2015 was a record year for mergers and acquisitions, and the action generated a lot of media attention. But for some reason, the plethora of mergers that have taken place across many sectors in 2016 have gone unnoticed. From airlines to media, semiconductors, and chemicals – this year has been one of the biggest in…
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Options Trading Webinar: Credit Spread Trading 101 During this options trading webinar, Suz Smith and I covered everything you need to know about credit spread trading and how our new service, Spread Trader, works. We discussed: What a credit spread is Advantages and disadvantages of spread trading Why spread trading places you on the right…
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Options Trading Webinar: Lightning Round Of Chart Analysis There’s nothing quite like a lightning round of chart analysis to get the adrenaline going! During this options trading webinar, the audience brought names and trade ideas, and I analyzed them on the spot. Did we uncover some amazing trading opportunities? You have to listen to the…
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Options Trading Webinar: When The Fed Speaks, Should You Listen? When Fed Chair Janet Yellen or the various Fed Governors speak, the markets react. Unfortunately, whether they talk about policy directives or muse on the direction of the economy, much of what is said is simply noise. Our goal is to learn to separate the…
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Technology stocks have been strong over past couple of weeks, providing the kind of leadership that can take the entire market higher. Intel, Apple, Amazon and Facebook – just to name a few – have enjoyed solid performances. Yet some areas within the sector, particularly software and cloud services, have been showing mixed results. One…
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by Abigail Stevenson With the Federal Reserve meeting on the horizon, Jim Cramer wants investors to be searching for stocks that could be bought regardless of what happens with interest rates. And if the Fed provides a sternly-worded statement about the need for higher rates, Cramer expects that it could send the whole market into…
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How much longer will markets pay attention to central bankers who make noise? It seems like every time a Fed Governor opens their mouth, the markets go into a tailspin. Just over a week ago, some Fed Governors said rate hikes may come sooner than you think. Just days later, those statements were contradicted when…
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Options Trading Webinar: How To Trade Volatility The Volatility Index, or VIX, was very low over the summer, hovering around 14%. Traders everywhere were getting nervous, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then BAM! Last Friday, volatility spiked to 17% during the huge sell off. Whether volatility is very low, very high, or somewhere…
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After the entire stock market (yes, everything!) was hammered last week, it has been tough to find anything worth buying. (But as we know, it is all about waiting for a move to be confirmed, and it looks like Friday’s move is just about over.) Many charts look like Amgen, which you can see below. Interestingly,…
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With all due respect to Francis Pharcellus Church and the New York Sun, “Yes Virginia, there is market volatility.” After a summer of complacency and low market volatility, the massive move down this past Friday came as a surprise. (Of course, it was not announced ahead of time, but big moves rarely are.) Once again,…
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