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Options
Master Options in Chicago This Month!

Master Options in Chicago This Month!

Are you getting everything you should out of the stock market? If you don't trade options, the answer is probably "no." Everyone has excuses: "Options are too complicated." "They have confusing Greek letters." "They have time decay and may expire worthless." We've...

Bulls Want a Gusher from South American Oil Giant

Bulls Want a Gusher from South American Oil Giant

Brazil's ripping this week, and today's biggest options trade is following the trend. Check out the bullish call spread this morning in oil giant Petrobras (PBR), the country's largest company by market cap: A block of 130,000 October 16 calls was bought for $0.28....

The Message Behind Yesterday’s Volatility Spike

The Message Behind Yesterday’s Volatility Spike

Yesterday was a reminder for traders who forgot what volatility feels like. The S&P 500 had its biggest drop since June 25, and Cboe's Volatility Index ($VIX.X) had its biggest spike over the same period. Even more impressive, TradeStation data showed 23.6 million...

How Long Can the Party Last in This Latin Lender?

How Long Can the Party Last in This Latin Lender?

Brazil is en fuego, as Market Insights highlighted yesterday. But this session options traders are fading the rally in a key name. Itau Unibanco (ITUB), the country's biggest lender, is up 7.49 percent to $12.34 in afternoon trading. The gains come amid optimism that...

Suddenly Another Global Name Is Moving

Suddenly Another Global Name Is Moving

Attention has focused heavily on China, Italy and NAFTA. But suddenly today another part of the world is in play. The iShares Brazil ETF (EWZ) rallied 6 percent today and has gained 8 percent in the last week. That places it well ahead of the S&P 500 and other...

Master Options at Our Power Session This Month

Master Options at Our Power Session This Month

Are you getting everything you should out of the stock market? If you don't trade options, the answer is probably "no." Everyone has excuses: "Options are too complicated." "They have confusing Greek letters." "They have time decay and may expire worthless." We've...

Options Are Moving in This Forgotten Space

Options Are Moving in This Forgotten Space

Biotechnology's quietly coming to life, and options traders are flocking to one of the biggest names in the space. Want to learn more about options? Sign up for our "Options Stars 2018" symposium in Chicago this month. Call volume is spiking in Gilead Sciences (GILD)...

Traders Try to Catch a Falling Knife: Options Recap

Traders Try to Catch a Falling Knife: Options Recap

Someone's trying to call a bottom in one of the market's worst-performing stocks. General Electric (GE) has lost more than half its value in the last two years, landing it at the bottom of the S&P 500's rankings over that time frame. It would also be the top loser...

Options 101: Hedging With Ratio Spreads

Options 101: Hedging With Ratio Spreads

This post is part of an educational series on equity derivatives. Want to learn more? Sign up for our Options Stars 2018 symposium in Chicago next month. Sometimes I love trading options so much I forget they were invented to be used in tandem with stocks. This post...