Publications

7/18/11 Weekly Briefing: Expiration Autopsy: Don’t Be Blinded by Hindsight

Hindsight is 20-20, but trading success with options requires a rational process for dealing with uncertainty. Also, Jim answers readers’ questions and plays Monday morning quarterback on last week’s diagonal trade…. Read More

7/15/11 Trade Alert: Our First Diagonal Spread–UPDATE

(updated with trade rationale) Sell Diagonal Put Credit Spread on Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) “Buy to Open” September $47 Put and “Sell to Open” August $52.50 Put Option Symbols: DHR110917P47 and DHR110820P52.5 Limit Order Price: Net credit of $0.95 or more ($95 per spread) Directional View for Underlying Stock: Neutral to slightly bullish Options for […]… Read More

7/14/11 Trade Alert: Rolling Two, Closing One

1. “Buy to Close” July $55 Put on United Therapeutics (NasdaqGS: UTHR) Option Symbol: UTHR110716P55 Limit Order Price: $0.50 or less ($50 per contract) Directional View for Underlying Stock: Closing Position Options for Income Portfolio: Conservative Income I am not recommending selling to close the July $50 put as part of a spread because it […]… Read More

7/11/11 Weekly Briefing: Expiration Week: To Roll or Not to Roll?

Jim monitors the Portfolio’s three July options positions approaching expiration. He also cautions against fear of a double dip recession.

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7/7/11 Trade Alert: A Really Cheap Drug Stock–UPDATE

(updated with trade rationale) Sell Put Credit Spread on Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) “Buy to Open” August $52.50 Put and “Sell to Open” August $57.50 Put Option Symbols: AMGN110820P52.5 and AMGN110820P57.5 Limit Order Price: Net credit of $1.25 or more ($125 per spread) Directional View for Underlying Stock: Neutral to slightly bullish Options for Income Portfolio: […]… Read More

7/05/11 Weekly Briefing: Diagonal Spreads

Jim thinks that last week’s stock market rally is a sign of better things to come. He also explains why diagonal spreads offer both higher returns–and higher risks–than our bread-and-butter vertical spreads.

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6/30/11 Trade Alert: Consumer Products Giant is Raising Prices–UPDATE

(updated with trade rationale) Sell Put Credit Spread on Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) “Buy to Open” August $57.50 Put and “Sell to Open” August $62.50 Put Option Symbols: PG110820P57.5 and PG110820P62.5 Limit Order Price: Net credit of $1.25 or more ($125 per spread) Directional View for Underlying Stock: Neutral to slightly bullish Options for […]… Read More

6/27/11 Weekly Briefing: Benefiting from Time Decay a Second Way

Jim uses the dark art of technical analysis to downplay the chances of a severe stock market decline and delves deep into the time-value decay benefits of horizontal spreads…. Read More

6/23/11 Trade Alert: Playing a Small Business Recovery–UPDATE

(updated with trade rationale) Sell Put Credit Spread on Intuit (NasdaqGS: INTU) “Buy to Open” October $38 Put and “Sell to Open” October $48 Put Option Symbols: INTU111022P38 and INTU111022P48 Limit Order Price: Net credit of $1.70 or more ($170 per spread) Directional View for Underlying Stock: Neutral to slightly bullish Options for Income Portfolio: […]… Read More

6/21/11 Weekly Briefing: The Virtues of Diversification

The recent market correction won’t morph into a more serious downturn. Nevertheless, a diversified portfolio of options can protect you from any outcome in the markets…. Read More