Ron Ianieri

Options on a falling US$: Buy a Put on the US$ versus whatever currency you want to trade against. The best way to do this is through Philadelphia's (PHLX) World Currency Options. They are very easy to use.

This one is so cheap that the option play becomes very difficult. You're not going to be able to make too much of an options play on a $2 stock.

European banks are high risk. #1 prediction is that Europe will get hit harder than North America is with this recession, so the worst is still coming for them. Unlike the US, which is aggressively de-leveraging itself right now, Europe has not been as aggressive.

Calendar Spread is a time premium collection strategy. Ideally the stock should be in a consolidation phase. You want it to be in a sideways trading pattern, not running up or running down. You also have to worry whether the stock is assignable to you because of your option come expiration.

Did a nice job of acquiring competition in areas where they were not as strong. Bad thing about this bank are rumours of nationalization but he doesn't think it will happen. Could be an $8-$10 stock and in 3 years a $20-$25 stock. When he purchases this, he'll take a front month “out of the money” call giving him room for capital appreciation with a ratio of possibly 3 of them.

Leaps of 2011 “in the money” options Calls around $12.50 strike. He'll also Sell 3 front month “slightly out of the money” options against that to collect premium and do that every month as time passes.

Oil is down because of a global recession and he doesn't think it's going to last. This one always performs well. As well he would buy an “out month” in the money Call, maybe 2011 and Sell on a ratio “out of the money” front month calls to bring in a little premium to help with the cost of the “out month” option.

Options: Agreements that give holders the right to Buy or Sell a specified number of shares at a predetermined price. They are bought and sold like shares. The perfect form of a stock portfolio hedge.

US Market: US$ has rallied mostly because everyone globally is having problems. It is not a flight to quality but a flight to confidence. If he were a Canadian, he would be a little nervous investing in the US knowing that when the bottom drops out, the US dollar is probably going to get hurt significantly against the Cdn$. You can hedge the dollar by using currency options. (Philadelphia Stock Exchange.)

Jan 9/09 $60 Puts? Bearish on the market so he is bearish on this stock. Doesn't believe in buying “out of the money” (no innate value.) options. With the stock trading at $90, the $60 Put gives you the right to sell at $60. This has no intrinsic value. The stock would have to move $30 by Jan 9/09 for the option to have value.

If you own, you could try to sell some Calls. He would personally sell “out of the money” as he is bullish on oil stocks. He would like to own them long-term. Instead of buying the stock, you could have bought a long-term “in the money” Call to replace the stock. This would be more cost efficient with less potential risk.

Caller Buys DUG-N and DIG-N and sells covered calls at the money on both positions. Good strategy? Options are great on the ETF’s.

Greek Variables: (A group of statistical references that are spit out by the pricing option model.) Very important as they tell you the option sensitivities to time, stock movement and volatility movement that your option has. They identify all the potential risks of your option as well as quantifying them.

Buy an “out month” option, a Leap (long term option) and go as far as 2011 and buy a Strike that's about $10 or $15 in the money. Only enter about 25%-30% as he thinks you are going to get better prices in the coming months.

Buy a Leap (long term option) and go as far as 2010/2011. Look for a Leap that is around 75 or 80 deltas. (Greek Variable?) Gives % change how much your option price will change with a corresponding movement in the stock price. (You would be buying Calls because you want to be Long.)