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Bulls Target Coca Cola and Silver Options

Bulls Target Coca Cola and Silver Options

What do a soft-drink giant and a precious metal fund have in common? They both have bullish options trades today, that's what. Let's start with Coca-Cola (KO). The soda maker is one of the few members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average with a gain so far this year or...

Is This Precious Metal Too Cheap?

Is This Precious Metal Too Cheap?

Political uncertainty and economic jitters have lifted precious metals recently. But which has more upside potential? Silver futures (@SI) are trading near their cheapest ratio to gold futures (@GC) in over 16 years. History may suggest their valuation gap will narrow...

Market Jitters Are Lifting Gold Miners

Market Jitters Are Lifting Gold Miners

Gold miners are the only winners in this market as mounting worries drive investors to the ultimate safety play. The Dow Jones US Gold Miner Index ($DJUSPM) has gained 5 percent in the last month. That makes the best performer -- and only real gainer -- of more than...

Bears Keep the Pressure on Struggling Blue Chip

Bears Keep the Pressure on Struggling Blue Chip

Options traders are sticking with one of the most consistent trends in the last two years. They're betting against a stock that once ruled the roost in global markets. General Electric (GE), once the world's most valuable company, has lost more than half its value...

Suddenly Vultures Circle in the Credit Market

Suddenly Vultures Circle in the Credit Market

The Federal Reserve has everyone talking about hawks and doves this week. But another kind of bird may be swooping in: vultures. Recent headlines suggest credit markets are getting squeezed. This could create bearish opportunities for traders willing to play buzzard...

How Low Can Oil Go?

How Low Can Oil Go?

Energy just had its worst month in decades, and the bears are still in control. Crude oil futures (@CL) dropped 7.2 percent yesterday, their biggest decline in over three weeks. Not only did they break under the psychologically key $50 level, @CL also closed at the...

Bearish Leverage at Work In Energy Space: Options Recap

Bearish Leverage at Work In Energy Space: Options Recap

Give me leverage, or give me death. That was the message from a big options trade yesterday. Transocean (RIG) has plenty of leverage on its own. Over $9 billion of debt and $2.3 billion of cash plants it firmly in the junkyard of bond ratings. ("B3" at Moody's.) As an...

Bad News Hammered Several Key Stocks Last Week

Bad News Hammered Several Key Stocks Last Week

No, it wasn't a nightmare. There was a lot of bad news on a lot of companies last week. At least five of the 30 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped amid some kind of bearish headline: Apple (AAPL): Wall Street analysts continued to hammer the...

The Mood in Growth Stocks Seems to Brighten

The Mood in Growth Stocks Seems to Brighten

After months of negativity, sentiment may be brightening in technology stocks and the Nasdaq-100. As covered on Market Insights, these "growth" oriented parts of the market lost their mojo late in the summer and then led a selloff in October. But some potential...