Assumes working knowledge of options and a willingness to learn about new things — like volatility
This last weekend the option symbol transition coordinated by The Options Clearing Corporation completed, with the last set of symbols, starting with underlying symbols of S through Z, switched over to the new system. In almost all cases the 3 to 5 letter underlying symbol now works as the option identifier. I think the new system is a real improvement. I wish …
There is a lot of premium available on SPY options that will expire at the end of next week due to the recent market gyrations. I created a covered call, buying SPY at 117.26, selling-to-open May 117 calls at 1.69 for a net investment of 115.57. The Theta (time decay) on these options is $8 per day.
Did covered calls on Oil — bought USO at 37.19, sold-to-open May 37 calls at 1.02 for a net investment of 36.18. Created a bear spread on VIX options today. Betting on VIX going down is forecasting that the market in general will be flat or positive. I sold-to-open June VIX 16 calls at 10.26, bought June VIX 32.5 calls at 1.88 for a …
I did covered calls on USO, selling-to-open the 41 May calls at 1.33 and buying USO at 41.47 for a net investment of 40.17. The US economic situation continues to look up, and the oil spill in the Gulf will do nothing to help the supply situation. Plus it gives companies an excuse to raise oil prices…
Unlike the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Index, there is no way to directly invest in the VIX index. I’m sure some really smart people have tried to figure out how to go long or short on this computed volatility index, but there’s just no way to do it directly. Instead, you have to invest in a security that attempts to track VIX. None of …
