Shows / The Option Block
The Option Block
The Option Block All-Star Panel breaks down the latest developments in the options market, analyzes unusual options activity, explains cutting-edge options strategies, answers listener questions and much more. Whether you're an active options trader or just getting started in the options market, The Option Block will keep you informed and entertained.
Episodes
The Option BlockBest of Option Block: Theoretical Value & Implied Volatility
It may be a trading holiday, but you still need your Option Block fix, right? We dug through the archives to bring you some of the best of Option Block. This…
The Option BlockOption Block 509: Phenomenally Ingenious Tree Trade
Trading Block: The most up-to-date result of our March Madness Poll. Stocks to Watch: Valeant, Tesla, Starwood, Marriott, Markit, IHS. Stocks dip, dollar…
The Option BlockOption Block 508: The Lobster Flies Solo
Trading Block: U.S. crude options volatility sinks as prices bounce off Feb lows. CBOE to list options on FTSE 100 and China 50. Options traders prepare for…
The Option BlockOption Block 507: Waiting for a Bonehead Political Soundbite
Trading Block: ICE would keep London Stock Exchange if it bought LSE Group. Fed to sit tight on rates at March meet, hint at hikes to come. Earnings today…
The Option BlockOption Block 506: Uncovered Covered Calls and IRA Options Debate
Trading Block: Big news today from an options exchange perspective: Nasdaq announced it has agreed to acquire International Securities Exchange (ISE), an…
The Option BlockOption Block 505: Just Buy Upside Calls
Trading Block: Goldman Sachs sees best time in two decades to buy S&P 500 calls. Traders are betting the Federal Reserve will next raise U.S. short-term…
The Option BlockOption Block 504: What Makes a Butterfly Take Flight?
Trading Block: Continued relief rally. VIX now has a 16-handle. Huge contango in the VIX. Who blew the all-clear signal? Cage match in junk stocks. CBOE…
The Option BlockOption Block 503: Tried and True Beats Bold and New
Trading Block: Traders are now taking the possibility of a Trump presidency seriously. What was once thought to be a flight of fancy is moving ever closer to…
The Option BlockOption Block 502: Is Put/Call Worthless
Trading Block: Gold goes for a ride. SeaWorld earnings today after the bell and taking it on the chin. Off approx. 9%. Odd Block: Calls and puts go up in…
The Option BlockOption Block 501: More Drama in FIT, VIX and GLD
Trading Block: Options market sees 50% chance of massive S&P plunge. Stocks may have rebounded from their recent lows, but the option market still implies a…
The Option BlockThe Option Block 500th Episode Spectacular
Trading Block: Welcome to our 500th episode. Today's special panel includes: Mark Sebastian, Mike Tosaw, Andrew Giovanazzi, and our must beloved former…
The Option BlockOption Block 499: Crazy Call Skew in Gold
Trading Block: TSLA: Options traders are betting on a 16% move in Tesla shares in either direction through the end of the week. Four of the five most traded…
The Option BlockOption Block 498: Gold and Apple Lead the Charge
Trading Block: Stocks take another beating: Dow down 400. Gold tops $1,200 for first time since June on economic woes. Earnings today after the bell: Yelp -…
The Option BlockOption Block 497: The Very Immediate Roll
Trading Block: Today we have guest co-host Dan Cook from NADEX. LNKD after the bell. ATM straddle: $22, approx. 11.5%. Wall St. fluctuates as equities track…
The Option BlockOption Block 496: TWTR Bulls Piling In
Trading Block: OCC announced total cleared contract volume for the month of January was up four percent from January 2015 with 371,870,087 contracts, marking…
The Option BlockOption Block 495: The Pablum of QE
Trading Block: Earnings! Ford Alibaba Amazon - rocking and rolling! Odd Block: Calls trade in ICICI Bank Ltd (IBN), calls trade in Abbott Laboratories (ABT)…
The Option BlockOption Block 494: Bulls Pile into Crude Oil ETF
Trading Block: Earnings today before the bell Hess Corp. ConocoPhillips fell at least 6.1 percent. Banks retraced their best rally in more than a month Friday…
The Option BlockOption Block 493: Searching for the Dark Source of Volatility
Trading Block: Stocks rebound as Dow up more than 200 points and oil jumps 5%. Wall Street pay takes a hit, braces for deeper cuts. Yellen to keep Fed rate…
The Option BlockOption Block 492: The Great Stupid Debate
Trading Block: U.S. stocks rally from 3-Month lows as energy, healthcare lead. Goldman plans to cut up to 10% of fixed-income traders, salespeople. Before the…
The Option BlockOption Block 491: Buy Andrew a Generator
Trading Block: Last week was the worst start to a trading year in history. An early rally lost steam later in the session. Intra day S&P high - 1935. Does the…
The Option BlockOption Block 490: We Are All Doomed. Flee for your Lives
Trading Block: Hysterics are creeping back into the market in the New Year. This question seems to be popping up all over the place this week. Is this 2008 all…
The Option BlockOption Block 489: Biggest Winners and Losers of 2015
Trading Block: OCC 2015 cleared contract volume third highest ever at 4.2B. Options traders adding to bullish bets on Europe stocks for 2016. Stocks plunge as…
The Option BlockBest of Option Block: The Most Epic Strategy Block Ever
Originally posted on December 24th, 2014, we bring you "The Most Epic Strategy Block Ever" Trading Block: A shortened holiday week, so not much is moving on…
The Option BlockOption Block 488: A Bold Way to Make Twenty-Five Cents
Trading Block: The S&P 500 surged 2.8 percent last week, buoyed by gains in oil and raw-material companies, some of the year’s least-loved stocks. VIX jumped…
The Option BlockBest of Option Block: A Terrifying Bloodbath
Originally published on August 25, 2015, this episode focused on the biggest single point drop ever in the DJIA. Also, chicken little was referenced. Trading…
The Option BlockOption Block 487: Peppermint Sticks for Old St. VIX
Trading Block: The Force is not strong with Disney. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” had a record-breaking $238 million opening weekend at box offices in the…
The Option BlockBest of Option Block
This week, we are digging through the archives to bring you highlights from the Option Block catalog. First up, a look back at a live raucous show, taped in…
The Option BlockOption Block 486: Uncle Mike Says Buy Oil
Trading Block: Crude oil futures fell to seven-year lows - below $35. VIX: On Friday, it was up 28 percent at 24.72. Volatility the surest bet in stocks after…
The Option BlockOption Block 485: What Will the Fed Do?
Trading Block: Oil was down, but energy stocks seemed to drive the market upward. Natural gas down around $2 level today. Odd Block: Call buyers in SPDR Gold…
The Option BlockOption Block 484: Terrifying Charts of Doom
Trading Block: There is an even weirder thing happening in financial markets. SEC to crack down on derivatives. Oil tumbles to six-year low as OPEC abandons…
The Option BlockOption Block 483: The Fed Is a Bunch of Ninnies
Trading Block: A bit of a selloff today - Yellen signals growing likelihood of a December rate hike. OCC cleared contract volume increased 10% in November. SEC…
The Option BlockOption Block 482: Channeling Zoolander
Trading Block: VIX and the egocentricity of the Fed. Odd Block: Calls trade in Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd (QUNR), puts trade in Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA)…
The Option BlockOption Block 481: Theoretical Value & Implied Volatility
Trading Block: Earnings! Before the bell today: Gamestop Corporation, Tyson Foods, Trina Solar. After the bell: Palo Alto Networks. S&P 500 profits fall $25…
The Option BlockOption Block 480: Getting Naked with the Options All-Stars
Trading Block: Apple plummets to 4th place among hedge holdings, from No. 1. Square surges after raising less than sought in IPO. BATS reports successful…
The Option BlockOption Block 479: Stretching Deltas
Trading Block: Rally Ho post Paris. U.S. stocks rise slightly as markets see muted reaction to Paris attacks. Getting Bullish on Yahoo! Heavy call action…
The Option BlockOption Block 478: What the Hell Are Second Order Greeks
Trading Block: Stocks fall as ECB, Fed weigh next moves. White says short selling getting her "intense attention." Earnings: Before the bell today: Kohls…
The Option BlockOption Block 477: How to Make 10 Million in Two Weeks
Trading Block: Who was right about volatility? What will the Fed do? Crude doubletalk from OPEC. Crude curve looking interesting. Odd Block: Calls trade in…
The Option BlockOption Block 476: Star Wars Straddles
Trading Block: Earnings! Before the bell today: Apache, Celgene Corporation, Crocs, Inc., After the bell today: Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks Animation News…
The Option BlockOption Block 475: The Real Magic Mike
Trading Block: Earnings! Before the bell today: Visa, Cardinal Health, Estee Lauder, After the bell today: Allstate Corporation, AMC Entertainment, Avis…
The Option BlockOption Block 474: The Fed Is Ruining Everything
Trading Block: Earnings! Before the bell today: Coca-Cola, CME Group Inc., the biggest futures-market operator, said profit soared in its third quarter, lifted…
The Option BlockOption Block 473: Behold the Power of Deo
Option Block 473: Behold the Power of Deo Trading Block: What is happening right now? Earnings! Before the bell today: Xerox Corporation. Wall Streets next…
The Option BlockOption Block 472: GOOGL, AMZN and Binary Palooza
Trading Block: Today we feature special guest Dan Cook from NADEX. Earnigns: Before the bell today: Eli Lilly, 3M, Dow Chemical, McDonalds, Nasdaq, Sirius…
The Option BlockOption Block 471: Oprah vs. Howard Stern Options Blowout
Trading Block: Oprah buys 10% of Weight Watchers, stock soars. Also, earnings! Walmart (WMT) stock plunged 10% last week on sharply lower guidance from the…
The Option BlockOption Block 479: Maximum Gamma
Trading Block: VIX - The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 4.6 percent Thursday to 17.21, after back-to-back gains for the first time since…
The Option BlockOption Block 469: Introducing the Juicy Put Newsletter
Trading Block: S&P over 2000. Is Tosaw a bull again? VIX weekly options launch today - after a long wait they are finally here! BlackRock proposes remedy for…
The Option BlockOption Block 468: Bernanke vs. Skeletor
Trading Block: The streak is broken - VIX Cash finally breaks 20! "More execs should have gone to jail after financial crisis" Bernanke says. Stocks jump as…
The Option BlockOption Block 467: Energy Options Smackdown
Trading Block: A mild selloff at the end of another volatile session: S&P High - 1927, Low - 1900. The S&P 500 slumped 2.6% in September, and posted its first…
The Option BlockOption Block 466: China Sucker Punches Market, VIX Shrugs
Trading Block: An aggressive selloff on the street today. Profits from Chinese industrial companies down 8.8%. GLD taketh away recently. Odd Block: Strange and…
The Option BlockOption Block 465: The Feckless Fed
Option Block 465: The Feckless Fed Trading Block Auto-parts suppliers option implied volatility increases on Volkswagen probe. U.S. stocks decline as investors…
- The Option Block
The Option Block 465: The Great Internet Meltdown
The Option Block 465: The Great Internet Meltdown Trading Block The Skype Gods conspired against the All-Star Panel on this episode. But we're back nonetheless…
The Option BlockOption Block 464: A Colossal Waste of Time
Trading Block: August US listed options volumes grew 12% compared to July, reaching a new monthly high in 2015. VIX dips below 20.00 for the first time since…
The Option BlockOption Block 463: Fed Fever
Trading Block: Alibaba - Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA -4.05%) have tumbled recently amid an array of problems. U.S. stocks decline amid focus on…
The Option BlockOption Block 462: The Great Fed Fake out
Trading Block: Federal Reserve may bring new life to fed-funds options pit. Apple plans land with a thud. Apple is pulling out all the stops, but nothing it…
The Option BlockOption Block 461: Can Hedging Gamma Move the Stock Market?
Trading Block: Panel of ex-Fed officials say no rate hike will come at September meeting Monthly Volume Breakdown: OCC cleared contract volume rose 33% in…
The Option BlockOption Block 460: The Creepy VIX
Trading Block: Dow off about 100 points in choppy trade, tries to stay out of correction. Goldman Sachs thinks this volatility index should be much lower: The…
The Option BlockOption Block 460: Imploding Apple Puts
Trading Block: Selloff or rally? The market needs to make up its mind. Whither the VIX: there was a brief flirtation with 50 handle now back into the more…
The Option BlockOption Block 459: A Terrifying Bloodbath
Trading Block: The DJIA briefly slumped more than 1,000 points, its biggest point-drop ever. VIX Cash hit 53.29 at 10am. The VIX jumped as much as 90 percent…
The Option BlockOption Block 458: Risk and Reward via Ashley Madison
Trading Block: 6.5 month low. Breaking through big technical levels in the S&P. Huge move in VIX. A rundown of soft and hard losers. When Wal-Mart becomes a…
The Option BlockOption Block 457: To Roll or Not to Roll
Trading Block: Stocks to watch include: Tesla, Zulilly, Pentair, and Estee Lauder. Gold trading outlook: Futures extend gains on US rates speculations. U.S…
The Option BlockOption Block 456: A Constitutional Amendment for Options
Trading Block: Bearish options bets on Apple are spiraling higher. Stocks to Watch: Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) +2.26%), American Apparel Inc. (APP), Lenovo Group…