The Trade Paper March 17th, 2025

Free Trade of the Week

OVTG Host Rebel Chef Pete goes mildly bullish on BA at 165 CALL Calendar Spread.

BA 165 CALL Calendar Spread for 4 April / 11 April @.95

Last Week's trade otw

OVTG has sold their 162.5 CALL Calendar for 2.66 making the ROI about 22%.

*Sold Out by Legs

This Week's Topic

WATCH OUT FOR MISLEADING P&L REPORTS

In a prior article “Where to Trade Options”, I wrote about some of the snags that are involved with option order routing. We touched on the different methods a firm might use when it came to selling a short option position against a covered long option position and how detrimental a firm's procedure can affect the option strategist’s bottom line. The point of the article was to express how much most of these so-called household named brokerage firms do not tell us.

SPECULATIVE OPTION STRATEGIES

As mentioned in a prior article, the OPTION STRATEGIST has several choices when it comes to determining which way to participate in the OPTIONs MARKET. Many will enter into a pure SPECULATIVE STRATEGY based on an opinion or observation. Keep in mind that there are many different levels of speculation and the strategy that is applied will determine the probability of success along with the level of risk and any edge that might be obtained.

Isn’t it amazing how many choices are available in the world of OPTIONS? If you have ever gone into a restaurant with a zillion choices on its menu and had a hard time deciding what to order, you can probably see where I am going with this.

As RETAIL OPTION TRADERS things have gotten somewhat better thanks to competition between the BROKERAGE FIRMS. As we know the COMMISSIONS charged for OPTIONS TRADING in 2006 are substantially lower than what was charged just a few years ago - not to mention all of the sexy research and analysis gadgets the BROKERAGE FIRMS are providing along with their promotions for free trades etc. The content and bonuses are plentiful and can be quite advantageous to the RETAIL OPTION TRADER but in no way are these perks indicative of how a firm delivers TIMELY EXECUTIONS and GOOD FILLS.