Option Block 342: Mini Death Knell

Option Block 342: Mini Death Knell

Trading Block: A mild uptick on the street today. Apple rallies and the market follows. With the VIX moving closer to its 9.39 historic low, many commentators are now discussing it as a "complacency index," writes John Nyaradi of Wall Street Sector Selector

Odd Block: Risk Reversal trades in iShares MSCI Australia Fund (EWA), call buyers trade in Scientific Games Corp. (SGMS), and call buy-writes trade in Ambev SA (ABEV)

Xpress Block: Alex discusses the recent NASDAQ notice and the death of minis.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

Comment/Question from Kaiser Dog - Enjoyed todays podcasts. I felt the Viceroy came back with some very pertinent information. I myself have been using my iPad and even My iPhone a few times to initiate trades. The Mobile Trading option is gaining traction and I agree with Alex's sentiment that this has smoothed out trading flow. Especially in times that would be historically light volume. I myself prefer my Laptop trading station I have custom built. With that said the reality is that raising a 4 year old son takes a lot of time and attention. My Mobile App allows me to stay on top of things and still be a parent. The Mobile trading option is a huge success. The Polar Opposite of "Mini Options" in my opinion. I enjoyed the swing to a positive story from the depression that HFT and Minis cause me. lol.

Question from DeGaul - What does the OH/Monster merger mean for the options brokerage landscape going forward?

Question from Mr Teenzy - All this talk about colocation for HFT firms, but do brokers like OX not also co-locate to speed up transaction times? In which case, is colocation benefiting the retail guy like me?

Around the Block: Economic Data: First-quarter GDP revision (Thursday) and Personal Income and Spending, Chicago PMI and University of Michigan consumer sentiment (Friday).

Fed talk:  Fed's Pianalto: 'Inflation and Monetary Policy'