Your Inside Source for Options Information

December 17, 2018

Featured Interview

Options Insider Radio Interviews: Crowd Sourcing Algos with QuantConnect

Posted Oct 25, 2017

In this episode, Mark is joined by Jared Broad, Founder and CEO of QuantConnect.

They discuss:

• The genesis of QuantConnect
• What is QuantConnect?
• Fast-tracking people's development
• Making data more accessible
• The challenge of the crypto market
• What kinds of algos are coming up for Bitcoin?
• What is the Broadcast tab?
• And...

Upcoming Economic Reports

A preview of what may move the market this week

Options Insider Radio Network 

Episodes you may have missed from Options Insider Radio last week

Options Insider Radio Interviews: Democratizing the Quant Trading World with QuantConnect

Dec 14, 2018

In this episode, Mark is joined by Jared Broad, Founder and CEO of QuantConnect. They discuss:

• What is QuantConnect?
• Who is using the platform?
• What are the most popular markets/products with QuantConnect users?
• The move from Brooklyn to Seattle
• What are Alpha Streams?
• What is the Algorithm Framework?
• The LEAN platform
• And more...

Option Block 767: A Market for Crazy People

Dec 14, 2018

Trading Block: A mixed day today after a crazy week.

Most active today:

• SPY - 1.62M (ADV 3.44M)
• VIX - 332k (603k ADV)

Earnings Highlights:

• Monday - Stitch Fix
• Tuesday - Dave & Busters, American Eagle Outfitters
• Wednesday - Vera Bradley, Peak Resorts
• Thursday - Costco, Adobe

And, Apple falls after Chinese court...

Odd Block: Tesla put summary, put breakdown in General Electric Company (GE), call sale in Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC), and call love in Liveramp Holdings Inc (RAMP)

Mail Block: Options question of the week

Everyone loves trading $AAPL #Options. So the #OpenInterest is always very high. But a few interesting #Options dominate the rest. What do you think is the largest open position in $AAPL right now? No cheating - try to use your #SpideySense.

• Jan 2020 200 Call
• Jan 250 Call
• Dec 180 Put
• Jan 100 Put

Listener questions and comments: Comment from Austyn41: Good shows today. The experienced and animated host makes it very entertaining and interesting to listen to.

• Question from Bjorn L. - You still liking apple 150 puts here?
• Comment from Mark Brant - Bought AAPL 8d/15d Calendar Straddle for $1.40! On a nice streak with this strategy. Multi bagger profit potential if you get lucky. I have come to favor +EV plays that have big upside but uncertainty per trade.
• Question from Max Lee - What do you think about stock replacement in SPY here? How far out would you go?

Around the Block/This Week in the Markets:

• Dec 14 - Retail Sales, Industrial Production

 

OICs Wide World of Options 57: Panel - How Do You Know When to Hedge?

Dec 14, 2018

Many investors continue to wonder how long the bull market will last. After all, it began almost a decade ago. So does it make sense to consider hedging? Join OIC for a lively panel discussion, moderated by OIC Sr. Investor Services Specialist Mark Benzaquen, to learn how professional investors think about hedging.

 

This Week in Futures Options 130: Cooking With Gas, Beans and Oil

Dec 14, 2018

Topics this week include:

• Soybeans
• Crude Oil
• Nat Gas
• Equities
• Metals/Gold
• Crypto/Bitcoin
• Winners: KC Wheat, Iron Ore, Palladium
• Losers: Nat Gas, Rough Rice, E-Mini Russell 2000

Futures Options Feedback: Listeners take over

• Question from JLN7 -Is it safe to write calls in nat gas again?
• Question from Mainev -Didn't quite catch the logic of the guest last show re: equities strangles. How would selling strangles help you rebalance your equities portfolio? Thx for this. Also enjoying Options Playbook.
• Question from Neal J. - Does put-call parity work the same for futures options as it does for equity options? Thank you for all your free content.
• Question from Brandon Elliot - Have any good rules of thumb when trading the term structure in seasonal products like corn?
• Question from Oytrate - What is a reason that someone would write ITM covered calls? Seems like a waste of time to me since you're capping all of your upside.
• Comment from Kelly Lef - Thought the user tip to exercise deep ITM calls to save on the spread was a good one. So I checked a few of my stock replacement positions that had gone ITM. Turned out the spreads were fairly similar to the spread on the underlying stock index so the any savings were pretty small. Not really worth the hassle to go through the exercise process. Maybe I'm just trading a more liquid index than that listener or am I missing something?

Options Playbook Radio 238: Rinse and Repeat Time Bomb Butterfly

Dec 13, 2018

When the market conditions are right, it can be a good time to trade a butterfly in the S&P 500. Now is the time. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• As of this recording, the VIX is higher than last week, but down a bit on the day
• A review of last week
• Where is the market now?
• Let's do another 20-point wide butterfly
• Selecting strikes
• What does it cost?
• What's the maximum gain?
• What about the hedge?
• And more...

Option Block 766: As the Worm Turns

Dec 11, 2018

Trading Block: Another day, another selloff

Most active today:

• SPY - 2.71M (ADV 3.44M)
• VIX - 299k (603K ADV)

Earnings Highlights:

• Monday - Stitch Fix
• Tuesday - Dave & Busters, American Eagle Outfitters
• Wednesday - Vera Bradley, Peak Resorts
• Thursday - Costco, Adobe

MVP of the Year: Now we've got quite the horse race to see who will be crowned the most valuable company by the end of the year. Amazon was briefly number one today, but closed in the second spot. Now we have:

• AAPL at 877.04 billion market cap.
• AMZN at 866.63 billion market cap.
• MSFT at 860.43 billion market cap.

Odd Block: Tesla put summary; March put love in Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (SKT); puts lighting up in HD Supply Holdings Inc (HDS), and; call love in Hydrogenics Corporation (HYGS)

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses cash as a position.

Mail Block: Options question of the week.

Everyone loves trading $AAPL #Options. So the #OpenInterest is always very high. But a few interesting #Options dominate the rest. What do you think is the largest open position in $AAPL right now? No cheating - try to use your #SpideySense.

• Jan 2020 200 Call
• Jan 250 Call
• Dec 180 Put
• Jan 100 Put

Listener questions and comments:

• Comment by Austyn41 - You've been nuggeted!
• Question from RTS3 - Mark said he used to trade Activision a lot. Outside of trading it, do you also play their games? If so what's on your playlist these days? Also the Rock Lobster is a cool nickname. B52s?

Around the Block/This Week in the Markets:

• Dec 11 - PPI
• Dec 12 - CPI, Treasury Budget
• Dec 13 - Jobless Claims
• Dec 14 - Retail Sales, Industrial Production

 

Volatility Views 332: Revenge of a Muted VIX

Dec 10, 2018

Volatility Review: A look back at the week from a volatility perspective.

• VIX Cash - 22.65, 3.25 higher than last show
• VVIX - 97, 3-points higher than last show
• VIX Options - ADV: 594k - up nearly 50k from last show

Hot VIX options today:

• 10000 VIX Feb 13th 17.0 Puts $1.025
• 3999 VIX Dec 12th 30.0 Calls $0.10
• 42800 VIX Dec 19th 40.0 Calls $0.14
• 37700 VIX Jan 16th 32.5 Calls $0.562

Plus:

• VXX - 35.5, 1-point lower than last show
• SVXY - 46, almost 4 handles lower than last show

Volatility Voicemail: Listener questions and comments

• Question from DaNincompoop - Are the futures really backward if it's just the cash that's higher?
• Question from Charles Pierce - When does VXX make the switch to VXX B?
• Question from ELanc3 - Over-under on when we'll see the next crop of new inverse volatility ETFs?

Crystal Ball: Wild prognostication ensues

Last week:

• Mark L. - 17.65
• Mark S. - 16.49

This week:

• Mark L. - 18.65
• Mark S. - 23.00

 

 

Where to Find Options Insider Radio?

Do you know all the ways you can access Options Insider Radio

          

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 12pm Central

Thursday:

Option Block LIVE at 12pm Central
This Week in Futures Options LIVE at 1:30 Central

Friday:

Volatility Views LIVE at 12pm Central

As always, you can join in the fun at http://mixlr.com/options-insider/