http://optionmatters.ca Your best option Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:47:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Commodities, especially metals, hit a soft patch late in 2011. The concern among analysts was weak demand coming from the emerging markets… specifically China. But sentiment is beginning to change. All because China, the world’s largest commodity gobbler, seems headed for a “soft” landing rather than the “hard” fall that ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2012/02/05/benefits-from-a-soft-landing/ Low interest rates, rising inflation, and a lower US dollar combined to lift the price of gold for the fourth straight week. With the Fed openly talking about another round of quantitative easing the interest in gold as a hedge and as a speculation jumped right along with its price. ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2012/01/30/solid-gold/ An option strategy that works well for those want to take advantage of time value is calendar or time spreads. It is also a good strategy in a low volatility environment. With the MX Volatility Index at 15.35% and well below its 200-day moving average there is a good argument ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2012/01/23/understanding-calendar-spreads/ Options Education Days are back. The first 2012 OED will be in Toronto next March 3rd. Places are going fast! To register, or for information on the program, click here. http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2012/01/19/options-education-days-back-by-popular-demand/ We allude to fertilizer, of course, something that hasn’t been much in the news lately, given all the fuss and bother about European (and other) debt problems overhanging the global financial system. But people must eat, and animals must be fed. It just so happens that supplies of one staple ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2012/01/16/upswing-in-the-agriculturals/ Earlier this week, a closely watched indicator suggested continuing improvement in the US economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers index climbed to 53.9 in December, up from 52.7 in November. The gauge posted its best reading since June, as factory activity showed broad-based growth across a wide ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2012/01/09/turnaround-value/ On behalf of everyone at optionmatters.ca, it gives me great pleasure to wish you and your family all the best for this holiday season, and for the new year to come. The blog will be on vacation next week, back on January 4, 2012. Till then, spend time with your ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2011/12/22/seasons-greetings/ Year-to-date, the traditional non-cyclical sectors have performed on cue and in textbook fashion, outperforming cyclical stocks by a wide margin. The S&P/TSX Capped Healthcare (+12.8%), Capped Telecom (+13%), Income Trust (+15.4%) and Capped REIT (+13.8%) Indexes have posted year-to-date double-digit gains compared with year-to-date double-digit losses for most every other ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2011/12/19/will-we-see-more-of-the-same/ Last week’s billion-dollar plus sale of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan’s majority interest in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to a couple of Canada’s largest telcos is an example of effective decision-point resolution. It remains to be seen whether Canada’s Competition Bureau will approve the transaction. But that is secondary. ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2011/12/12/he-shoots-he-scores/ One of the sectors usually associated with non-cyclical stocks is real estate. You can see that in the sectors performance. The S&P/TSX Capped Real Estate Index was ahead 2.6% year-to-date to the end of November. It is up 6.3% over the past 12 months. That’s not too surprising, given that ... http://optionmatters.ca/blog/2011/12/05/brookfield-positioned-for-recovery/