I must feel I’m aging or something. For the first time I added a bond ETF to my portfolio as a mainstay. I’ve always focused on stocks (and their derivatives) as my only asset class outside of cash. The more I mature as an investor, the more I understand diversification means more than just buying…
Closed EXPD Naked Puts Position for a Profit
I made an adjustment to my trading model recently. I used to let all of my positions remain in place until options expiration and take the assignments whenever they were in the money at expiration. I changed that a few months ago and started rolling some before they expired or were assigned. The other part…
Sold UCO October 11 Naked Puts
After babbling on about how I might play ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Crude Oil ETF (NYSE Arca: UCO) after my September UCO naked puts finished in-the-money (ITM) on Friday, when I logged on to TD Ameritrade (AMTD) this morning I saw I had been given a gift. For some reason I didn’t get the option assignment. As I…
S&P 500 Chart – Long Term View
I’m posting a longer term chart of the S&P 500 Index ($SPX.X) as of Friday, September 18, 2009 after the markets closed. The S&P 500 finished the week at 1,068.30. This chart uses monthly data which smoothes out some of the very short term ebbs and flows within the index.
September 2009 Options Expiration
As I wrote about a couple of days ago, I had to make a decision on SSO and took the easy way out. I just gave up on the bad trade. I kept it simple versus trying to manage a short position that I apparently can’t predict. I still think the S&P 500 index will give back some gains…
Sold FWLT October 33 Naked Puts
I’ve sold FWLT naked puts, owned shares and sold covered calls a few times over the past couple of years and I continue to watch it on a fairly regular basis. FWLT had been bumping up against resistance recently on its trend line of higher highs, but broke out this morning on very strong volume. …
My SSO Quandary
I’m looking pretty good going into option expiration Friday for my September puts. My one naked call (SSO) is holding me back though. Here’s what I have in my account right now: Qty Symbol Description -2 +BZDVX BA Oct 50 Put -3 +DSXVV DSX Oct 12.5 Put -3 +URPVF EXPD Oct 30 Put -2 +TVE T…
Dow Jones ($DJI) Chart – Back to Resistance
I charted the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) for the year to date ending Friday, September 11, 2009, with the DJIA at 9,605.41.
9 Stock Picks – September 2009
I’ve gathered nine new stock picks for my September Stock Pick Post from various sources. ATPG – The Wild Investor wrote a bullish post on ATP Oil & Gas Corporation – He posts charts showing how ATPG compares to oil. I see both showing a rising wedge which can be quite bullish in addition to his reasons…