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 BlockOption Block 334: Are Mini Options Dead?
Option Block 334: Are Mini Options Dead? Trading Block: Close to close is only half the story today. Russell and the NASDAQ lead the way. Stocks that pay a…
The Option BlockOption Block 333: AAPL, AMZN Earnings Roundup
Option Block 333: AAPL, AMZN Earnings Roundup Trading Block: A mild rally on the street today. Apple earnings play-by-play with Uncle Mike Tosaw. A very boring…
The Option BlockOption Block 332: How to Waste a Good Hedge
Option Block 332: How to Waste a Good Hedge Trading Block: Back to rally mode on the street. Vol retreats yet again. Names before the bell: Haliburton (HAL)…
The Option BlockOption Block 331: Maximizing Your IRA
Option Block 331: Maximizing Your IRA Trading Block: It was a pretty slow day, with all major indices basically unchanged on the day. Expiration issues…
The Option BlockOption Block 330: Falklands War Volatility
Option Block 330: Falklands War Volatility Trading Block: A mild day on the street. The Russian incursion of Ukraine is still having its effects on the market…
The Option BlockOption Block 329: The Great SPY vs. SPX Iron Condor Debate
Option Block 329: The Great SPY vs. SPX Iron Condor Debate Trading Block: A sea of red on the street today. A lot of directional paper going through OX today…
The Option BlockOption Block 328: Earnings Season Is Back
Option Block 328: Earnings Season Is Back Trading block: Momentum has been taken out of the market for the past two days - which way will we move? Earnings…
The Option BlockOption Block 327: You, Too, Can Be an FBI Junior Agent
Option Block 327: You, Too, Can Be an FBI Junior Agent Trading Block: March options volume rose 14%. ADV was 16,931,924 contracts, equity options volume was…
The Option BlockOption Block 326: Options Trading for Bitcoin
Option Block 326: Options Trading for Bitcoin Trading Block The Fed is not turning off the spigot anytime soon. Ukraine easing tensions combine to boost the…
The Option BlockOption Block 325: SPX vs. SPY vs. Steven Seagal
Option Block 325: SPX vs. SPY vs. Steven Seagal Trading Block: A mild day on the street. VIX cash taking a little breather. A lot of put buying in Google…
The Option BlockOption Block 324: Behold the Power of the Stupid
Option Block 324: Behold the Power of the Stupid Trading Block: A mild day on the street. Controversy over SPX settlement on Friday. Mutual fund use of…
The Option BlockOption Block 323: Rebar Futures Extravaganza
Option Block 323: Rebar Futures Extravaganza Trading Block: Russian President Vladimir Putin is an investor in Swiss-based oil trader Gunvor Group Ltd. Time…
The Option BlockOption Block 322: When 50 is the New 70
Option Block 322: When 50 is the New 70 Trading Block: The VIX was up 25% in the last week. FIA Boca update. US derivatives exchanges have seen improved…
The Option BlockOption Block 321: Old School Bullish Paper
Option Block 321: Old School Bullish Paper Trading Block: A big selloff on the market today. Angela Merkel yells at Putin. A big day for the banks. The numbers…
The Option BlockOption Block 320: Filling Your Britches with Fear
Option Block 320: Filling Your Britches with Fear Trading Block: A mild selloff on the street today - a resounding meh! Congrats to Andrew for passing the…
The Option BlockOption Block 319: Why Would Anyone Do That?
Option Block 319: Why Would Anyone Do That? Trading Block Indexes are at the same level as this morning but the S&P 500 could hit another record close. VIX…
The Option BlockOption Block 318: The Putin Puts
Option Block 318: The Putin Puts Trading Block: Putin’s show of force in Crimea spooks the street. VIX cash sails back above the 16 handle. Ukraine and Nat Gas…
The Option BlockOption Block 317: The Old Goldman Bait and Switch
Option Block 317: The Old Goldman Bait and Switch Trading Block: A mild rally on the street today. JCPenney on the move, jumping as high as 26%, its greatest…
The Option BlockOption Block 316: The Great Put Roll Down
Option Block 316: The Great Put Roll Down Trading Block: A strong rally on the street. Vol is holding up well despite the rally. SolarCity and Sina today after…
The Option BlockOption Block 315: The Great Iron Fly Vs. Condor Debate
Option Block 315: The Great Iron Fly Vs. Condor Debate Trading Block: Market up 0.5%, Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19B, and Groupon takes a wild ride after…
The Option BlockOption Block 314: Late-Night Gamma Scalping
Option Block 314: Late-Night Gamma Scalping Trading Block: Catching an updraft on the street today. A decent slate of earnings helped bolster the market. New…
The Option BlockOption Block 313: Yelling at Yellen
Option Block 313: Yelling at Yellen Trading Block: A rather quiet day on the street. It has been a strange week for vol/VIX. Does this buyback draw a line in…
The Option BlockOption Block 312: Juicy Buffett Puts
Option Block 312: Juicy Buffett Puts Trading Block: Market up 1%. Is the brief correction over? VIX far below the 20-handle. Twitter taking it on the chin…
The Option BlockOption Block 311: VIX Drops the Ball
Option Block 311: VIX Drops the Ball Trading Block: An aggressive selloff today, S&P off 41 handles, NASDAQ down 107 handles. VIX cash passes the 20-handle. A…
The Option BlockOption Block 310: GOOG After Hours Mania
Option Block 310: GOOG After Hours Mania Trading Block: The “Correction” is over. Earnings Trading Review: GOOG and CME after the bell. FB - ATM straddle went…
The Option BlockOption Block 309: The Big AAPL Earnings Show
Option Block 309: The Big AAPL Earnings Show Trading Block: Markets reverse most of today’s slide late in the session. Lots of index volatility, but not many…
The Option BlockOption Block 308: The Scale from Smart to Cowboy
Option Block 308: The Scale from Smart to Cowboy Trading Block: An aggressive selloff sparked by weak existing home sales. VIX cash back in the mid-teens…
The Option BlockOption Block 307: Idiotic Upside Calls
Option Block 307: Idiotic Upside Calls Trading Block: A mild selloff early in the session. SPX weeklies up 98% in 2013. SPX & VIX options hopefully getting…
The Option BlockOption Block 306: Crazy Biotech Action
Option Block 306: Crazy Biotech Action Trading Block: A mild selloff on the street. Still not many bids for volatility, except in select names. VIX due for a…
The Option BlockOption Block: Apple Kills Weekly Volatility
Option Block: Apple Kills Weekly Volatility Trading Block: Alcoa kicking it off after the bell. Apple crushes weekly premium by announcing a late earnings date…
The Option BlockOption Block 304: Polar Vortex Be Damned
Option Block 304: Polar Vortex Be Damned Trading Block: Another day, another mild selloff. Crazy fat finger print in gold futures. Apple taking it on the chin…
The Option BlockOption Block 303: Wither Single Name VIX?
Option Block 303: Wither Single Name VIX? Trading Block: Most of the major indexes selling off about 1%. A lot of put activity on the street. The numbers are…
The Option BlockOption Block 302: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Option Block 302: Looking Forward, Looking Back Trading Block: Predictions for 2014 Mark - I wish they could finally get the Minis right. Hopefully someone…
The Option BlockOption Block 301: Twas the Day Before Christmas
Option Block 301: Twas the Day Before Christmas Trading Block A strong rally on the street on the back of a strong consumer sentiment - A sea of green…
The Option BlockOption Block 300: 300th Episode Spectacular!
300th Episode Spectacular! Hooray for our 300th episode! Mark Sebastian, Mike Tosaw, Andrew Giovinanzzi, Alex Jacobson, Mike Cavanaugh and John Grigus join…
The Option BlockOption Block 299: Band-Aid for a Severed Jugular
Option Block 299: Band-Aid for a Severed Jugular Trading Block: A broad rally across the street on the backs of strong manufacturing data. Fed meeting coming…
The Option BlockOption Block 298: Only Getting 80%
Option Block 298: Only Getting 80% Trading Block: A mixed day on the street. Post non-farms, what is left to give us some vol? Where does one look for premium…
The Option BlockOption Block 297: Talk of Tesla & Twitter
Option Block 297: Talk of Tesla & Twitter Trading Block: Not a lot to drive the market today. Futures are trading a discount to the cash. Non-farm payrolls…
The Option BlockOption Block 296: Apple Fire Sale
Option Block 296: Apple Fire Sale Trading Block: A mild selloff on the street. Some vol has been creeping back into the market ahead of Non-Farms. The Apple…
The Option BlockOption Block 295: Saving Yourself Some Headaches
Option Block 295: Saving Yourself Some Headaches Trading Block: Is there any vol on the horizon? Amazon drones - watch your head! Black Friday a resounding…
The Option BlockOption Block 294: You're Soaking in It
Option Block 294: You’re Soaking in It Trading Block: Positioning going into the short weekend. Where are the long premiums? Where is the free juice? Are OX…
The Option BlockOption Block 293: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Option Block 293: The Gift that Keeps on Giving Trading Block: A strong rally on the street with VIX futures getting utterly destroyed. Twitter has not been…
The Option BlockOption Block 292: TWTR Is No FB
Option Block 292: TWTR Is No FB Trading Block: The first day of trading for Twitter options was very interesting, but yet not the day everyone was hoping for…
The Option BlockOption Block 291: Twas the Night before Twitter
Option Block 291: Twas the Night before Twitter Trading Block: A mild rally on the street today. A tepid outlook from Walmart, doesn't bode well for the…
The Option BlockOption Block 290: Keep that Theta Rolling
Option Block 290: Keep that Theta Rolling Trading Block: Twitter IPO released, started at $26. Can't wait to sell the puts. Tesla taking it on the chin…
The Option BlockOption Block 289: What a Twit!
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Option Block 289: What a Twit! Trading Block: November 14 is official day Twitter…
The Option BlockOption Block 288: The Exciting Road to Nowhere
Option Block 288: The Exciting Road to Nowhere Trading Block: A selloff at the very end of the day. Most major indexes down half a point. Interesting movement…
The Option BlockOption Block 287: Trading Patterns
Option Block 287: Trading Patterns Trading Block: A mild rally on the street. Everyone is still playing the wait and see game after hours today with Apple…
The Option BlockOption Block 286: Super Thursday
Option Block 286: Super Thursday Trading Block: Another mild day on the street. Earnings-Palooza today! Ford before the bell. A newly revived Microsoft. Amazon…
The Option BlockOption Block 285: Listener Mail Extravaganza
Option Block 285: Listener Mail Extravaganza Trading Block: Navigating post-shutdown markets. VIX Cash giving up the ghost post-shutdown. Google, another big…
The Option BlockOption Block 284: The Tosaw-Giovinazzi Show
Option Block 284: The Tosaw-Giovinazzi Show Trading Block: Google up $43 after market. How long can the VIX go? Are we looking at the bottom? Gold reacts to…
The Option BlockOption Block 283: Kick the Can
Option Block 283: Kick the Can Trading Block: A huge drop in VIX cash. Gold also got crushed today. Plus, a very unusual trade in VXX. Xpress Block: Everything…
The Option BlockOption Block 282: A Whole New Kind of Stupid
Option Block 282: A Whole New Kind of Stupid Trading Block: There was a mild selloff on the street today. VIX cash continues to creep north, as the shutdown…
The Option BlockOption Block 281: It's Time for Histrionics
Option Block 281: It’s Time for Histrionics Trading Block: The shutdown dance continues. VIX cash break the 17 handle. Tesla in a frenzy after car fire…
The Option BlockOption Block 280: Pre-Shutdown Put Bonanza
Option Block 280: Pre-Shutdown Put Bonanza Trading Block: Shutdown fears hanging over the market. Vol surging back into the marketplace, but Bloomberg says…
The Option BlockOption Block 279: OTM Fly Breakdown
Option Block 279: OTM Fly Breakdown Trading Block: There was a mild rally today. All Facebook all day at OX. Odd Block: Calls trade in Juniper Networks, Inc…
The Option BlockOption Block 278: Fading the Shutdown
Option Block 278: Fading the Shutdown Trading Block: It was an aggressive day on the street, with a lot of love for Apple, up 20%. Call stupids go up in VIX…
The Option BlockOption Block 277: Metal Volapalooza
Trading Block: A mild day on the street. Watch out! SPY ex-dividend today. Metals hosting a "Volapalooza" Odd Block: Calls Trade in Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), calls…
The Option BlockOption Block 276: Another Day, Another Crash
Trading Block: Another day, another tech disaster! OPRA (Options Price Reporting Authority) feed went down for about an hour while the underlying continued to…
The Option BlockOption Block 275: Predictably Crappy
Option Block 275: Predictably Crappy Trading Block: A mild selloff, but gold and silver took it on the chin. AAPL down 30 handles in a dismal post iPhone…