Optos Share Discussion Threads

[alphorn] 21/3/2014 09:46

In the absence of war today should receive full premium on remaining open March positions, BP, IAG, Lloy puts and Tesco calls.

[harvester] 17/3/2014 21:53

Youna: new high in April followed by summer dip as usual is a possibility .
A big crash will eventually happen but probably not this year . Still , it's all crystal ball gazing anyway . I have myself quite a biggish stake in good divi-paying shares . MRW, VOD , Tsco , CNA , SSE are not exactly boring . Quite a bit of volatility and action in those ones .
My plan is to avoid taking the tail risks of put options whenever I can. Sometimes , when forced to roll , it's unavoidable though .
Dow rally tonight . Why ? Did anybody seriously expect a war over Crimea ?

[younasm] 16/3/2014 10:53

I was expecting a decent peak in March with FTSE@7000 (or near enough), before the sell-off in Q2-Q3 2014, possibly multi-year sell-off taking FTSE to 3000.

As always, I might have got my timings wrong -- there is still a sense that markets can go higher, but if you look at company results then there is very little positive guidance.

Been sitting mainly on sidelines - not had much chance to write calls or buy puts. A lot of my positions had expired in the last six months with full gains. I think I will let the markets digest the Q1-Q2 GDP/inflation/emplyment/company results, and look for a firmer trend before opening new positions.

I've got less than 10 x options positions, a fair bit of boring dividend paying shares, no property investments = cash rich. I hope I haven't made a big mistake -- I feel quite "exposed" by not being "fully invested".

[mayjuli] 13/3/2014 19:30

And the hammering continues.

We are approaching the bottom of the rising trend line that has been in place since June last year.

Will it hold as before? or will it fail this time?

Any views?

[praipus] 07/3/2014 13:11

Cool thanks

[stavros28] 07/3/2014 13:05

Chat is a miss ,trades at 2.30 are worth watching for the thought process both guys are ex floor traders with a track record.
I know its all American companies but it has educational transfer of skills.

Stavros

[stavros28] 07/3/2014 12:47

Listen Boys

Just had my old battered Acer fitted with a sparkling new key board, hard drive and a quick clean up on the outside with some pledge ! £ 120
Must be the value investor in me but working fine now.

Lots of RAM ( Rage Against the Market ) its been well hammered. Lol

Stav........

[alphorn] 06/3/2014 19:26

It is an HP with 8gb RAM; many have 2 - 4.

[harvester] 06/3/2014 17:58

thanks Alp. I am at Pc world at this moment trying some out.
what spec HP pc did you get ?
Problem is windows 7 may not be supported for much longer .

[alphorn] 06/3/2014 17:37

Harv - just bought a new HP laptop; good quality but not so sure about Windows 8. Seems that some people are going back to Windows 7.

[harvester] 06/3/2014 16:01

ALP: Aviva jump this morning has made my day .
I was able to offload part of my share holding at very good profit. Did not catch the days high on that. Sold @ 505 but happy with that since I was hampered in trading by sluggish page-load on my PC and reluctantly had to switch to 'phone trading .
Fortunately , I also held 10X long March 470/480 call spreads .
I decided cautiously to roll 4x mar 480 calls to sep 520 calls @ 7 debit .
Then near the days high around 511/512 sold 2x Mar 470 calls @ 41 credit . Still leaves me with a good option position for March and profit on today's trades .
Have decided to treat ,myself to a new laptop with these gains.
My Dell Inspiron has given excellent service over many years but seems to be on its last legs . I am considering acquiring a high-end Lenovo Pc . Anybody here have other suggestions ?

[alphorn] 06/3/2014 13:44

Aviva out with some strong results today so rolled some puts further out for the remaining pennies. Still have plenty of other positions which include (unfortunately) some calls.

Rolled 4x Aviva June 380P -> Dec 460P for net credit 22.75p and 4x Aviva June 400P - > Dec 460P for net credit of 21.5p.

[praipus] 04/3/2014 21:45

Thanks Stav err I think:-) Haven't got the patience for the chat show and can't get the Dough site to work. Will try again when back in the office.

[stavros28] 03/3/2014 21:29

Praipus watch tastytrade.com from about 2.15 till 3 Tom Sos and Tony will have a lot of the answers researched by the back room boys who all trade. New free platform called Dough , drag and drop does all the maths for you.

Stavros

Ohh and tell me Liz or Jenny ?

[stavros28] 03/3/2014 21:20

Steptoes Yard................

Interactive Brokers no one can touch them for commission or direct market access.
Platform based no time spent waiting for a bozo to answer the phone.

Best book on spreads , How I learned to trade like Tom Sosnoff and Tony Battista by Tony Rihan ( book 1&2 ) , you can also watch the live show on Tastytrade.com
Real time Options spreads executed each day (log in 2.15-2.30 ) with ground breaking options research to back it up. US Market only but that`s my back yard

Stavros

p.s Step tell.... me Liz or Jenny ?

[praipus] 03/3/2014 13:16

Thanks Stav, I think I've been providing liquidity for the sellers at the spike or "sweet spot"....doh

I miss a lot of boats so I'm starting to think I've got to build it in to my trading style:-)

PS "Das Boot" good film.

Next questions: Theme: Tips for handling a big day.

When is a big day a big day?

And what should you do, how and when?

[phillis] 26/2/2014 15:57

boring is best

[nigelmoat] 25/2/2014 16:56

Closing 52 week high here today.

[alphorn] 25/2/2014 11:56

Testing the idea of writing puts on the SMI against Swisscom. FXCM doing the trade and will post details. Swisscom is a boring stock and it might yield a bit against cash yielding negative.

edit: Seems to work OK; FXCM dealing by phone, prices seem good by looking at the Eurex exchange site before and after the trade. Their commision also seems to beat the Swiss banks. STO Swisscom 10x Dec 480P (CHF) for 17.90.

[younasm] 23/2/2014 17:29

Glad to see the back of short puts in IAG/BT/LGEN/LLOY/VOD. Unfortunately, I cant write any new puts as most equities seem overbought right now. I might look at others ways to make profits (maybe buy long put spreads ??)

Losing money on short calls in BT/LGEN (march / jun positions)

[alphorn] 21/2/2014 14:45

Rolled 5x UU June 680P -> Sept 720P for net credit of 22p. Always need to watch xd around the June expiry; just a bit early ;-)

SY - use FXCM and good service. Welcome to the thread.

[steptoes yard] 20/2/2014 14:21

Please could some of you respond with who you think the best internet brokers are for Uk listed traded options - index and company..?

I am of Interactive Brokers, Sucden & Saxo.

My interest is in option spreads so if any of you can recommend a book or website on this I would be grateful. Most websites seem to be sourced from the USA.

TIA

[alphorn] 20/2/2014 11:42

"If rally continues I may sell mar ftse calls(above 7000)"

Could be a good move - market looks high and the rise of nationalism around the place is a big negative IMO.

[harvester] 20/2/2014 11:16

mayj: long time ago. How time flies .

If rally continues I may sell mar ftse calls(above 7000)

Interesting action on vodafone.
Shares closed 223 last night. UP this morning. Big buy punts on feb 230 calls .

[alphorn] 20/2/2014 11:04

Rolled 3x IAG March 260P -> Sept 400P for net credit of 21.25p.