: Maximizing Your IRA   Trading Block: It was a pretty slow day, with all major indices basically unchanged on the day. Expiration issues prompted many phone calls to the optionsXpress desk. Earnings aren’t running over premium sellers like the last time. Pit trading helped out the CME last week. HFT narrative still active in the market.  Odd Block: Big call buy in Wal-Mart Stores...

Option Block 330: Falklands War Volatility Trading Block: A mild day on the street. The Russian incursion of Ukraine is still having its effects on the market. CBOE VXST off to a good start. Hedge fund VIX bets on the decline. Odd Block: Calls go up in Carnival Corp. ( CCL) , c alls trade in Millennial Media ( MM) , c all spreads trade in IAC Interactive Corp (IACI), and p uts trade in Dean Foods...

Option Block 329: The Great SPY vs. SPX Iron Condor Debate Trading Block: A sea of red on the street today. A lot of directional paper going through OX today. Terrible data coming out of China. CBOE Short-Term VIX product (VXST) launches.   Odd Block: Getting the RDA of RDA puts (RDA), big put blocks trade in Bill Barrett Corp. (BBG), and IV jumping in Tower Group International Ltd. (TWGP).   Xpre...

Option Block 328: Earnings Season Is Back Trading block: Momentum has been taken out of the market for the past two days - which way will we move? Earnings season is upon us. GLD rundown with Uncle Mike.   Xpress Block: Some hedges were being lifted today. Google the big name on the OX desk.   Strategy Block: This week, Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses selling puts in a down market.     Around the Block...

Option Block 327: You, Too, Can Be an FBI Junior Agent Trading Block: March options volume rose 14%. ADV was 16,931,924 contracts, equity options volume was 321,641,596 contracts. FBI to investigate high frequency trading - the FBI wants your help!   Odd Block: Big call purchases in DFC Global (DLLR), buy-write in Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB), bullish bet in Resolute Energy (REN), and big block...

Option Block 326: Options Trading for Bitcoin Trading Block The Fed is not turning off the spigot anytime soon. Ukraine easing tensions combine to boost the market. Options trading for Bitcoins - Atlas 2.0 launched in Hong Kong and North America. Regulatory rule unlikely for HFT. Author Michael Lewis releases a new HFT book - Flash Boys. Odd Block Puts trade in Genpact Limited (G), Call spreads tr...

Option Block 325: SPX vs. SPY vs. Steven Seagal Trading Block: A mild day on the street. VIX cash taking a little breather. A lot of put buying in Google, Tesla, Netflix, Priceline, etc. Lululemon gets its first big pop in a while. TLT reaches a one year high. Odd Block: Combos trade in the VIX, straddle trades in EQT Corporation (EQT), calls trade in Ares Capital Corp. (ARCC), and puts trade in S...

Option Block 324: Behold the Power of the Stupid Trading Block: A mild day on the street. Controversy over SPX settlement on Friday. Mutual fund use of options: public holding and trends (presented at RMC). Minis one year later - boom or bust?   Odd Block: Call buyers jump in Quest Diagnostics Inc, (DGX), b ig call roll in Coronado Biosciences Inc. (CNDO), pu ts trade in Spectrum Pharmaceuticals,...

Option Block 323: Rebar Futures Extravaganza Trading Block: Russian President Vladimir Putin is an investor in Swiss-based oil trader Gunvor Group Ltd. Time for the global derivatives volume guessing game! Put on your thinking caps and guess the winners in the various product categories: indexes, ags, metals, and more.   Odd Block: Calls spreads trade in Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR); calls t...

Option Block 322: When 50 is the New 70 Trading Block: The VIX was up 25% in the last week. FIA Boca update.  US derivatives exchanges have seen improved trading volume. In the US, three of the top five US exchanges grew in Feb. Odd Block: Calls trade in UQM Technologies (UQM), call buyers jump into Silicon Image, Inc. (SIMG), puts trade in Montage Technology Group (MONT), and call sellers try on...

Option Block 321: Old School Bullish Paper Trading Block:  A big selloff on the market today. Angela Merkel yells at Putin. A big day for the banks. The numbers are in! $21.64B derivatives traded in 2013. $12.22B of futures. $11.7B in equity names. VXST options coming in April. More exchanges are on the way - for better or worse. Odd Block: Some very interesting paper in IRDM, AG, TSM, and XRAY. X...

Option Block 320: Filling Your Britches with Fear   Trading Block: A mild selloff on the street today - a resounding meh! Congrats to Andrew for passing the Series 65 exam! A big day for energy. VXST: Is there any interest there?   Odd Block: Calls trade in Plug Power Inc. (PLUG), calls trade in MeetMe Inc. (MEET), call buyer with stock in Technology SPDR ETF (XLK), and buy-write in Encana Corp. (...

Option Block 319: Why Would Anyone Do That? Trading Block Indexes are at the same level as this morning but the S&P 500 could hit another record close. VIX high on the continuing drama in Ukraine. Staples falls on disappointing quarterly numbers. Federal Reserve data released on Thursday. Ukraine and Nat Gas. Jobless claims Thursday - Nonfarms Friday.  Odd Block Puts trade in James River Coal Comp...

Option Block 318: The Putin Puts Trading Block: Putin’s show of force in Crimea spooks the street. VIX cash sails back above the 16 handle. Ukraine and Nat Gas craziness. Alex has a story: Trading firm Jump Trading LLC gives $25 million to medical research project. Odd Block: Puts sellers trade in Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), calls trade in The Fresh Market Inc. (TFM), cpreads trade in EXACT S...

Option Block 317: The Old Goldman Bait and Switch Trading Block: A mild rally on the street today. JCPenney on the move, jumping as high as 26%, its greatest one-day percentage gain in least 30 years! Tesla announced on Wednesday its big expansion plans will be partially funded through a $1.6 billion bond issue. Goldman’s investor day study. Odd Block: Call buyers in American Axle and Manufacturin...

Option Block 316: The Great Put Roll Down Trading Block: A strong rally on the street. Vol is holding up well despite the rally. SolarCity and Sina today after the bell. Odd Block: Review from 12-30-13: Call buyers trade in Mattel Inc. (MAT). Plus, calls trade in Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), put spreads trade in WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI), put buyers in New York Community Bank, Inc. (NYCB), and...

Option Block 315: The Great Iron Fly Vs. Condor Debate Trading Block: Market up 0.5%, Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19B, and Groupon takes a wild ride after hours Odd Block: Put buying in Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO), puts trade in iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term ETP (VXX), put spreads trade in EcoLab Inc. (ECL), and put spreads trade in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) ETF. Mail Block: Alex wanted...

Option Block 314: Late-Night Gamma Scalping Trading Block: Catching an updraft on the street today. A decent slate of earnings helped bolster the market.  New Fed Chief didn't completely destroy the market with her first remarks. WSJ writing about someone purchasing 3200 Feb $15 calls in Magic Jack before big newsletter mention. Big day for Apple. Odd Block: Put sellers finance call buyers in Mech...

Option Block 313: Yelling at Yellen Trading Block: A rather quiet day on the street. It has been a strange week for vol/VIX. Does this buyback draw a line in the sand at $500 for Apple? Icahn is dropping his call for expanded buyback program after getting little support. BATS is talking about launching a second options exchange after their merger. Bitcoin taking it on the chin since our last show....

Option Block 312: Juicy Buffett Puts Trading Block: Market up 1%. Is the brief correction over?  VIX far below the 20-handle. Twitter taking it on the chin; down 23% off news that subscriber growth is slowing.  Zynga back up in the $4.5 range again. Is it risk reversal time again? Odd Block:  Giant collars go up in Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), puts trade in NuPathe Inc. (PATH), calls trade in Global X Urani...

Option Block 311: VIX Drops the Ball Trading Block: An aggressive selloff today, S&P off 41 handles, NASDAQ down 107 handles. VIX cash passes the 20-handle.  A weak start to February. Apple and GLD were the lone greens on the screen today. That makes for a happy Tosaw. The OIC announced today that 389,821,135 total options contracts traded in January, the seventh highest monthly volume ever. TTWO...

Option Block 310: GOOG After Hours Mania Trading Block: The “Correction” is over. Earnings Trading Review: GOOG and CME after the bell. FB - ATM straddle went out around $6, traded nearly $3 through that today. F - Announces "best year ever" but closes nearly unchanged on the day. APPL - That $460 put is not looking so outlandish now.  Odd Block: Puts sales trade in Kellogg Company (K), puts buyer...