Managing a Collared Position DEFINITION OF ‘COLLAR’ 1. The purchase of an out-of-the money put option is what protects the underlying shares from a large downward move and locks in the profit. The price paid to buy the puts is lowered by amount of premium that is collect by selling the out of the money call. The...
Probably the most noteworthy event in the first half of 2015 was the surprise rate cut issued by the Bank of Canada (BoC) in the first quarter. It was designed to provide “insurance against a downturn” in light of the sharp decline in oil prices. The BoC was right to be concerned. Unfortunately policymakers underestimated...
For the first half of 2015 global financial markets have been obsessed with short term noise. We have witnessed a succession of exacerbated reactions to on again off again negotiations with Greece, waste of time debates on the timing of a Fed rate hike or endless dissections of monthly jobs data where 20% revisions are more the...
The Canadian dollar has fallen on hard times. The Canadian dollar tends to follow West Texas Crude so it’s not surprising to see our Loonie trading close to 80 cents US. With lower Canadian interest rates and a US rate hike all but assured the Loonie may week stay in its current range for some time. If you buy into that...
Option trading is rarely static. Cost / benefit metrics can change quickly causing one to rethink whether the initial assessment underpinning a trade is still in play. Often follow up strategies are required to either minimize losses on trades that miss the mark or up the ante on profitable positions. Ideally, follow up...
Income hungry investors continue to ramp up their risk appetite in order to collect extra basis points in yield. Bonds continue to defy gravity as foreign investors flock to the safety and higher yield in North American fixed income assets. Canadian bonds have turned in strong returns as witnessed by the iShares Broad Bond...
On January 15th, the Swiss National Bank (SNB – Switzerland’s central bank) removed its’ self-imposed restrictions on the Swiss Franc. A major shift in policy shrouded in secrecy at a time when central banks had been trying to be more transparent, which many felt would have dire consequences for the Swiss economy....
This past week we saw some indications that longer term interest rates may actually rise. Something investors have been talking about for the past two years! It is not that interest rates will rise significantly, it is more about what impact any change in mindset will have on your portfolio. More importantly, what steps can one...
A number of the big name oil companies are reporting earnings this week and many analysts think that the numbers may be worse than expected, which is to say worse than numbers that have already been revised downward. Still, this is one case where you might want to take the numbers with a grain of salt. Let’s face it, tighter...
Trading in the first quarter of 2015 will center on oil for good reasons. Not only has oil’s fall created one of the largest tax cuts since Reaganomics, the fallout has far reaching implications across a broad spectrum of industries. Interestingly, at US $105 per barrel, it was obvious to anyone who understood supply and...