Only four of my companies paid out this April, bringing in a total of $89.10. This is a huge improvement over the zero dollars received in April of 2013 and 2012. You’d have to go back to April 2011 to see the $16.99 from when I first owned GE. I...
I started trading options about one year ago. In that time, I’ve traded plenty of out-of-the-money, at-the-money, and deep-in-the-money options, all depending on my time horizon and goals for each trade. I’ve certainly had my share of losing trades as well as some profitable ones. More important, I’ve learned an...
The recent debate about high-frequency trading that took place live on the floor of the NYSE was quite interesting. However, it seemed to paint high-frequency trading in a very negative light without presenting the other side of the argument. The two videos below from recent episodes of tastytrade LIVE provide...
It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to invest in any stocks. This mostly has been due to the fact that I’ve had a lot of expenses related to my radiology education: books, conferences, travel/hotels, etc. Fortunately, I will be getting reimbursed for most of these expenses and then will...
Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side and The Big Short, just released a new book entitled ‘Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt.’ I have yet to have a chance to read it but it has already stirred up a ton of debate about the concept of HFT, or high...
March was a great month for dividends with 12 of my companies paying out. In March I received a total of $258.07. This is a 149% increase from the $103.64 I made in 2013. I made $59.46 in 2012 and $22.57 in 2011. This is the exact kind of trend...
As much as I love writing about the winners, you can’t have those all the time. So goes the case with a recent bull vertical put spread on Amazon (AMZN). Three days prior to option expiration, I decided to pull the trigger and give another credit spread a try. My...
On my dough account I purchased a bull vertical put spread on Citigroup (ticker symbol C). According to Schwab, this strategy consists of simultaneously purchasing and selling put options at the same expiration date but different strike prices. The bull-version of this strategy is profitable for an upward movement when...
No, I’m not talking about Star Trek, though Virgin Galactic and other commercial space ventures are definitely very cool. On a side note, I’m hopeful that in my lifetime we’ll have colonies on the moon. I’m talking about new advances in medicine…specifically, applications of genomic medicine. The self-described goal: “to...
Just heard a good (but scary) segment on Mark Belling’s show on 1130 WISN.The segment discussed how unprepared many of today’s seniors are for retirement. According to research from the Center for Retirement Research, the median 401(k) balance for households headed by people aged 55 to 64 who had retirement...
