Banks & Miners gained in Europe

demeanor — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:33:07 -0700

Stocks in Europe rose as banks and miners gained, but Greece's fate capped further gains on equities. Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin, said: "What we are seeing today is some respite from what has been a fairly steady bout of profit taking which produced oversold conditions. Although quite a lot of the earnings have been supportive for the market, investors seem to be focusing on what is happening in Greece and looking for some detail on the assistance that the European Union members might provide."

France the CAC 40 climbed 10 points to 3,609 while the German DAX improved by 10 points to 5,511. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent.

CDTV.net Stock Market News and Dividend Report for Monday Dec 28, 2009

cdtvdotnet — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:18:25 -0700

The Board of Directors of Edison International (NYSE: EIX) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.315 per share, payable January 31, 2010, to shareholders of record on December 31, 2009. This action increases the annual dividend from $1.24 per share to $1.26 per share.

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of electric energy in central, coastal, and southern California.
***
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) has declared a dividend of 15 cents per share, payable January 29, 2010, to shareholders of record on December 31, 2009.

This marks the 393rd consecutive cash dividend issued by the Company. Dow has paid its shareholders cash dividends every quarter since 1912.

The Dow Chemical Company engages in the manufacture and sale of chemicals, plastic materials, agricultural, and other specialized products and services worldwide.
***
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) (NYSE: OFC) announced that its Board of Trustees has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3925 per Common Share. The dividend will be paid on January 15, 2010 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2009.

Corporate Office Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the acquisition, development, ownership, management, and leasing of suburban office properties.
***
The Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.28 a share on common stock, payable February 1, 2010, to stockholders of record on December 31, 2009.

Deere & Company provides products and services primarily for agriculture and forestry worldwide.
***
The Board of Directors of Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.29 per common share of Class A stock. This dividend is payable on January 13, 2010, to stockholders of record as of December 30, 2009.

Kraft Foods Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets packaged food products and grocery products worldwide.
***
***
For more information, visit www.cdtv.net
Disclosure: No positions

30 High Yielding Option Write Ideas for November's Option Expiration Friday

optionmaestro — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:51:05 -0700

In a previous OptionMaestro.com post, I outlined 30 stocks which I wouldn't mind going long at these levels. I wrote about getting long the stocks by using the buy-write option strategy. This is an updated post to that one, adjusting the strikes and prices accordingly for options expiration today. It is very important to write the shares out as early as possible as volatility rushes into the market in the morning, and not wait for it to start decreasing rapidly in the afternoon. It's not too late to get premium out of many of these stocks, and writing them for just a day decreases risk greatly. I will look to be purchasing some of the stocks mentioned below during pre-market or near market open to write out within an hour of the opening bell. As I've stated, I don't mind holding any of these stocks long which is why I'll be using this strategy today. If I get called out I won't mind because I'll still make money. Below is the list of stocks, the potential return if exercised, and downside protection if they do not get exercised. To learn more about the buy/write option strategy, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

Note that higher beta securities return higher percentages due to their levels of implied volatility, and because they are riskier.

To understand the table, I will give a detailed example of Option Maestro favorite Suntech Power (STP) below.

Sell the at-the-money STP November 16 strike call option. The premium received from the call option would give a downside protection of 1.56%. If the stock closes above 16 (it will get assigned) today the total return from this position would be 1.63% in just 6.5 trading hours.

30 Option Write Ideas for November's Option Expiration

optionmaestro — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:44:24 -0700

With the November options expiration approaching us Friday, I thought I would outline some trade ideas on stocks I wouldn't mind going long on, that would return good percentages by Friday (as of market close Friday November 13, 2009). When using the buy/write option strategy, it is important that you are willing to hold the security in case it is below the strike price at options expiration. I have put together a list of 30 stocks which will return a nice percentage gain if they are above the strike price as of November options expiration, but will also protect (lower cost basis) to the downside in case the stock sells off slightly and expires below the strike price. The list below is a very tall one, and for your convenience I have ranked the securities in order from the largest potential % return to the least. To get a better understanding of stock options and different option strategies please check out my Simplified Stock Option Trading E-Books.

Note that higher beta securities return higher percentages due to their levels of implied volatility, and because they are riskier.

To understand the table, I will give a detailed example on Suntech Power (STP) below. Also note STP Reports earnings Thursday which will give even more implied volatility and a higher premium to the call options.

Sell the Suntech Power November 14 strike call option. The premium received from the call option would give a downside protection of 4.01%. If the stock is assigned at options expiration on November 21, 2009 the total return from this position would be 6.05% in 5 trading days.

Wedges Tell Stories Of 3 Major Markets

theWild1 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:55:35 -0700

For most chartists, users of technical analysis, the wedge is a pretty common and favorite pattern for most. Mainly because the flight of a stock price conforms nicely to how they move. Combine that with easy to notice price targets and stop points, you can start to understand why people love the pattern so much [...]

22 More Earnings Season Option Strategies

optionmaestro — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:00:04 -0600

In my blog post Monday I listed a few stocks which I would be willing to go long by selling the puts right before the stock reported earnings. If you missed it you can view the details here. As indicated I took positions on Apple (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk (SNDK), Walter Energy (WLT), and Yahoo! (YHOO). The first three have been closed for quick profits (excluding the Apple calls), and I will look to close my positions on the latter three Wednesday Morning. In this post, I will lay out some trades for Thursday, Friday, and Monday (October: 22, 23, and 26).

To reiterate my previous blog post:

In this post, I will outline an option strategy that I use particularly during earnings season. This will put money in my pocket up front, give me a chance to purchase the stock for less than it's trading for now, and also give me gains if the stock moves even higher. I must note that this strategy could lose money if the stock moves much lower after results and you get the stock PUT to you at expiration (or in the rare case of an early exercise). This post requires the knowledge of stock options. To learn more about the option strategies outlined in this post, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click http://optionmaestro.blogspot.com/2009/07/over-500-option-e-books-sold-a...
....

Earnings Season Option Strategies

optionmaestro — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:56:05 -0600

To reiterate my previous blog post:

22 More Earnings Season Option Strategies

optionmaestro — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:24:26 -0600

To reiterate my previous blog post:

Equity Markets Trading Flat to Lower

Futureshound — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:02:48 -0600

U.S. equity futures are expected to open flat to lower based on weak pre-market trading. A shift in demand for higher risk assets early this morning is leading some traders to take a little money off the table.

The Dow closed over the psychological 10,000 level yesterday for the first time in a year. What does this mean? Nothing. The market is disconnected from the economy at this time and being driven higher by momentum and money managers chasing stocks. Technically, it appears to be closer to a high than another buying opportunity.

Two Major Technical Forces Are About to Collide in the S&P 500 (new video)

inobrad — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:28:21 -0600

The S&P 500 has seen remarkable recovery from the lows that were seen earlier this year. However, all of that may come to an end as we fast approach a strategic level for this market. There are two major technical indicators that are colliding at a crucial point and time. Unless you’re aware of these indicators, it could be very expensive.

In today's short video, I explain both the technical indicators we are discussing and also the important time frame that we are just about to enter.

I think you will find today’s video not only interesting, but also educational.

There is no need to register for this video and of course you can watch it with my compliments. I highly recommend watching this video today, otherwise you risk missing out on what could be the move of the year.

Enjoy the video and please give us your feedback on this blog.

All the best,
Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-creator, MarketClub

Markets Start Week Up Slightly

ttfrenzy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:50:13 -0600

Today, the Nasdaq saw 11 month highs as the markets once again posted decent gains. The Dow inched back even closer to 9500 while the S&P broke 1,025 and the Nasdaq reached 2037. Following Labor Day, markets showed few signs of high volatility as they traded up between .3 and .9 percent for the majority of the day. Stocks were led by the Energy and Basic Materials sectors, both of which traded up more than 2 percent on the day. Health care was one of the flattest sectors today as support for the public option grew again. As we have indicated, the public option sans trigger is the most powerful reform mechanism and would be most detrimental to health care stocks of the proposals currently on the table. Looking ahead, tomorrow night President Obama’s address to a Joint Session of Congress could be important in gauging which direction health reform will take from here and how it will impact the economic prospects of the populace as well as stocks and the health care sector.

SPY (S&P) GROUNDHOG DAY

inthemoneystocks — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:56:41 -0600

Lately it has been very common for the SPY to make a low in the first half of the trading session and move higher throughout the day. This has been the layup trade for months. If the financials are not rallying it is usually the energy stocks. Keep this play until it fails especially in this light volume environment..

12 Quality Stocks Ready to Rally

healthylivinggal — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:28:02 -0600

The historic rally that has lifted the Standard & Poor's 500 index by 50% from its March lows has been led by economically sensitive and lower-quality stocks, including such sectors as financials, basic materials, retailers and industrials.

Great Day on Street Ruined by Terrible After Hours

ttfrenzy — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:12:20 -0600

Today was a great day for the markets but the sunny bright day was ruined by an afterhours reminder that we aren’t out of this recession quite yet. Markets were up the entire day and more notably the Dow finished above 9,000. The Nasdaq managed to make it 12 up days in a row (for the first time since 1992) after today, and the S&P passed 975 as all three indexes rose by more than 2% on the day. The closing prices for the indexes today were the best levels seen since November of last year. Todays jump came with a myriad of news as AT&T and MMM reported better than expected earnings this morning and housing sales were up for the third straight month. AT&T rose 2.6% today while 3M jumped 7.4% after their earnings surprise. But after all the cheering at the closing bell came the bad news. For the rest, see http://fiscalfrenzy.com

20 Option Straddle Ideas for High Beta Stocks & Expected Volatility

optionmaestro — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:13:39 -0600

As stated in Friday's blog post, the Volatility Index (VIX) is below 25 which shows signs of the market stabilizing, however I still believe this market could sell off. Usually as the market sells off the Volatility index increase as the amount of put options surge. However, the market could also continue this rally as earnings may continue to surprise. In either case volatility could increase substantially (as many of the stocks in this analysis will report earnings by August options expiration). So in the case that the volatility increases, a good option strategy to know is the option straddle play.

With the next options expiration being August 22, 2009, I decided to blog about this option strategy. I use the straddle often, but don't blog about it too much. The option straddle requires a solid background in options, as you'll need to know how to purchase both call and put options. continue reading at http://optionmaestro.blogspot.com/2009/07/15-option-straddle-ideas-for-h...

Related Articles

Banks & Miners gained in Europe

CDTV.net Stock Market News and Dividend Report for Monday Dec 28, 2009

30 High Yielding Option Write Ideas for November's Option Expiration Friday

30 Option Write Ideas for November's Option Expiration

Wedges Tell Stories Of 3 Major Markets

22 More Earnings Season Option Strategies

Earnings Season Option Strategies

22 More Earnings Season Option Strategies

Equity Markets Trading Flat to Lower

Two Major Technical Forces Are About to Collide in the S&P 500 (new video)

Markets Start Week Up Slightly

SPY (S&P) GROUNDHOG DAY

12 Quality Stocks Ready to Rally

Great Day on Street Ruined by Terrible After Hours

20 Option Straddle Ideas for High Beta Stocks & Expected Volatility