Category Archives: Week in Review

 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

December 26 – 30, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

December 26 – 30, 2016

Well, 2016 is over and the Christmas Rally came way too early and left nothing for the final week.

Surprisingly to me, I actually opened 2 new positions in the final week of the year.

Those new positions were 1.3% higher, as they outperformed the adjusted S&P 500 by 2.1% and the unadjusted S&P 500 by 2.4%, as the unadjusted S&P was 1.1% lower for the week to end the year 9.5% higher.

Existing positions outperformed the S&P 500 by 0.9%, but that still meant that they were lower 0.2% on the week.

Still it was a good 2016, even if the end wasn’t anything to write home about.

What was nice this week was the ability to rollover a few positions, even as 2 did expire and will begin 2017 uncovered.

There were also 3 ex-dividend positions on the week, although one of those was for only $0.01.

Also not much to write home about.

2016?

That I would write home about, though, even as there were so few closed positions for the year.

This was a mixed way to end the year, with the relative good news of outperforming the market, but without the good feeling that comes along with actually making money on paper.

Or the even better feeling of making money by closing a position.

What the week was good for was for generating some revenue and keeping the ball moving forward.

2016 was a good year for that as there were lots of rollover opportunities and lots of dividends, even as there weren’t anywhere near as many closed positions as I might have liked.

That leaves 2017 with cash on hand, stocks near their all time highs and a big question as to what the new administration will actually do.

I don’t have a clue, but I won’t be shy about using that cash and looking for opportunities.

Earnings season will be interesting as will the new President’s first State of the Union speech.

For now, I look at 2017 as being a continuation of where the past 2 to 3 weeks have been.

That means a continuing uncertainty about what tomorrow may hold.

But I think that tomorrow holds some good things regarding company profits and guidance and that there is more upside, but I would be very happy to see some profit taking bring us further away from the current levels.

That’s always easier to say than it is to live through and as I’m often reminded, you do need to be careful what you wish for.

I hope everyone has a Happy and a healthy New Year and is ready to enter 2017 with a continuing positive outlook.

This is the last Week in Review, but if you have the time and inclination, I’ll be posting periodically on TheAcsMan.com and will still try to have trades posted in real time.

Just much less of the other fare.

Thank you to all of the loyal subscribers that have stayed with me for so long and always in good humor and in constructive ways.

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:  BX, UA

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

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: CLF

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:    CY (12/27 $0.11), GPS (12/30 $0.23)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: BMY (1/4 $0.39)

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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

December 19 – 23, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO	NEW STO	ROLLOVERS	CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED	CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED	CLOSED	EX-DIVIDEND
0  /   0	0	4	0   /   0	0   /   0	0	3

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

December 19 – 23, 2016

One week left to go in 2016 and we are knocking on the door of 20,000 on the DJIA.

Unbelievable.

The market was basically unchanged for the week and there were no new positions opened.

For the most part, I haven’t minded going along for the ride, although the past week was another one where commodities and retail were weak, so I didn’t care for that part of things.

What I did like was the ability to rollover a number of positions and getting my share of dividends, while still keeping cash at a level that gives me lots of options as 2017 arrives.

Even with the weakness in commodities, 2016 continues to have been a great year.

I’m really looking forward to 2017, especially since I don’t think that I was able to say the same thing for each of the past 2 years.

While there’s no volatility in sight, I think that the next year is going to bring lots of opportunity the old fashioned way.

That means no artificially induced buying from low interest rates and no indiscriminate repurchasing of shares to move them higher.

Instead, I think that we are finally getting to that point that corporate earnings are actually going to be good.

Of course, that has to be balanced with what may be an increasingly high interest rate environment, with upward pressure on rates coming faster than may have ever been expected.

That may be what’s in store as we look at the possibility of an already fully employed work force and the possibility of infrastructure projects coming, as promised.

That may be a good combination for the economy, but a quicker rate of upward pressure on wages and prices may not be the best thing for stocks, unless the stocks are materials and commodity centric.

So that’s why I’m excited about 2017 just continuing the overall story of my 2016 experience.

Hopefully, the 2017 experience will also include more trades, more income and a continued ability to beat the S&P 500 at its own game.

We’ll see about that.

But for now, the only thing that matters is that everyone be in a best position as possible to have the Merriest possible Christmas and to have a happy and a healthy New Year.

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:  MRO

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: DOW

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: CLF

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 (12/19 $0.72), GDX (12/19 $0.055), DOW (12/23 $0.46)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: CY (12/27 $0.11), GPS (12/30 $0.23)

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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

December 12 – 16, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

December 12 – 16, 2016

New Record, new record and more new records.

OK, that wasn’t really the story this week, but after so many new records, it’s quite an achievement just to hold your ground, especially after an FOMC interest rate hike.

There was a single new position opened this week and it was 1.5% higher, while the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500 were both unchanged for the week.

Unfortunately, due to the weakness in commodities on the week, existing positions under-performed the market on the eek. That was only fair because it was those same positions that have helped the existing positions out-perform the market for most of the year.

There were 2 more closed positions, but that still has the year at only 33, a very paltry number for all of the effort..

Ordinarily I would have said tat this was a great week.

There was one new position, were 2 rollovers, 3 assignments, 2 ex-dividend positions.

Those would have ordinarily allowed me to overlook the 2 expired positions.

Unfortunately, existing positions really did poorly this week as commodities let me down, just as they have carried me through most of the year.

What this week did was to add even more to my cash reserve, which I actually do like, even as we continue to set new closing highs.

As much as I think that we are still going higher, I very much like the idea of having some cash to pick up bargains that I believe are going to come, even as there is every reason to think that markets are going higher.

With some more cash in reserve I don’t mind spending some of it in the coming week, even as we may be at near term highs.

That’s the nice thing about having cash. You can take some risks and still be able to bail yourself out.

With the FOMC now having weighed in, in just a few weeks we are all set to start earnings season all over again.

This time around, it’s reasonable to think that those earnings are going to be better than expected, but those expectations are probably climbing, too.

Still, I think that the coming quarter is going to give markets a reason to move higher, as may the reality of the President-Elect becoming the President.

With a couple of expiring positions next week and cash on hand, along with one dividend position, there’s really not a compelling reason to add any new positions, but the volatility in commodities, as there is almost no volatility elsewhere, continues to be really hard to pass up.

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:  CLF puts

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:   MRO

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: CLF

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  HFC, HPQ, IP

Calls Expired:  AGQ, ANF

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:    M (12/13 $0.38), BBBY (12/14 $0.125)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: LVS (12/10 $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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

December 5 – 9, 2016

NEW POSITIONS/STO	NEW STO	ROLLOVERS	CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED	CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED	CLOSED	EX-DIVIDEND
0  /   0	0	1	1   /   0	0   /   0	0	5

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

December 5 – 9, 2016

New Record, new record and more new records.

How often can you say that?

That pretty much sums things up, as the S&P 500 was up 3.1%

This week had no new positions opened as I was happy just going along for the ride.

More importantly, while conserving cash from the previous week’s assignments, there was again opportunity to put some idle positions to work with the sale of calls on 3 uncovered positions.

Existing positions did well, but with Friday’s decline in commodity pricing, ended up not being able to keep up.

With one more closed positions this week we did break the 30 mark for the year. Still a paltry number as there are almost 1000 closed positions in the nearly 5 years of recommendations.

This was mostly a week to watch.

I don’t mind doing that and haven’t minded as long as that means things are moving higher.

Despite a bit of lagging this week as commodities saw declines on Friday, I was pretty happy.

That’s because there were 5 ex-dividend positions and I was able to keep alive that DOH trade, without losing the position to assignment.

What i didn’t do, and in hindsight should have, was to have recommended more of those DOH trades to subscribers.

Even though i do post them, I decided that it was just too much to have to juggle several of those at one time.

That would have been the case this week.

While I don’t mind the risk – reward imbalance, it’s definitely not for everyone.

Plus , it also requires being glued to the ticker, especially as trading nears the end of trading for the day.

That’s what happened with a short position I opened late this afternoon and I was prepared to make an offsetting trade heading into the closing bell.

The problem is that doesn’t leave much time for anyone else to follow that lead.

Oh well, it was still a good week and the rally continues.

Next week the FOMC reports and I think there’s even more to come, but I am happy to be squirreling away 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:   MRO

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:     GME (11/29 $0.37), MOS (11/29 $0.275), ANF )11/30 $0.20), BAC (11/30 $0.075)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: HPQ (12/12 $0.13), M (12/13 $0.38), BBBY (12/14 $0.125)

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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

NOVEMBER 21 – 25, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

November 21 – 25, 2016

New Record, new record and more new records.

That pretty much sums things up, yet the S&P 500 is up only 8.3%.

Still a good year, but record after record, after record.

This week had no new positions opened as the S&P 500 advanced 1.5%, or about 20% of the year’s gain.

I was, once again, though pretty happy with this week, even though I didn’t open any new positions.

More importantly, while conserving cash from the previous week’s assignments, there was again opportunity to put some idle positions to work with the sale of calls on 3 uncovered positions.

With one ex-dividend position and those 3 call sales there was some generation of income, but there was also the ability to keep up with the advancing market.

Existing positions actually bested the market by 0.1% on the week, adding to their very good performance in 2016.

On paper, anyway, they are well ahead of the 8.3% advance in the S&P 500, but I’m always reluctant to talk about things like that until the profits are booked and not just on paper.

There were no new closed positions this week, so performance of closed positions in 2016 goes unchanged, still sitting with only 27 closed on the year, but still hoping to at least make it to a paltry 30 by the year’s end.

This was another week with  really not too much going on.

If anything, we just got one week closer to the FOMC’s next meeting and increasing certainty that there will be an interest rate increase at that time.

No panic, yet, and it’s looking as if there may not be any panic.

While we do hit these new highs, we’re not doing it in a way as to raise any eyebrows.

That’s exactly the way it was in 2007. We just wore higher and higher.

Nothing really spectacular, just hard earned positive days, but without those triple digit moves to make people giddy or nervous.

Because of that, I think that we are still headed even higher, unless something stunning happens in the next month or so.

Anything larger than a 0.25% rate increase, or anything that might question the validity of the Presidential election, could create some angst, but I’m not counting, nor hoping for either.

Next week does have the GDP and then the Employment Situation Report, nut unless they too have some really big surprises, there isn’t even anything any of the FOMC members speaking next week can really do or say to change investor sentiment.

With cash still on hand and with nothing on schedule for expiration next week, I take some solace in having about 4 ex-dividend positions. I wouldn’t mind a little bit of profit taking before considering spending any of that cash, but I’m very unlikely to go chasing the market if it moves higher.

If it does, I’ll just be happy to get some more paper profits and perhaps get a chance to sell some more calls or be in a better position to roll some positions over when the December 2016 option cycle is up for its expiration.

I otherwise expect to remain quiet again next week, but certainly wouldn’t mind another week like this one.

 

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: GMC, INTC, WY

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:     HFC (11/23 $0.33)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: GME (11/29 $0.37), MOS (11/29 $0.275), ANF )11/30 $0.20), BAC (11/30 $0.075)

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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

NOVEMBER 14 – 18, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

November 14 – 18, 2016

Well this week was pretty much the antithesis to last week.

Probably a good thing, though.

I was pretty happy with this week, even though I didn’t open any new positions.

The S&P 500 finished the week 0.9% higher and existing positions did well.

More importantly, there was again opportunity to put some idle positions to work and there were opportunities to add to the cash reserves thanks to some assignments and the expiration of some short puts.

There were also a couple of rollovers.

The only negative was that there were some expirations, as well, but as has been the case all through 2016, a little patience may pay off.

With 3 new closed positions this week, there are now 27 on the year.

That’s nothing compared to past years, especially when you consider that 11 of those closed positions were a single stock.

The average closed position in 2016 is 7.3% higher, as long as you conveniently omit MolyCorp. That compares to 2.0% for the S&P 500 during the various time periods of holding, representing a 256.6% differential.

There really wasn’t too much going on this week, other than more data to suggest that the FOMC will have an easy decision in a few weeks.

That’s because retail sales have been better than expected, as long as you don’t think too much about specialty retailers.

It’s also because the bond market has been doing the FOMC’s work for it as interest rates continue moving higher since the Presidential election.

I was very happy to have a nice combination of assignments, rollovers and call sales this week.

Mostly, I don’t mind getting more into cash as we look forward a few weeks to the FOMC meeting.

While we all expect action this time around, the expectation continues to be for just a 0.25% increase.

That’s probably what it will be, but in the back of my mind I think about the possibility of a 0.50% increase.

That would probably decimate traders.

Not likely to happen, but I don’t mind having some more cash than has been the case for quite some time.

Next week is a holiday shortened one and while I won’t mind dipping into cash, the premiums aren’t likely to be very enticing for just 4 days of trading.

I’m looking forward to a quiet week, but we all know that these light volume weeks can also bring some surprises, so even if there are few if any trades to be made, there will be reason to watch with some interest.

As earnings are now almost complete, the rest of 2016 will be an FOMC watch and thoughts about strategic selling.

While there haven’t been too many gains in 2016 for the overall market, even as we are at new highs, it has been a very good year, but I’ll still be happy to see it go.

.Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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:  M

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle: IP

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

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

New STO: CY, GM

Put contracts expired: MRO

Put contracts rolled over: none

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  MRO, MS

Calls Expired:  COH, GME, INTC

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 (11/14 $0.05)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: HFC (11/23 $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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

NOVEMBER 7 – 11, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

November 7 – 11, 2016

What a week.

It makes little sense to try and dissect out what happened this week, so I won’t even try.

The only thing I know is that the experts are more often wrong when it comes to that which can never be obey recognizable rules of order.

This week had no new positions opened, but I was happy just going along for the unexpected ride.

That ride took the S&P 500 3.8% higher on the week.

That ride also gave me the opportunity to sell calls on 4 uncovered lots and rollover the serial rollover position that has basically been the “go to” for 2016.

With an ex-dividend position on the week and those other income generating trades, I was pretty satisfied, but still have no clue what the rest of 2016 will bring.

For my part, I actually wouldn’t mind 2016 just continue, as is.

The only thing that i didn’t care for during the week was that existing positions couldn’t keep up with the market as they were weighed down by energy, although they still managed to gain 2.7% on the week.

There were, again, no new closed positions on the week and 2016 is looking like it will have fewer than 30 closed positions on the year.

There was so much going on this week and not too much of it lent itself to explanation.

The way the week ended, maybe with just a little whimper, has to make you wonder what the next week holds for us.

A week ago at this time we thought we knew what the coming week was going to hold, but that didn’t really work out.

The experts got everything wrong, including what the stock market would do in the event that they got the election prediction wrong.

After this week’ I and maybe a lot of Americans actually feel better about things, as there is still a cordial shift in power, after the most acrimonious of elections.

That has to count for something.

What we can also count on is that the rise in interest rates will make the FOMC’s decision moot in just a few weeks.

With no assignments this week and the decision to roll over the put position that could have expired, I don’t know where my mind will stand as we get ready to look at that record closing high on the DJIA.

I’d like to see energy do some catching up and I’d like to see interest rates take a little bit of a rest.

With this week’s earnings coming from retailers and their guidances, I think that we all know what to expect in a few weeks, so the question becomes whether we are ready to finally accept the inevitable.

I think that we are and I think that the economy will get a significant short term boost in the coming year as the party against big government goes on a big spending spree, with focus on infrastructure.

Ultimately, there will be a price to be paid, but not any time soon.

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: ANF, BAC, BAC, FAST

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:      IP (11/10 $0.46)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: MRO (11/14 $0.05)

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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

October 31 – NOVEMBER 4, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

October 31 – November 4, 2016

This week it was easy to know what was going on, which made it very different from the past few weeks.

This week there was nothing good going on, even as earnings weren’t so bad.

There was just no reason to be enthused about anything at all.

Still, I was happy this week, but only because it could have been much, much worse.

I was pleased not to have put any new money at risk, because I couldn’t find any reason at all to spend money.

The S & P 500 finished the week 1.9% lower, as it extended its daily losing streak to nine days.

By comparison, I suppose that existing positions being only 0.6% lower is a victory.

It was nice to also sell some calls on some uncovered positions and to have had at least one ex-dividend position on the week, but all in all, there wasn’t very much activity.

There were, again, no new closed positions on the week and 2016 is looking like it will have fewer than 30 closed positions on the year.

There was so much going on this week, but none of it helped markets.

There were no really bad days, since the market did have some recovery from the steepest of its losses, but there was barely any effort to go anywhere but lower.

With earnings not really being awful and the FOMC offering no surprises, the week ending Employment Situation Report did nothing to buoy markets.

Neither did it do anything to depress them.

What seemed to be depressing the market was every time it appeared as if Clinton’s lock on victory was less secure.

That may portend for a really, really big move on Wednesday.

With everything being so very unpredictable this election season, that’s not a runaway train that I want to get in front of, no matter what the election outcome.

I would be more than happy to watch it go higher without putting any more money at risk.

Anything to put existing positions in better position would be just fine with me at this point.

With the large loss of this week, we are now about 5% below our all time high from just 2 months ago.

That puts us within easy striking distance of a correction, but it also is a good springboard for a rebound.

I’m not really a betting kind of person, but my guess is that we’re in for a rebound, but with the clouds hanging over people’s heads these days with one investigation after another, there may yet be shoes to drop.

The sidelines never looked better.

With an expiring position next week, I would actually like to roll it over, rather than see those short puts expire.

At least that way I would have something to do for the week.

Otherwise, it’s more of the same watching and waiting game.

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: AGQ, MRO

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:      INTC (11/3 $0.26)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week: IP (11/10 $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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

October 24 –  28, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

October 24 – 28, 2016

This was yet 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.

I said that last week, too.

And the week before, too.

This time, though, I’m not certain whether I should be pleased or displeased. That wasn’t the case last week when I as pretty happy about the outcome..

I was again pleased to have made an opening position trade and pleased to be able to roll that over and still have it positioned to be able to take assignment of the short puts if necessary, immediately before its ex-dividend date.

That one new position ended the week 0.3% lower, but that was still 0.4% higher than both the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500.

The S&P 500 itself was down 0.7% for the week.

I was also pleased with all of the trading that I was able to get done, but existing positions trailed the S&P 500 by 0.5%, just as it beat by 0.9% last week.

Add to that the opportunity to sell calls on 2 uncovered positions and the 4 ex-dividend positions and I ended up being pretty happy, even as the overall positions lagged the market.

There were no new closed positions on the week and 2016 is looking like it will have fewer than 30 closed positions on the year.

There was actually a fair bit of news this week, but nothing really to move markets.

What news came from earnings was very much mixed and the really good news from the GDP was overshadowed by some political news.

On top of that interest rates moved higher and oil moved lower.

There was no trend and no really good news from companies offering their guidance.

The GDP, however, was stronger than might have been expected, given some of the numbers that are coming our way.

Maybe when the retailers start shedding some light on what they project we may finally see some real movement in the market.

What direction is still anyone’s guess.

The GDP release on Friday gave more reason to believe that the FOMC was going to have reason to act within the next 6 weeks or so, especially as interest rates are beginning their climb.

If traders are fearful, and the sudden interest in buyouts and mergers may indicate a fear that cheap money will be disappearing, the direction could be south, just as it was last year.

However, cooler and smarter heads prevailed, although it did take a month of pain for those smarter people to take control of markets.

WIth no assignments this week and no positions set to expire, I wouldn’t mind spending some cash to make cash, but I’m still wary.

That hasn’t stopped me before, but 2016 hasn’t exactly been one of robust buying anyway, even as it has been a good year for the bottom line and the overall income production has been acceptable, although not great.

It is time for great again, but I don’t think it’s coming next week.

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: BMY, HPQ

Put contracts expired: none

Put contracts rolled over: MRO $14.50

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  MRO $15

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:     F (10/25 $0.15), KMI (10/28 $0.125), MS (10/27 $0.20), WY (10/26 $0.31)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week:  INTC (11/3 $0.26)

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.



 

Option to Profit

Week in Review

October 17 –  21, 2016

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

 

Weekly Up to Date Performance

October 17 – 21, 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.

I said that last week, too.

The difference was that for me it was easy to know whether to be pleased or displeased this week.

More or less.

For the most part, I was pleased.

I was pleased to have made an opening position trade and pleased to be able to turn that back into cash by the end of the week.

That one new position ended the week 1.8% higher, which was 1.4% higher than both the adjusted and unadjusted S&P 500.

The S&P 500 itself was up 0.4% for the week.

I was also pleased with all of the trading that I was able to get done, as well as how existing positions were able to finish 0.9% higher than the S&P 500 for the week.

What I wasn’t too happy about were the positions that expired and now need to have new calls sold on them.

A week ago I though most if not all would either get assigned or be rolled over.

So much for that.

With another assignment this week, there are now 24 closed positions. They will forever be forever overshadowed by MolyCorp, when I look at their performance on the year, but as a group without MolyCorp, those positions have done very well versus the S&P 500. There just are too few of them for 2016.

There really wasn’t much news this week.

What there was happened to be mixed and there was also a tendency to overblow both the good and the bad when it came to earnings.

For my part, i was a happy camper.

There were rollovers, new short positions opened, an assignment and a dividend.

The cash flow was better this week and the account wasn’t drained.

Next week is another big earnings week and I’m hoping to do more of the same as this week.

I don’t mind opening any new positions and I wouldn’t mind selling more calls.

However, with 4 ex-dividend positions on the week, the same urgency isn’t there to generate income as it may have been on other weeks that had no positions available for rollover.

So I may sit back next week more than was the case this week.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed this week, which hasn’t been the case very often, even as 2016 is shaping up to have been a very good year.

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:  IP (11/20)

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

New STO: BAC, UAL

Put contracts expired: MRO $14

Put contracts rolled over: MRO $15

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  none

Calls Expired:  BMY, CY, HPQ, WY

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:     FAST (10/21 $0.30)

Ex-dividend Positions Next Week:  F (10/25 $0.15), KMI (10/28 $0.125), MS (10/27 $0.20), WY (10/26 $0.31)

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.



 

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.



 

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 Friday, 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.



 

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.

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.



 

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 looking 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.



 

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 Profits: 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.