Friday, November 1, 2013

LEAPs = Weeps


A tonne of books on options trading advise newbies to get into LEAPs, which is what I did at the height of the market in May 2013.  To add insult to injury, I got into the sectors that people didn't rotate into.  

One by one, I've seen these LEAPs turn into weeps for me.  If I had just stuck with buying SPY puts or picking up cheapos on momo stocks, I might even be doing better today.

Oh, Lord Almighty, I have really, really sinned...

If I can master one thing in trading, it would be to play earnings announcement accurately, profitably, and consistently with options.  I like the fast paced results and adrenaline rush.  It's virtually guaranteed volatility and this is what I need to make money with the strategies I've become accustomed to.  I definitely learned from my sins on AAPL earnings announcement and applied it to my recent FB trades.  I didn't time everything perfectly, but I'm getting a better feel for when there are Naked Call Sellers hiding underneath the covers.  Ooooh, I like those naked market making guys!

I better get this right soon as things are getting tight...

Ever since the government shutdown, I've noticed a dip in business sentiment.  Whilst things were already not easy within my industry, things suddenly feel a lot worse.  I have a sinking feeling that this time, my quote unquote luck might not be there for me to fall back on, so I'm doing all I can to create my own luck.  One guy who told me he wanted to participate in one of my projects suddenly got cold feet, so I'm going to have to pound the pavement again next week in search for a braver soul.  

And oh do I want to put my head on his strong financial shoulders...

Dan and Mike - we've got a date tonight on OptionsAction!  Stick BK and his dark framed glasses on that show once in a while...


-2.02% SBA
-4.06% Roth IRA

+0.45% DJIA
+0.06% Nasdaq
+0.29% S&P 

+0.05% FTSE
-0.25% Eurofirst
-0.88% Nikkei
+0.37% Shanghai
+0.19% Hang Seng

-1.79% WTI
-2.55% Brent
-0.89% Gold
-0.06% Copper
-0.35% Corn

-0.68% EUR/USD
-0.70% GBP/USD
+0.43% USD/JPY

0.92 Put / Call Ratio

+1.04% DJT
-3.42% VIX

0.130 Treasurys | DTCC GCF Repo Index
0.141 MBS | DTCC GCF Repo Index

+4.41% 5-Year US Treasury Notes
+3.07% 10-Year US Treasury Notes

44% Advancing Issues on NYSE                           |   54% Up Volume
53% Declining Issues on NYSE                            |   44% Down Volume
3% Unchanged                                                 |   2% Unchanged
103 New Highs   |   23 New Lows

39% Advancing Issues on Nasdaq                        |   51% Up Volume
57% Declining Issues on Nasdaq                         |   48% Down Volume
3% Unchanged                                                 |   1% Unchanged
95 New Highs   |   52 New Lows


Today's Major Headlines

Forex Trade Probe Spreads Across The Globe

Nasdaq Options Market Halted




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