Featured Interview Highlighted Interviews with Industry Leaders Options Insider Radio Interviews: Talking Options, China and Crypto with Tony Saliba Posted March 22nd, 2018 In this episode, Mark is joined by Tony Saliba, author and CEO of Matrix Holdings. They discuss: - The book on the Chinese options market and resulting educational tour
- Is there another book in the works?
- Updates on the ChiX deal
- What is Matrix Holdings?
- Why get back into financial technology?
- Potential partnerships with futures and options users
- Bots with persona
- Potential in cryptos
- The crypto / options time line comparison
- When might there be crypto options?
- And more
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Upcoming Economic Reports A preview of what may move the market this week
| TIME (ET) | REPORT | PERIOD | FORECAST | PREVIOUS | | TUESDAY, MAY 29 | | 9:00 AM | Case-Shiller home price index | March | -- | Â | | 10:00 AM | Consumer confidence index | May | 127.5 | 128.7 | | WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 | | 8:15 AM | ADP employment | May | -- | 204,000 | | 8:30 AM | Gross domestic product revision | 1Q | 2.30% | 2.30% | | 8;30 am | Advance trade in goods | Â April | -$70.3bln | -$68.0 bln | | 2:00 PM | Beige book | Â | Â | Â | | THURSDAY, MAY 31 | | 8:30 AM | Weekly jobless claims | 26-May | 223,000 | 234,000 | | 8:30 AM | Personal income | April | 0.30% | 0.30% | | 8:30 AM | Consumer spending | April | 0.40% | 0.40% | | 8:30 AM | Core inflation | April | 0.10% | 0.20% | | 9:45 AM | Chicago PMI | May | -- | 57.6 | | 10:00 AM | Pending home sales | April | -- | 0.40% | | FRIDAY, JUNE 1 | | 8:30 AM | Nonfarm payrolls | May | 188,000 | 164,000 | | 8:30 AM | Unemployment rate | May | 3.90% | 3.90% | | 8:30 AM | Average hourly earnings | May | 0.20% | 0.10% | | 9:45 AM | Markit manufacturing PMI | May | -- | 56.5 | | 10:00 AM | ISM manufacturing index | May | 58.40% | 57.30% | | 10:00 AM | Construction spending | April | 1.00% | -1.70% | | Varies | Motor vehicle sales | May | 16.8mln | 17.2 mln |
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Options Insider Radio Network Episodes you may have missed from Options Insider Radio last week Posted May 25th, 2018 Trading Block: Earnings! - Friday - Foot Locker
- Best Buy reaffirms guidance - renews concerns about the inroads of Amazon.
- Monday review: Intuit - 191.30, ATM straddle: 11, approx.7%
- Gap Inc. (GPS) - 33, ATM straddle: 2.60, approx. 8%
- Netlifx vs. Disney - Who will come out ahead in the long run?
Odd Block: Big selloff in Petroleo Brasil (PBR). Size opening risk reversal in iShares JPMorgan USD (EMB). Call buyer giving up the ghost in Deutsche Bank AG (DB). Mail Block: Options question of the week Holiday Weekends are notoriously tough for VIX traders. The markets love to crush Volatility going into these events. So we thought we'd poll the savvy VIX traders in our audience - where do you think VIX will OPEN on Tues 5/29? - Here: 12-14
- Higher: 14-16
- Lower: 10.5-12
- Much Higher: >16
Listener questions and comments: - Question from Scott Somer - When doing earnings trades do you ALWAYS default to nearest Friday expiration.
- Question from Charlotte - How about that move in WWE? You buying calls like crazy?
- Question from Justin - I know you guys hate cheapie options trading but your comments about HMNY got me thinking. I could sell the June straddle for about .25. If I could do that again in July then in two months I could have the stock almost for free. A free stock is even better than a cheap stock.
- Question from LTTW - HMNY AUG .5 strad is currently around .25-.30. I agree it makes no sense to buy that when the stock is .46 but I'm liking selling this straddle to get the stock for .16 by Aug exp. Maybe even work a .01 or .05 bid for some 1 calls further out on a ratio in case stock recovers aggressively?
Around the Block/Economic Reports: - May 25 - Durable Goods, Consumer Sentiment
If you are interested in what the Federal Reserve has to say or has been saying, this is the week for you. Not only are the notes from the last meeting going to be released on Wednesday, several Fed presidents will be talking this week including three on Monday and on Friday. Â Posted May 25th, 2018 OCC President and Chief Operating Officer John Davidson talks with U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (R-IL-14) about the outlook for action in Washington, D.C. in 2018, and the most significant financial markets issues facing policymakers. Â Posted May 25th, 2018 Jill Malandrino, Nasdaq Global Markets Reporter, moderated a discussion on key innovations and trends in technology and their impacts on the options industry. Moderator: Jill Malandrino, Nasdaq Panelists: - Tony Zhang, Options Play
- Peter Maragos, DASH
- Travis McGhee, TradeStation
 Posted May 25th, 2018 Find out from this expert panel composed of ETF issuers and options market makers what is driving the trends in client ETF options usage and the implications for the ETF and options industries and their respective participants. Moderator: Steve Oh, Nasdaq ETFs Panelists: - Grayson Lipton, PowerShares by Invesco
- Lawrence Tanzman, Citadel
- Stacey Gilbert, Susquehanna International Group
- James Maund, State Street Global Advisors
 Posted May 25th, 2018 Experienced Financial Advisors share how they have integrated options into their practice to differentiate themselves from their competition and grow their client base. Moderator: Eric Cott, OCC Panelists: - Michael Galantino, CV Brokerage, Inc.
- Brandon Setlock, Charles Schwab & Co.
- Paul Feinstein, 1st Republic
 Posted May 25th, 2018 Exchange and clearinghouse Washington representatives discussed policy and politics in 2018. Moderator: Julie Bauer, OCC Panelists: - Terry Campbell, Nasdaq
- Jeff Strunk, Forbes-Tate
- Lita Frazier, Cboe
- Hope Jarkowski, Intercontinental Exchange
Posted May 24th, 2018 We looked at doing a long call spread last week, which was net positive theta time premium. This week we will be looking at indexes. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: - Indexes and volatility
- Rolling out of SPY put flys into credit spreads
- Trading it directionally
- Setting up the trade
- Selecting strikes
- What do we want to happen?
- What is the max risk? Reward?
- To adjust or not to adjust?
Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.  Posted May 22nd, 2018 Trading Block: Earnings! - Tuesday - Kohl's
- Wednesday - Lowe's, Target
- Thursday - Best Buy
- Friday - Foot Locker
- Intuit - $191.30, ATM Straddle: $11, approx. 5.7%
Odd Block: Call palooza in PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL). Rolling calls in Union Pacific Corporation (UNP). Cheapie calls in Northern Oil & Gas, Inc. (NOG) Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses how to profitably buy OTM calls Around the Block/Economic Reports: - May 23 - New Home Sales, FOMC Minutes
- May 24 - Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales
- May 25 - Durable Goods, Consumer Sentiment
If you are interested in what the Federal Reserve has to say or has been saying, this is the week for you. Not only are the notes from the last meeting going to be released on Wednesday, several Fed presidents will be talking this week including three on Monday and on Friday. Â Posted May 21st, 2018 Volatility Review: A look back at the week from a volatility perspective. - VIX Cash - 13.43, almost unchanged from last week.
- VVIX - 93
- VIX Options - ADV: 592k, VIX call/put: 2.7/1, Total 5.86m (4.26m Calls, 1.59m Puts)
- VXX - 34.87
Volatility Voicemail: Listener questions and comments - Question from Trevor Salsman - Why no love for ZIV on volatility views?
- Comment from Tom Frank - Not sure I agree with your consensus that covered calls are better for novice options traders. Puts typically have higher implied volatility and should generate higher returns than covered calls over time and have a better risk/reward. The novices would probably appreciate the higher returns.
- Question from OliveTrader2 - What kind of volatility reaction should we expect if trade talks are successful or unsuccessful?
- Question from Bruce Stern - I know that contango in VIX futures is the best scenario to foster VXX erosion. But is there a particular degree of slope or term structure that is optimal for maximum roll decay in the VXX product? Or is it just a question of the steeper the term structure slope the better?
- Question from NMZ56 - Not sure my fav vol product has been invented yet. Outside of a truly tradable cash VIX, maybe we need some sort of cool earnings volatility product. Maybe something that allows you to trade the straddle without actually having to trade it? I think that would open the strategy up to more people.
- Question from MTimes - What do you guys think of UPRO? Does the levered nature of this product make it a decent stand-in for some of the other vol products out there that have been defanged recently like SVXY or delisted like XIV?
Crystal Ball: Wild and reckless prognostication Last week: - Mark L. - 13.55
- Mark S. - 12.75
This week: - Mark L. - 13.25
- Mark S. - 12.75
 Posted May 21st, 2018 Today's co-host is Tim McCourt, the Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. Topics this week include: - Equities
- Trade at Cash Open (TACO)
- Crude
- Gold
- Bitcoin/Crypto
Futures Options Feedback: Listener questions and comments - Question from Andrew Sullivan - When, oh when, are we going to get bitcoin options? I don't want to touch the futures so I'm left sitting on my hands during these crazy moves.
- Question from Flyer - How is Bitcoin's volatility calculated? Is the limited supply and abundant demand a current driver upwards for the price?
Where to Find Options Insider Radio? Do you know all the ways you can access Options Insider Radio              Â
Options Insider Radio Network Live Recordings Do you want to be a part of the fun? This is when you can access the LIVE shows this week: Monday: Option Block LIVE at 3pm Central
Thursday:
Option Block LIVE at 3pm Central
Friday:
Volatility Views LIVE at 12pm Central This Week in Futures Options LIVE at 1:30 Central.
As always, you can join in the fun at http://mixlr.com/options-insider/
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