The Option Block

Trading Block: OCC announced total cleared contract volume for the month of January was up four percent from January 2015 with 371,870,087 contracts, marking the third highest January on record. CBOE announced that it plans to list S&P 500 Index (SPX) Wednesday - expiring Weeklys options beginning February 23, 2016. ISE Mercury to launch on February 16, 2016. Earnings today after the bell: Options on Google parent Alphabet Inc were busy on Monday ahead of the its quarterly results that could help it unseat Apple Inc as the most valuable company in the world.

Odd Block: Calls trade in The Kroger Co. (KR), calls and puts trade in Twitter Inc . (TWTR), and calls and puts trade in PVH Corp (PVH)

Strategy Block: Tosaw discusses the knockout collar.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from JDon - Congrats on your milestone. Howd you get such a cool handle?

Around the Block: Earnings!

• Tuesday - Chipolte Mexican Grill, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Merck & Company, Sirius, UPS, Yahoo
• Wednesday - CBOE Holdings, Exelon Corporation, General Motors Company, GoPro Inc., Pfizer
• Thursday - ConocoPhillips (before), Intercontinental Exchange (before), LinkedIn (after)
• Friday - CME Group Inc.

Trading Block: Earnings!

• Ford
• Alibaba
• Amazon - rocking and rolling!

Odd Block: Calls trade in ICICI Bank Ltd (IBN), calls trade in Abbott Laboratories (ABT), and call buyers in JA Solar Holding Co. (JASO)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from BillyMo - Hey, any new updates with after hours options trading on earnings stocks?
• Question from NVid - The junk bond market is melting down and interest rates are hovering around zero. Is the best place to find income these days via options writing rather than investing in fixed income or related products?

Around the Block: More earnings! How did AMZN do? What about EA? Will OPEC and Russia trust each other?

Trading Block: Earnings today before the bell

• Hess Corp.
• ConocoPhillips fell at least 6.1 percent.
• Banks retraced their best rally in more than a month Friday, with Bank of America Corp. down 3.1 percent.
• McDonalds Corp. gained after the fast-food giant earnings beat analysts forecasts as all-day breakfast helped fuel U.S. sales.

The Fed begins a two-day meeting tomorrow. The probability of a rate increase this week has stayed low after the December liftoff, and chances of a March boost have fallen to one-in-four from even odds at the start of the year.

Odd Block: Calls trade in Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY), and calls and puts trade in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Sean - What is the characteristic for trading options when the price nears even strike levels?

Around the Block: Earnings!

• Tuesday - Apple Inc., AT&T, Procter & Gamble
• Wednesday - Facebook
• Thursday - Amazon, Electronic Arts, Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, Alibaba Group Holdings, Xerox Corporation

• Friday - Google

Trading Block: Stocks rebound as Dow up more than 200 points and oil jumps 5%. Wall Street pay takes a hit, braces for deeper cuts. Yellen to keep Fed rate options open amid turbulent markets. Earnings today (Thursday):

• Before the bell: Southwest Airlines, Verizon Communications
• After the bell: American Express Company, E-Trade Financial Corporation

Odd Block: Calls trade in NewCastle Investment Corp. (NCT), puts trade in Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC), and calls trade in United Parcel Service, Inc (UPS)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from AV56 - When is a good time to start trading options? Is there any certain time of the week or year that options traders are focused on?
• Question from Bob - I have heard pros sat that when too many retail jump into a trade then do the opposite. Does that apple to options as well?
• Question from Nina - Is this a good time to buy calls on indexes? If so, how far out should I trade?

Around the Block: Earnings! Friday - General Electric Company

Trading Block: U.S. stocks rally from 3-Month lows as energy, healthcare lead. Goldman plans to cut up to 10% of fixed-income traders, salespeople. Before the bell: JP Morgan Chase. What crisis? JPMorgan Chase reports $5.4 billion profit. After the bell: Intel Corporation. ATM Straddle - $1.45, ADV 72K contracts, today: 115K.

Odd Block: Puts trade in Fiat Chrysler Auto NV (FCAU), calls trade in KKR and Co. LLP (KKR), and calls trade in Blackstone Group (BX)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Kddidy - Thanks for answering my questions! I want to protect a stock position with puts at a strike 2% below market but there is not a strike there. I thought of dividing my purchase between two different strikes to get an average of 2% but I do not want all the guys to call me stupid. Mom always said I was a genius but it is hard to feel like one when buying something called a Put Stupid. What should I do instead? Regards, Mr. Smart
• Question from Mark B. - How would u have structured the short stock hedged by long calls trade that made 10 milly on OB 477?

Around the Block: Earnings season kicks off: The Big Banks: Citigroup Inc., Blackrock, PNC Financial, US Bancorp, and Wells Fargo and Company

Trading Block: Last week was the worst start to a trading year in history. An early rally lost steam later in the session. Intra day S&P high - 1935. Does the lack of IPOs signal a looming recession? Fear makes oil options increasingly expensive.

Odd Block: 1-by-2 call spread in The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), buy to close short in Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA), and bullish risk reversal in Powershares QQQ Trust (QQQ).

Strategy Block: Tosaw discusses the importance of "drawing a line in the sand" and having a plan.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Pepe - Who is paper?

Around the Block: This Week in the Market

• Alcoa kicks off another round of quarterly earnings on Monday and there are several economic reports worth nothing particularly on Friday.
• Jan 12: JOLTS
• Jan 13: Beige Book, Treasury Budget
• Jan 14: Jobless Claims
• Jan 15: PPI, Retail Sales and Consumer Sentiment

Trading Block: Hysterics are creeping back into the market in the New Year. This question seems to be popping up all over the place this week. Is this 2008 all over again? Chinas 29 minutes of chaos: stunned brokers and a race to sell. Apple Inc. said App Store billings topped a record $20 billion in 2015, but growth from the business appeared to slow even as the company introduced apps on new devices such as Apple TV and Apple Watch. The selloff continues - Apple broke $100 for the first time since Oct 2014 - barring the brief selloff in August. Apple crossed the $200B cash level last summer - but also about $50B in debt. Apple cash per share: $3.79

Odd Block: Calls trading in SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), calls trade in CONSOL Energy Inc (CNX), and puts roll in Weatherford International PLC (WFT)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Charlie C. - Do second order greeks have any relevance for retail traders?
• Question from 777 - How do you adjust your options trading for cheap stocks below $10.

Around the Block: Earnings! Another quiet earnings week. The fourth-quarter earnings season begins in mid-January. Thursday - Bed, Bath & Beyond (after bell), The Container Store (after bell). The market kicks off its first week of 2016 with several economic reports including Fed minutes on Wednesday and the jobs report on Friday.

Trading Block: OCC 2015 cleared contract volume third highest ever at 4.2B. Options traders adding to bullish bets on Europe stocks for 2016. Stocks plunge as Dow tumbles about 420; S&P falls below 2,000.

• Odd Block “Best of” 2015: Weird trade of the year - 11/30/15 - Put rolls and calls going up in Ascena Retail Group Inc (ASNA)
• Loser of the year - 6/1/15 - Possible upside Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) butterfly.
• Most ironic winner of the year - 10/26/15 - Mens Wearhouse (MW) buy call/sell stock.

Strategy Block: Tosaw discusses what to do if you are selling a put and the market goes against you.

Around the Block: This Week in the Market.

• The market kicks off its first week of 2016 with several economic reports including Fed minutes on Wednesday and the jobs report on Friday.
• Jan 4: Construction Spending
• Jan 6: International Trade, Factory Orders and FOMC Minutes
• Jan 7: Jobless Claims
• Jan 8: Unemployment

Originally posted on December 24th, 2014, we bring you "The Most Epic Strategy Block Ever"

Trading Block: A shortened holiday week, so not much is moving on the street. Upside move in Taser. Facebook and Amazon.

Odd Block: Calls trade in Cobalt International Energy (CIE), opening calls trade in U.S. Bancorp (USB), and calls going up in Alibaba Holding Group Ltd (BABA).

Xpress Block: Another new tool is being rolled out by OX - IRIS.

Strategy Block: In the spirit of the season, Uncle Mike presents The Twelve Rules of Options Trading!

Around the Block: Have a wonderful holiday week everyone!

Trading Block: The S&P 500 surged 2.8 percent last week, buoyed by gains in oil and raw-material companies, some of the year’s least-loved stocks. VIX jumped 14 percent Monday to 17.91. Oil led an early retreat among commodities Monday, sliding more than 3 percent from a three-week high as Iran repeated its goal of boosting exports after sanctions on the country are lifted.

Odd Block: Calls trading in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), calls trade in Franklin Resources Inc (BEN), puts trade in Zillow Group, Inc. Class C (Z)

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses evaluating your overall financial portfolio.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Nelson - This is question is for Andrew from Maine. During my morning run yesterday I was listening to Episode 484. At the 14:10 minute mark Andrew mentioned a strategy that the end result was that money from one IRA account was moved to a different IRA account. I listened to that portion of the podcast a few times but just could not quite understand the strategy. Could you please help me understand this strategy? Thanks for any help you could give me. Also, thanks so much for the podcast. I travel 30 minutes each way to work and it is very educational. Thanks, Nelson.

Around the Block: No quarterly reports of note are scheduled for this holiday-shortened week. After the first of the year, Walgreens and Monsanto are among those set to report. The fourth-quarter earnings season begins in mid-January.