Xpress Block: We have special guest co-host: Barry Metzger, CEO of optionsXpress. He discusses:

• The latest developments at OX.
• Interesting platform upgrades and tech overhauls
• What are the OX clients trading during the height of earnings season?
• Any interesting customer questions/feedback?

Trading Block: Options Traders Brace for Amazon Earnings. Amazon at $612.60. ATM straddle $49, approx. 8%. LinkedIn Corporation - $123. ATM straddle $16.20, approx. 13%. Earnings before the bell: CME, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, Honda Motor Company, MasterCard Incorporated, MSCI Inc, Time Warner Cable, United Parcel Service, Viacom Inc. It was a rough week for Apple - $96.20 today. Stock crushed post-earnings, opened down $8.35 or 8%. Icahn bails out on Apple stock. Nasdaq mulls new exchange to ease trading in illiquid ETFs.

Odd Block: Calls trade in Methanex Corp (MEOH), calls and stock trade in Ebay Inc. (EBAY), and calls trade in KKR and Co. (KKR).

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Mohammed - Hi Mark! The Options Insider website is superb resource for new and experienced options traders. I know your weekly newsletter you folks you report significant/unusual done options trading activity across stock and ETFs. After searching on your site and overall online, I have found it quite difficult to locate a website which details some of the terminology used when describing the large blocks traded (e.g. "price variation"). If you could compile a glossary or an overview of how to view/assess options order flow that would be excellent. Keep up the great work! Thanks.
• Question from Maha - How difficult is it to become a successful options day trader?

Around the Block: A review of after-hours prices for LNKD, AMZN. Earnings parade continues with CBOE and XOM. Will the Icahn dump of AAPL have a longer-term impact. Central bank flim flammery.

Trading Block: Stocks drop ahead of earnings onslaught. Traders may just be forced to unwind all those VIX bets.

• Earnings today before the bell: Xerox, Haliburton
• Earnings today after the bell: The Container Store
• AAPL - ATM straddle: $4.90, approx. 4.6%
• FB - ATM straddle: $8, approx. 7.2%
• AMZN - ATM straddle: $49.50, approx. 7.9%

Odd Block: Calls trade in Health Care SPDR (XLV), calls trade in BankRate Inc. (RATE), and calls trade in Dollar Tree Inc (DTLR)

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses dollar cost averaging.

Around the Block: Earnings!

• Tuesday - Apple, Fiat Chrysler, 3M Company, Ally Financial, Buffalo Wild Wings, Canon, Chipolte Mexican Grill, ebay, Eli Lilly & Co, Hershey Company, JetBlue, Office Depot, Panera, Procter & Gamble, Spirit Air, Whirlpool
• Wednesday - Facebook, Boeing, Hilton, Nasdaq, Six Flags, Speedway Motorsports,
• Thursday - Amazon (after bell), Ford Motor Company (before bell), CME (before bell), Coca-Cola (before bell)
• Also, the Fed breaks from its two-day policy meeting Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET and investors around the globe will be watching to see what the U.S. central bank says about the timing of its next interest rate.

Trading Block: Earnings!

• Thursday - (Before the Bell): General Motors Company, Southwest Airlines, Under Armour, Verizon Communications; (After the Bell): Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., E*Trade Financial Company, Starbucks Corporation, Visa Inc.
• MSFT - $56, ATM Straddle $2.37 - approx. 4.2%
• GOOG - $756.40, ATM Straddle $41.50 - approx. 5.5%
• SBUX - $60.77, ATM Straddle $2.25 - approx. 3.7%

Odd Block: Call spread buyers in Marathon Petroleum Corp (MRO), call buying in Tronox Ltd (TROX), and paper buying in Kilroy Realty Corp (KRC)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Nick C.: Heard any chatter about CME or CBOE leaving Chicago?
• Question from Bob: Is the options market the most transparent financial marketplace?
• Question from Willy: What does the Option Block crew think of the TOS platform? Do you like it for pricing volatility and analyzing the Greeks?

Around the Block: Earnings on Friday - American Airlines, Caterpillar, General Electric Company, Honeywell International, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, McDonald's Corporation.

This Week in the Market:

• Monday - National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index
• Tuesday - Commerce Department releases new figures
• Wednesday - National Association of Realtors existing home sales data
• Thursday - Weekly jobless claims from the Labor Department

Interview Block: Today we are joined by special guest Mal Clissold President and Owner of SCC Capital Group, LLC. We discuss:

• How frequently and with what percentage do they delve into the individual stock world?
• What positions do you have that are designed to protect and potentially profit against a major one-day move?
• What kind of fund does he run?
• How does he control risk for his positions?
• What attracts him to a short vol position? What does he have on that he really likes right now?

Trading Block: Earnings today after the bell: Netflix. Earnings today before the bell: PepsiCo, Hasbro, Morgan Stanley. Options traders brace for another big move for Netflix shares. Stocks to Watch: Pepsi, Chiasma, Hasbro, Morgan Stanley.

Odd Block: Calls trade in The Carlye Group LP (CG), giant call roll in - Western Gas Partners, LP (WES), and upside calls trade in - AK Steel Holdings Corp (AKS).

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses the importance of diversification.

Around the Block: Earnings!

• Tuesday - Intel Corporation, Discover Financial Services, Goldman Sachs, Interactive Brokers Group, Johnson & Johnson, TD Ameritrade, Yahoo, Inc.
• Wednesday - Coca-Cola Company, Abbott Laboratories, American Express Company, Mattel
• Thursday - Before: General Motors Company, Southwest Airlines, Under Armour, Verizon Communications; After: Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., E*Trade Financial Company, Starbucks Corporation, Visa Inc.
• Friday - American Airlines, Caterpillar, General Electric Company, Honeywell International, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, McDonald's Corporation

Trading Block: U.S. stocks fluctuate on earnings a crude oil retreats with gold. CITI before the bell tomorrow. Stock = $45, ATM straddle - $1.40 / approx. 3%. CME traders say chances of April interest rate hike are zero. Earnings: Thursday (all before bell) - Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Delta Air Lines, PNC Financial Services, BlackRock.

Odd Block: Calls trade in Kate Spade Inc (KATE), puts trade in Seagate Technology PLC (STX), and calls trade in Freeport-McMoran (FCX)

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from AJ M. - I hope you guys can calm my frayed nerves over this DOL thing. What exactly is going on? Am I not going to be able to sell calls in my IRA anymore? Since the vast majority of my assets are in retirement accounts this would be a HUGE hit to my savings. Please tell me this is not the case. Is there anything I as a retail stock and options trader can do to help prevent this? What if I open an international trading account? Would that do the trick? Help - I need you guys to talk me off the ledge.
• Question from Jeremy M. - Hey Folks: I thought this might be a great question for The Option Block: Would you mind talking about the "Limit Order Display Rule: Exchange Act Rule 11Ac1-4." How it can help the retail investor? How the rule is applied to SPX and VIX options? When reading the actual rule, it can get a bit confusing because its talking about "odd lots" and "block size order," etc. Would be good to get your take on it. Perhaps the Rock Lobster may have an interesting perspective as a former market maker. Great program! Cheers, JM

Around the Block: This Week in the Market

• Apr 15: Consumer Sentiment
• Earnings on Friday - Citigroup

Trading Block: The fear gauge just hit an all-time high. Turbulence for Delta Air Lines, Inc.: Two earnings trades for DAL stock. Under Armor selling off over 5% today, and over 50% since last week. Earnings today after the bell: Alcoa, Bank of the Ozarks

Odd Block: Calls trade in SPDR GLD Gold Trust (GLD), puts trade Avon Products, Inc (AVP), and calls trade in Steel Dynamic, Inc (STLD)

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw selling a call spread against a stock you own vs. selling a covered call.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Twitter Conversation/Question from @4tee7 - Time to heavy my position $UA #masters #jordanspeith #chef #curry #goldenstate #dubnation. ‎‏@jfhotte Apr 8 @4tee7 UA was overbought already before the split. I see the stock @ 38$ next week @4tee7 3h3 hours ago @jfhotte, good call (sold the class c shares before I felt too much pain), get back into class A once the dust settles $ua @4tee7 I do not understand man... My puts premium at 1.5 day before split.. Today stock is down 4.5% and my option is worth 1.4 ...thoughts? @jfhotte I got nothing, you should collecting on that one??? Is there a trade cost (whose the broker)? @4tee7 what I got after split UA1160715P70 (UA1) it is up only 15% today while the stock down 5%, does not make sense.. @sellputs @Options @jfhotte @sellputs @Options let me know when you find out, I am curious
• Question from Fayecuzername - Hey all, quick question. I am a hopium addict at times. Andrew discussed puts and stock, rolling down the put as the stock drops. Is the play to buy stock with the proceeds and dollar cost average or use the proceeds on another trade? This assumes you continue to like the stock. Thanks, you all are my trading methadone.

Around the Block: There is still time to make IRA contributions

Trading Block: Today we are joined by Nick Howard, Founder & CEO of Bantix Technologies, LLC, and creator of QuikStrike. Stocks tumble amid choppy start to April; Dow drops more than 150. OCC gratified by changes to DOL fiduciary rule that benefit users of listed options. Ally Financial jumps into brokerage business. Earnings: Thursday - Rite Aid, CarMax, ConAgra Foods (all before bell).

Odd Block: Calls trade in Crown Castle Inter. (CCI), calls and puts trade in iPath S&P 500 VIX mid term futures (VXZ), and calls trade in PowerShares DB US Dollar index ETF (UUP).

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments.

• March Madness Poll: TradeKing was the final winner. Also, big congratulation to all our contest winners.
• Question from MJHill - Earnings season is approaching. What are your views on using an ATM long straddle as an earnings play? I plan on buying the ATM straddle about a week before earnings and closing the position the day before earnings are released. I am hoping to make some money on the increased volatility that comes immediately before earnings, but would like to hear your opinions.

Around the Block: This Week in the Market: The first full week of April and of the new quarter gets under way as the Federal Reserve releases the minutes from its last session. A new round of quarterly earnings is not far off.

Trading Block: March Madness Poll - Winner: TradeKing, which (beat Interactive Brokers in the finals. Drawing winners will be announced on Thursday's Option Block. An update on March options activity from ISE. OCC cleared contract volume up 4% in March. CME Group notches record ADV in Q1, while FX volumes fall. Stocks to Watch: Apple, Tesla, Alaska Air, Intel, Brocade.

Odd Block: Calls trade in Nike Inc. (NKE), calls trade in KKR & Co. (KKR), and calls trade in Reynolds American, Inc (RAI).

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses the importance of knowing your exit in a trade before your entrance.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Bruno - Unusual activity in CPD puts. The customer bought and the stock rallied the next day. Does UA actually predict anything?

Around the Block: Earnings!

• Tuesday - Walgreen's, Darden Restaurants, International Speedway Corporation
• Wednesday - Bed, Bath & Beyond, Constellation Brands, Monsanto Company
• Thursday - Rite Aid, CarMax, Con Agra Foods

This Week in the Market:

• The first full week of April and of the new quarter gets under way as the Federal Reserve releases the minutes from its last session. A new round of quarterly earnings is not far off.
• Apr 4: Factory Orders
• Apr 5: International Trade, JOLTS
• Apr 6: FOMC Minutes
• Apr 7: Jobless Claims

Trading Block: March Madness Poll - Vote today for TradeKing or E*Trade to find out who will go to the finals against Interactive Brokers, who beat OptionsHouse to make the final round. Stocks higher as the end to a rocky quarter nears. Yellen killed the strong dollar rally.

Stocks to watch:

• Tesla – new electric Model 3 unveiled today. A modest rally for Tesla – up only 5% intraday.
• Lululemon – earnings announced yesterday and stock looks good, trading up about 10% post-earnings.

Odd Block: Calls and puts trade in Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX), calls trade in SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB), and calls and puts trade in Pure Storage, Inc. (PSTG).

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Gabe Rich: Mark, this is weird; huge buys for $INTC Apr 33 calls and the IV goes down?! I thought the market makers will push the price up when more buyers are around demand/supply. Thanks, I thought you might explain this since you are a former $INTC market maker.
• Question from 777 - with commodity based ETF options - anyway to trade roll risk?
• Question from Flyguy - If I sold a put $1 on Jan 16 with a current trading price of $.50 and stock goes to $5 -what happens and what is my risk?

Around the Block: What's coming up in the week ahead?

• Thursday - The USDA Prospective Plantings report will provide the official estimate on what farmers across the United States are planting this year.
• Friday, April 1 - The biggest economic release of the month, the Employment Situation Report, will hit newswires before the market opens on Friday.
• Earnings: Blackberry

Trading Block: A bull market in the S&P 500 goes AWOL as history rewards patience. Could Jan. 1, 2018 become the next "Perfect Banking Storm"? Appeals court upholds determination that CBOE patents are invalid. Stocks to Watch: Pandora, Avon, GameStop, Cal-Maine

Odd Block: Selling paper in The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Aug call buyer in iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 20 ETF (FXI), and strange seller in Pinnacle Foods Inc. (PF)

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses diagonal call spreads.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Mike G. - Hello, Mike here. My father got me into selling covered calls by keeping me interested in his trading as a child. Recently, I started learning about other strategies and started listening to programs on the options insider radio network. Thanks. I recently convinced my father to use collars as opposed to simple covered calls, and I am starting to use long deep in the money leaps instead of stock to cover my calls. I have two questions. Given that I can use calls to cover my calls, is there any benefit to owning the underlying? Thanks a lot.
• Comment from Fayecuzername - Listened to episode 509 today. The listener question about Viceroys favorite Andrew butterfly answer is from episode 389. In the mail block I asked about a fly on expiration date and Andrew set me straight.

Around the Block: Earnings!

• Tuesday - Dave & Busters
• Wednesday - Lululemon Athletica, Micron Technology, Carnival Corporation, Paychex.
• Friday - BlackBerry.

This Week in the Market:

• Tuesday - Janet Yellen speech to the Economic Club of New York
• Thursday - The USDA Prospective Plantings report will provide the official estimate on what farmers across the United States are planting this year.
• Friday, April 1 - The biggest economic release of the month, the Employment Situation Report, will hit newswires before the market opens on Friday.