Author Archives: TheAcsMan

Daily Market Update – April 29, 2015  (Close)

I didn’t know what the outcome of the GDP Report and the FOMC Statement release would be this morning and afternoon, respectively, but the Twitter debacle last night may still keep people’s attention for a while.

Like most news, though, even the most highly significant economic news, it will be forgotten as soon as the next bit of news comes forward. But its CEO did nothing to instill confidence today, as the shares tumbled even further after his appearance on TV, despite having tried to claw back some of this morning’s additional losses prior to his appearance.

Twitter aside, there were two potentially very significant events and still more earnings to come today.

Those earnings reports will be slowing down significantly once this week is over. At that point every one will try to interpret what the meaning of the past earnings season had been and what the prospects are for the coming quarter.

For now, the theme appears to not be ready to change any time soon. The dollar is strong and oil prices, despite rallying higher, are still low.

While this quarter was characterized by higher EPS data, but on lower top line revenue, as long as corporate buy backs continue into the next quarter, there may be some offset for the adverse impact of a strong dollar.

What may be different the next quarter is that if low energy prices do continue we may see the kind of consumer led expansion of the GDP that we’ve been waiting for since the beginning of 2015.

This morning the expectation was for another set of disappointing GDP statistics, so it was just a question of seeing  whether those expectations were met and whether they  were already baked into markets.

we’ll see where that leads if materialized or where a surprise may lead if expansion is finally noted.The answers are, “yes, they were materialized, but no, they weren’t fully baked into markets.”

While never looking very strong, even in the pre-open futures, once the GDP data was released and really was disappointing, there never was much of a reason to go higher.

The ensuing FOMC Statement release did nothing either, although it really had no worthwhile news or change, other than to try and remove attention from the calendar and point more to an FOMC that would be data driven, rather than coerced by the passage of time.

With enough new positions opened this week to keep me happy and generating some weekly income, I’d like to see prices strengthen a little bit more to have a better opportunity to see those positions set to expire this week either be assigned or get rolled over.

Today wasn’t going to be that day, though. Luckily, there are still 2 more days to go.

While I didn’t expect to make any new position trades yesterday, but did so, my expectations were even lower today, as they are on most Wednesdays when focus really turns to managing existing positions to close out the week or be put into position for subsequent weeks.

No one was more surprised than me when I did sell Twitter puts.

With today’s big economic news there was even more reason to just be a casual observer at the ready to sell calls on existing positions, but that opportunity never arrived. Instead, I chose to put more cash at risk for a week that doesn’t now look as if there will be too many chances to get additional income from rollovers or to replenish cash from assignments.

Still, that could all change tomorrow.

Daily Market Update – April 29, 2015  (8:30 AM)

I don’t know what the outcome of the GDP Report and the FOMC Statement release will be but the Twitter debacle last night may still keep people’s attention for a while.

Like most news, though, even the most highly significant economic news, it will be forgotten as soon as the next bit of news comes forward.

So today will have two potentially very significant events and still more earnings to come.

Those earnings reports will be slowing down significantly once this week is over. At that point every one will try to interpret what the meaning of the past earnings season had been and what the prospects are for the coming quarter.

For now, the theme appears to not be ready to change any time soon. The dollar is strong and oil prices, despite rallying higher, are still low.

While this quarter was characterized by higher EPS data, but on lower top line revenue, as long as corporate buy backs continue into the next quarter, there may be some offset for the adverse impact of a strong dollar.

What may be different the next quarter is that if low energy prices do continue we may see the kind of consumer led expansion of the GDP that we’ve been waiting for since the beginning of 2015.

This morning the expectation is for another set of disappointing GDP statistics, so we’ll see where that leads if materialized or where a surprise may lead if expansion is finally noted.

With enough new positions opened this week to keep me happy and generating some weekly income, I’d like to see prices strengthen a little bit more to have a better opportunity to see those positions set to expire this week either be assigned or get rolled over.

While I didn’t expect to make any new position trades yesterday, but did so, my expectations are even lower today, as they are on most Wednesdays when focus really turns to managing existing positions to close out the week or be put into position for subsequent weeks.

With today’s big economic news there’s even more reason to just be a casual observer at the ready to sell calls on existing positions if the opportunity arrives, but not to put more cash at risk.

Something always needs to be held back in the event that real opportunity appears in the event of anything that’s going to be construed as bad news, especially if it has some staying power, or leads to the next mini-correction.

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Daily Market Update – April 28, 2015  (Close)

Apple reported nice earnings yesterday and continued its assault on the $1 trillion market capitalization line, as it also approaches the $1,000/share level prior to its stock split.

The market cap of Apple is even more amazing when you consider how many shares have now been bought back and retired, no longer being counted toward that $1 trillion mark.

But unlike 2011 and much of 2012 when the S&P 500 could have been summarized simply on the basis of Apple’s moves, it is no longer the stock that moves markets up and down, just as IBM had been in an earlier era.

With the market in mild decline yesterday and with early indications of some mild decline continuing this morning, there doesn’t appear to be too much euphoria, even as Apple is pennies away from an all time high as the morning session is about to begin. The early DJIA numbers would be far weaker, though, if Apple and Merck, also having reported earnings, were not both up so strongly.

Interestingly, the day ended with a nice gain, but did so without the help of Apple, which ended up falling by about $2, which ended up shaving about 14 points off the DJIA.

As is often the case, news becomes stale quickly, especially as there’s more news coming and this week has plenty of more news coming, as earnings will keep pouring in all throughout the week.

With the FOMC meeting beginning today the last 2 months have gotten away from that strange habit of earlier months that saw unusual moves much higher on the day prior to the release. Today’s move higher after a large decline in the first hour wasn’t the typical higher move that had been seen in previous months prior to the FOMC Statement release.

Whatever confidence investors had about what would be contained in the FOMC Statement has vanished, as now it’s hard to know whether there is actually any news that could possibly be considered as being positive for the market in the near term.

The biggest fear, that of increasing interest rates coming sooner rather than later, could be assuaged if the GDP comes in weak tomorrow morning, as expected.

However, while those fears may be put on hold, a rational person would be concerned that the economy isn’t heating up enough to warrant even the slightest of interest rate increases.

Those rate increases usually come as corporate earnings are climbing strongly, but that’s not really the case at the moment. So if the FOMC is focused and hell bent on increasing rates, one has to wonder whether, in the face of lackluster profit growth, that interest rate increase might not be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back and created the correction that seems so long overdue.

I’m glad other people get paid to think about those sort of things. They are far too complex even for those people that know what they’re looking at, thinking about and creating policy.

With a couple of purchases yesterday, a rollover and the sale of a call on an uncovered position, I should maybe have given some thought to calling it a week, but it was hard to look the other way watching Lexmark take a hit following its earnings release.

But with cash available and some positions still within the realm of possibility of either being assigned or rolled over, I wouldn’t mind making even some more purchases.

While Lexmark seemed to fit the bill for the kind of compelling opportunity that I was looking for if trading in advance of the FOMC release, I don’t think tomorrow will offer anything similar, so I’ll be taking it in, would be my guess.until there’s a chance of gaining some clarity.

Daily Market Update – April 28, 2015  (9:00 AM)

Apple reported nice earnings yesterday and continued its assault on the $1 trillion market capitalization line, as it also approaches the $1,000/share level prior to its stock split.

The market cap of Apple is even more amazing when you consider how many shares have now been bought back and retired, no longer being counted toward that $1 trillion mark.

But unlike 2011 and much of 2012 when the S&P 500 could have been summarized simply on the basis of Apple’s moves, it is no longer the stock that moves markets up and down, just as IBM had been in an earlier era.

With the market in mild decline yesterday and with early indications of some mild decline continuing this morning, there doesn’t appear to be too much euphoria, even as Apple is pennies away from an all time high as the morning session is about to begin. The early DJIA numbers would be far weaker, though, if Apple and Merck, also having reported earnings, were not both up so stroingly.

As is often the case, news becomes stale quickly, especially as there’s more news coming and this week has plenty of more news coming, as earnings will keep pouring in all throughout the week.

With the FOMC meeting beginning today the last 2 months have gotten away from that strange habit of earlier months that saw unusual moves much higher on the day prior to the release.

Whatever confidence investors had about what would be contained in the FOMC Statement has vanished, as now it’s hard to know whether there is actually any news that could possibly be considered as being positive for the market in the near term.

The biggest fear, that of increasing interest rates coming sooner rather than later, could be assuaged if the GDP comes in weak tomorrow morning, as expected.

However, while those fears may be put on hold, a rational person would be concerned that the economy isn’t heating up enough to warrant even the slightest of interest rate increases.

Those rate increases usually come as corporate earnings are climbing strongly, but that’s not really the case at the moment. So if the FOMC is focused and hell bent on increasing rates, one has to wonder whether, in the face of lackluster profit growth, that interest rate increase might not be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back and created the correction that seems so long overdue.

I’m glad other people get paid to think about those sort of things. They are far too complex even for those people that know what they’re looking at, thinking about and creating policy.

With a couple of purchases yesterday, a rollover and the sale of a call on an uncovered position, I should maybe think about calling it a week.

But with cash available and some positions still within the realm of possibility of either being assigned or rolled over, I wouldn’t mind making some more purchases.

With the market appearing to open the morning with a mildly negative tone, I’m not expecting many opportunities to do what I would really like to do and simply sell more calls on uncovered positions. While there’s still the possibility of adding positions, something would have to seem as a really strong buy to do so before tomorrow’s potentially big GDP and FOMC news.

Daily Market Update – April 27, 2015  (Close)

Compared to last week, anything would qualify as being a busy week, but this coming week will meet the definition at any time.

In addition to being the second of the two busiest earnings weeks each quarter, getting started with Apple after today’s closing bell, there’s lots more on tap.

Before Wednesday afternoon’s FOMC Statement is released, there will also be a GDP Report.

That tandem may be a powerful combination.

With the FOMC meeting crafting its statement lasting for  1 1/2 days, that GDP release may change the verbiage used in the final statement release.

The question needing to be answered from the GDP Report is whether or not the anticipated consumer led expansion from decreasing energy prices is ever going to happen.

The expectation is that it may, but not yet.

Sooner or later weather can’t keep being an excuse.

After the GDP is release we get to scour the FOMC Statement and try to figure out whether interest rate increases will happen sooner or maybe wait until the next winter, when it would serve as the perfect anti-complement to weather induced slow-downs.

As busy as the week may be, with the exception of the Apple report today, there wasn’t not too much going on to move markets.

The early futures trading were looking to add to Friday’s closing highs in the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ, but the day ended up being very listless.

In fact, it was interesting that early on, while the market was higher, the Volatility Index was actually also higher, whereas it would have been expected to have gone lower.

However, if you looked at the minute charts for the S&P 500 you would have seen that there were lots of ups and downs during that time period of the first 2 hours, that despite being in a narrow range,, really did satisfy the mathematical definition of volatility, despite our not perceiving it as such.

With a little more cash in hand and a handful of positions expiring this week that are at least in striking range of their strikes, I’m again hopeful for a week that will have a decent combination of new call options sold, rollovers and assignments.

With that cash, I’m a little less reluctant to add new positions, but will likely look for weekly option expirations and try to balance the number of new positions with the number of assignments that I think me be likely.

The turned out to bbe the case today to start the week, with 2 new positions initiated, one rollover and even a call sale on a long uncovered position, Coach, which happens to report earnings tomorrow.

With the FOMC and GDP having the ability to significantly alter the path of the market, I definitely do not want to get too far out ahead of it and may also consider adding new positions after the FOMC Statement release, but then looking at the following week’s expiration.

As the morning got ready to begin, I was, as expected, an observer and wasn’t too eager to jump aboard if the climb happened to go much higher from where the futures were indicating. With a little decline from the early modest climb up, it looked like a good time to get involved and wait for the ride that may be coming later in the week.

In the meantime, as the march does continue higher and with concerns that it brings added downside risk, there may also be reason to again focus on the added value and safety that dividends may provide in the near term. Hopefully, today’s purchase of Kinder Morgan, which is ex-dividend tomorrow is a step in the right direction.

Daily Market Update – April 27, 2015  (9:00 AM)

Compared to last week, anything would qualify as being a busy week, but this coming week will meet the definition at any time.

In addition to being the second of the two busiest earnings weeks each quarter, getting started with Apple after today’s closing bell, there’s lots more on tap.

Before Wednesday afternoon’s FOMC Statement is released, there will also be a GDP Report.

That tandem may be a powerful combination.

With the FOMC meeting crafting its statement lasting for  1 1/2 days, that GDP release may change the verbiage used in the final statement release.

The question needing to be answered from the GDP Report is whether or not the anticipated consumer led expansion from decreasing energy prices is ever going to happen.

The expectation is that it may, but not yet.

Sooner or later weather can’t keep being an excuse.

After the GDP is release we get to scour the FOMC Statement and try to figure out whether interest rate increases will happen sooner or maybe wait until the next winter, when it would serve as the perfect anti-complement to weather induced slow-downs.

As busy as the week may be, with the exception of the Apple report today, there’s not too much going on to move markets.

The early futures trading is looking to add to Friday’s closing highs in the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ.

With a little more cash in hand and a handful of positions expiring this week that are at least in striking range of their strikes, I’m again hopeful for a week that will have a decent combination of new call options sold, rollovers and assignments.

With that cash, I’m a little less reluctant to add new positions, but will likely look for weekly option expirations and try to balance the number of new positions with the number of assignments that I think me be likely.

With the FOMC and GDP having the ability to significantly alter the path of the market, I definitely do not want to get too far out ahead of it and may also consider adding new positions after the FOMC Statement release, but then looking at the following week’s expiration.

As the morning gets ready to begin, I will likely be an observer and wouldn’t be to eager to jump aboard if the climb goes much higher from where the futures are indicating. However, any weakness in positions that are on the radar, including those from previous week’s may still be open game, such as American Express, which received a downgrade this morning.

In the meantime, as the march does continue higher and with concerns that it brings added downside risk, there may also be reason to again focus on the added value and safety that dividends may provide in the near term.

Daily Market Update – April 24, 2015  (9:00 AM)

The Weekend in Review will be posted by 6 PM and the Weekend Update will be posted by Noon on Sunday.

The following trade outcomes are possible today:

Assignments:  Abercrombie and Fitch, Activision

Rollovers:  The Gap

Expirations:  Astra Zeneca, Best Buy, Whole Foods

The following were ex-dividend this week: Fastenal (4/24 $0.28)

The following will be ex-dividend next week: none

Trades, if any, will be attempted to be made prior to 3:30 PM EDT.

Daily Market Update – April 23, 2015  (Close)

The earnings keep pouring in this morning and the reactions were mixed, at least as far as the early bird traders were concerned..

With the general story continuing, that is that top line revenue is tending to be lower than expected, while bottom line profits are trending higher, for the most part those reports are being taken in stride.

Maybe even better than simply “taking it in stride,” as the S&P 500 was about 1.2% higher for the week as the morning was getting ready to begin and was within 0.5% of its all time closing high. By the time today came to its close, even off of its highs as ground was lost in the final hour, the market inched even closer to those highs.

Those highs are just a month old. Meanwhile the NASDAQ finally came to its new closing high some 15 years after the last one.

What this earnings season shows is that it’s amazing what can happen as you prepare yourself for the possibility of bad news. If you act adult-like, and the disappointments do come along as expected, there seems to be less of a reason to panic or over-react.

That has definitely been the case as this earnings season has gotten underway and is now in full swing. The expectations were low due to currency head winds and the relief has been palpable as the numbers are being released. Even decreasing forward guidance, which is usually a kiss of death, hasn’t been  keeping the market from moving forward.

When you are led to believe that the market values growth above everything else, it is a rare sight to see it moving higher even when prospects for growth are being dashed. But as long as that strategy of under-promising or having lowered expectations seems to be working, then imagine what the next earnings season could bring if results are better than we’ve been anticipating.

Interestingly, Caterpillar, which reported this morning and was up sharply in the pre-open trading said nothing about the singular factor that has been depressing top line revenues for just about everyone else.

With just about everyone else pointing a finger at currency exchange Caterpillar hasn’t said much about that and shares were soaring, perhaps because the market values immunity from natural laws.

That immunity seems odd, considering how much Caterpillar has a stake in all parts of the globe. That immunity didn’t last, though, as Caterpillar actually ended up spending a significant amount of time trading at a loss and closed almost unchanged.

Another form of immunity came as Dow Chemical reported its earnings this morning. Its CEO, Andrew Liveris, again reiterated that his company is essentially ambivalent about the price of oil. He said that a few months ago as Dow Chemical was getting caught up with the slide seen in energy prices, but based on its price actions, no one seemed to believe him.

It has been a case of “that’s my story and I sticking to it,” but lately it appears as if investors have come around to his logic, which presumably is based on more than just logic.

With now just 1 day left in this weekly cycle, there’s some opportunity remaining for some rollovers and perhaps even some assignments. This morning’s early weakness in the futures made that prospect look less encouraging, but even with the gains having faded by the close, at least they were gains.

Without some continued strength, especially a strong pop higher, there’s not too much likelihood of being able to sell new calls on currently uncovered positions, so while I would like to see assignments, I may prefer now to have the opportunity to rollover some positions instead, so as to create the weekly income I’ve gotten accustomed to getting, as the bills won’t pay themselves.

Daily Market Update – April 23, 2015  (8:15 AM)

The earnings keep pouring in this morning and the reactions  are mixed, so far.

With the general story continuing, that is that top line revenue is tending to be lower than expected, while bottom line profits are trending higher, for the most part those reports are being taken in stride.

Maybe even better than simply “taking it in stride,” as the S&P 500 is about 1.2% higher for the week and now is within 0.5% of its all time closing high.

It’s amazing what can happen as you prepare yourself for the possibility of bad news. If you act adult-like, and the disappointments do come along as expected, there seems to be less of a reason to panic or over-react.

That has definitely been the case as this earnings season has gotten underway and is now in full swing. The expectations were low due to currency headwinds and the relief has been palpable as the numbers are being released. Even decreasing forward guidance, which is usually a kiss of death, hasn’t been  keeping the market from moving forward.

When you are led to believe that the market values growth above everything else, it is a rare sight to see it moving higher even when prospects for growth are being dashed. But as long as that strategy of under-promising or having lowered expectations seems to be working, then imagine what the next earnings season could bring if results are better than we’ve been anticipating.

Interestingly, Caterpillar, which reported this morning and is up sharply in the pre-open trading said nothing about the singular factor that has been depressing top line revenues for just about everyone else.

With just about everyone else pointing a finger at currency exchange Caterpillar hasn’t said much about that and shares were soaring, perhaps because the market values immunity from natural laws.

That immunity seems odd, considering how much Caterpillar has a stake in all parts of the globe.

Another form of immunity came as Dow Chemical reported its earnings this morning. Its CEO, Andrew Liveris, again reiterated that his company is essentially ambivalent about the price of oil. He said that a few months ago as Dow Chemical was getting caught up with the slide seen in energy prices, but based on its price actions, no one seemed to believe him.

It has been a case of “that’s my story and I sticking to it,” but lately it appears as if investors have come around to his logic, which presumably is based on more than just logic.

With 2 days left in this weekly cycle, there’s some opportunity remaining for some rollovers and perhaps even some assignments. However, this morning’s early weakness in the futures, although improving a bit as earnings have been coming in, makes it a little more tenuous.

Without some continued strength, especially a strong pop higher, there’s not too much likelihood of being able to sell new calls on currently uncovered positions, so while I would like to see assignments, I may prefer now to have the opportunity to rollover some positions instead, so as to create the weekly income I’ve gotten accustomed to getting, as the bills won’t pay themselves.

Daily Market Update – April 22, 2015  (Close)

What started off with some promise as IBM reported its earnings after the closing bell on Monday turned into some disappointment as a handful of DJIA components also reported earnings prior to the open on Tuesday.

The net result was more of the same.

Companies reporting improved bottom lines but without meeting top line expectations, with currency exchange being top at the list for reasons given.

This time the market wasn’t too pleased, after having given a pass to those reporting similar experiences during the first week of earnings season. The displeasure was probably muted a little as the bottom lines were still better than expected, as those expectations were already lowered across the board.

As a result the DJIA had flirted with a triple digit loss going into the final minutes of trading, but was able to pare that down just a bit, but the broader S&P 500 didn’t perform as weakly as the DJIA.

With yesterday’s pullback, the DJIA is a full 1% away from its historical April performance since 2000, but if anything is really clear, it’s just how quickly sentiment changes and the markets move to keep pace,

This morning were more earnings reports from DJIA components, including Boeing and Coca Cola, but this time those early indications were positive, although those conference calls were scheduled to begin after the market opens this morning, so it could have been anyone’s guess as to where they could have pulled the DJIA and whether another dichotomy between it and the S&P 500 would occur today.

The market looked as if it may get off to a mildly lower start, but the kind that neither seems to have conviction nor to be based on any economic news or otherwise. As it would turn out before 11 AM could roll around the market turned higher and just continued along that way as both McDonalds and Coca Cola reversed their early negativity and move nicely higher. This time, however, the DJIA and the broader market stayed well aligned.

This morning Existing Home Sales were released and while I usually don’t think too much about that report, it comes during a very quiet week and may have a little more importance, as may the Petroleum Status Report.

Those sales showed a nice increase, actually the best monthly change in more than 4 years.

The Existing Home Sales were expected to be higher as the excuse of bad winter weather is thought to be fully exhausted at this point. A strong number, especially a very strong number could have been negative for the market if it would start to ignite interest rate concerns again. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been so hyper-focused on interest rates, but sooner or later that issue will re-surface and it’s hard to imagine how that would be a catalyst for anything other than a short term move lower, despite the general consensus that a reasoned methodical increase in rates would be a good thing for all concerned.

The report, however, didn’t frighten anyone and may have been the impetus for the market’s turnaround.

With only 2 new positions added this week, despite having cash reserves replenished with last week’s assignments, I don’t think there will be too many reasons to consider dipping into cash to add additional positions.

While there’s still plenty of time left for the week to unfold, I’m hoping that the week’s income stream will find some help from rollovers, although I might be willing to forego the income if it meant assignments of some positions that are currently possible assignment candidates.

While I would still like to see some new covered positions created from those sitting idly and not earning their keep, this week doesn’t look as promising as the past two, unless something can spark a fire. While there’s a temptation to look at some longer time frame contracts to try and squeeze something out of those positions, the volatility just keeps getting lower and lower and the premiums follow in the same direction.

For now, the volatility seems to have gotten off of its pattern of the past few years and is over-due for a little spike. Until that day comes, unless there is also the opportunity to take advantage of some earnings related premiums, I think there’s reason to sit tight before committing to those longer term time frames.

Right now, I’d just be happy to get through the week.

Daily Market Update – April 22, 2015  (8:00 AM)

What started off with some promise as IBM reported its earnings after the closing bell on Monday turned into some disappointment as a handful of DJIA components also reported earnings prior to the open on Tuesday.

The net result was more of the same.

Companies reporting improved bottom lines but without meeting top line expectations, with currency exchange being top at the list for reasons given.

This time the market wasn’t too pleased, after having given a pass to those reporting similar experiences during the first week of earnings season. The displeasure was probably muted a little as the bottom lines were still better than expected, as those expectations were already lowered across the board.

As a result the DJIA had flirted with a triple digit loss going into the final minutes of trading, but was able to pare that down just a bit, but the broader S&P 500 didn’t perform as weakly as the DJIA.

With yesterday’s pullback, the DJIA is a full 1% away from its historical April performance since 2000, but if anything is really clear, it’s just how quickly sentiment changes and the markets move to keep pace,

This morning are more earnings reports from DJIA components, including Boeing and Coca Cola, but this time those early indications were positive, although those conference calls were scheduled to begin after the market opens this morning, so it can still be anyone’s guess as to where they may pull the DJIA and whether another dichotomy between it and the S&P 500 occurs today.

The market looks as if it may get off to a mildly lower start, but the kind that neither seems to have conviction nor to be based on any economic news or otherwise.

This morning Existing Home Sales are released and while I usually don’t think too much about that report, it comes during a very quiet week and may have a little more importance, as may the Petroleum Status Report.

The Existing Home Sales are expected to be higher as the excuse of bad winter weather is thought to be fully exhausted at this point. A strong number, especially a very strong number could be negative for the market if it starts to ignite interest rate concerns again. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been so hyper-focused on interest rates, but sooner or later that issue will re-surface and it’s hard to imagine how that would be a catalyst for anything other than a short term move lower, despite the general consensus that a reasoned methodical increase in rates would be a good thing for all concerned.

With only 2 new positions added this week, despite having cash reserves replenished with last week’s assignments, I don’t think there will be too many reasons to consider dipping into cash to add additional positions.

While there’s still plenty of time left for the week to unfold, I’m hoping that the week’s income stream will find some help from rollovers, although I might be willing to forego the income if it meant assignments of some positions that are currently possible assignment candidates.

While I would still like to see some new covered positions created from those sitting idly and not earning their keep, this week doesn’t look as promising as the past two, unless something can spark a fire. While there’s a temptation to look at some longer time frame contracts to try and squeeze something out of those positions, the volatility just keeps getting lower and lower and the premiums follow in the same direction.

For now, the volatility seems to have gotten off of its pattern of the past few years and is over-due for a little spike. Until that day comes, unless there is also the opportunity to take advantage of some earnings related premiums, I think there’s reason to sit tight before committing to those longer term time frames.

Right now, I’d just be happy yo get through the week.