FT Press :: Blogs

Blog :: Options Trading -- Four Things to Remember About Terminology

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Anyone new to the options market knows that the jargon and special, complex descriptions of trades make this a difficult field to master. It’s a struggle. When do you get to the point where all of the jargon comes to you easily, when you overcome the confusion? When does it get easy? There is an answer …

Blog :: Options Trading -- Ten Advantages of Flexibility

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Options are unique in the investment and trading worlds. These are the most flexible instruments you will ever find. You can design a strategy that is anywhere in between high-risk and ultra-conservative. You can set up a combination that costs little or nothing or even produces income. You can use options to reduce portfolio risk. Finally, options enable you to leverage capital and reduce overall market risks.

Blog :: The Cure for All That Ails Us

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We live in extraordinarily complex and confusing times, and many of us are feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of our lives and the difficulty in navigating a world in which so much seems to be out of our control.

Blog :: Options Trading -- 17 Odd Options Definitions You?ve Never Heard

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Anyone who has taken a look at options knows the jargon can be discouraging. Below are several terms you may not have heard before, and definitions you definitely have not ever seen.

Blog :: Options Trading -- Horizontal, Vertical or Diagonal - Which Spread is For You

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Spreads come in a vast variety of combinations, shapes and sizes. One of the best ways to distinguish spreads is by their geometric look. The three types -- horizontal, vertical, and diagonal -- can be graphically used to explain how the spread is put together.

Blog :: Options Trading - An Independence Day Poem

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I am a U.S. citizen, but a naturalized one. So I really appreciate the Fourth of a special day to celebrate The United States of America. It is easy to forget what it's all about when life is taken up with the chaos of daily trading and market watching. And so, a bit of perspective ...

Blog :: Options Trading -- Is the Butterfly Spread Too Complicated?

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Everyone wants to limit risks, but if you also limit potential profits, is it worth the trouble? The butterfly spread comes in several varieties, but normally involves two positions offset by a third and fourth, one with a higher strike and one with a lower strike. Some will ask: What’s the point? With options, you normally take a relatively small risk of 100% loss for the possible big profit. Doesn’t the butterfly spread end up being much ado about nothing?

Blog :: Growth Through Adversity

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Life is Difficult

This short aphorism is the opening sentence of M. Scott Peck’s bestselling book, The Road Less Traveled. Published in 1978, this book sold over 7 million copies, and has been translated into more than twenty-three languages.

Blog :: Options Trading -- Remembering the Basic Rules of Trading

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Options trading activity has been growing at an incredible rate over the past 35 years or so. The rate of growth has accelerated recently as options have becomes available on a growing number of stocks as well as indices, ETFs and futures.

Blog :: Possible Nascent Bullish Uptrend

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This is another tough week for me. On the one hand, two of my favorite sources for handicapping the market trend -- Market Edge and Investors Business Daily -- support the existence of a new bullish uptrend in the market based primarily on technical indicators.

Blog :: Options Trading -- Can You Learn Enough with Paper Trading?

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The idea of paper trading -- setting up a virtual account and trading in a “real time” environment but without any actual money at risk -- is an excellent way to learn the terminology, trading rules and restrictions, and most of all, to find out whether a great theory really produces profits.

Blog :: Developing Healthy, Constructive Anger

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

1996:

I am driving home to Atlanta from Charlotte, after a long and difficult day at work. Traffic is slow, and I am blocked by passing trucks and slow drivers. Finally I break free of the pack, and hit the gas.

Smooth sailing, I think.