One of my favorite types of trades is called the backspread. It's another one of those trades where you can make money in several different ways…

How to trade collars and cash-secured puts for retirement…

How to trade covered calls & collars for retirement…

When investors think of saving for retirement, options are not always top-of-mind. But used effectively, options can be a great way to hedge and help generate income. While there are a number of option strategies that can be employed in an IRA account, in this article I'd like to focus specifically on the three strategies listed below, since they're probably the most common and can be beneficial when used appropriately.

When investors think of saving for retirement, options are not always top-of-mind. But used effectively, options can be a great way to hedge and help generate income. While there are a number of option strategies that can be employed in an IRA account, in this article I’d like to focus specifically on the three strategies listed below, since they’re probably the most common and can be beneficial when used appropriately.

The top ten most active options and strikes for 7/24/2008. Includes PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ), Energy Select Sector (XLE), Bank of America (BAC), IShares Russell 2000 Index FD (IWM) & SPDR S&P 500 (SPY).

In this article we explore the optimal market conditions for trading time spreads…

calendar

Exploring how time spreads perform in various market conditions…

When dealing with options, almost anything is possible. In fact, options traders often talk in terms of buying and selling time. Unfortunately, they're probably talking about time premium, and so the search for the fountain of youth must continue! The trading of time premium is typically done using Calendar Spreads (although you will also hear them referred to as Time Spreads or Horizontal Spreads)…

We take a look back at the roller coaster week in the CBOE's Volatility Index (VIX). We also examine interesting activity in VIX options.

An overview of weekly options and underlying activity in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)