TRADING BLOCK: Healthcare is unconstitutional, bull market for foreclosures – is booting people out of their homes good for the economy?, commodity rundown, playing weather with FCOJ. ODD BLOCK: WHAT THE F IS GOING ON IN RDN?, glw bulls devour calls, weird activity in cfn. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: Be sure to know your risk when trading options. STRATEGY BLOCK: Levered ETFs vs. futures/options – the double decay dillemma, AROUND THE BLOCK: GOOG antitrust, customers flocking to high-end retail and away from low-end, how to trade Apple. Option Pit Coupon Code: OI2011
Option Block 18: McRib Strikes Back, MOT Reverse Split, Gold 1X2
TRADING BLOCK: Debating the tax cut extension, commodity rundown for nat gas, slv and gold 1×2, does the failure of McRib signal a downturn for the economy? ODD BLOCK: Orex off to the races, MOT put sellers ahead of reverse split, Government bails on CITI while bulls jump on the calls, Unexplained volume explosion in MAS. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: What the heck is going on in RINO? STRATEGY BLOCK: What are 1256 contracts and why are they useful? AROUND THE BLOCK: Vol, vol and more vol…
Option Block 17: SPX Problems, Payment Debate and Dividend Adjustments
TRADING BLOCK: Bernanke spooks the market on 60 Minutes, Is a QE3 on the horizon, Commodity Rundown for silver and gold. ODD BLOCK: DG strangle loses ground after earnings, Bearish 1×2 put spread in CLWR, Bulls devouring calls ahead of COST earnings, Massive volatility skew adjustment in WMB. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: Will the CBOE's switch to pro-rata kill any remaining retail business in SPX? The debate over payment for order flow heats up. Also a resolution of the bad SPY print discussion from last week. STRATEGY BLOCK: OX just announced a special dividend. How do options contracts adjust for enormous special dividends in stocks? AROUND THE BLOCK: Employment is the key trigger moving forward. Also concerns spread over volatility structure in the marketplace. Is a broken wing butterfly the best entry point for VIX options traders right now? Should traders buy CSCO stock at these levels or write downside puts instead?
The Option Block Episode 16: Cramer Is Mad For OXPS
TRADING BLOCK: The bulls are back in force. Can anything stop them? Strong retail sales and housing numbers keep the rally in high gear. Commodity Roundup for Gold, Silver, Oil and Copper. ODD BLOCK: Traders find KKD tasty, Bulls circling JPM, Massive roll of the dice in ITMN, bears have their claws out for NYT. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: Cramer loves OX, OX customers are still in love with [[[[meta]]]]ls. INTERVIEW BLOCK: The panel is joined by Anrew Giovinazzi from Aqumin. Andrew discusses his new product that helps options traders take a visual approach to volatility. AROUND THE BLOCK: The rally makes everyone nervous.
Options Insider Radio 78: CME Group Targets Options Traders
In this episode, Mark is joined by Craig LeVeille, Director of FX Products, CME Group. Mark and Craig discuss CME Group's ongoing struggle to dispel the notion that the exchange has little to offer options traders. They examine the exchange's efforts to target retail options traders, including a dedicated landing page and an options-focused product team. They also explore the hidden liquidity benefits that many futures options bring to the table vs. ETF options. Finally, Mark and Craig discuss the reasoning behind CME Group's surprise decision to license Volcontracts from the Volatility Exchange.
Option Block Episode 15: SPY Settlement Debate, BCS Put Explosion
TRADING BLOCK: Market has a huge range, but time decay wreaks havoc with the VIX. Black Friday is a mixed bag. Ireland bailout leaves the market wary. Commodity Roundup: Gold, Silver, Oil and Corn are on the move. ODD BLOCK: BCS Put Explosion, Takeover Chatter drives call frenzy in FRX, Size ratio put spread in XRT, Bulls circling in VRSN. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: What the heck happened with SPY settlement last week? STRATEGY BLOCK: Theta vs. Gamma – whichever wins, you lose… AROUND THE BLOCK: Employment numbers dominate the horizon…
Option Block 14: Insider Trading, DG Put Bonanza
TRADING BLOCK: Ireland starts off the conversation. Will Ireland be able to survive a bailout with its corporate tax incentives in place? The panel also discusses the insider trading scandal at Goldman and the prevalence of insider trading in the options market. ODD BLOCK: DG Put Bonanza, MELA, HPQ, CSCO. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: The best/worst way to autotrade on the OX platform. STRATEGY BLOCK: Why selling covered calls isn't the same thing as collecting rental income. AROUND THE BLOCK: More discussion of time decay, Black Friday looms large, keep an eye on Friday's shortened trading session as it may present a cheap volatility buying opportunity.
Options Insider Radio 77: Real Volatility
In this episode, Mark is joined by Robert Krause, CEO, The Volatility Exchange. Mark and Robert discuss the methodology and psychology behind the new realized volatility contracts from Volx. With the VIX obsession reaching a fever pitch, is there room for a realized volatility product in the marketplace? How will Volx overcome the initial stumbling blocks for new proprietary products and attract liquidity providers? Why did Volx decide to launch its first listed contracts on CME currency futures? What else is on the horizon for Volx? Tune in to find out…
Option Block 13: The Hair Club For Men
TRADING BLOCK: Bulls are off to the races, Ford vs. GM, gold and silver roundup. ODD BLOCK: YHOO, RGUS, MELA, MTG, STX, INTERVIEW BLOCK: Special Guest Henry Schwartz from Trade Alert explores tracking options order flow. XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: GM, GM, GM and more GM. AROUND THE BLOCK: Non-linear theta, how to trade holiday time decay.
Exclusive Exchange Leaders Roundtable – Part One: The Death Of Market Makers
EXCLUSIVE: Live from FIA Chicago, Mark is joined by the heads of the major options exchanges for an exclusive roundtable session. In Part One, the participants discuss the slow death of options market makers and what can be done to reverse this disturbing trend. Participants include: Gary Katz, CEO – ISE; Tony McCormick, CEO – BOX; Ed Boyle, Head of U.S. Options – NYSE; Ed Tilly, Executive Vice Chairman – CBOE; Jeremy Johnson, Head of BATS Options; Mike West, AVP for Options – NASDAQ OMX.
The Option Block Episode 12: Dividend Plays and Gold Skew
TRADING BLOCK: Asian summit, economic stimulus, retail sales, gold & silver finally taking the turn, Euro down 1%, Ireland is not Greece, gold volatility skew. ODD BLOCK: NOK, MTG, CTXS, MSFT. STRATEGY BLOCK – How do div plays work? XPRESS/SPREAD BLOCK: Unsung commodities, china crushes cotton, copper. AROUND THE BLOCK: pricing out thanksgiving, gm IPO, ppi on tuesday, cpi on weds.
Options Insider Radio 75 – Live From FIA: Live Vol
Live From FIA Chicago – Mark is joined by Dax Rodriguez, the new President of Livevol Inc. Mark and Dax discuss the many changes that have occurred at Livevol since the firm's last appearance on the program. Dax also hints at the upcoming Livevol X platform, which may, or may not, finally add the execution element that so many users want.