Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Shambolic


sham·bo·lic/SHamˈbälik/

Adjective: Chaotic, disorganized, or mismanaged.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

verily


ver·i·ly/ˈverəlē/

Adverb: Truly; certainly. 

Friday, October 1, 2010

Butterfly Spread

Butterfly Spread
An option strategy that has both limited risk and limited profit potential, constructed by combining a bull spread and a bear spread. Three striking prices are involved, with the lower two being utilized in one spread and the higher two in the opposite spread. The strategy can be established with either puts or calls; there are four different ways of combining options to construct the same basic position.

Box Spread

Box Spread
A type of option arbitrage in which both a bull spread and a bear spread are established for a near-riskless position. One spread is established using put options and the other is established using calls. The spread may both be debit spreads (call bull spread vs. put bear spread) or both credit spreads ( call bear spread vs. put bull spread). 
Break-Even Point--the stock price (or prices) at which a particular strategy neither makes nor loses money. It generally pertains to the result at the expiration date of the options involved in the strategy. A "dynamic" break-even point is one that changes as time passes.

Bid Price

Bid Price
The price at which a buyer is willing to buy an option or stock.

Beta

Beta
A measure of how a stock's movement correlates to the movement of the entire stock market. The Beta is not the same as volatility

Bear Spread

Bear Spread
An option strategy that makes its maximum profit when the underlying stock declines and has its maximum risk if the stock rises in price. The strategy can be implemented with either puts or calls. In either case, an option with a higher striking price is purchased and one with a lower striking price is sold, both options generally having the same expiration date.

2nd Definition
In options trading, a bear spread is a bearish, vertical spread options strategy that can be used when the options trader is moderately bearish on the underlying security.
Because of put-call parity, a bear spread can be constructed using either put options or call options. If constructed using calls, it is a bear call spread. If constructed using puts, it is a bear put spread.

Bear call spread

A bear call spread is a limited profit, limited risk options trading strategy that can be used when the options trader is moderately bearish on the underlying security. It is entered by buying call options of a certain strike price and selling the same number of call options of lower strike price (in the money) on the same underlying security with the same expiration month.


Example

Consider a stock that costs $100 per share, with a call option with a strike price of $105 for $2 and a call option with a strike price of $95 for $7. To implement a bear call spread, one buys the $105 call option, paying a premium of $2, and sells the $95 call option, making a premium of $7. The total profit after this initial options trading phase will be $5.
After the options reach expiration, the options may be exercised. If the stock price ends at a price P below or equal to $95, neither option will be exercised and your total profit will be the $5 per share from the initial options trade.
If the stock price ends at a price P above or equal to $105, both options will be exercised and your total profit per is equal to the sum of $5 from the original options trading, a loss of (P - $95) from the sold option, and a gain of (P - $105) from the bought option. Total profits will be ($5 - (P - $95) + (P - $105)) = -$5 per share (i.e. a loss of $5 per share). The loss is due to speculation that the price would go down but it actually did not.
Bear Put Spread
A bear put spread is a limited profit, limited risk options trading strategy that can be used when the options trader is moderately bearish on the underlying security. It is entered by buying higher striking in-the-money put options and selling the same number of lower striking out-of-the-money put options on the same underlying security and the same expiration month. The options trader hopes that the price of the underlying drops, maximizing his profit when the underlying drops below the strike price of the written option, netting him the difference between the strike prices minus the cost of entering into the position.