[display_podcast] (Warning: math ahead!) Covered call writing is when you own a stock (or buy a stock today) ...and also sell (or write) a call option against that position. The main thing people forget about covered call writing is this: anytime you sell something,...
How can so many people be so wrong for so long? It wasn't all that long ago where we had gas lines, a prime rate that reached 20%, unemployment reaching 12%, and inflation at 13%. All we heard -- nearly 30 years ago -- the problem was "inflation." The only way to...
Don't worry about "why" your investment is falling. Focus on "what" instead. What is happening now. Don’t worry about “WHY”...everyone is doing that. Gyrating stock prices are getting swung around by deceptive news headlines, faulty stories -- all designed to play...
Your mutual fund has a surprise waiting for you. It is not a nice surprise.
One of the side stories coming out of the bank bailout has been this: some banks are actually using the money -- to buy other banks! My first reaction when seeing this headline, was "why can't these banks do what we ask them to do?" I did read a story recently where...
Take a walk with me down Memory Lane: 1973: S&P down over 17% (ouch) 1974: S&P down over 29%. (ouch again) The bottom for the S&P was reached in October 1974. And the bottom was reached -- yet again -- in December 1974. There was no advantage to jumping...
Like crossing the equator on a ship -- should buy and hold investors get some kind of recognition (or have some celebration) for crossing the line? The S&P 500 crossed 1100 in 1998 (twice), 2001 (3X!), 2002, 2004 and 2008. Look, when I drive around the same...
Quick history lesson: Mark-to-the-Market was a practice originally begun by futures and commodity traders in the 19th century. Essentially, mark-to-the-market means your holdings must be "priced" every night...at the price they can be sold at. For years, many bank...
Lost in the bailout mess comes this bit of interesting news for the automakers. The Wall Street bailout has taken most of the headlines, so you may have missed this: a bill set to be passed by Congress includes $25 billion in loans for General Motors, Ford and...
A client called me today, curious about buying shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He said, "I'm sitting at home, watching the stock market channel and I'm amazed. I am seeing all of the shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac changing hands. The stock prices are so...
