Options and Futures

Options - Trading 102

Options trading can become very complicated very quickly. There are LEAPS (long-term contracts), choosers, barriers, compounds (exotics) and a host of technical parameters to measure volatility and predict price movements.

Volatility

Because the actual calculation, and sometimes even the discussions, of volatility involve some fearsome mathematics, novice options traders often forgo learning about it. Those traders are at a disadvantage compared to their more intrepid competitors. And unnecessarily so, since the concept is not only useful but simple to understand....

Options and Futures, Similarities and Differences

You often see the phrase 'options and futures', as if the two were financial Siamese twins. But, though similar, there are important differences the savvy investor should keep in mind....

Options 101

Trading shares of stock has become as common as surfing the Internet. But, like any financial investment, trading stock is risky. The price can fall unexpectedly and stay down for lengthy periods. To offset that risk, and to trade with more funds than you have without borrowing, options are... well, an option....

Intro to Technical Analysis for Non-Dummies

There exist today an array of charts, patterns and statistical analyses large enough to please even a Medieval numerologist. Though it often looks and reads much like mathematical tea-leaf reading, most of the commonly used tools are based on serious empirical studies of the markets....

Calls and Puts

Options are contracts on some underlying trading instrument - shares of stock, bonds, a commodity, a mortgage loan, etc. (The list is endless.)...

Trading Strategies, Profit and Risk

Risk isn't inherently bad. Without it, there would be far fewer opportunities for profit. In particular, there would be no options market at all. No one would have to speculate on price direction or other factors, since risk always implies uncertainty about the future....