3/12 Almanac

Friday, March 12, is 7 days before March options expire, 35 the April and 70 the May.

Blue chip stocks (SPY) closed the latest regular session at $115.45, up 0.4% from the prior close.


In total, 3.2 billion shares were traded on the three major U.S. stock exchanges, down 11.1% from the day before.

On the jump, mediawatch, rules, econ reports, portfolio and a good book...

Mediawatch:  The Narrative told the tale of Chinese inflation and it's major impact on American stock prices. The way it goes is this: The Chinese inflation rate rose from 1.5% a year to 2.7% a year (admirably low, actually), and if prices start to run away like that, then government will have to raise interest rates to stop it, and that will slow the Chinese economy and put the kibosh on the global economic recovery.

So you're doomed. Don't look away. I mean you. Looking at this screen right now. You're doomed, and its all Greece's China's fault.

So which part of that long chain of hypotheticals constitutes the weakest link? 'Cause that's only how good a chain is. AP's fantasy. And Reuters'.

Next, tales from Mother Goose!


My rules (broken shamefully today with my GME trade) allow trades in April covered calls, iron condors and butterfly, calendar, diagonal and vertical spreads.  I allow myself to trade unhedged call and put option purchases that expire in May or later.

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The Option Trader Handbook: Strategies and Trade Adjustments (Wiley Trading)

A wonderful section adjust options positions when the price moves against you.

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For the econ reports, Friday is consumer oriented. It's all about us!

• Retail sales at 8:30 a.m. Eastern will give an indication of whether we've seriously started to spend our way back to prosperity.
• Consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. lets us know if we're doing it with optimism or grudgingly.
• Business inventories at 10 a.m., five minutes later, tells us if the people we buy from have a bunch of stuff in stock or will be needing to reorder.

(Why is it that when times are bad, the talkings say we should spend for the sake of recovery, but when times are good they we should rather than being such irresponsible spendthrifts? Could it be that they've built their careers by being professional naggers?)

My portfolio consists of . . .

March expiry:

• AKS, iron condor, p19/-p20/-p25/p26
• GCI, covered call, s/-c15
• GME, bull call spread, c19/-c20
• WFC, iron condor, p26/-p27/-c29/c30

Shares for dividends: AOD, NLY.

Zombie shares: MCO, PALM.

Good trading!



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Topics: S&P 500, SPDR, Spiders, AK Steel Holdings, Alpine Dynamic Dividend closed-end fund, Gamestop video game retailer, Gannett newspapers media, Moodys bond rating, Annaly Capital Management, Palm smartphone Pixi Pri, Wells Fargo bank financial.