Update 2009.05.10

I was so overwhelmed with other things to do that I didn’t have time to take care of my option positions—much less to post about them. The results have not been very good. When this cycle is over (Friday), I’ll get back to it.

One of the things I fouled up was my spreadsheet of results. I had set it up so that it strung out to the right. But when I duplicated rows in the current month as a way to insert a new position, I inadvertently duplicated rows in a past month, fouling everything up. I bought Quicken hoping it would provide a better way to keep track of my positions. So far I’m disappointed. It doesn’t seem very well set up for options.

Update 2009.05.04

AKAM. Ran right past my short Call. Will close the short put (for simplicity) and establish short straddles at 22.5 and 24.

DOW. Also ran right past my top straddle at 16. Didn’t get my trade up, either. This time will trade the short 14 straddle for a short 17 straddle.

FCX. Really got killed here. Again ran above my top straddle. This time by 2 points! Will sell three 50 Puts to balance three short calls. Will also sell a 50 Call and roll the 42 and 43 calls up to 46 calls.

FXI. Same story once again. Will sell two 38 Puts and roll the 32 and 33 call to 34 calls.

IBM. Still ok, but will close it if I can for <= $0.5.

IWM. Will build more or less the same structure as in RUT. Sell 500 Put, buy 490 Put, Sell 450 Put. Sell 550 Put. Also reduce leverage from 7 to 3.

SLB. Same thing again. Will roll the 45 straddle up to a 55 straddle.

SPY. Trying a daily market timing strategy. Using both long and short positions to see which works better—if either. Today I took two bearish position, a long 88 Put and a short 93 Call.

Update 2009.05.02

Status with 2 weeks to go ’til May expiration.

AAPL. OK.

AKAM. OK for watch 22.5 short call.

AMZN. OK for now.

CAT. (June positions.)  37 and 40 straddles. Pretty close together. Now close to 37. Watch.

DOW. 14 and 16 straddles. Close to 16, but can it continue to go up without pause? Will roll the short 14 straddle up to a short 15 straddle for the extra premium.

FAS. An old (Jul) position. Wait it out.

FAZ. An even older position. Hope it might be worth something before it expires next summer and fall.

FCX. Somewhat precariously balanced around current value with short puts one and two points below and short calls 2.5 points above. OK for the moment, but watch.

FDX. (June). OK for now.

FXI. Short straddle around current price with additional short strangles a bit further out. Watch.

GLD. Short 85/89 strangle around current price of 87. Watch.

GS. OK.

IBM. OK.

IWM. The short call spread at 50 is dangerously close. Watch carefully.

MSFT. A failed experiment in long options.

PALM. Keeps going up presumably in anticipation of the PRE. Ride and watch. Current action is a 10/11 short strangle with price at 10.92. Pretty close to 11, but also a recent rise. Also, instead of holding a long Aug 12.5 call, I’ll switch to a short Aug 20 Put.

RUT. Lots of legs as a result of scrambling when RUT rose about 500. My position analyzer says it will be quite profitable (starting at today’s prices) if RUT expires between 455 and 535. That sounds pretty good. It’s amazing that this position is so apparently successful. It’s an iron butterfly at 500 with a short outside strangle at 460/530. It takes a lot of legs, but it has an amazingly broad profit area. I should look into doing it on purpose sometime. If I were to open the position now with the puts moved down 20 and the calls moved down 10, it would be quite profitable between 440 and 520. That’s pretty good a nice 10% buffer on either side. That would be an iron condor at 470/480-490/500 along with a short strangle at 440/520.

SLB. Short straddles at 45 and 50. But SLB is at 51. Will it turn around? Watch very carefully. Or put in another straddle at 55? Will wait a day or two.

TLT. Currently short one 97/100 strangle and  two 98/100 strangles — in two different accounts. With TLT at 97.24, will convert the two short 100 Puts into a short 95 straddle and convert the two short 98 Calls into a 98 straddle . That will leave a short 97/100 strangle, a short 95 straddle, and a short 98 straddle.  The two short 95/98 straddles are effectively two short 95/98 strangles.

			Net from	3/29/2009	$7,905
				2009-Apr	$7,600
	Price	& Size	Entry	Current	Leg Net	Pos Net
	Current positions				$305	$305
AAPL		127.3				$284
QAA QB	May 110 Put	-1	2.25	0.25	$200
APV EH	May 140 Call	-1	1.1	0.26	$84
AKAM		22.37				$120
UMU QW	May 17.5 Put	-3	0.58	0.05	$159
UMU EX	May 22.5 Call	-3	0.62	0.75	$39
AMZN		79.02				$439
ZQN QM	May 65 Put	-1	1.24	0.13	$111
ZQN QO	May 75 Put	-1	1.11	1.21	$10
ZQN EQ	May 85 Call	-1	2.66	0.66	$200
ZQN ER	May 90 Call	-1	1.55	0.17	$138
CAT		37.45				$182
CXJ RT	Jun 28 Put	-1	0.88	0.42	$46
CXJ RK	Jun 37 Put	-1	2.48	2.65	$17
CXJ FK	Jun 37 Call	-1	1.14	2.91	$177
CXJ RH	Jun 40 Put	-1	3.95	4.4	$45
CAT FH	Jun 40 Call	-1	1.69	1.58	$11
DOW		15.7				$135
DOW QV	May 12.5 Put	-3	1.85	0.1	$525
DOW QN	May 14 Put	-3	1.7	0.3	$420
DOW EN	May 14 Call	-3	0.41	2	$477
DOW QP	May 16 Put	-3	0.85	1	$45
DOW EP	May 16 Call	-3	0.7	0.65	$15
	closed legs
	May 7.5 Put	3	0.18	0.11	$21
	May 9 Put	-3	0.47	0.48	$3
DOW QB	May 10 Put	-3	0.76	0.3	$138
DOW EB	May 10 Call	-3	1.49	2.25	$228
DOW QK	May 11 Put	-3	0.5	0.05	$135
DOW QK	May 11 Put	-3	1.27	0.56	$213
DOW EK	May 11 Call	-3	1.35	2.62	$381
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	-3	1.42	3.5	$624
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	3	0.54	1.2	$198
FAS		7.88				$330
	Jul 6 Put		2.1	1.25	$0
	closed legs
	May 10 Call	-3	1.45	0.6	$255
	Jul 10 Call	3	1.35	1.6	$75
FAZ		8.57				$655
	Jul 60 Call	1	3.3	0.15	$315
	Oct 65 Call	1	3.9	0.5	$340
FCX		44.5				$304
FCX QF	May 38 Put	-1	1.71	0.35	$136
FCX EX	May 42 Call	-1	2.06	3.6	$154
FCX EY	May 43 Call	-1	1.59	2.91	$132
FCX QD	May 47 Put	-2	3.2	3.65	$90
FCX ED	May 47 Call	-2	1.48	1.08	$80
	closed legs
	May 38 Call	-1	2.93	3.45	$52
FCX EH	May 40 Call	-1	2.23	3.33	$110
FCX ET	May 49 Call	-1	0.5	0.32	$18
FDX		55.13				$70
FDX RI	Jun 45 Put	-1	1.99	1.2	$79
FDX FU	Jun 60 Call	-1	2.16	2.25	$9
FXI		32.4				$137
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-1	1.024	0.5	$52
FXI QF	May 32 Put	-2	1.45	1.15	$60
FXI EF	May 32 Call	-1	1.4	1.4	$0
FXI EG	May 33 Call	-1	0.85	0.9	$5
	closed legs
FXI QY		-2	1.13	0.1	$206
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-2	1.024	0.85	$35
FXI EE	May 31 Call	-3	1.45	1.8	$105
FXI QF	May 32 Put	-2	1.45	1.4	$10
	May 35 Call	-3	0.463333	1.15	$206
FXI EL	May 38 Call	-3	0.35	0.05	$90
GLD		87.04				$140
GLD QG	May 85 Put	-1	0.65	0.8	$15
GLD EG	May 85 Call	-1	3.9	2.85	$105
GLD EI	May 89 Put	-1	2.1	2.95	$85
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	0.9	$95
GLD EO	May 93 Call	-1	0.92	0.3	$62
GLD EQ	May 95 Call	-1	1.86	0.2	$166
	closed legs
	May 83 Put	-1	1.9	1.15	$75
	May 87 Put	-1	2.85	4	$115
GLD EI	May 87 Call	1	4.82	3.4	$142
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	2.45	$60
GLD QO	May 93 Put	-1	4.83	5.4	$57
GLD QQ	May 95 Put	1	7.99	6.3	$169
GS		126.62				$189
GS QA	May 105 Put	-1	1.99	0.39	$160
GS EH	May 140 Call	-1	0.86	0.57	$29
IBM		104.5				$170
IBM QR	May 90 Put	-1	1.35	0.4	$95
IBM EB	May 110 Call	-1	0.9	0.15	$75
IWM		48.77				$92
	Jun Q2 30 Put	10	0.53	0.1	$430
	Jun Q2 32 Put	-10	0.82	0.16	$660
	Jun Q2 50 Call	-7	1.42	2.79	$959
	Jun Q2 52 Call	7	0.96	1.87	$637
MSFT		20.19				$184
MQF QD	May 20 Put	2	1.22	0.46	$152
	closed legs
MQF ED	May 20 Call	2	0.84	0.68	$32
PALM		10.92				$145
UPY TI	Aug 9 Put	-3	1.6	1.1	$150
UPY QB	Aug 10 Put	-4	0.29	0.3	$4
UPY EK	Aug 11 Call	-4	0.46	0.65	$76
UPY HV	Aug 12.5 Call	3	1.3	1.25	$15
	closed legs
UPY TU	Aug 7.5 Put	-3	1.3	1	$90
RUT		486.98				$58
RUW QK	May 460 Put	-1	4.76	7.2	$244
RUW QA	May 490 Put	1	12.4	17.5	$510
RUW QZ	May 500 Put	-1	16.4	23.7	$730
RUW EZ	May 500 Call	-1	11.5	10.3	$120
RUW EB	May 510 Call	1	12.1	6.8	$530
RUW EF	May 530 Call	-1	5.24	2.65	$259
	Jun Q2 290 Put	1	3.9	0.57	$333
	Jun Q2 300 Put	-1	4.88	0.82	$406
	closed legs
RUR QR	May 390 Put	3	3.1	5.1	$600
SLB		50.93				$105
SLB QI	May 45 Put	-1	0.5	0.35	$15
SLB EI	May 45 Call	-1	4.8	6	$120
SLB QJ	May 50 Put	-1	1.97	1.55	$42
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-1	1.23	2.25	$102
	closed legs
SLB QJ	May 40 Put	-2	0.77	0.09	$136
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-1	1.23	1.99	$76
SRS		25.07				$275
	Oct 70 Call	-1	23.6	3.6	$2,000
	Oct 80 Call	1	19.9	2.65	$1,725
TLT		97.24				$115
ILT QS	May 97 Put	-1	1.32	1.6	$28
ILT ET	May 98 Call	-2	2.35	1.2	$230
ILT QV	May 100 Put	-2	1.16	3.7	$508
ILT EV	May 100 Call	-1	0.68	0.55	$13
	closed legs
	May 106 Call	-2	1.09	0.2	$178

Update 2009.05.01

Again gave in to some day-trading: CAT, DOW, FCX, FXI, PALM, and SLB. It wasn’t really trading. It was more dynamic adjusting, which is probably not a good idea. I should enter adjustment rules to be carried out automatically when circumstances dictate, but I probably shouldn’t actually watch the market and do it on the fly. I get too flustered.

Update 2009.04.30

Looked at the market this morning and got freaked out by the rise in RUT. Made lots of trades in an atteempt to protect the short 500 Call. (Too bad I didn’t see Quantifiable Edges this morning. He called it right on. I don’t know if I would have had the nerve to hang in, though. I don’t like that level of risk.) I had attempted to cover the short 500 Call but didn’t get the price I wanted. Should have taken the price that I could have gotten.

That along with the jump in DOW (which I was basically long in, but not long enough!) pretty much wiped out my profit for the month.

I’m quite frustrated with the trade reporting I get from my broker. It is very confusing and inconsistent. So I’m not sure exactly what my positions are or how my orders were filled. What’s below is my best guess. (It’s ridiculous that I have to put it that way.)

Given those positions, here’s what I plan to do.

DOW. (It really jumped and knocked my position from a profit to a loss!) Close the 11 Puts and the 12.5 Calls (because there is virtually no more time premium in either). Sell a 16 Straddle to protect the short 14 Call and to get some additional premium.

FCX. Sell a 40 Put and a 45 Straddle. This will more or less balance that position and attempt to grab some extra premium.

Update (5/1). Saw that FCX was up to 45. So sold two 47 Puts to protect the two short Calls.

FXI. Sell a 32 Call to balance that position and grab extra premium. As I write this (at about 11 pm Pacific time) the Dow futures are flat but the Hang Seng is up 600 points, nearly 4%. Perhaps I’ll sell the 33, 34, or 35 FXI Call instead of the 32. I just changed the order to sell the 34 Call.

Update (5/1). One of the biggest risks in trading (for me at least) is the possibility of making simple errors. Apparently the Hand Seng was closed last night for May day. The report I was looking at was from Thursday morning, which followed the US Markets’ up-day Wednesday.  Now I’ll have to go back and reconsider the trade I want to make. Well, I just sold a 32 Call. So I now have two short 32 straddles and a short 30/33 strangle.

PALM. Jumped up. Decided to open a May 10/11 strangle.

SLB. Sell a 45 straddle to balance the 50 straddle.

			Net from	3/29/2009	$7,820
				2009-Apr	$7,504
		Price & Size	Entry	Current	Leg Net	Pos Net
	Current positions				$316	$316
AAPL		125.8				$278
QAA QB	May 110 Put	-1	2.25	0.33	$192
APV EH	May 140 Call	-1	1.1	0.24	$86
AKAM		22				$135
UMU QW	May 17.5 Put	-3	0.58	0.05	$159
UMU EX	May 22.5 Call	-3	0.62	0.7	$24
AMZN		80.25				$396
ZQN QM	May 65 Put	-1	1.24	0.15	$109
ZQN QO	May 75 Put	-1	1.11	1.05	$6
ZQN EQ	May 85 Call	-1	2.66	1.12	$154
ZQN ER	May 90 Call	-1	1.55	0.28	$127
CAT		35.4				$24
CXJ FK	Jun 28 Put	-1	0.88	0.58	$30
CXJ RT	Jun 37 Call	-1	1.14	1.2	$6
DOW		15.93				$255
DOW QK	May 11 Put	-3	0.5	0.05	$135
DOW QV	May 12.5 Put	-3	1.85	0.15	$510
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	-3	1.42	3.7	$684
DOW QN	May 14 Put	-3	1.7	0.25	$435
DOW EN	May 14 Call	-3	0.41	2.3	$567
	closed legs
	May 7.5 Put	3	0.18	0.11	$21
	May 9 Put	-3	0.47	0.48	$3
DOW QB	May 10 Put	-3	0.76	0.3	$138
DOW EB	May 10 Call	-3	1.49	2.25	$228
	May 11 Put	-3	1.27	0.56	$213
DOW EK	May 11 Call	-3	1.35	2.62	$381
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	3	0.54	1.2	$198
FAS		8.08				$330
	Jul 6 Put		2.1	1.35	$0
	closed legs
	May 10 Call	-3	1.45	0.6	$255
	Jul 10 Call	3	1.35	1.6	$75
FAZ		8.37				$645
	Jul 60 Call	1	3.3	0.25	$305
	Oct 65 Call	1	3.9	0.5	$340
FCX		42.5				$106
FCX QF	May 38 Put	-1	1.71	0.61	$110
FCX EX	May 42 Call	-1	2.06	2.44	$38
FCX EY	May 43 Call	-1	1.59	1.93	$34
	closed legs
	May 38 Call	-1	2.93	3.45	$52
FCX EH	May 40 Call	-1	2.23	3.33	$110
FCX ET	May 49 Call	-1	0.5	0.32	$18
FDX		55.96				$30
FDX RI	Jun 45 Put	-1	1.99	1.15	$84
FDX FU	Jun 60 Call	-1	2.16	2.7	$54
FXI		31.89				$82
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-1	1.024	0.65	$37
FXI QF	May 32 Put	-2	1.45	1.4	$10
FXI EF	May 32 Call	-1	1.4	1.25	$15
FXI EG	May 33 Call	-1	0.85	0.95	$10
	closed legs
FXI QY	May 25 Put	-2	1.13	0.1	$206
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-2	1.024	0.85	$35
FXI EE	May 31 Call	-3	1.45	1.8	$105
FXI QF	May 32 Put	-2	1.45	1.4	$10
	May 35 Call	-3	0.463333	1.15	$206
FXI EL	May 38 Call	-3	0.35	0.05	$90
GLD		87.11				$175
GLD QG	May 85 Put	-1	0.65	0.8	$15
GLD EG	May 85 Call	-1	3.9	3.2	$70
GLD EI	May 89 Put	-1	2.1	2.75	$65
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	1.1	$75
GLD EO	May 93 Call	-1	0.92	0.3	$62
GLD EQ	May 95 Call	-1	1.86	0.2	$166
	closed legs
	May 83 Put	-1	1.9	1.15	$75
	May 87 Put	-1	2.85	4	$115
GLD EI	May 87 Call	1	4.82	3.4	$142
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	2.45	$60
GLD QO	May 93 Put	-1	4.83	5.4	$57
GLD QQ	May 95 Put	1	7.99	6.3	$169
GS		126.98				$150
GS QA	May 105 Put	-1	1.99	0.45	$154
GS EH	May 140 Call	-1	0.86	0.9	$4
IBM		103.21				$175
IBM QR	May 90 Put	-1	1.35	0.2	$115
IBM EB	May 110 Call	-1	0.9	0.3	$60
IWM		48.37				$137
	Jun Q2 30 Put	10	0.53	0.15	$380
	Jun Q2 32 Put	-10	0.82	0.22	$600
	Jun Q2 50 Call	-7	1.42	3.05	$1,141
	Jun Q2 52 Call	7	0.96	2.08	$784
MSFT		20.26				$184
MQF QD	May 20 Put	2	1.22	0.46	$152
	closed legs
MQF ED	May 20 Call	2	0.84	0.68	$32
PALM		10.49				$150
UPY TI	Aug 9 Put	-3	1.6	1.25	$105
UPY HV	Aug 12.5 Call	3	1.3	1.15	$45
	closed legs
UPY TU	Aug 7.5 Put	-3	1.3	1	$90
RUT		487.56				$252
RUW QK	May 460 Put	-1	4.76	9.3	$454
RUW QA	May 490 Put	1	12.4	20.7	$830
RUW QZ	May 500 Put	-1	16.4	27.4	$1,100
RUW EZ	May 500 Call	-1	11.5	9.9	$160
RUW EB	May 510 Call	1	12.1	6.1	$600
RUW EF	May 530 Call	-1	5.24	2.85	$239
	Jun Q2 290 Put	1	3.9	0.57	$333
	Jun Q2 300 Put	-1	4.88	0.82	$406
	closed legs
RUR QR	May 390 Put	3	3.1	5.1	$600
SLB		48.99				$20
SLB QJ	May 50 Put	-1	1.97	2.5	$53
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-1	1.23	1.5	$27
	closed legs
SLB QJ	May 40 Put	-2	0.77	0.09	$136
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-1	1.23	1.99	$76
SRS		23.56				$445
	Oct 70 Call	-1	23.6	2.05	$2,155
	Oct 80 Call	1	19.9	2.8	$1,710
TLT		98.1				$105
ILT QS	May 97 Put	-1	1.32	1.5	$18
ILT ET	May 98 Call	-2	2.35	1.9	$90
ILT QV	May 100 Put	-2	1.16	2.9	$348
ILT EV	May 100 Call	-1	0.68	0.75	$7
	closed legs
	May 106 Call	-2	1.09	0.2	$178

Update 2009.04.29

CAT. Sold a Jun 28/37 strangle.

DOW. Covered the short 11 Call. Sold the long 12.5 Calls. Sold the 12.5 Calls. Don’t normally day trade. but in the morning I saw that I had sold the long 12.5 Calls and decided to short some.

FCX. Sold the 38 Call. Then bought it back and sold the 40 Call. Don’t normally day trade. But I looked at the result this morning and made that change.  Will close the 40 and 49 Calls and replace them by 42 and 43 short Calls. My broker charges only $1/contract. That makes this back and forth possible.

FXI. Bought three 30 Puts. Similar story to above. Sold and then bought back the 31 Calls. Then sold the 32 Put. Will close the 25 Puts and 38 Calls. Will exchange a 30 and a 32 Put for a 32 Call and a 33 Call.

GLD. Closed the 93 Put. Sold an 85 Call.

MSFT. Sold the 20 Calls.

SLB. Will close the short 40 Puts and exchange a short 50 Call for a short 50 Put.

TLT. Exchanged the short 106 Calls for short 98 Calls. Will sell a 97/100 strangle.

			Net from	3/29/2009	$7,861
				2009-Apr	$6,186
		Price & Size	Entry	Current	Leg Net	Pos Net
	Current positions				$1,505	$1,505
AAPL		125.31				$246
QAA QB	May 110 Put	-1	2.25	0.61	$164
APV EH	May 140 Call	-1	1.1	0.28	$82
AKAM		21.2				$105
UMU QW	May 17.5 Put	-3	0.58	0.4	$54
UMU EX	May 22.5 Call	-3	0.62	0.45	$51
AMZN		79.96				$362
ZQN QM	May 65 Put	-1	1.24	0.21	$103
ZQN QO	May 75 Put	-1	1.11	1.31	$20
ZQN EQ	May 85 Call	-1	2.66	1.09	$157
ZQN ER	May 90 Call	-1	1.55	0.33	$122
CAT		33.84				$2
CXJ FK	Jun 28 Put	-1	0.88	0.81	$7
CXJ RT	Jun 37 Call	-1	1.14	1.19	$5
DOW		13.5				$450
DOW QK	May 11 Put	-3	0.5	0.2	$90
DOW QV	May 12.5 Put	-3	1.85	0.55	$390
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	-3	1.42	1.5	$24
DOW QN	May 14 Put	-3	1.7	1.15	$165
DOW EN	May 14 Call	-3	0.41	0.7	$87
	closed legs
	May 7.5 Put	3	0.18	0.11	$21
	May 9 Put	-3	0.47	0.48	$3
DOW QB	May 10 Put	-3	0.76	0.3	$138
DOW EB	May 10 Call	-3	1.49	2.25	$228
	May 11 Put	-3	1.27	0.56	$213
DOW EK	May 11 Call	-3	1.35	2.62	$381
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	3	0.54	1.2	$198
FAS		8.14				$330
	Jul 6 Put		2.1	1.35	$0
	closed legs
	May 10 Call	-3	1.45	0.6	$255
	Jul 10 Call	3	1.35	1.6	$75
FAZ		8.31				$645
	Jul 60 Call	1	3.3	0.25	$305
	Oct 65 Call	1	3.9	0.5	$340
FCX		41.05				$45
FCX QF	May 38 Put	-1	1.71	1.03	$68
FCX EH	May 40 Call	-1	2.23	2.24	$1
FCX ET	May 49 Call	-1	0.5	0.2	$30
	closed legs
	May 38 Call	-1	2.93	3.45	$52
FDX		55.27				$65
FDX RI	Jun 45 Put	-1	1.99	1.2	$79
FDX FU	Jun 60 Call	-1	2.16	2.3	$14
FXI		31.95				$28
FXI QY	May 25 Put	-2	1.13	0.1	$206
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-2	1.024	1.2	$35
FXI QF	May 32 Put	-3	1.45	1.55	$30
FXI EL	May 38 Call	-3	0.35	0.05	$90
	closed legs
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-3	1.024	0.85	$52
FXI EE	May 31 Call	-3	1.45	1.8	$105
	May 35 Call	-3	0.463333	1.15	$206
GLD		87.97				$295
GLD QG	May 85 Put	-1	0.65	0.65	$0
GLD EG	May 85 Call	-1	3.9	4.1	$20
GLD EI	May 89 Put	-1	2.1	2.25	$15
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	1.65	$20
GLD EO	May 93 Call	-1	0.92	0.55	$37
GLD EQ	May 95 Call	-1	1.86	0.35	$151
	closed legs
	May 83 Put	-1	1.9	1.15	$75
	May 87 Put	-1	2.85	4	$115
GLD EI	May 87 Call	1	4.82	3.4	$142
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	2.45	$60
GLD QO	May 93 Put	-1	4.83	5.4	$57
GLD QQ	May 95 Put	1	7.99	6.3	$169
GS		126.98				$126
GS QA	May 105 Put	-1	1.99	0.56	$143
GS EH	May 140 Call	-1	0.86	1.03	$17
IBM		104.01				$160
IBM QR	May 90 Put	-1	1.35	0.2	$115
IBM EB	May 110 Call	-1	0.9	0.45	$45
IWM		49				$137
	Jun Q2 30 Put	10	0.53	0.15	$380
	Jun Q2 32 Put	-10	0.82	0.22	$600
	Jun Q2 50 Call	-7	1.42	3.05	$1,141
	Jun Q2 52 Call	7	0.96	2.08	$784
MSFT		20.2				$174
MQF QD	May 20 Put	2	1.22	0.51	$142
	closed legs
MQF ED	May 20 Call	2	0.84	0.68	$32
PALM		9.9				$15
UPY TI	Aug 9 Put	-3	1.6	1.45	$45
UPY HV	Aug 12.5 Call	3	1.3	0.9	$120
	closed legs
UPY TU	Aug 7.5 Put	-3	1.3	1	$90
RUT		491.47				$553
RUW EZ	May 500 Call	-1	11.5	12.7	$120
	Jun Q2 290 Put	1	3.9	0.57	$333
	Jun Q2 300 Put	-1	4.88	0.82	$406
	closed legs
RUR QR	May 390 Put	3	3.1	5.1	$600
SLB		50.05				$40
SLB QH	May 40 Put	-2	0.77	0.1	$134
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-2	1.23	2.1	$174
SRS		23.99				$445
	Oct 70 Call	-1	23.6	2.05	$2,155
	Oct 80 Call	1	19.9	2.8	$1,710
TLT		98.35				$80
ILT ET	May 98 Call	-2	2.35	1.9	$90
ILT QV	May 100 Put	-2	1.16	2.9	$348
	closed legs
	May 106 Call	-2	1.09	0.2	$178

Update 2009.04.28

AMZN. Sold the 75 Put.

CAT. Will sell a Jun 28/37 strangle. Tight spreads.

DOW. Will sell my 3 long 12.5 Calls. Would also like to sell three of them but my system doesn’t allow it until the long Calls are gone. This will leave my short three 11 Puts, three 12 Puts, and three 14 Calls. In addition, I’m short three 11 Call/14 Put internal strangles. Will roll the 11 Calls up to 12.5 Calls after the long12.5 Calls are sold.

FCX. Will sell a 38 Call. This is an aggressive step in the face of the need to defend the 38 Put. Will then have a 38 straddle and will have to defend one side or the other. The combined premiums will provide some margin.

FXI. Will do a similar maneuver here. This time trade three 30 Puts for three 31 Calls. That will make the FXI position more balanced in terms of Puts and Calls.

GLD. Crashed today. Will close the short 93 Put and open a shot 85 Call to protect the shor 89 Put.

MSFT. Also crashed. Will give up on the 20 Call and sell it.Tomorrow may sell more more of them short.

RUT. Will close the short 500 Call. Too much leverage for my taste. It’s like 10 IWM’s.

TLT. Will roll the short 106 Calls (premium almost gone) down to short 98 Calls to protect the short 100 Puts.

Update 2009.04.27

AMZN. Sold a May 90 Call. Will sell a 75 Put.

DOW. Sold a May 14 Put.

GLD. Sold a May 95 Put.

Update 2009.04.25

AAPL (123.82). Will sell a May 115/135 strangle. (aggressive)

AMZN (84.54). Will sell a 90 Call (aggressive defense). Considered selling an 85 Put, but will wait and see.

DOW (13). Will sell three 14 Puts (defensive—to defend the short 11 Calls; they had been defended by the short 12.5 Puts).

GLD (89.65). Made two multi-leg trades leaving me with a short 89 straddle, a short 93 straddle and a short 95 call. Will sell an 85 Put (aggressive and defensive) for symmetry.

GS (121.8). Will sell a May 110/135 strangle (aggressive).

SLB (49.3). Will roll the short 40 Puts up to short 45 Puts (aggressive). Will sell 2 May 50 Puts (defensive).

TLT (100.59). Watch and wait (defensive).

			Net from	3/29/2009	$5,130
				2009-Apr	$3,797
		Price & Size	Entry	Current	Leg Net	Pos Net
	Current positions				$1,333	$1,333
AAPL		123.82				$212
QAA QB	May 110 Put	-1	2.25	0.78	$147
APV EH	May 140 Call	-1	1.1	0.45	$65
AKAM		19.87				$135
UMU QW	May 17.5 Put	-3	0.58	0.5	$24
UMU EX	May 22.5 Call	-3	0.62	0.25	$111
AMZN		84.54				$6
ZQN QM	May 65 Put	-1	1.24	0.31	$93
ZQN EQ	May 85 Call	-1	2.66	3.65	$99
DOW		13				$390
DOW QK	May 11 Put	-3	0.5	0.3	$60
DOW EK	May 11 Call	-3	1.35	2.3	$285
DOW QV	May 12.5 Put	-3	1.85	0.75	$330
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	3	0.54	1.25	$213
DOW EN	May 14 Call	-3	0.41	0.5	$27
	closed legs
	May 7.5 Put	3	0.18	0.11	$21
	May 9 Put	-3	0.47	0.48	$3
DOW QB	May 10 Put	-3	0.76	0.3	$138
DOW EB	May 10 Call	-3	1.49	2.25	$228
	May 11 Put	-3	1.27	0.56	$213
FAS		8.42				$330
	Jul 6 Put		2.1	1.4	$0
	closed legs
	May 10 Call	-3	1.45	0.6	$255
	Jul 10 Call	3	1.35	1.6	$75
FAZ		8.28				$645
	Jul 60 Call	1	3.3	0.25	$305
	Oct 65 Call	1	3.9	0.5	$340
FCX		40.8				$68
FCX QF	May 38 Put	-1	1.71	1.24	$47
FCX ET	May 49 Call	-1	0.5	0.29	$21
FDX		56.06				$20
FDX RI	Jun 45 Put	-1	1.99	1.35	$64
FDX FU	Jun 60 Call	-1	2.16	3	$84
FXI		32.4				$197
FXI QY	May 25 Put	-2	1.13	0.1	$206
FXI QD	May 30 Put	-5	1.024	0.75	$137
FXI EL	May 38 Call	-3	0.35	0.15	$60
	closed legs
	May 35 Call	-3	0.463333	1.15	$206
GLD		89.65				$410
GLD EI	May 89 Put	-1	2.1	2.1	$0
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	2.8	$95
GLD QO	May 93 Put	-1	4.83	4.6	$23
GLD EO	May 93 Call	-1	0.92	1.25	$33
GLD EQ	May 95 Call	-1	1.86	0.8	$106
	closed legs
	May 83 Put	-1	1.9	1.15	$75
	May 87 Put	-1	2.85	4	$115
GLD EI	May 87 Call	1	4.82	3.4	$142
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-1	1.85	2.45	$60
GLD QQ	May 95 Put	1	7.99	6.3	$169
GS		121.8				$24
GS QA	May 105 Put	-1	1.99	1.65	$34
GS EH	May 140 Call	-1	0.86	0.96	$10
IBM		100.15				$165
IBM QR	May 90 Put	-1	1.35	0.3	$105
IBM EB	May 110 Call	-1	0.9	0.3	$60
IWM		47.62				$185
	Jun Q2 30 Put	10	0.53	0.12	$410
	Jun Q2 32 Put	-10	0.82	0.28	$540
	Jun Q2 50 Call	-7	1.42	2.76	$938
	Jun Q2 52 Call	7	0.96	1.85	$623
MSFT		20.87				$90
MQF QD	May 20 Put	2	1.22	0.36	$172
MQF ED	May 20 Call	2	0.84	1.25	$82
PALM		9.97				$60
UPY TI	Aug 9 Put	-3	1.6	1.55	$15
UPY HV	Aug 12.5 Call	3	1.3	1.15	$45
	closed legs
UPY TU	Aug 7.5 Put	-3	1.3	1	$90
RUT		478.74				$668
RUW EZ	May 500 Call	-1	11.5	11.3	$20
	Jun Q2 290 Put	1	3.9	0.7	$320
	Jun Q2 300 Put	-1	4.88	1.2	$368
	closed legs
RUR QR	May 390 Put	3	3.1	5.1	$600
SLB		49.3				$90
SLB QH	May 40 Put	-2	0.77	0.25	$104
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-2	1.23	2.2	$194
SRS		23.66				$480
	Oct 70 Call	-1	23.6	2.9	$2,070
	Oct 80 Call	1	19.9	4	$1,590
TLT		100.59				$50
	May 100 Put	-2	1.16	1.75	$118
	May 106 Call	-2	1.09	0.25	$168

Update 2009.04.23

FDX. Sold the Jun 45/60 strangle. FDX jumped up, perhaps because Merrill upgraded it (to neutral!)–with a price targe of 56, just a fraction above where it is now.

GLD. Didn’t get the GLD trade.

When I first created a GLD position, the idea was to set it up so that it would do well if GLD moved outside the 87/95 range–but to do this without buying premium. That’s what the long legs were for.

But now it seems like it’s too late to wait for an extreme move. So I’ll sell the long 87 Call and 95 Put while the premium is still worth something and split the short 89 Calls into an 89 straddle. That will leave me neutral around 89, although with a short 95 Call. It will also leave the position much cleaner and simpler.

GS. Will sell the 105/140 strangle.

				2009-Apr	$3,797
			Net from	3/29/2009	$5,456
	Price	& Size	Entry	Current	Leg Net	Pos Net
	Current positions				$1,659	$1,659
AAPL		125.03				$194
QAA QB	May 110 Put	-1	2.25	0.77	$148
APV EH	May 140 Call	-1	1.1	0.64	$46
AKAM		19.75				$120
UMU QW	May 17.5 Put	-3	0.58	0.5	$24
UMU EX	May 22.5 Call	-3	0.62	0.3	$96
AMZN		82.6				$18
ZQN QM	May 65 Put	-1	1.24	0.78	$46
ZQN EQ	May 85 Call	-1	2.66	3.3	$64
DOW		12.55				$405
DOW QK	May 11 Put	-3	0.5	0.45	$15
DOW EK	May 11 Call	-3	1.35	1.55	$60
DOW QV	May 12.5 Put	-3	1.85	1	$255
DOW EV	May 12.5 Call	3	0.54	0.8	$78
DOW EN	May 14 Call	-3	0.41	0.35	$18
	closed legs
	May 7.5 Put	3	0.18	0.11	$21
	May 9 Put	-3	0.47	0.48	$3
DOW QB	May 10 Put	-3	0.76	0.3	$138
DOW EB	May 10 Call	-3	1.49	2.25	$228
	May 11 Put	-3	1.27	0.56	$213
FAS		7.77				$165
	Jul 6 Put	3	2.1	1.55	$165
	closed legs
	May 10 Call	-3	1.45	0.6	$255
	Jul 10 Call	3	1.35	1.6	$75
FAZ		9.03				$615
	Jul 60 Call	1	3.3	0.4	$290
	Oct 65 Call	1	3.9	0.65	$325
FCX		39.1				$1
FCX QF	May 38 Put	-1	1.71	1.99	$28
FCX ET	May 49 Call	-1	0.5	0.23	$27
FDX		55.04				$65
FDX RI	Jun 45 Put	-1	1.99	2.05	$6
FDX FU	Jun 60 Call	-1	2.16	2.75	$59
FXI		31				$52
	May 25 Put	-2	1.13	0.2	$186
	May 30 Put	-5	1.024	1	$12
	May 38 Call	-3	0.35	0.15	$60
	closed legs
	May 35 Call	-3	0.463333	1.15	$206
GLD		88.95				$255
GLD EI	May 87 Call	1	4.82	3.3	$152
GLD EK	May 89 Call	-2	1.85	2.3	$90
GLD QQ	May 95 Put	1	7.99	7	$99
GLD EQ	May 95 Call	-1	1.86	0.6	$126
	closed legs
	May 83 Put	-1	1.9	1.15	$75
	May 87 Put	-1	2.85	4	$115
IBM		101.86				$135
IBM QR	May 90 Put	-1	1.35	0.5	$85
IBM EB	May 110 Call	-1	0.9	0.4	$50
IWM		46.59				$59
	Jun Q2 30 Put	10	0.53	0.17	$360
	Jun Q2 32 Put	-10	0.82	0.33	$490
	Jun Q2 50 Call	-7	1.42	2.19	$539
	Jun Q2 52 Call	7	0.96	1.46	$350
MSFT		19.41				$8
MQF QD	May 20 Put	2	1.22	1.59	$74
MQF ED	May 20 Call	2	0.84	0.51	$66
PALM		9.9				$15
UPY TI	Aug 9 Put	-3	1.6	1.6	$0
UPY HV	Aug 12.5 Call	3	1.3	1.05	$75
	closed legs
UPY TU	Aug 7.5 Put	-3	1.3	1	$90
RUT		466.62				$1,048
RUW EZ	May 500 Call	-1	11.5	7.7	$380
	Jun Q2 290 Put	1	3.9	1.25	$265
	Jun Q2 300 Put	-1	4.88	1.55	$333
	closed legs
RUR QR	May 390 Put	3	3.1	5.1	$600
SLB		46.9				$20
SLB QH	May 40 Put	-2	0.77	0.7	$14
SLB EJ	May 50 Call	-2	1.23	1.4	$34
SRS		26.64				$470
	Oct 70 Call	-1	23.6	3.6	$2,000
	Oct 80 Call	1	19.9	4.6	$1,530
TLT		101.46				$80
	May 100 Put	-2	1.16	1.45	$58
	May 106 Call	-2	1.09	0.4	$138