Fred Ruffy's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/244930/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/157631/comments?source=feed#comment-640445 640445
My apologies.

Have a nice weekend. ]]> Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:01:31 -0400
My apologies.

Have a nice weekend. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/128769/comments?source=feed#comment-447829 447829 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:59:30 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/128132/comments?source=feed#comment-442921 442921
Larry McMillan's "Options as a Strategic Investment" became sort of a "bible" for options traders, but beyond that, there wasn't a lot of information on options trading available to individual investors.

The internet changed everything. The web sites you mention are examples of free education and many online brokers have also stepped up efforts to educate investors--especially when it comes to trading options. Many offer free live courses and webinars. Some offer coaches and mentors. Others offer the ability to paper trade online with live quotes.

There are a plethora of tools out there, but there is also a lot of misinformation and a large number of dubious companies pitching options education today.

Great idea for a series of articles Bill and great suggestions so far. I look forward to reading the rest.
]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:24:44 -0400
Larry McMillan's "Options as a Strategic Investment" became sort of a "bible" for options traders, but beyond that, there wasn't a lot of information on options trading available to individual investors.

The internet changed everything. The web sites you mention are examples of free education and many online brokers have also stepped up efforts to educate investors--especially when it comes to trading options. Many offer free live courses and webinars. Some offer coaches and mentors. Others offer the ability to paper trade online with live quotes.

There are a plethora of tools out there, but there is also a lot of misinformation and a large number of dubious companies pitching options education today.

Great idea for a series of articles Bill and great suggestions so far. I look forward to reading the rest.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/125201/comments?source=feed#comment-421751 421751
One clarification to the comment: "something like 80% or more of all block option trades are delta neutral".

Delta neutral implies that a position is perfectly hedged. For example, 100 shares of stock, which have a delta of 1.00, can be hedged with two puts that have negative deltas of -.5. This results in a position delta of 0 or delta neutral.

Over the 15+ years I have been active in the options market, including on an institutional trading desk, I can tell you with certainty that 80 percent of block options trades are not delta neutral. Options trades are initiated by buyers and sellers for a variety of reasons--sometimes to hedge, sometimes to speculate. True, a lot of the activity is tied to shares, but it is often on positive or negative deltas.

We monitor the activity throughout the day and write about the most interesting and noteworthy activity. Whether or not you feel it has predictive value is up to you, but consider a recent example from Friday--a surge in call activity in Schering Plough that occurred before the takeover announcement Monday. This was not a coincidence.

If you want to find out more about the tools we use and how we track the activity, we have a FAQ section on our web site that addresses many of those questions.

Good trading!]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:31:07 -0400
One clarification to the comment: "something like 80% or more of all block option trades are delta neutral".

Delta neutral implies that a position is perfectly hedged. For example, 100 shares of stock, which have a delta of 1.00, can be hedged with two puts that have negative deltas of -.5. This results in a position delta of 0 or delta neutral.

Over the 15+ years I have been active in the options market, including on an institutional trading desk, I can tell you with certainty that 80 percent of block options trades are not delta neutral. Options trades are initiated by buyers and sellers for a variety of reasons--sometimes to hedge, sometimes to speculate. True, a lot of the activity is tied to shares, but it is often on positive or negative deltas.

We monitor the activity throughout the day and write about the most interesting and noteworthy activity. Whether or not you feel it has predictive value is up to you, but consider a recent example from Friday--a surge in call activity in Schering Plough that occurred before the takeover announcement Monday. This was not a coincidence.

If you want to find out more about the tools we use and how we track the activity, we have a FAQ section on our web site that addresses many of those questions.

Good trading!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/114571/comments?source=feed#comment-355715 355715 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:24:31 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/110312/comments?source=feed#comment-329100 329100
No. And, most people don't find the female breast objectionable, but when Janet Jackson shows hers to the world at the Super Bowl halftime show, it is objectionable to many people because it breaks the "rules". It spreads through the media like a virus because, while it's only a stunt, "how can she do that... in front of all those innocent children????" It's all about the context.

"Should profanity still be considered over the line in every situation in print?"

If you, the editors, want to make your lives easier, avoid making decisions on "gray areas". A blanket policy to remove all profanity is widely accepted and will upset few readers. Most experienced financial writers understand that using profanity in article submissions is a no-no.

At the same time, if you want to separate SA from mainstream media, and really give writers an opportunity to voice strong ideas and opinions, allow some profanity. Like the show SouthPark, which regularly exposes viewers to words like dildo and dumbass, it will probably upset some readers; but that's the price you sometimes pay when creating viral content. It's supposed to ruffle a few feathers. And, if someone won't visit the web site or read the content because of a few swear words, f&#@ em. ]]> Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:09:16 -0500
No. And, most people don't find the female breast objectionable, but when Janet Jackson shows hers to the world at the Super Bowl halftime show, it is objectionable to many people because it breaks the "rules". It spreads through the media like a virus because, while it's only a stunt, "how can she do that... in front of all those innocent children????" It's all about the context.

"Should profanity still be considered over the line in every situation in print?"

If you, the editors, want to make your lives easier, avoid making decisions on "gray areas". A blanket policy to remove all profanity is widely accepted and will upset few readers. Most experienced financial writers understand that using profanity in article submissions is a no-no.

At the same time, if you want to separate SA from mainstream media, and really give writers an opportunity to voice strong ideas and opinions, allow some profanity. Like the show SouthPark, which regularly exposes viewers to words like dildo and dumbass, it will probably upset some readers; but that's the price you sometimes pay when creating viral content. It's supposed to ruffle a few feathers. And, if someone won't visit the web site or read the content because of a few swear words, f&#@ em. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91289/comments?source=feed#comment-232991 232991
This column (The Top 5) will be updated weekly.]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:21:40 -0400
This column (The Top 5) will be updated weekly.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91334/comments?source=feed#comment-232981 232981
As for VIX below 20 because of the holidays, maybe. But, it is also interesting to note that it was hitting multi year highs of 37.5 exactly one year ago Friday.]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:12:43 -0400
As for VIX below 20 because of the holidays, maybe. But, it is also interesting to note that it was hitting multi year highs of 37.5 exactly one year ago Friday.]]>