Trading Block: Traders are now taking the possibility of a Trump presidency seriously. What was once thought to be a flight of fancy is moving ever closer to becoming reality, with one of the real estate moguls rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, declaring that Trump may be "unstoppable" if he dominates the upcoming Super Tuesday contests. Gold allure burnished by Fed outlook as treasuries lag: analysis - U.S. Treasury 10-year futures may continue to underperform gold over the medium-term in a global fixed-income environment punctuated by negative rates as the relative opportunity cost of holding the yellow metal decreases. Stocks mixed as oil prices rise above $33 a barrel - Stocks were mixed in lackluster trading Monday as oil prices rose and global stocks fell after a meeting of G20 finance officials ended without pledges for joint action to stimulate sagging global economic growth.
Earnings today:
- Crocs, Inc. (before)
- Hertz Global Holdings (before)
- AMC Entertainment Holdings
- Icahn Enterprises
- Lumber Liquidators Holdings
- Tribune Media Company
Odd Block: Calls trade in Charles Schwab (SCHW), calls trade in Enbridge Inc (ENB), and calls trade in Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG)
Mail Block: Listener questions and comments
- Question from Alex - Mark, Thanks again for covering my question. I agree that I am not capitalizing on the Theta curve as much (although $5.3/per day is also decent). However my intention was more to capitalize on the Vega Surface where Vega tends to be much higher at longer maturities and it was especially bloated during the earnings date when volatility spiked to the highest ever level. Given that the Volatility levels are at its highest then Vega itself is expected to be at its highest ever. That said I am not really set-and-forget strategy and collect on theta premium. I just have to wait until the volatility normalizes for LNKD and collect on a decent Vega premium. In a sense I am shorting both Volatility and Vega. Hence further out months give richer Vega to short. And if i were to write shorter maturity puts, then Vega would have lost its juice in a month or two. As a side note, I entered into a CashSecuredPut, I do not trade on margin yet. Yield is approximately 15%. It would be a separate exercise to compute the Vega surface for LNKD. Maybe this question is an overkill for the show but at least this were some of my reasons why I shorted a 1-year put. Cheers, Alex
- Question from JM - Hey Folks. I thought this might be a great question for The Option Block: Would you mind talking about the "Limit Order Display Rule: Exchange Act Rule 11Ac1-4." How it can help the retail investor? How the rule is applied to SPX and VIX options? When reading the actual rule, it can get a bit confusing because its talking about “odd lots” and "block size order," etc. Would be good to get your take on it. Perhaps the Rock Lobster may have an interesting perspective as a former market maker. Great program! Cheers, JM.
- Question from 777 -Do I trade Eurodollar futures options? what drives massive OI?
- Question from TradersOM - Can a trader make a decent living buying calls and puts - or do you have to get crazy with the complex stuff like iron condors?
Around the Block: Earnings!
- Tuesday - JD.com Ross Stores
- Wednesday - Costco Wholesale Corporation, American Eagle Outfitters, Goldman Sachs, Tribune Publishing Company
- Thursday - Kroger, Alamo, Barnes & Noble, Burlington Stores
- Friday - Staples, Big Lots