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Week in Review – October 10 – 14, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review


October 10 – 14, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
0  /  1 0 3 0   /   0 0   /   0 0 0

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

October 10 – 14, 2016

This was another one of those weeks in which I had no idea what the week was all about, but I still think that something is brewing.

Again, it’s also a week in which I have no idea whether to be pleased or displeased about this week.

I was pleased to have made an opening position trade and to have been able to roll some positions over, but I was displeased with the performance of existing positions in an otherwise weak time period.

The single new position outperformed the adjusted S&P 500 by 2.2% and the unadjusted S&P 500 by 1.8%.

That position was 0.8% higher for the week, while the unadjusted S&P 500 lost 1.0% and the adjusted S&P 500 was 1.4% lower.

What was good was also the opportunity to rollover the week’s sole expiring position and to also rollover a couple of longstanding positions that have been retracing their price and instead of being in line for assignment next week are now continuing to be income producers for another few months, at least.

That’s OK by me.

There were no new assignments of shares to add to the closed positions in 2016 and, therefore, no new cash to add to the reserves, that i would still like to see grow.

With mostly good news to end the week, the market managed to give up most of the big gain that it had made on the day and ended up the week with a 1% loss.

The bad news on the week, at least as far as investors go is that the odds of an interest rate increase by December is now thought to be about 70%.

Investors don’t seem to like that kind of certainty, nor do they like the kind of opinion that was expressed in the release of the last month’s FOMC meeting.

So, despite good bank earnings, there wasn’t too much to cheer about and the market spent most of the week just following oil back and forth.

With another purchase this week of a speculative position, I was just glad to be able to roll it over and hope to be able to do so again next week.

I was also happy to be able to rollover one of those positions set to expire next week and has been the case for the past year, there was another opportunity to extend the expiration date, this time into 2017.

I had been looking forward to next week’s month ending expiration, but the sudden turn in pricing now makes some of those assignments and rollovers look much less likely.

I’m hopeful that earnings next week may buoy the market which is in need of some kind of a catalyst.

I still have some cash as the week is about to begin and with only one ex-dividend position coming up and perhaps the chance of no rollovers or assignments, I would like to find some way to generate some income.

That of course is balanced with wanting to preserve cash, but I’ve had a hard time resisting some of the recent opportunities.

Most of the time I’ve been happy to have not been able to resist, but there’s still the occasional trade that should have been resisted.

Fortunately, in the past year I’ve become more patient with some of those positions and can wait to make an income generating trade, rather than jumping at a less than appealing trade.

Next week will be a busy one ith earnings and we may also get a more and more clear idea of what December may bring.

If that’s the case, there may be reason to hang on tightly, unless markets come to their senses and realize that it may be time to celebrate.

This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  MRO puts

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  GDX (1/20/2017)

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: none

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: MRO

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:     none

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week:  FAST (10/21 $0.30)

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



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Week in Review – October 3 – 7, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review


October 3 – 7, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
0  /  1 4 0 0   /   0 0   /   1 0 2

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

October 3 – 7, 2016

I have no idea what this week was all about, but something is brewing.

I also have no idea whether to be pleased or displeased about this week.

I was definitely displeased with the really poor timing in adding shares of a precious metal ETF.

I knew that there was a likelihood of continuing sharp volatility in that position, but I didn’t think that it would be sustained in a single direction.

That one position was 11.6% lower on the week, while the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500 were 0.7% lower.

Not even close.

What was better was how existing positions performed.

Existing positions were 0.1% lower on the week, but outperformed the S&P 500 by 0.6%.

That was mixed news, at best.

What was good was the opportunity to sell calls on multiple lots of two uncovered positions and doing so to try and capitalize on their healthy dividends and option premiums. Even though those positions were rolled out in time, all the way to January 2017, the opportunities that they presented still looked far better than the questionable alternatives that the market is offering.

There were no new assignments of shares to add to the closed positions in 2016 and, therefore, no new cash to add to the reserves, that i would desperately like to see grow.

What there was, however, was an assignment of the short puts position, which ended up deep in the hole for the week, but if that volatility continues may not be too big of a hole to dig out from under.

It’s really hard to know what comes next after Friday’s ambiguous Employment Situation report.

Stocks were basically all over the place for the week and were all over the place on F
ri
day, as well.

Earnings season actually starts next week and that could take our mind off of the re-association between oil and stocks, interest rates, plunging precious metal prices and currency woes in Great Britain.

There is no greater clarity following this past week and unless corporate earnings or the guidance provided can do anything to clear things up, we may just be in store for more of this kind of annoying uncertainty and lack of conviction.

I still have some cash in reserve, but have no positions expiring next week and have no ex-dividend positions, so may very well be on the lookout for some opportunity to generate some income, but am very reluctant to do so with anything other than a quick hit.

However, that’s what I thought I was getting into this past week and those precious metals turned out to be a big, big disappointment.

At this point, I don’t particularly want any more disappointment, but I do want the income.

While we await earnings, we may get some cues from the many Federal Reserve speakers, especially since there is also a release of the FOMC minutes on Wednesday.

Before Janet Yellen wraps up the week, there is also a retail Sales Report and that could shed some light on what the consumer is up to, as the evidence may be mounting that the consumer is getting back into action.

Interest rates, anyone?



This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  AGQ puts

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: DOW, DOW (January 2017), LVS, LVS (January 2017)

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  AGQ

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:     GPS (10/3 $0.23), BMY (10/5 $0.38)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: none

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Posted on

Week in Review – September 26 – 30, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review


September 23 – 27, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
1  /  1 0 0 1   /   1 0   /   0 0 3

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

September 23 – 27, 2016

What a week this was.

Add to it the Friday close from the previous week and we had 6 consecutive triple digit moves, with the market finally ending higher on the week’

There wasn’t much in the way of a theme this week, despite about 17 scheduled appearances by members of the Federal Reserve.

What there was lots of back and forth.

There was one new position opened this week and it was one designed to capture a dividend and hopefully get assigned as its monthly option is due to expire.

That position was up 5.8% for the week, while the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500 were both only 0.2% higher.

With all of that movement, only 0.2%.

Imagine that.

Existing positions were again responsive to energy and commodity positions which were all over the place this week. When Friday’s rally finally settled, those existing positions were actually 0.6% higher than the S&P 500 for the week, despite the weakness in oil and commodities.

There were two new closed positions for the week, both old friends.

One, an old friend because it was held for about 529 days and the other, because it was one of 8 times that same stock has been closed out in 2016.

Positions closed in 2016 were 0.3% higher, as compared to the overall market, which was 5.6% higher during the same time frame. Of course, the defunct MolyCorp, whose positions were closed out this year are responsible for that adverse comparison, which is on a non-weighted basis.

Without those MolyCorp shares the remaining shares would have been 7% higher, versus 2% for the S&P 500.< /strong>

I wasn’t expected to do very much this week, as there was plenty of reason to expect confusion, with so many Federal Reserve members putting in their two cents.

It was an orderly confusion, though, as we basically went back and forth, albeit in relatively big chunks from one day to the next.

I was a little surprised to have opened a new position and very happy to have been able to see 2 others get cashed out.

Although I was pleased on a net basis for the week, I would have really liked to have had some opportunities to sell calls on uncovered positions.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying. It has just been that with the volatility so low, it’s really hard to justify selling the rights to shares for such pittances.

Still with 3 ex-dividend positions, including one with 3 lots and the other two with each 2 lots of shares, there was enough income generation for me, as long as 2016 is used as the baseline.

Of course, even by 2015 standards, which was already a fairly quiet trading year, 2016 has been a sleeper, even as net asset values are rising nicely.

It’s just that those increasing net asset values don’t necessarily materialize into realized gains and they don’t necessarily result in income production.

That, in part, explains the hunger for dividends, even as dividends really represent a zero sum game of sorts.

With cash being generated from 2 positions, one assigned short call position and one expired short put position, I do have some extra cash to spend in the coming week.

With no expiring positions next week and only 2 ex-dividend positions, I wouldn’t mind adding something to that mix, so I may be on the lookout for something on Monday morning.

Ultimately, it will likely be as it has been for what feels like the longest time.

I just want to sell some calls on uncovered positions and maybe see some assignments as the October 2016 contracts come to their conclusion.

That’s not asking too much.


This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  CY

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: none

Put contracts expired: MRO

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  BBY

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:    CY (9/27 $0.11), DOW (9/28 $0.46), WFM (9/29 $0.135)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week:  

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Posted on

Week In Review – September 19 – 23, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review


September 19 – 23, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
1  /  1 1 0 0   /   0 0   /   0 0 1

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

September 19 – 23, 2016

This week was another in a series that have given a loud and clear message.

If you had any doubt, what is clearly the message is that investors will make believe that they are accepting of increased interest rates, but only if it happens sometime in the future and not today or tomorrow.

That’s what they got and so investors were happy, even as there were some profits to be taken on Friday to end the week.

There was one new position opened this week and it was one designed to tie up money for the full duration of the October 2016 monthly option cycle.

That position was up 3.6% for the week, while the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500 were both 1.2% higher.

Existing positions continued to feel the decrease in energy prices.

There were no newly closed positions for the week.

It was another interesting week, this time with traders going out on a limb before the FOMC Statement release and betting that no rate increase would be announced and further betting that there wouldn’t be any new hawkish sentiment.

This wasn’t the kind of week that I was excited about getting out in front of, but there was one trade that i couldn’t resist letting pass by.

In hindsight, there should have been others, as well.

For the most part, though, it was a really quiet week, even as the market showed some significant optimism, despite ending the week on a moderately broad, but very orderly sell-off.

What will really be interesting will be next week is that there will be 12 public speeches by members of the Federal Reserve, including Janet Yellen.

If anyone is l
oo
king for clarity, next week is probably not the place for it, but the final word will go to Janet Yellen, who also happens to be the final of the talking Feds to talk next week.

If recent events are any indicator, you may see markets move up and move down with each spin set forward, as it is also clear that there hasn’t been this much dissent on the Federal Reserve ever since transparency became the norm.

I do have 2 expiring positions next week and two ex-dividend positions, in addition to some cash to spend.

With the potential for some rollovers or even an assignment and expiration of a short put contract, I may not have the real need to open any new positions.

I didn’t have the need this past week, either, but it can be hard to look the other way.

At the moment, my preference would be to cash out the chips set to expire and add to cash reserves, but what I’ve found out over the years is that no one cares about those preferences.

It helps to have a Plan B.

Next week does have some meaningful economic data being reported, but we’ll have to wait until Friday to get the GDP.

Coming the morning after Yellen’s presentation, if she has much of a hawkish tone and the GDP comes in stronger than expected, especially with some upward revisions, I think we can expect a sell-off.

Even if rates aren’t raised until December, as that month draws more near, traders are likely to show the same revulsion at the idea of an interest rate increase then, as they do now.

It never gets old.

Oh wait.

It does.

This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  BMY

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: GME (Nov 2016)

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:    LVS (9/20 $0.72)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week:  CY (9/27 $0.11), DOW (9/28 $0.46)

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Posted on

Week in Review – September 12 – 26. 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review


September 12 – 16, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
0  /  1 0 1 3   /   0 2   /   0 0 6

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

September 12 – 16, 2016

This was an interesting week and it gave a loud and clear message.

That message is that everyone still wants cheap money to stay cheap at least for another 3 months.

What the week had was lots of ups and downs as there is clearly a lot of unease out there.

I know that I feel that unease on my end of things.

There was one new position opened this week and it didn’t fare too well, as oil headed lower, but it still has been my go to posiotion for the year.

That position was down 1.0% for the week, while the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500 were both 0.6% higher.

Existing positions also felt the decrease in energy and commodity prices and they were actually down 0.2% on the week.

With 3 newly closed positions for the week the 2016 closed positions are 0.9% lower, due to the liquidation of the MolyCorp position and would otherwise be 6.6% higher, well ahead of the S&P 500, but the rules in accounting have to be applied.

It was an interesting week and I’m usually not one to try and spin things, but I did end the week fairly pleased, even as existing positions were 0.2% lower.

That’s because the week had 5 ex-dividend positions and the opportunity to rollover the one new position opened on the week.

More importantly, there were 3 assignments and I was happy to add to the cash reserves in the week ahead of the FOMC meeting.

That made me so happy, I was even willing to overlook the 2 expired positions.

That’s also because I think both of those have good prospects for the sale of new call positions and I was glad not to have to pay to buy back the expiring positions.

With cash in hand for next week, I really don’t know if I want to spend any before Wednesday’s meeting.

The move could be explosive in either direction and I don’t think I want to take a chance on risking more money at a time when the FOMC has been sending so many mixed signals.

I would certainly take any opportunity to sell calls on uncovered positions before next Wednesday, but on not too keen on much else.

What I am keen on is getting over this ridiculousness and all of the ado about 0.25%

This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  MRO puts

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: none

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: MRO (9/30)

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  HPQ, IP, STX

Calls Expired:  DOW, GME

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: EMC

Calls Closed to Take P
rofits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:    HPQ (9/12 $0.12), M (9/13 $0.38), NEM (9/13 $0.025), BBBY (9/14 $0.125), JOY (9/15 $0.01)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week:LVS (9/20 $0.72)

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Posted on

Weekend Update – September 11, 2016

Sometimes you just get blindsided and even hindsight is inadequate in explaining what just happened.

There’s very little reason to ever get hit in the face, as human instinct is to protect that vulnerable piece of anatomy.

Yet, sometimes there’s a complete absence of anticipation or lack of preparation for fast, unfolding events.

Sometimes you just get lulled into a sense of security and take your eye off events surrounding you.

Granted, sometimes your inattention helps you to avoid doing the logical thing and missing out on something wonderful, but more often than not, there is a price to be paid for inattention.

When I first started writing a blog. there was a 417 point decline in the DJIA on the third day of that blog.

That was in 2007 when 417 points actually stood for something.

This past Friday’s nearly 400 point decline was minimal, by comparison.

Back in 2007, the culprit for the decline was a nearly 9% drop in the Chinese stock market. It was easy to connect the dots and honestly, you had to see some collapse coming in that market, at that time, as most everyone was beginning to openly question the veracity, validity and credibility of economic and corporate reports coming from China.

I suppose that there was some kind of identifiable culprit this past Friday, as well, but after a very quiet and protracted period following the recovery from the “Brexit” sell-off, there was little reason to suspect that it would happen on Friday.

Continue reading on Seeking Alpha

 

Posted on

Week In Review – September 5 – 9, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

 

September 5 – 9, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
1  /  1 0 1 1   /   0 1  /   0 0 6

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

September 5 – 9, 2016

Up until today, it was looking like any other week we’ve seen after the post-Brexit euphoria.

That is, basically nothing to report and very little actually happening.

Then came Friday and a little bit of a meltdown.

Last week, i said that the market showed no character.

This week, if it did have any character, it was the kind that would run for the doors or hide underneath the bed and do so for no reason, at all.

Still, for some odd reason, I found a reason to open a new position and did so during the final 3 hours of trading for the week.

That might be even more odd.

That new position was 0.6% higher, while the adjusted S&P 500 was 2.5% lower for the week and the unadjusted S&P 500 was 2.4% lower.

The new position out-performed the unadjusted S&P 500 by 2.9% and the unadjusted S&P 500 by 3.0%.

For me, it was actually a good week from a trading perspective.

There were 6 ex-dividend positions, one rollover, an assignment and a closed out position.

Unfortunately, there was also an expired position that will now be looking for an opportunity to generate some income.

What was shaping up to be a good week on the bottom line also fell apart on Friday, as the market tumbled.

Existing positions still managed to beat the market by an unusually large 1.8%, but were still 0.6% lower on the week.

With the closing of the old MolyCorp position, the performance of positions closed in
2016 got quite a hit. Additionally, the accounting for the closed EMC position is a little complex, as the spin off entity is accounted for separately and remains open.

With that said, positions closed in 2016 have gone from a 279% out-performance to a % under-performance.

Those positions are now 2.8% lower, while the comparable performance for the S&P 500 during the same holding periods has been 6.8% higher. That represents a -141.3%% difference in return on closed positions. 


Well, this turned out to be an interesting week, thanks to a single day.

There really wasn’t very much to account for the broad sell-off on Friday, except maybe for exhaustion.

I’m sure we’ll hear about some technical signal and we’ll certainly hear the phrase “profit taking,” but there was still no tangible reason for the fear expressed today.

Still it was fairly orderly, as we’re still about 20 points higher on the S&P 500 from where we were when the market first sent into its Brexit decline.

All in all, I was happy for the way the week went, though.

While the market went lower, that’s reversible.

What can’t be taken away are the dividends and the premiums for the week and some cash generation from the assigned and closed positions.

The one new position opened this week with just 3 hours left in trading, was specifically to either capture the dividend or capture the premium.

maybe both.

If only the premium is captured due to early assignment, I thought that the ROI for a single day of holding was enough to warrant the trade, although in this case, I would rather get the dividend, as well and have the oppportunity to do something else with those shares next Friday.

We still have another 10 days or so to go until the next FOMC meeting, so I’m not certain that Friday’s sell-off will be the last between now and 2 PM on that Wednesday.

Even with some money in cash reserves, I may be hesitant to put any more on the line.

To some degree, it’s a little easier sitting on the sidelines next week because there are another 5 ex-dividend positions and  and 5 expiring positions that at the moment show some promise for a combination of assignments and rollovers.

That may be enough to keep me occupied, although I thought the same this week and look what happened.

This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  HPQ

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  BBY

Calls Rolled over, taking profi
ts
, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: none

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  MRO

Calls Expired:  ANF

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: EMC

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:    BBY (9/9 $0.28), GM (9/7 $0.38), GME (9/7 $0.37), MOS (9/6 $0.275), WY (9/7 $0.31), COH (9/8 $0.33)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: HPQ (9/12 $0.12), M (9/13 $0.38), NEM (9/13 $0.025), BBBY (9/14 $0.125), JOY (9/15 $0.01)

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Posted on

Week in Review – August 29 – September 2, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

 

August 29 – September 2, 2016

 

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
1  /  1 0 0 0   /   0 0  /   0 0 4

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

August 29 – September 2, 2016

The market showed a little bit of strength this week, but it showed no character.

The strength that it showed was pretty superficial, though, and doesn’t necessarily translate into anything reliable in the coming week.

It was another week of some, although not much, personal happiness in terms of performance and cash generation.

It was another week with a new position opened, a rarity for 2016.

Like the week preceding, that purchase was an after earnings report release and like the  previous week, the decline in the shares continued.

Hopefully, like the stock from the previous week, the next week will have a rebound and eliminate any regrets.

This week’s new purchase position was 4.0% lower. It trailed the unadjusted S&P 500 by 4.5% and the adjusted S&P 500 by 4.0%

On the week, the unadjusted S&P 500 was up 0.5%, while the adjusted S&P 500 was unchanged.

Existing stocks struggled to keep up with the unadjusted S&P 500, but still it was a good week.

That’s mostly because asset value continued to go higher and did so without oil and commodities 

It was also, however, due to 4 ex-dividend positions.

Since there were no new closed positions for the week, the tally remains the same. Those positions closed in 2016 are still 6.8% higher, while the comparable performance for the S&P 500 during the same holding periods has been 1.8% higher. That represents a 279% difference in return on closed positions. 


The market was mostly treading water this week as it awaited the release of the Employment Situation Report.

That was understandable, particularly as there was good reason to believe that the report could spell the difference between an interest rate hike now, and maybe another before year’s end, or just a single rate hike in Decemer.

It was really anyone’s guess how the market would react to extreme numbers at either end of the spectrum, but its true colors really came out as the slightly disappointing numbers were greeted vary well and then when there was reason to believe that the weak numbers still didn’t rule out a September rate increase, the warm welcome was withdrawn.

No character.

At least not the kind of character you would want to associate with for very long.

With 2 positions set to expire next week and 5 ex-dividend positions and absolutely no idea of what drives the market at this point other than the FOMC’s upcoming meeting in a few weeks, I have no great need to open any new positions next week.

I would be fine with either seeing assignments or keeping the 2 expiring positions in contention to generate more option premium income.

With a holiday shortened week and volatility so low, the premiums aren’t going to be very spectacular anyway, so it might just be a good week to be a casual observer and then just casually take any opportunity that comes along for any existing, but uncovered positions.

That sounds like a plan.

Happy Labor Day.



This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  ANF

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: none

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:    ANF (8/31 $0.20), BAC (8/31 $0.05), HAL (9/2 $0.18), KSS (9/2 $0.52)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: BBY (9/9 $0.28), GM (9/7 $0.38), MOS (9/6 $0.275), WY (9/7 $0.31), COH (9/8 $0.33)

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Posted on

Week in Review – August 22 – 26, 2016

Option to Profit

Week in Review

 
 
August 22 – 26, 2016
 
 
 
 

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
1  /  1 2 2 0   /   0 0  /   0 0 0

 
Weekly Up to Date Performance
August 22 – 26, 2016
This wasn’t exactly another in a series of flat weeks, but it was somewhat of a disappointment.
As far as the market goes, that is.
I was personally pretty happy, though.
For starters, there was actually a new purchase for the week, even as it came in its final hours.
That new purchase was 2.0% higher on the week and beat the unadjusted S&P 500 by 0.6% and the unadjusted S&P 500 by 2.2%
The unadjusted S&P 500 was 0.6% lower on the week and the adjusted S&P 500 was 0.1% lower.
Still it was a good week.
But that’s only because existing positions didn’t lose as much as the S&P 500.
They still lost value, though.
But, as is usually the case, in the longer term, your portfolio serves you better by its ability to outperform during declines.
What was good was that there were 2 rollovers and 2 positions had new calls written on them, while some others are now within striking distance of becoming contributing members once again to my coffers.
There were no ex-dividend positions, but that changes next week.
Since there were no new closed positions for the week, the tally remains the same. Those positions closed in 2016 are still 6.8% higher, while the comparable performance for the S&P 500 during the same holding periods has been 1.8% higher. That represents a 279% difference in return on closed positions. Once again,  I’d be much more impressed if there were far more of those closed positions to point toward. With such few closed positions for the year, the differential could just as easily have been in the other direction and of a similar magnitude, yet also signifying little.
The market was really all over the place on Friday as the festivities at Jackson Hole came to their end.
What looked like it was going to be the gain to deliver the week from a loss turned out to be a loss that just compounded the mild losses from earlier in the week.
I was still pretty happy about things.
I had the surprising opportunity to trade far more than I thought would be the case.
Some rollovers, some new short positions and even dipping into cash a little bit to open a new position, as well.
It was no accident that the new position is paying a nice dividend in a week or so, though.
I do want those dividends these days as volatility is really drying up the premiums.
As I look at my expiration dates on outstanding short positions, I can’t even begin to recognize myself, as there are so many being written a month, two months or even longer out, instead of the weekly calls that i had really grown to cherish.
With still some cash to invest, I don’t mind the prospect of doing so next week.
With no expiring positions, I would like to have some opportunity to generate some more income, although there is some comfort knowing that there are a number of ex-dividend positions next week and for the remainder of September.
Following Friday’s words from Janet Yellen, Stanley Fischer and the GDP release, it’s hard to really know where the economy is and what the FOMC will be looking at, as far as its time table for an interest rate increase.
From the market’s reaction today, it’s clear that there are multiple sides to the story, multiple interpretations and multiple reactions.
 
 
This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below
(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):

New Positions Opened:  GME
Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none
Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none
Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  MRO (9/26)
Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: GDX (10/21)
Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none
Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none
New STO: INTC (11/2016), MS (11/2016)
Put contracts expired: MRO
Put contracts rolled over: none
Long term call contracts sold:  none
Calls Assigned:  none
Calls Expired:  none
Puts Assigned:  none
Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none
Stock positions Closed to take losses: none
Calls Closed to Take Profits: none
Ex-dividend Positions:    none
Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: ANF (8/31 $0.20), BAC (8/31 $0.05), HAL (9/2 $0.18), KSS (9/2 $0.52)
For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)

* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.

Posted on

Week In Review – August 15 – 19, 2016

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

 

August 15 – 19, 2016

 

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED EX-DIVIDEND
0  /  0 0 0 0   /   1 1  /   0 0 2

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

August 15 – 19, 2016

This was yet another in a series of flat weeks, but it was another in which my complaints may fall on deaf ears.

This was another week of no new purchases and so again there wasn’t too much to think or talk about.

The S&P 500 was down 0.3% for the week and other than a little bit of action following the release of FOMC minutes, there was nothing of any interest for the rest of the week.

Still it was a good week.

There were 2 ex-dividend positions and the expiration of those puts that had been serially rolled over, after having gone out on a little bit of a limb by having rolled them over the previous week even though they were going to expire..

On top of that, even as the market was flat, existing positions again beat the S&P 500, this time by an additional 0.4%. even though that meant that the only finished 0.1% higher for the week.

With the expiration of those puts that added one additional position to the paltry list of closed lots for 2016. Those positions closed in 2016 are still 6.8% higher, while the comparable performance for the S&P 500 during the same holding periods has been 1.8% higher. That represents a 279% difference in return on closed positions. Once again,  I’d be much more impressed if there were far more of those closed positions to point toward. With such few closed positions for the year, the differential could just as easily have been in the other direction and of a similar magnitude, yet also signifying little.

With this week’s small advance. it does at least add to the nice performance thus far in 2016.

That’s better than the alternative, although this past week wasn’t one for generating very much in the way of income.

It wasn’t really a week for generating much of anything, including anything of interest.

While there may be some more signs that the FOMC is going to be able to find reason to increase interest rates, no one is really getting excited or getting frightened
.

For the most part earnings season is now over and for the most part is was fairly disappointing.

What may have been most disappointing is that no one seemed to offer anything positive for the rest of 2016.

On the one hand that could set us up for some positive surprises three months from now, but for now it didn’t really offer any kind of catalyst to move higher.

Still, we’re just a hair from those all time closing highs, so something must be going right.

With the expiration of those puts I do have some additional cash that I wouldn’t mind putting to use, although it’s not likely to get any easier next week, just as the past couple of weeks have been difficult to really identify anything with a reward worth the risk.

With no ex-dividend positions next week and the likelihood of the assignment of a short call position, it would be really nice to find something to invest in, but that likely share assignment makes me think that together with the expiration of puts this week, it might e a good time to collect some cash.



This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as in the summary below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  none

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: none

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

New STO: none

Put contracts expired: MRO

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  FAST

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:    MRO (8/15 $0.05), HFC (8/19 $0.33)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: none

For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   AGQ, ANF, AZN, BBBY, BBY, CHK, CLF, COH, CSCO,  CY, DOW, FAST, FCX, GDX, GM, GPS, HAL, HFC, HPQ, INTC, IP, JCP, JOY, KMI, KSS, LVS, MCPIQ, MOS, NEM, RIG, WFM, WLTGQ, WY (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.