Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Option Block 202: VIX: How Low Can It Go? Trading Block: Zynga is up 4%, after filing Form 4 with the SEC. Who's going to gobble up Zynga? Today's rally due, in part, to some talks of potential settlement headed towards the fiscal cliff. VIX tanking. Xpress Block:  Alex Jacobson gets the OX hot seat once again and discusses VIX. How low can it go? Is it actually low right now? Has our frame of reference changed, or are we in an artificially inflated environment? Mail Block: Listeners Drive the Conversation. Via email from Emil Pesiri: I love the show. Do you know of any source that publishes daily updates of options showing a significant horizontal skew? I know of several that publish daily vertical skew, but none that screen and publish horizontal skew updates. Thanks so much. Comment from Liam: Hey Option Block, great show as always! I have a question for you. Since Microsoft seems to make such bad decisions for itself in terms of buying companies, what would you do if you were in charge of investments over there? Also, do you ever plan on making it out to London? I would love to buy you a pint.

Option Block 201: Traders as Quarterbacks Trading Block: Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Holiday season appears to be off to a good start. Facebook pops 8% with 60% more volume than normal. Apple rallies 18 handles. Microsoft drops their second-in-command. Interview Block: Today's guest is Anthony Crudele, Head Trader at eMini Executors. Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson gets the OX hot seat today and discusses the slow day in today's market. In other news, ISE announced that March 13 is the Mini Options launch date.  They’re the first exchange to announce a specific date, but will others jump the gun? Around the Block: The VIX doldrums may be ahead.

Option Block 200: It's a CelebrationCelebration Block: Let's pat ourselves on the back for lasting for 200 episodes, the most episodes of any program on our network, and probably the most episodes of any options podcast in history. We've had more episodes than: Seinfeld, Magnum PI, The Cosby Show, Full House, Different Strokes, Golden Girls & Three's Company. We also look back at the origins of the show and share some of our favorite moments along the way, including: Sebastian's many nicknames, Grigus' many stock picks, Tosaw's favorite strategies, favorite guest, favorite uncomfortable moments, and much more. We're also cooking up a new segment: live listener questions. Trading Block: Potential budget compromise sparks a strong rally. Apple at $505! Who's back in? CBOE missed a great opportunity to have a tradable Apple VIX on Friday. Hostess going bankrupt - is the Twinkie gone forever? Can they be saved by Bimbo Bakery?  Intel lower after the news of their CEO retiring. Tyson Foods blows past estimates. Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson get today's OX hot seat and discusses OX's idea hub and walk limit product. Don't forget this is a short week for trading. Around the Block: Beware of decay, and watch for bargains, because of this shortened holiday week. Fiscal cliff looking less perilous. Is this the return of the upside vol?

Option Block 199: Apple Selloff and Yoga PantsTrading Block: The mild selloff continues. What is happening with VIX and realized volatility post-election? VIX calls/verticals/ratios vs. SPY puts/verticals/ratios. Does VIX win?  A big Apple selloff. Is Uncle Mike getting ready to get back in? Dell earnings after hours. Tons of volume coming in for NetApp Inc.Odd Block: Interesting activity in GameStop Corp. (GME) and Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (LULU). Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald discusses some recent client trades in Apple, the QQQ, a VIX put spread, a SPY call spread, Walmart, and Dell. Around the Block: Keeping an eye on the metals, GLD and SLV. Best Buy and HP earnings next week.

Option Block 198: Sex Scandals and Star WarsTrading Block: All three major indices unchanged at 0. Mild vol selloff, following a mild rally after post-election selloff. CIA head forced out following a fantastically crazy scandal. Odd Block: Unusual activity in Titanium Metals Corp. (TIE); bullish options are in play on drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY); unusual activity in Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (FBC).Xpress Block: John Grigus is on the OX hot seat today. What's he still doing in Groupon?Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses collars and understanding the Greeks.Around the Block: Cisco earnings tomorrow after the close. Cosi and Dell: 11/15, Hot Topic: 11/14. Disney's bullish future following the purchase of Lucasfilm. Looking ahead to Black Friday.

Option Block 197: Driving Towards the Fiscal CliffTrading Block: Markets down following presidential election. What can we attribute this to? There is strength in inelastic demand, inflation sensitive assets like GLD, corn, soybeans and wheat.  Interview Block: Newcomer David Peltier, Portfolio Manager for TheStreet.com’s Stocks Under 10, gets his own segment to let our listeners get to know him and Stocks Under 10 a little better.  Odd Block: Harmony Gold (HMY): a customer sold about 6,500 Jan 13 10 calls at $0.20; Exco Resources Inc. (XCO): a customer bought Dec 7 and Dec 8 calls, in a "call stupid,” and; Gerdau SA (GGB): a customer bought a chunk of Jun 2013 - 5,100 9 and 2,000 8 puts.Around the Block: No really big economic events are in our near horizon with earnings season and the elections near an end. How will things play out in the market with the "fiscal cliff" looming ahead?

Option Block 196: Election EditionTrading Block: The market took off once early polling results came in, a broad-based rally across most of the market. Vol came in after being out most of the morning.Odd Block: 30,000 contracts trade on the VIX Nov16 put.Xpress Block: John Grigus gets the OX hot seat today to discuss VIX, recent highs in volume and the ex dividend date for Apple. Mail Bag: Via email from Sigmund Fraud:I have a 401k that's invested in the S&P. What's the best way to hedge it [outside of the 401k] from downside risk? Would beta-weighting with SDS be a good hedge or is there a better way? Also, I've heard the terms "hitting offers, lifting bids" (I hope I got that right), what does that mean?Strategy Block: Andrew discusses back spreading the VIX and how it is the cleanest way to play a change in implied volatility in the indexes. Around the Block: All eyes will be focused on the U.S. Presidential election.

Option Block 195: Post-Hurricane Sandy Edition Trading Block: The market reopens Wednesday after closing for two days due to Hurricane Sandy. Apple opens nearly unched, some long premium holders ended up alright. Vol has been coming in hard. How was the NYSE not prepared for a disaster such as a hurricane? Odd Block: Straddle sold on Take 2 Interactive Software (TTWO). Xpress Block: Dave Vitamonis gets the OX hot seat for today's show and discusses using an iron condor, instead of an iron butterfly. Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw discusses risk management and when you should use a point A to point B type of risk management. Around the Block: Watching the vol crush and Non-farms tomorrow. LinkedIn and Amazon.

Option Block 194: The Great AAPL Death KnellTrading Block: The great Apple death knell? Tosaw is out! A momentous decision. Amazon and Apple earnings after the close. Facebook earnings earlier this week.  Odd Block: Volatility plays heat up on KLA-Tencor (KLAC). Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald gets the OX hot seat and discusses today's action on the desk. Russell credit spreads, GLD, and Zynga.  Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw discusses his new stock, Chevron, and the interesting trade he made.Around the Block: Keeping an eye on Apple and Amazon after hours. GDP, Non-Farms and more earnings next week. Tosaw will now sleep for a few weeks.

Option Block 193: Post-Earnings Selloff & Turnaround Trading Block: Post-earnings selloff continues, but then we saw a dramatic turnaround late in the day. Iron flies on Microsoft post-earnings. Odd Block: Large call spread purchased on MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG); calls bought on Eli Lilly (LLY). Xpress Block: John Grigus gets the OX hot seat today and discusses Bank of America, new tech products, including the iPad mini, and the Samsung ChromeBook. Around the Block: Looking forward to earnings: Facebook 10/23, Zynga 10/24, Amazon 10/25, Apple 10/25, Netflix 10/23.

Option Block 192: Earnings Palooza Trading Block:  GOOG earnings announced early, although no one is sure why.  Today is an earnings-palooza: AMD, LUV, MSFT, NOK, VZ all after the bell. Odd Block: Is McGraw-Hill Topped Out? (MHP); puts rolled on Sprint Nextel (S); volatility purchased on Hertz Global (HTZ). The Mail Block: You ask. We answer. EMAIL FROM TED, WASHINGTON: “I know you guys have touched on this a long time ago, but I can’t find the episode and I’m not sure if there was ever an answer. My question is - how do you execute a ratio spread using Xtend? I’ve been trying all morning to execute a simple 1x2 put spread (buy 1, sell 2) all morning, yet when i select put spread from the Xtend dropdown menu in the order ticket, it defaults to having the legs be the same size. Whenever I try to change the size of one leg, it automatically adjusts the other. None of the other selections in the dropdown seem to work and I don’t see a selection for “ratio spread.” Is there a way to do this? If not, can ox please add a dropdown for ratio spreads in Xtend. Thanks. Been a fan of the show since it launched and an ox customer for about a year, mostly because of this show. RELATED EMAIL QUESTION FROM FINN: I know Mark L. loves iron butterflies. How do I trade those using Xtend? I don’t see an option for those in the trade ticket? EMAIL FROM Todd in MN: Hi guys, love you, love the show... A question for the listener mail segment-- I'd be honored if you read it. What's the most effective way for a retail investor to hedge an x% decline in the overall market? Some guesses: - buy a back month vertical put spread or single long put on $SPY and let simmer? - buy a vertical call spread on $VIX and manage it closely? - C) none of the above? Xpress Block: Trading picks up in VIX.  Sebastian pontificates. Around the Block: Earnings. Earnings. Earnings. FB, NFLX, ZNGA, and AMZN coming up.   Option Block 192: Earnings Palooza Trading Block:  GOOG earnings announced early, although no one is sure why.  Today is an earnings-palooza: AMD, LUV, MSFT, NOK, VZ all after the bell. Odd Block: Is McGraw-Hill Topped Out? (MHP); puts rolled on Sprint Nextel (S); volatility purchased on Hertz Global (HTZ). The Mail Block: You ask. We answer. EMAIL FROM TED, WASHINGTON: “I know you guys have touched on this a long time ago, but I can’t find the episode and I’m not sure if there was ever an answer. My question is - how do you execute a ratio spread using Xtend? I’ve been trying all morning to execute a simple 1x2 put spread (buy 1, sell 2) all morning, yet when i select put spread from the Xtend dropdown menu in the order ticket, it defaults to having the legs be the same size. Whenever I try to change the size of one leg, it automatically adjusts the other. None of the other selections in the dropdown seem to work and I don’t see a selection for “ratio spread.” Is there a way to do this? If not, can ox please add a dropdown for ratio spreads in Xtend. Thanks. Been a fan of the show since it launched and an ox customer for about a year, mostly because of this show. RELATED EMAIL QUESTION FROM FINN: I know Mark L. loves iron butterflies. How do I trade those using Xtend? I don’t see an option for those in the trade ticket? EMAIL FROM Todd in MN: Hi guys, love you, love the show... A question for the listener mail segment-- I'd be honored if you read it. What's the most effective way for a retail investor to hedge an x% decline in the overall market? Some guesses: - buy a back month vertical put spread or single long put on $SPY and let simmer? - buy a vertical call spread on $VIX and manage it closely? - C) none of the above? Xpress Block: Trading picks up in VIX.  Sebastian pontificates. Around the Block: Earnings. Earnings. Earnings. FB, NFLX, ZNGA, and AMZN coming up.  

TRADING BLOCK Vol Rundown - Vix came in today, as expected given Vol inflation on Friday and today's rally. Nobel Prize for economics announced today - Alvin Roth won. Citi and Chipotle reporting earnings today. ODD BLOCK Calls Active as Two Harbors Crashes (TWO) Protection Purchased on the Healthcare Select SPDR (XLV) Calendar Spread Trades on Wells Fargo (WFC) INTERVIEW BLOCK Today's guest: Kevin Davitt - KYO Futures Broker. Equities, ratio spreads, and upcoming webinars.  AROUND THE BLOCK Earnings Palooza - Southwest, Nokia, Microsoft, Verizon, AMD, Google -  10/18. Election Vol looming on the horizon.

Option Block 190: Getting Out of AAPLTrading Block: Another 0.0% move for the S&P today. Zynga was crushed again this week, and closing today at $2.43 as it takes a massive write-down on the OMG Pop acquisition. It also manages to bring Facebook down with it. Corn up 5% after U.S. harvest forecast slashed. Apple closing down about 13 handles or 2% to $628.10.Odd Block: Upside calls active on Auxilium Pharma (AUXL); will Advanced Micro Devices Earnings surprise next week (AMD)?Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald is back in the OX hot seat today, and discusses recent and interesting trades. Sprint, Wells Fargo and a bunch of earnings plays. Around the Block: Earnings-Palooza: Southwest Airlines, Nokia, Microsoft, Verizon, AMD, Google, Bank of America, and Citi.

Option Block 189: Iron Condors and Big Trends Trading Block: Apple down about 2.5%. When might we see the minis? Groupon finally goes to the plus side. Is it time to abandon ship? Non-farms better than expected. Odd Block: Huge three-way put spread trades on Consol Energy (CNX); options action surges as Vringo pops (VRNG). Xpress Block: John Grigus takes the hot seat and discusses the many spin-offs of Sears holdings. Interview Block: Featuring Big Trends’ Price Headley Price gives an overview of what Big Trends does What he is currently seeing in the market Why is he such a fan of iron condors? What levels would be too low for him? He also gives a quick preview of the webinar tonight for KYO.  Around the Block: Earnings season again! Alcoa kicks it off tomorrow. Vice Presidential debate upcoming.

Option Block 188: Diversify. Diversify. Diversify   Trading Block: The market's reaction to Wednesday night's Presidential debate. Review from the Morning Star conference. (Spoiler: Options exposure and education is still significantly lacking.) HPQ, SLV & GLD, ACT. Odd Block: Upside purchased in Sachs (SKS); calls active as Dell pushes to new lows (DELL) Xpress Block: New-comer Dave Vitamonis gets the OX hot seat today and discusses interesting trades and size orders that came across the desk. The metals market is heating up. Stragegy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses diversification and mutual funds.   Around the Block: Non-Farms tomorrow, a big event. Apple earnings 10/25.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Option Block 187:  It’s That Time of the Month Trading Block: VIX cash getting some weekend love back. Monthly volume numbers are in, and according to ISE, dividend trades made up 8.8% of industry volume in September 2012. Apple closing down 1%. Will Uncle Mike ever get out? Groupon = garbage? Premium selling candidate? Risk reversals? Is Activision lining up for more bullish risk reversals? Ford is hovering at the 10-handle. How do you position RIMM from here? Odd Block: Is FLIR Systems (FLIR) ready to pop 11%; puts sold on Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX), and; short-term protection purchased on Wells Fargo (WFC). Xpress Block: John Girgus takes the reins in the Xpress Block and talks about what came across the OX desk today. Weekly options coming out soon. Approval passed for mini weekly options. Listener Mail: The inmates are running the asylum. Email from Ejay Singh, Mumbai, India “I appreciated your discussion of early dividend exercise on the last show. You mentioned the dividend and assignment risk on Spy, but does this also apply to SPX? Thanks very much for a fantastic options program. You guys really are unique in the world of options, and if Mark ‘Voice of Options’ Longo ever wants to do a radio show or an options presentation here in India, I'd be happy to help arrange it. You have a large audience around here.” Comment from Thompson on Dividend Trade Bungle.  “This guy was a serious idiot. How could you do a trade like this without even knowing how to properly execute the dividend trade? How can the exchanges continue to allow this behavior? Aren't errors like this just feeding into the belief that options are a risky, and highly-rigged, game? It's absurd!” Around the Block: Non-farms, probably the largest event coming up on the horizon. Marriott earnings on 10/3, Family Dollar 10/2, Monsanto 10/3. Keeping on eye on Europe.

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Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Option Block 185: Dividend Trade Blowup   Trading Block: VIX getting some of the weekend back courtesy of some selloff love. It's been a while since we've have a 1% down day. A big whoops with dividend trades for Merrill Lynch occurred Friday. Facebook taking it on the chin - down about 9%. Apple closing today down about 1.5%. Odd Block: Some significant size going up in XLF; Oct 100 puts going up before earnings in Factset Research Systems Inc. (FDS), and; it’s off to the upside races in Proctor & Gamble (PG). Xpress Block: John Grigus takes the OX hot seat today. A slow day on the desk, but Apple was the hottest topic. Closing out and dividend risk. Around the Block: Initial claims and new home sales this week. Nike and RIMM earnings 9/24.

Option Block 184: BNNY vs. FB vs. GRPNTrading Block: A mild selloff and a mild VIX rally, yet another 0.0% day! Groupon the only green on the screen.  At last, Grigus is rolling in dough! BNNY blows FB out of the water.Odd Block: Calls active as Dollar Tree pops (DLTR); J.C. Penney craters resulting in unusual puts activity (JCP), and; a quick review on Jefferies Group, Inc. (JEF). Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald gets the OX hot seat today, and rolls through his list of interesting activity and notable trades. Know your dividends! Jobless claims ignored, and down. Listener Mail: Letting the listeners take over. When are they going start the option mini's. I trade Apple and can only trade two contracts. Also premarket options? Even the option guys are talking about FB, is that good or that bad? Buying $EWZ CALLS Oct 57s $1.40. Do not ignore. Or ignore, that's fine too. Groupon Oct 6 calls for $.20 - or Oct 4.5 puts for $.20 - pick your poison. I don't know how it's possible for someone to call themselves a money manager without knowing multiple ways to manage money. Mark, was this buy-side guy not familiar with the concept of cost basis when he decided to just dump the stock rather than buy a put? Around the Block: Tomorrow looking like another slow day. The gang is keeping an eye on potential movement in the next few weeks. Take this slow time to visit the new features available at TheOptionsInsider.com

Option Block 183: Bernanke PutsTrading Block: Most of the major indices giving back some of the QE3 love, after an abnormally odd Friday. QE3: good, bad or ugly? A rundown from the options conference last week. Is Grigus still on the Groupon love train?Option Block: Shares of Linn Energy (LINE) are trading low; traders look for increased vol on Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS), and; LEAPS calls active on IAMGOLD (IAG).Xpress Block: John Grigus gets in OX hot seat to talk about what's been coming across the desk today. Crude oil had over 13,000 contracts go up in less than a minute. Grains also lighting up the tape.Around the Block: Post-QE3 and post-Apple malaise? When will the next shoe drop? Home sales on the 19th. Oracle and AutoZone earnings also on the 19th.

Option Block 182: Setting Low Expectations for EmploymentTrading Block: The bulls were definitely in charged today, the market seemed to like what Big Ben had to say this week. Vol rundown, volatility has come in. What happened with Apple after their product announcement?  The initial claims and jobless report numbers, again today we had more claims and fewer jobs than expected. Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald gets in the OX hot seat today to discuss the day at Options Xpress. The phones were blowing up with clients lining up with some rather large trades given the bullish trend recently. Odd Block: All the junky calls purchased in the 17th Level Nov XLF - 2000+ contracts went up in the Oct 17 - some size degenerate premium buys.Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw talks about "being nimble in the marketplace," meaning being ready for large movements even if you have a high probability trade. Next, the baton is passed to Andrew to discuss European debt, the equity market and positive looking trade structures.Around the Block: New and existing home sales, and housing starts come out next week, but shouldn't have a big impact on the market. Looking for the September job numbers at the beginning of next month.

Option Block 181: Apple OverlordTrading Block: A mild down day on the Street. VIX off to the races. Positioning after the jobs number. Apple pullback ahead of Wednesday event. Intel lowers guidance and is promptly down 3%.  Odd Block: Calls active as Talisman Energy appoints new president and CEO (TLM); block trade fever in Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF); and Leap Frog puts flying out the door (LPF). Xpress Block: John Grigus takes the reins of the Xpress Block today and discusses the buzz around Amazon. Spoiler alert! Calls are on the rise.   Around the Block: Fed on Wednesday, waiting to see if the Bernanke put is exercised. Apple also on Wednesday.

Option Block 180: A Whimper Not A Scream Trading Block: Finally a strong rally across the board. Vol and VIX rundown. CBOE announced at RMC Europe that they are hoping to trade VIX futures around the clock next year. Amazon announces new Kindle devices today, including Kindle Fire HD and new Kindle Fire for $159. Apple poised for a big announcement next week, looking for the new iPhone and perhaps the Mini-iPad. Ford on an upwind today, up about 3.5%. Odd Block: Calls active as BMC Software pops (BMC); large block of calls cold on Morgan Stanley (MS); a pre-earnings bullish bet initiated on retailer, Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (MW). Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald grabs the OX hot seat and discusses the day in trading. Happy customers over at OX, after several weeks of no volume. Trades in Ford, BAC, GLD and SPX. Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw is back with the Strategy Block, to discuss and share a story about money management. Around the Block: Non-farms on Friday, what will the response be? German constitutional court ruling next week. Apple product announcement next week.

  TRADING BLOCK Finally a day of action after an unchanged last couple of weeks. Apple destroys Samsung in jury verdict  - $1B Verdict - Samsung won basically no judgements - Interesting that the judge disallowed a samsung media player from 2006, that looks just like the iPhone! Groupon can't catch a bid.  ODD BLOCK Huge Blocks of Calls Trade on EMC - Chasing Deltas  Puts Active on Seagate Technology (STX). Shield, which has been included since the S&P was created in 1957, has been booted and will be placed by Lyondell Basell, a Dutch chemical company.  XPRESS BLOCK Sean Fitzgerald discusses a few of the trades that have come across the OX desk recently. ETFs, Spiders and other trades. LISTENER MAIL FORUM POST: New OX goodies for Canada? POSTED BY: Sean Conrad I love the sound of the new OX goodies that were announced on the last Option Block. This functionality could really help me - but I can't see it. Now that I think about it I've never seen OX Social either. I hail from Ottawa here in Canada - am I going to have access to these tools? If so - when? I remember hearing that OX social would be rolled out in stages to Canada and other International clients but I don't think that happened - what's going on? Is there some reason why we can't just use the US site and tools for our accounts? AROUND THE BLOCK Not many earnings rolling into the long weekend, except for market mover. Avoid the holiday Vol crush. How do you play Vol?

Option Block 178: Apple: Cheap? Expensive? Cheap Expensive? Trading Block: A slow Friday. Looking at the spread between VIX cash and the VIX futures. What is causing the build-up in premium? Looking at the November elections. Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald gets the OX hot seat today and discusses the lack of volume this last month and the interesting orders from today on Salesforce.com. The Fed and QE3. Strategy Block: Today's strategy block is hosted by Mark Sebastian, who, using Apple as an example, discusses the idea of cheap and inexpensive and how to use realized volatility when you trade. Around the Block: A slow week predicted before Labor Day. Keeping an eye on the employment report.

Option Block 177: Moving 0.0%, or Wait and See Trading Block: Today the market was literally unched across the board, sitting at 0.0, playing the "wait and see" game. Apple hitting new milestones, now the most, now the most valuable company on the planet. Corn rundown, quiet recently.  Odd Block: Put Volume Spikes on Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), and options traders sell volatility on the VIX. Xpress Block: John Grigus takes the OX hot seat, and talks about what been going on at the OptionsXpress desk. A lot of people coming into Facebook after it dropped below $20 on Friday. Trading Groupon. Listener Mail: Low vol, month and strike selection, plus Alpha indexes. Hi Option Block gang. With AAPL vol being quite low, I'm looking at what sorts of trades might keep me vol positive and long directional beyond being a simple call purchase. I'm thinking call back spread - am I nuts or does this make sense? If I am on the right track, could you share how you might go about selecting the right term and strikes? I am thinking to keep this out about Oct to give it time to work directionally for the big win, and maybe capture potential gains as it runs up into iPhone 5 announcement. Looking at the open this morning I may have missed the boat on that one... wow. Your thoughts? P.S. Have you thought about an app?(Via the Options Insider forum by Sean Conrad) Options Block Crew, In my endeavour to listen to all options insider radio network broadcasts ever released in podcast form I came upon an interview that was done on alpha indexes. This was the first I had heard of them and I wondering if you could go over any specific options strategies or spreads that are particularly nuance to how this product is constructed.(Via the Options Insider forum by OptionsVoodoo)    Around the Block: Dell earnings tomorrow after the close. Employment report on the 7th.

Option Block 176: Groupon Garbage Trading Block: A mild rally across the Street. S&P vol getting squeezed of all its juice. Cisco knocks it out of the park post-earnings. Groupon garbage post-earnings. Cosi trading at a depressed level. Facebook south of the 20-handle. Odd Block: Protection swapped on Novartis (NVS); large blocks of calls rolled on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the (DJX) and (DIA) options; Wednesday review: Huntsman International LLC Jumps; calls active (HUN). Xpress Block: Tim Navabi returns to the OX driver’s seat, and talks about his new position as a New Trader Consultant. Around the Block: Waiting to VIX to come back in. Earnings winding down, Europe winding up?

Option Block 175: Groupon Volatility Bonanza Trading Block: Groupon rallies into earnings, an absolute roller coaster today. No weekend back for VIX cash, toying with the 14 level. Odd Block: General Electric (GE) sees massive call activity. From black to red: Traders buy puts on The Blackstone Group (BX). The winners and losers in Focus Media's (FMCN) buyout offer. Xpress Block: John Grigus takes today's OX hot seat and discusses corn crops and the USDA report, as well as the website, idea hub and new products. Around the Block: Cisco earnings on 8/15 and retail sales tomorrow.

Option Block 174: Doing Whatever It Takes   Trading Block: Another mixed day on the street: a stale, unchanged market today. Keeping our eye on Nvidia. Zynga making more headlines by firing their COO. ETrade ousts its CEO.   Odd Block: Calls active after E*TRADE ousts CEO.   Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald runs through a couple of use question for the OX crew: Why are Groupon options at a 100% margin commitment at OX? Why is OX showing my estimated commissions for closing out a short position for $.01 at full price? Also, unusual activity in Logitech.   Listener Mail: Puts Deep in the Money & Confused About Bid Price   Hi, I would like help please with a trade I made selling puts. I sold $90 puts (at a price of $9.00) exp Sept 2012 and they are now deep in the money currently trading at $53. When I sold the puts the share price was $130. I realize I have these 2 choices, a) buy back the options, b) accept the shares. However if someone can advise how to ease the pain of either of these and recommend a strategy for future put selling trades to provide some downside protection it would be much appreciated. (Via the Options Insider forum by helphelp)   I am trying to understand what the difference is between these two put options and why their bid values are so different. Both are UNG Jan13 puts with strike price 18. Thanks for help. (Via the Options Insider forum by akaspro)   Around the Block: Cisco earnings 8/15, Groupon earning 8/13.

Option Block 173: Economists Do Not Have a Clue Trading Block: A mild rally on the day, VIX cash moving in lockstep with the market again. EA lawsuit pounds Zynga - THQ came out with earnings. Knight getting "rescue" bid from a bunch of customers including TD Ameritrade, and the stock has been a roller coaster ever since. Bernanke says economists don't have a clue about individual well-being. Oil up slightly. Odd Block: Unusual and interesting activity in Tumi Holdings, Inc. (TUMI) andChimera Investment Corp. (CIM). Xpress Block: Alex Jacobson gets the OX hot seat today, and discusses the secret project, Idea Hub, which he and his team have been working on recently, deep within the super-secret labs at Option Xpress. Around the Block: Disney earnings tomorrow, Nvidia 8/9, Priceline 8/10.

Option Block 172: Mini Crash Crush Trading Block: VIX essentially unchanged on the day. Discussing its underperformance again as traders again showed a willingness to unload vol going into the weekend. Mini-crash crushes a number of stocks (Citi, Bank of America, etc.) and annihilates KCG. CBOE earnings this morning - net income up from 2011 despite weak options volume across the board. Facebook breaks a significant floor at the $20 handle. Trading after Apple earnings. Odd Block: Bears Pouncing on Hewlett-Packard Options (HPQ); opening call buyer in E*Trade (ETFC), and LeapFrog Call Volume at 1,713% of average; currently $10.22.Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald takes the OX hot seat, and discusses a recent VIX vertical spread, and trading options. Around the Block: Activision (ATVI) after the close, also watching EA. LinkedIn (LNKD) after the close. Web 2.0 is really looking like a bust all around, where's Web 3.0?

Option Block 171: Another Raucous Live Show Live and unscripted, this episode doesn’t follow the normal Option Block layout, but it’s spectacular nevertheless. Most major indices closed relatively unchanged on the day. Despite that, it was still a pretty busy day on the desk. Crop report. Unusual put buying in Home Depot…could it be in preparation for August earnings? Apple testing $600 again. Mini contracts. VIX of Apple and Google. Regulators dropping the ball. SpongeBob Square Pants (seriously). The trust factor. Bounty hunters. The problem with publicly traded exchanges. Conflicts of interest. What’s coming up in economic numbers, news, etc.

Option Block 170: Options for Earnings Trading Block: A broad rally in most names, yet Ford, EA and others getting clobbered. Where's the love? Facebook after the bell, hovering down a bit. Zynga disappoints again. Apple knocks it out of the park, but it’s not good enough. This is the way to "miss" earnings. Amazon after the bell. Netflix striking again. Chipotle has been clipped well over 30%. Odd Block: Unusual and interesting activity today in Facebook (FB) and Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI). Xpress Block: John Grigus is back in the OX hot seat and discusses raising margin requirements in grains. OX has decided to no longer offer the products of the Hong Kong Futures, Montreal, and the London Metals Exchanges after August 31. Close your contracts. Around the Block: One last look at Facebook, Amazon. The Eurozone coming in again for the weekend. GDP tomorrow. More earnings next week.

Option Block 169: Synthetic Puts and the Fudge Factor Trading Block: A selloff across the major indices today, amid concerns about financing in Spain. IMF is about to stop payments to Greece, thus increasing the odds of insolvency by September. VIX gets weekend back and then some. Even McDonald's can't make money in this environment - down about 3% after recent earnings. Odd Block: Unusual and interesting activity today in BCE Inc. (BCE) a Canadian telecommunications company, Logitech International (LOGI), and Under Armour (UA). Xpress Bock: Sean Fitzgerald once again takes the hot seat and discusses what came across the OX desk today. Large orders on the Russell, IWM, VXX and SPX weekly 1275 puts. Spikes in Apple and Google. Listener Mail: Hello Options Crew, I was wondering what technical indicators you use when trading on multiple time frames, both day and swing, other than basic support and resistance levels. I know there is a tendency for more novice traders to get into a state of indicator-itis but I have good success with the McClellan oscillator. What are your experiences with indicators and what have you found the best for certain market conditions you analyze? I am still rather confused with tick and trin. Thanks for the insight and keep up the good work. (Via the Options Insider forum by OptionsVoodoo) Facebook Aug 23 Puts for $.45 or Zynga Jul 5 Puts for $.35 - which to sell? (Via Twitter from TDuffee) Downside in buying DITM calls 2 months out and selling the common against it? How often no initial pop after 20 trades? (Via Twitter from Greg Persky þ@raider250) Around the Block: A big week ahead: The calm before the Apple storm. Facebook earning on 7/26. Ford 7/25 - Before the bell. Others: Amazon - 7/26, Netflix - 7/24, Tesla Motors - 7/25, and Zynga - 7/25 - Caterpillar, Whole Foods, Boeing, Crocs, Cheesecake Factory and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Option Block 168: Scalping GOOG Time Spreads Trading Block: Lots of earnings after the bell - Google up, Microsoft meh, and Chipotle earnings down. Is this the rise of Qdoba? A mild rally across the board, accompanied by a mild vol sell-off. A bit of a rally in Ford. Odd Block: A straddle swap in USL, plus upside calls in Anglogold AU.Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald discusses Google and Chipotle, which were both very active on the OX desk today. A lot of rumor and speculation at Amazon. Oil topping the futures markets. Strategy Block: Mark Sebastian gets to host his first strategy block today and talks a little bit about the news of a big deal with Walgreens and Express Scripts and how someone made out handsomely, using options. Around the Block: A quick update of earnings. Upcoming names include Netflix and Apple on 7/24, and Zynga on 7/25.

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Option Block 166: Calendar Strangle Swap Trading Block: PFG Best madness; the Chicago based options brokerage firm reeling after their CEO, Russ Wasendorf, attempted suicide after charges of fraud and a missing $200M+ in customer funds. How did the NFA miss this? Another day, another mild selloff that weakens toward the close. The Apple pre-pre earnings. Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity: A size calendar strangle in VIX options. Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw leads the Strategy Block this week and discusses the ratio repair strategy. Listener Question: Should I sell the Ford Aug 9 puts for around $.30 and buy Ford Sep 10 calls for about $.15 - do you like this risk reversal? (Via Twitter from Dougman) Around the Block: The earnings fiesta begins! A tech day on 7/19: Google, Microsoft, Nokia, AMD (and the other Apple, Chipotle) Apple 7/24, Bank of America 7/18, Citi 7/16.

Option Block 165: I Make Liquidity Trading Block: Another day, another mild selloff. VIX getting the weekend/holiday back, plus a little more. Oil/Commodity rundown - the hot, dry weather has had a big impact of the ags, especially corn. Activision on the block. Odd Block: An unusual activity review for Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB), Research in Motion, Ltd. (RIMM), and Horizon Pharma, Inc. HZNP (HZNP). Xpress Block: John Grigus gets the floor over at the OX desk and discuss the recent grain market and what to remember if you want to start trading ag futures and options. Mail Block: Option Block, I wanted to know what way you found is the best to explain to common folk that you trade options for living -- I find it very difficult to answer the common question of "what do you do for a living?". Even my most successful attempts I am always met with rather blank stares -- or worse if they have a sliver of knowledge they think that I just buy low and sell high common stock which I think most options traders find unsophisticatedly insulting. Please help me with your infinite wisdom. (Via the Options Insider forum by: optionsvoodoo) Around the Block: Earnings season is back! Google on July 12, Citi on the 16th. Apple running pre pre-earnings. Keeping an eye on Activision and EA.

Option Block 164: Independence Day Slowdown Trading Block: Apple lurking near $600 again before earnings. RIMM in the toilet and ended up blowing past weekly ATM straddle after all. Ford also taking a beating. June numbers are out and options volume down 13% overall from last year. Avg. daily volume down 8.47%, equity option volume down 13%, and overall equity options ADV down 9%. OCC announced that cleared contract volume reached 329,891,797 in June, dividend trades made up 3.8% of industry volume in June 2012, almost 15% of PHLX's options volume came from dividend trades, about 7% for NYSE ARCA. New exchanges in the mix - NASDAQ launched OMX BX options. ISE files for second exchange license. Floor traders suing CME. Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Material Select Spider (XLB) and McMoran Exploration Co. (MMR). Xpress Block: John Grigus holds down the OX seat and talks about this slow week. Watching the move in crude oil. Tomorrow starts the website release training courses. A walking limit and other new features to the site coming out soon. Around the Block: A slow holiday week. Be careful on the short gamma in the next four days. Chinese internet stock is very cheap. Non-farm payroll on the horizon

Option Block 163: Supreme Court Takes the Vol Out Trading Block: Supreme Court decision roils the market. Are we taking the weekend out of the VIX already? 30 year mort. at 3.66%. JP Morgan hedge loss expected to be $5B, perhaps up to $9B. RIMM, Nike, and Family Dollar reporting numbers after the bell. Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Universal Health Services (UHS) and O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY). Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald discusses some of the activity at OX today that wasn't about healthcare. The Google IO, announces a iPad-like product, the Nexus 7. Strategy Block: Andrew discusses short term theta plays, like iron flies in Apple. Around the Block: Mid-week holiday playing into weekend decay? Keeping an eye on crude oil. Personal spending and Michigan sentiment on the horizon.

Option Block 162: Risk Reversal Hour Trading Block: Midday selloff continues following post-weekend/selloff vol pop. EU summit concerns with Spain requesting EU aid for their banks, and Cyprus requesting an EU bailout.  Last week most active ever for VIX futures.  New home sales hit a two-year high last month - 369,000 new homes vs, 346,000 expected. Oil continues to fall, right into the teeth of summer driving season. Everyone waiting on Supreme Court healthcare vote. Odd Block:  Unusual and interesting activity in Men's Warehouse (MW) and Motorola Solutions (MSI).  Xpress Block: John Grigus sits down and discusses the news that Amex will be bringing back their binary options. Higher corn and grain prices due to a lack of rain in the midwest. Listener Mail: Email from George K: I loved Mark's rants from the past few shows. He hit the nail on the head with both Morningstar and the "Wall Street" sequel. I'm a Morningstar subscriber but their options offerings are a complete joke. I agree with his comments that it's 1983 from Morningstar's options perspective. They pretend that they don't exist. Hopefully you guys can fix that. As for the "Wall Street" sequel, Mark left out my favorite part - the Budd Foxx/Charlie Sheen cameo. That bad was so bad that I turned off my TV in disgust. It took me about another month to get around to actually finishing the movie. In all seriousness, thank you Mark for making the Options Insider radio network and providing so much great content like the Option Block. There truly is nothing else like this network, or this show anywhere else. You've created a great home for options traders and we appreciate it. Around the Block: Keeping an eye on the Supreme Court healthcare vote and the EU meeting later this week.

Option Block 161: Now With 75% More Ranting Trading Block: A bit of a blood bath today after Goldman recommended shorting the S&P. A lack of VIX movement compared to a big 30-handle selloff. Moody's to downgrade up to 15 banks after the close just piled on the bad news for today. Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IDIX). Xpress Block: Returning panelist Alex Jacobson takes the OX hot seat and discusses the "non-reaction" to today's down market. Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses contract selection and how it important it is have the correct contracts. Around the Block: Maybe the weekend effect will play with the VIX and we may see the beginning of a rally. Short the VIX, long SPX. Keeping an eye on the Ford Dec 11's and bond yields.

Option Block 160: Blue Horeshoe Loves Option Block Trading Block: Greek pro-bailout ruling was not exactly the boon the markets expected. Spanish load concerns still weighing on the market. Almost like a post-earnings throughout the market with vol coming in across the board. NAHB housing index of homebuilder sentiment highest in five years, but still below 50. The Supreme Court may rule whether Congress has the power to require people to buy health insurance. According to the bets, there’s a 68 percent probability that the law’s individual mandate will be ruled unconstitutional in 2012. Facebook reversed the trend of past week and finally closed upsize. Microsoft's secret Window 8 tablet - the new iPad killer? Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Harman International Industries (HAR), Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH), and W.R Grace (GRA). Listener Question: The dying breed of floor traders With the dying breed that is the floor trader, can you share the craziest/scariest story/stories that you remember from your days on the floor? Being a younger guy myself and having only traded behind the friendly confines of the computer screen I often think to myself that I can't entirely appreciate the origins of the market having never been a part of that dying culture. (Via The Options Insider forum by: optionsvoodoo) Around the Block: With Greece in the rear view window, and Facebook rallying, we're watching S&P and gold. The VIX may be headed to 17 or lower.

Option Block 159: The 1-3.5-6 Ratio Condor Swap Trading Block: News is out that the central banks are trying to make a coordinated effort to help out Greece after the elections. Commodity rundown - open quota unchanged. Fallout for Apple after WWDC. Nokia down 15% on news of slashing 10,000 more jobs - down 50% since April. Is this the beginning of the end for Nokia? Will Microsoft buy them? Is this another Motorola? Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) and Safeway, Inc. (SWY). Xpress Block: John Grigus is back at sits down in the OX hot seat to discuss a Nasdaq/OMX memo about starting a Facebook member accommodation program. Tomorrow is expiration. Around the Block: Remember, this is expiration week! We'll have to see what happens to Nokia. Greece, Spain, Greece, etc.

Option Block 158:  Mini Widowmaker Trading Block: VIX provided most of the movement in the market. Spain concerns weigh on the market again. Analyst says JP Morgan could make an upside surprise as they disclose more about the $2 billion "hedge."  Apple's WWDC doesn't budge the stock - announces new MacBooks, iOS 6, better voice, no new iPhone, and switching away from Google maps - a potential big hit for Google. Commodity/vol rundown.   Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR), Pitney Bowes, Inc. (PBI), and Focus Media Holding, Ltd. (FMCN).  Xpress Block: Tim Navabi is back in the OX hot seat and goes over what was active over at optionsXpress. Apple, SPY, and more, a grain report coming out tomorrow. Helping a few customers with spreads.  Mail Block: Taking on Listener QuestionsWhat role does option volume play in your overall trading? For examples: I'm thinking about selling 50-100 puts in a name that only trades about 400 contracts a day. Should I be concerned about unwinding that position when the time comes? Thanks and please make more 80's references during the show. (Via email from Sean Robinson) What do you guys think about selling the Facebook Jul 23P for $0.70? Yeah or nay? (Via Twitter from SPY16) Around the Block:  June 13: PPI & Retail Sales June 14: CPI & Jobless Claims June 15: Industrial Production, Consumer Sentiment & Triple Witching Expiration

Option Block 157: We Are in a Holding Pattern Until We Are Not Trading Block: For the second show in a row, the S&P is literally closed unchanged at 0.0%, what are the odds? The Fed pretty much stymied most activity. Have to love the Feds - says end of tax cuts is the most important fiscal event on the horizon, yet refuses to comment on whether tax cuts should stay or go. China cut their benchmark lending rate for the first time in about 4 years. VIX drifting toward the lower end of its recent range. Commodity/Metals update. Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (LULU), Market Vectors Gold Miners Index ETF (GDX), and SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) Xpress Block: Sean Fitzgerald returns to the Xpress Block for the second time and discusses Facebook and its seemingly recent divorce from the public's love and attention. In other news, Starbucks will start producing for the "K-Cup" Green Mountain single cup coffee brewing system. Listener Mail: When do you think daily options will become available and what impact do you think they will have on the industry? Also what particular strategies do you see coming of these daily contracts that vary from some of the current strategies? Thanks. (Via The Options Insider’s online forum from optionsvoodoo) Hello crew, I was wondering if any of you have a bread and butter income type trade that you put on consistently with little regard to overall market conditions/bias? Whether that be on a weekly or monthly basis where the primary profit driver is theta decay. Also in terms of viewing options skew, what products offer the best way to view and understand skew? Thank you. (Via email from Kyle Bongers) Around the Block: Keeping an eye on Greece and The Fed.

Option Block 156: Greek Tragedy Trading Block: The selloff eased after the bloodbath on Friday. The S&P closed almost completely unchanged today. Still waiting for the Greeks. All-time record lows in the 10- and 30-year bonds. VIX headed to 30...and beyond? A Facebook flow recap. Peak 6 gobbles up the remnants of Pension, creating a new entity, Apex Clearing Corp. Odd Block: Unusual and interesting activity in Research in Motion, Ltd. (RIMM), HollyFrontier Corp. (HFC), and Hansen Medical, Inc. (HNSN). Xpress Block: Newcomer Sean Fitzgerald gets to take hold on the OX reins and discusses the July crude oil technicals, SPX and an upcoming economic report. Around the Block: Greece, Greece and more Greece with a side of Saganaki.

Option Block 155: The Long and Winding Road to Nowhere   Trading Block: Given the end of month, it was a strange seesaw-like day on the market. Facebook is actually going up, closing today at $29.53. There is a lot of opportunity in those options. Commodities movers today included crude oil, natural gas, soy meal, oats, soybeans, wheat, coffee and lumber. But who could forget about bond? Gold and silver rundown.  Xpress Block: Tim Navabi takes the OX seat and talks first about the Corzine Rule being proposed for futures brokers, and then the number tomorrow. Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw's strategy and story from today are about adjustments of trades. Around the Block: Again, the big number tomorrow - if you fail to prepare, be prepared to fail. Election in Greece later this month. Check out the Facebook options survey results posted on theoptionsinsider.com