Option Block 249: Great Expectations Trading Block: Another schizophrenic day on the street. McDonald's announces some 24-hr stores will serve breakfast after midnight. The Zynga apocalypse! A big move in Apple. Odd Block: Calls trade in Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SVNT), a collar unwinds in DOLE Food Company (DOLE), and call spreads trade in Tessera Technologies Inc. (TSRA). Xpress Block: What's new in the Idea Hub, weeklies, etc? Listener Mail: In which you, the listener, take over the progr...
Jun 07, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Option Block 248: The Ice Is Always Melting Trading Block: It was a bit of a head scratcher today, as an infusion of end-of-day buying threw a wrench into the machine. Disappointing ISM numbers, putting a laser focus on the jobs numbers out Friday. Market share and volume day with overall total options volume up 3% in May. Odd Block: Very near-term bullish play in Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM), sizable spread trade in WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), and put spread trades in Corning Inc. (G...
Jun 04, 2013•55 min
Option Block 247: The Confidence Trade Trading Block: The rally continues with interest rates and bonds hot. Looking forward to the 10-year VIX from the CME. Tesla breaks 100. Will the hype never end? Ford breaks $16. Odd Block: Collars closes in Approach Resources Inc. (AREX), and big call purchase in T-Mobile USA (TMUS). Xpress Block: Alex discusses what's been lighting up the desk at OX and the Idea Hub. Listener Mail: What questions do you have for the all-stars? Question from Tom Finn: what...
May 31, 2013•1 hr 4 min
Option Block 246: Jump on the Boat with the 10-Year Note Trading Block: CBOE/CME launches a new 10-year treasury VIX. It is the first volatility index based on U.S. government debt to be calculated and disseminated by CBOE. CBOE stock hits $40 on its 40th anniversary. CRM & MRVL earnings after the bell. TSLA - hard to short stock, bears turning to puts. MSFT - is there no love for the new Xbox One? GME – could the new could Xbox wipe out the lucrative grey market for used games? GME is the l...
May 24, 2013•1 hr
Option Block 245: Golden Tickets & Oompa Loompas Trading Block: It was an unchanged day on the street with stocks hovering around record highs. Does this rally have legs, or are we poised for a collapse? There was a weird dip in SPX on Friday night due to APC. Jumbo SPX is a flop so far. Only 18 contracts have traded through the middle of last week. Everyone is still refusing to list it. Odd Block:Calls trade in Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM), calls trade in Foster Wheeler Ltd (FWLT), an...
May 21, 2013•55 min
Option Block 244: Car Talk Trading Block: It was down day on the markets. A lot of political news came out of Syria late in the day. Could Tesla be Apple 2.0? Xpress Block: Alex talks about the OX feature "Trading Patterns," which lets you look at what underlyings people traded in the OX environment. Available to most OX customers. Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw discusses what we've been seeing in the market. Rallies in the market, staying long-term bullish but short-term cautious and collar strateg...
May 17, 2013•40 min
Option Block 243: The Viceroy Trade Trading Block: Another unchanged day. Netflix up due in part to the return of Arrested Development. Take Two earnings after the bell. Zynga gets a big pop in the day. First live day of jumbo SPX on Friday. ISE lost its Supreme Court lawsuit and refuses to list contract. Ironic? Odd Block: Calls trade in Zynga, Inc. (ZNGA), puts trade in VIX short-term Futures ETN (VXX), and puts trade in Solarcity Corp (SCTY). Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson discusses his thoughts...
May 14, 2013•1 hr 5 min
Option Block 242: Dollar vs. Yen - The Eternal Battle INTERVIEW BLOCK: Today's guest is: Kevin Davitt, futures broker at RCM. He comes to the Option Block today to discuss ags, commodities and metals - as well as the record set by the dollar and the yen. TRADING BLOCK: Only a bit of movement on the market today - S&P sitting at the 16 handle. Priceline earnings, Shatner might be disappointed with the results. Tesla exploded to hit $70 in the after hours. ODD BLOCK: Combos Trade in Vera Bradl...
May 10, 2013•1 hr 1 min
Option Block 241: "Legalized Front-Running" Trading Block: The market trading much more modestly than recent rallies. ZNGA leaning on Farmville 2 - slashing 5% of workforce. Apple rallies up 11 handles, after they announced buybacks. VIX Cash well south of 200 day moving avg. of 15.26. VXX ranks as #3 exchange traded product by volume - avg. 53 million shares/day. Buffet's right hand man, Charlie Munger, calls high-frequency trading "legalized front-running" and "basically evil". EA earnings aft...
May 07, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Option Block 240: Questions Linger After CBOE Shutdown TRADING BLOCK: The yo-yo markets continue - down 1%, up 1%. Facebook misses but still feels the love. LinkedIn down after hours. Earnings...Earnings...Earnings! ODD BLOCK: Calls trade in Neutral Tandem Inc (IQNT) and calls trade in Monster Worldwide Inc. (MWW) XPRESS BLOCK: OX unveils a new quick trade function for iPad users, as well as other new front ends. LISTENER MAIL: Question from TBD6: The CBOE outage made me wonder - what do I do if...
May 03, 2013•58 min
Option Block 239: Rally Ho! Interview Block: Today's guest is Erik Long from Quant Trade, a CTA who primarily day trades futures. His method of looking at the markets can be associated with any time frame and he has some interesting insight for our listeners. Trading Block: Rally Ho! Again. There was some serious tech love on the street with Google, Apple, Intel, and IBM up 2% or more today. Overall earnings season is still not living up to the hype. Odd Block: Calls roll in Health Net Inc. (HNT...
Apr 30, 2013•58 min
Option Block 238: Markets Have a Headache Trading Block: Weekly expiration this Friday. Exxon sells off after a disappointing earnings announcement. CBOE was down for most of the day, causing a lot of headaches. Bundesbank came out and rejected the "outright monetary transaction" taking the wind out of the sails today. Odd Block: Put spreads trade in Open Text Corp. (OTEX),calls trade in Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SUPN), giant combination trades in Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), and crushing vo...
Apr 26, 2013•49 min
Option Block 237: Buy Juice, Be Happy Trading Block: VIX cash turns to the dark side. CAT earnings were not overwhelming. Netflix earnings have yet to come out, but there’s a lot of love for the "widow maker." Microsoft is also feeling a lot of love. Odd Block: Calls trade in General Motors Corp. (GM), calls roll on a Medivation Inc. (MDVN) spread, and big calls trade in Micron Technology Inc. (MU). Xpress Block: Alex discusses how we're starting to see volume in big cap names again, like Procto...
Apr 23, 2013•1 hr
Option Block 236: Riding the Earnings Rollercoaster Trading Block: The market was down big time. Again. Earnings-palooza after the close with CMG, GOOG, MSFT, and IBM reporting. Odd Block: Puts trade in Bally Technologies Inc. (BYI), put spreads trade in Banco Itau Holdings SA (ITUB), OTM puts trade in Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUXL), and Financial Select Sector (XLF) puts trading early. Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson discusses pending legislation in Washington. New proposed tax laws: capping ...
Apr 19, 2013•55 min
Option Block 235: The Difference Between Risk Management & Market Timing Trading Block: An aggressive selloff wipes out most gains on the street today. Precious metals take a bath on the news that China development is slowing down. Gold down 9%. Priceline, Apple, Google, everything down. It was a bloodbath. Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson discusses what was up and what was down in this very prominent date on the market. Mail Block: What do you want to know? Question from Phil Bickers, Binghamton...
Apr 16, 2013•59 min
Option Block 234: Debunking the Expiration Graph Myth Trading Block: Ford was off to the races again, in a very mixed market. Vol was mixed as well. Money is coming out of Asia into the U.S. market. Microsoft was down in a big way. Odd Block: Calls trade in Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), big puts trade in Cell Therapeutics (CTIC), calls trade in ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd (IMUC), and calls trade in iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ). Xpress Block: Activity in Chipotle, Priceline, and Facebook. Apple was a...
Apr 12, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Option Block 233: Trickle Down SPX Trading Block: The market is gaining back some ground after a skittish week. Here we go again with Alcoa earnings after the bell. Uncle Mike updates us on Ford, GLD, SLV and Apple. Is there any love for Facebook at these levels? The market is not loving FB Home apparently. Caribou Coffee pulling out of Chicago. BOX files with the SEC for a jumbo SPDR - 1000 multiplier. Odd Block: Calls trade in Wisdom Tree India Earnings Fund (EPI), calls trade in Lufkin Indust...
Apr 09, 2013•57 min
Option Block 232: Crushing Inflation Trading Block: Facebook goes after Google. Bank of Japan moving a lot today. S&P opened lower than gold for the first time since the flash crash. How high can the interest rate go? Odd Block: Big calls trade in the S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX), more puts trade in Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP), and out month put buy in Bank of America Corp. (BAC) Xpress Block: Rates, Yen and other Asian markets lit up the OX desk today. Citadel is petitioning the ...
Apr 05, 2013•41 min
Option Block 231: April Fool Joke from Tesla? Interview Block: RCM’s Matt Bradbard talks about interest rates. When might they reverse course and head upwards? What is the Eurodollar? Trading Block: We actually saw a rise in VIX today. Tesla was today's big news: they made a profit for the first time this quarter! Apple bouncing off the lows. Odd Block: Calls trade in North American Palladium Ltd. (PAL), large put block trades in Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV), and calls trade in Cisco Sys...
Apr 02, 2013•51 min
Option Block 230: The Psychology of Options Trading Interview Block: Today's guest is Benjamin Lee, founder of Think|Trade|Think. He talks about the psychology of trading, and gives us a preview of his upcoming RCM webinar. Trading Block: There was a bit of a selloff, as concerns about Cyprus crept back into the market. Which way are we heading from here? Odd Block: Puts trade in DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (DVA), more calls make news in Thomson Reuters Corp. USA (TRI), and Globe Specialty M...
Mar 26, 2013•58 min
Option Block 229: The Death Hedge Trading Block: Most indexes closed down by the end of the day. Juice comes back into the VIX. Cypress: is it the new Greece? GLD, SLV and other metals up on the day. Lululemon recalls "see-through" yoga pants. Odd Block: Calls spread trades in the VIX, put buying in Citigroup Inc. (C), and big trades in Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ). Xpress Block: Two names stood out on the desk: General Motors and Dell. Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw gets his very own rant about ...
Mar 22, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Option Block 228: Mini Mania Interview Block: Today's Guest: Kevin Davitt, Global Execution & Futures Broker at RCM. RCM will be hosting a webinar this Thursday night. Trading Block: There was a bit of a selloff in the market due to news coming out of Cypress, which is rekindling fears of a Europe crisis. Today is the day: Mini contracts begin trading today. What is the OX procedure and policy for Minis? Odd Block: Ratio strangle trades in Neonode, Inc. (NEON), put buyers active in Globe Spe...
Mar 19, 2013•59 min
Option Block 227: When Options Make an $800,000,000 Profit Trading Block: The S&P's are right up against their all-time highs. Citadel exited their E-Trade position, which is down 75% from when they bought it, and still turned an $800M profit with hedging and options. Minis begin trading Monday, March 18. Odd Block: It was a hard luck day for E-Trade (ETRA), running of the bulls in KBW Regional Bank ETF (KRE), and an incredible purchase in Heckmann Corp (HEK). Xpress Block: What's new in the...
Mar 15, 2013•55 min
Option Block 226: Up, Up and Away Interview Block: Today's guest is Joe Garcia-Rios, Founder of Rios Quantitative & President and Chief Portfolio Manager of Advanz Analytics Group. Trading Block: There is no sign of the end to the rally. VIX has an 11-handle for the first time since 2007. Minis launch next week! ISE will launch their second exchange -- the Topaz Exchange. The Odd Block: March 13.5 calls trade in Ford. Around the Block: Keeping an eye on the VIX, Apple and Google....
Mar 12, 2013•54 min
Option Block 225: Spreads with Benefits Trading Block: The market is apparently shrugging off the Sequester with a mild rally as of mid-day. Implied and realized volatility cross, which is a very rare occurrence. Google feeling the love and broke the 800 level, while Apple feeling the heat falling well south of $450. Groupon is showing some signs of life bouncing dramatically off lows around $4.25. Odd Block: Risk reversals trade in Bridgepoint Education Inc. (BPI), call buyers in Zhongpin Inc. ...
Mar 05, 2013•1 hr 2 min
Option Block 224: No Watered Down Options Information Trading Block: Downward movement across the market, making a late reversal. Not a ton of movement in our favorite fruit company. VIX had a big turnaround during the day. Facebook sells off. AB allegedly watering down their beer - stock unaffected. Odd Block: Fresh call buyers in TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD), profit taking via Bank of America Corp. (BAC), puts trade in Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) after earnings, and call trading acti...
Mar 01, 2013•46 min
Option Block 223: Making Money for the End of the World Interview Block: Today's Guest: Ed Walczak, Principal Trader at Harbor Financial. He specializes in options on the S&P futures contracts, and does everything from ratios to credit spreads. Trading Block: Another day, another selloff, another VIX cash pop. The return of realized vol to the downside. Ford engine investigation. Is Uncle Mike reconsidering his 12 puts? Is Barnes and Noble next to go private? Zynga rallies 7.5% today. Exchan...
Feb 26, 2013•1 hr 1 min
Option Block 222: Bonds. Contrarian Bonds. Trading Block: The majority of the market sold off by 1%. On the news that bonds might sell off, they rallied. Apple breaks through 450. Google hanging around the 800 level. Odd Block: A collar went up in Texas Roadhouse (TXRH); call spreads trade in Gerdau SA (GGB), and calls active in Blackstone Group (BX). Xpress Block: SPX and April Condors are hopping. Strategy Block: Today's strategy honors Hannibal Smith of the A-Team. Put selling strategies on S...
Feb 22, 2013•58 min
Option Block 221: Suspiciously Well-Timed Call Buying Trading Block: The market was mixed today, with the VIX cash off slightly. GM profits down from 2011, stock down 3%. Jobless claims decrease last week. Zynga flirts with $4 before retreating back to $3. Former RIMM CEO dumps the rest of his stock, never a good sign. “CBOE Group Holdings Inc., which became a publicly held company in 2010 after years of effort, would consider going private again if doing so benefits its shareholders, a top exec...
Feb 15, 2013•57 min
Option Block 220: Who Needs Annuities When You Can Sell Puts on GOOG? Interview Block: Today's guest is Doug Berman, Vice President of Agriculture Derivatives, RCM Asset Management. He talks about Why this is an extremely exciting time in the corn option market. The unique relationship between implied volatility and pricing How traditional strategies like covered calls/collars perform in the Ag realm vs. equity options On Wednesday, February 13, Doug will be sharing with us his ideas and systems...
Feb 12, 2013•1 hr 2 min
