Strategy name and alternative names

Bear Call Spread. An alternative name is Credit Call Spread.

Main characteristics

Bearish position. It is a vertical spread involving an equal number of long and short calls on the same underlying asset and with the same expiration date. It is a credit spread, which means you receive money to put on the position. The strategy profits as long as the price of the underlying security remains below the breakeven point.

Options used in the combination

Sell to open one at-the-money (ATM) call and simultaneously buy to open one out-of-the money (OTM) call. The strike price of the short call is below that of the long call. The advantage of this spread is that it benefits from time decay and provides an immediate inflow of cash. The maximum gain and loss on the spread are very limited and well defined.

Strategy name and alternative names

Straddle. An alternative name is Long Straddle.

Main characteristics

Neutral position. It is a combination involving an equal number of long puts and long calls at the same strike price and the same expiration date. It is a debit combination, which means you must pay to put on the position. The strategy profits when the price of the underlying security moves up or down beyond the breakeven points.

Options used in the combination

Buy to open one at-the-money (ATM) call and simultaneously buy to open one ATM put. Both options derive from the same underlying stock and have the same strike price and expiration date. The advantage of this combination is that it benefits from volatility, independent of the direction of stock price movement. Both the put and the call have (potentially) unlimited upsides but limited loss exposure.

Paul Krugman: And the Trade War Came

Corporate America is still in denial about the prospects for a global trade war, even though protectionism was a central theme of the Trump campaign. … The … relevant legislation gives the occupant of the White House remarkable leeway should he choose to go protectionist.

Looks like a trade war is here…read how to benefit from this here

How to Make 40% a Year Betting on the Market, Even if it Doesn’t Go Up

Here is the trade I made last week when SPY was trading about $225:

• Buy to Open 1 SPY 19Jan18 220 put (SPY180119P220)
• Sell to Open 1 SPY 19Jan18 225 put (SPY180119P225) for a credit of $1.95  (selling a vertical)

Vertical put (bullish call spread) strategy to gain 40% in 13 months

http://www.terrystips.com/blog/how-to-make-40-a-year-betting-on-the-market-even-if-it-doesnt-go-up/

If you’ve traded actively for at least a few months or years, you’ll know all too often the agony that comes with getting stopped out of a position and immediately, the trade takes off. A similar but lesser form of agony is felt when a trade has hit your price target and you proudly sell your position. Except, it keeps going and going…

In the first part of this article, I briefly discussed a rather painful early trading experience during the financial crises in 2007/2008. I was short and still somehow killed my account.

I let my emotions dominate my trades earlier in my career. My self-worth was tied to each dollar made or lost. I was many things back then. Too eager, too risk-loving, too young.

Eventually, learned that my trading career is like a war that never ends. Every minute of trading is a battle with others trying to separate me from my money. If we fail to manage our emotions, we become easy targets. After blowing up my account multiple times, I learned some very painful lessons.

As promised, I will share with you my framework to keep psychologically sane while trading and also what to do when off balance.

I was 24 years old and it was July 2007. I was sitting on the fixed income trading floor of BNP Paribas at the time and was just itching to take a big short on the stock market. Equities had been rallying in the face of a crashing fixed income market. It was like smiling into the fist of a much younger Mike Tyson.

I finally pulled the trigger after months of waiting and shorted as much high beta stocks my margin would allow. After all, that’s how the legendary Jesse Livermore used to do it right? I doubled my money in a matter of weeks and was on an emotional high. I truly believed I had found my calling in life.