Buying Options on Stocks

Buying options on stocks provides both stock investors and stock traders with two advantages over simply buying, or selling, stocks. Buying call options on stocks results in profits if the stocks go up in price and buying puts on stocks results in profits if the stocks fall in price. We recently wrote about buying calls [...]

Buying Calls on Caterpillar

Caterpillar has been a stock analyst’s pick of late and buying calls on Caterpillar could be profitable. The fundamentals of the heavy equipment maker are a price to earnings ratio of 17.5 but a much reduced P/E ratio if one considers forward looking earnings. This stock has an intrinsic value substantially higher than its current [...]

Falling Asian Stocks and Dollar

As the US congress postures we see falling Asian stocks and the dollar. Countries such as Japan have prospered over the years due to strong exports, especially to the USA. Japan makes very competitive products. Japan also pursues a monetary policy of supporting the value of the US dollar. Japan banks and investors buy US [...]

Global Currency Crisis Options Trading

In the developing global currency crisis, options trading is probably a currency trader’s best bet. As the US government counts down to debt default the majority party, the once-responsible Republicans, are filling the airwaves with rhetoric. Democrats fear that every social program of the last generation will be lost in a massive game of “chicken” [...]

Trading Stock Options

Trading stock options is typically a short term business. Standard options contracts are three months, six months, or nine months. However, LEAPs, for Long Term Equity AnticiPation Securities have two year terms, always expiring in January. By the way, trading stock options is not an option for recently terminated employees of Skype. Before the internet [...]

Puts on Oil

Puts on oil outnumbered calls recently as options traders anticipated a fall in oil prices. As those engaged in Euro options trading are aware, industrial production in Europe, China and North America, is down. As industrial production falls so does oil consumption. Options traders use puts on oil in order to leverage their investments [...]

Puts on LinkedIn

Puts on LinkedIn were recently selling for nearly $20 for a $75 stock. The LinkedIn IPO started at $45 and rose to over $90 on the first day. This is on a stock with a thousand to one price to earnings ratio. The fact that puts on LinkedIn were priced so high would seem to [...]

Euro Options Trading

Euro options trading may be a better choice than directly trading the Euro as the Greek debt crisis staggers forward. The PIIGS crisis has plagued the European Union for more than a year. Sovereign debt issues in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain have threatened national solvency in these nations and have reached critical levels [...]

US Options Market

The US options market is currently rife with rumors. For example, calls on US Steel are up after the American steel maker pulled out of a steel maker conference and canceled a scheduled visit by an analyst to one of its mills. The largest integrated steel producer still buys most of its iron ore and [...]

Stock Options Trading

The stock options trading news these days is that puts on LinkedIn are expensive, twice that of call options on the newly released stock. LinkedIn was in the news last week as it went public. An issue before the IPO and now is LinkedIn employee stock options. Employee stock options at LinkedIn amount to nearly [...]

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