Option Block 271: Sabre Rattling Rattles Markets

Trading Block: A mild rally on the street until Kerry started sabre rattling in Washington, sending the markets down. NASDAQ, Goldman and others still facing heat over their tech meltdowns last week. BATS and Direct Edge merging. TABB Group predicts options commissions to shrink of the next few years.  Commodity rundown with Mike Tosaw.

Odd Block: Large buy writes go up in Facebook Inc. (FB), and puts trade in ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury ETF (TBF).

Xpress Block: Tesla, Biotechs, and Facebook!

Mail Block:

Question from bitcoinbravo: Any thoughts on bitcoin -- especially as the flows continue into this emerging digital currency and we see with futures and derivatives market develop -- currently there is a lot of arbitrage opportunities between the various exchanges

Question from Charles P.: I am an employee of a very large (and widely held) technology firm. As you might expect, a substantial amount of my net worth is tied up in the stock of my employer. However, I am expressly forbidden from trading any derivatives in my employers stock even for hedging purposes. So my question to you is - how do I hedge myself in this scenario?

Around the Block: Glued to the news of Syria. Non-farms next week.