Dan Heil's  Instablog

Get Rich with Options is an essential book for an option trader or enthusiast.  Written by Lee Lowell, a former market maker for the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), and current owner of his own trading business nobody is more suited to help you learn about options then him.

            The book begins by giving you a low down of all the basics about options and then goes on to highlight the 4 main trading strategies he himself uses to make money trading options.  Each strategy is elaborately explained with a few examples of profitable trades he has made using each of the different strategies.  Seeing and understanding why each profitable trade, was profitable at all is an excellent way to get yourself acquainted with trading options.

            Whether you’re new to options or already an experienced option trader, you can benefit by learning the battle tested strategies of an experienced trader like Mr. Lowell.

(Richard Shaws article "Tough Times for Dividend Investors"  was the most recent article that provoked me to write this article, he was not the first, and will not be the last.)As investors we seek to limit our risk of loss while maximizing our opportunity for returns.  I think that is about one thing here that we can all agree on.  I am also as guilty as the next person of doing this but, I understand investing in dividend stocks is a good strategy, but to do these screens to find ones you think are sound, when truly we all know that there are really not that many companies right now who's yeild is truly safe from being engulfed in this economic and financial turmoil.  Now, by all means, I am not saying that dividend investing is a bad strategy, because it is not and it has its place, or should have its place, however small or large, in every investors portfolio.  As I said before, as investors, we provide risk management of our assets, and many times others.  Well as some of us may know the definition of insanity i doing the same thing and expecting different results, and during this massive bear market we are in, I am seeing alot of investors that would definitly be considered insane by definition.  I think that all of us as investors should use this bear market as a platform for higher returns in the future, while risking even less.  I think a good fair share have been on a roller coaster ride along with the market, and I for one would much rather adapt to the enviroment that has been hurdled at us so quickly.  When I make a mistake or lose money on a trade, its all worth it, if i learn something i can employ in my future investment philosophy.  This market has taught me to exhaust any means we can to make money in this madness.  Since the good majority of us already have a good amount of knowledge of how the market works, we can put this knowledge to good use in other aspects of trading that we may not have tried before.  I've heard a million times during this bear market that "this is the worst recession since the great depression."  What I think we all need to do is wake up, and come to terms with the fact, that our investment strategies that we have been steadily concocting for all these years is not as fool proof as we thought it was last year at this time so why don't we all just accept that small piece of knowledge that we now have, and make our strategies even better, so when  the next recession comes, we re much better prepared to stay afloat and hopefully profit as well.