Copyright © 2013 Knight Sac Media. All rights reserved.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=58258Dividend Investing for Retirement is an excellent thread. However, its theme seems to be a preparation for retirement... the re-investment of dividends in companies whose dividends have grown in the past and whose dividend might be expected to grow in the future. Thereby, it is hoped that when the...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/images/Logo380x132.pnghttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=5825838013210tyc:>I share your opinions and experience., particularly when you say that most of your options expire worthless. I choose covered calls rather than naked puts, but note that covered calls have the same risk/reward profile as naked puts written with the same strike price. Moreover the selection of the strike price determin...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=283369678/15/2012 8:17:05 AMBocorReplying to MANY posts from other boards: It seems that option trading is viewed with a negative bias; doubting any stories other than failures. I don't quite understand why, nor did I understand why short sellers were so castigated for so long. Who puts a floor under the market in a severe drop if not short sellers? ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=283369198/15/2012 7:17:47 AMtyc:>Replying to a posting on another thread: >>"I don't have any real conviction which way it'll end up going." Anyone with "real conviction" is probably wrong anyway. I am investing for income (dividends and covered calls) while hoping for some eventual upside from several speculations. I expect to lose on covered cal...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=282269416/25/2012 1:45:30 PMGROUND ZERO™Yes, long term calls have tons of premium in them and give me great downside protection... but, in either case, I closed all of it out this morning... so much for long term... LOL!!! GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=279810302/29/2012 4:50:43 PMtyc:>Hi GZ ! We play a different game: You bought back a short term o/m call and sold a very long term one. I would have allowed the S/T call to expire, either to call away my stock or to expire worthless. The erosion of time premium is faster as expiry approaches. That advantage is not to be surrendered lightly. But i ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=279809892/29/2012 4:35:00 PMGROUND ZERO™I decided to cover 20 of the March 67.50 Calls and write 20 of the January 2013 95 Calls at 11.00... between the current price and the premiums on those calls, I should take in $78,160 come January expiration for just those shares, although I'll very likely roll it over again... GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=279769302/28/2012 10:09:13 AMGROUND ZERO™Today I bought several thousand shares of AGQ and wrote just OTM March calls for a nice gain I hope to be realized between now and March 17th... GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=279749632/27/2012 12:55:35 PMRumbleFishFrontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: FTR - News) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.10 per share of common stock, payable on March 30, 2012 to holders of record of common stock at the close of business on March 9, 2012. This represents a re...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=279539932/16/2012 4:13:41 PMGROUND ZERO™Thanks, yes, O/M calls are easy money, but ATM are a bit safer when I expect a possible sell off in an over bought market... GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=278819811/15/2012 9:26:17 AMtyc:>Congratulations ! But I'm not surprised at your experience..... 'way to go ! The only calls I had out in December were my naked calls on G (hedged by the upside of a diversified PF). Consistent with earlier experience they expired worthless, Since then I have allowed myself to be diverted by speculations, but I hav...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=278814761/14/2012 6:41:08 PMGROUND ZERO™I already have a fat profit on all my longs right now, but I also just wrote at the money February calls on all of it... a nice chuck of additional money is just sitting there with just one month to expiration, it was just too tempting to ignore and it provides great "easy" income... GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=278810901/14/2012 2:25:31 PMGROUND ZERO™Oh, okay... from the looks lof it, it appears that you need to enter the volatility % in order to complete the option profile in order to get the theta... see the illustration below highlighted in yellow... if you change the %age, you get a different theta... [graphic] GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2781704112/10/2011 5:15:14 PMtyc:>To use the calculator, one usually enters the stocK price, the option price and the number of days to expiry. The calculator tells you what volatility % is implied (and the theta, delta etc). In practice, I seldom am interested in any greek or volatility%, being more interested in the "yield if exercised". the pres...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2781699712/10/2011 4:26:53 PMGROUND ZERO™Excellent, thanks, great site... the only question is how do you measure the stock volatility % in order to complete the calculations? TIA GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2781693812/10/2011 3:50:56 PMtyc:>Sorry, I have no rule of thumb. It is because theta increases as expiry approaches that I limit my option terms to a maximum of 30 days. If I need to know specific theta I use this option calculator: hoadley.net http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2781654512/10/2011 11:38:26 AMGROUND ZERO™Does anyone know a quick rule of thumb on how to calculate option theta at any point in time? TIA GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2781649212/10/2011 11:02:44 AMtyc:>Somebody said this was a dull market. He should short a gold stock...... better still, he should sell naked calls on a gold stock. I'll guarantee he won't find the market dull. With a week to go, it looks as if my naked G calls might expire worthless. (But I cannot recommend the strategy !).http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2781229212/8/2011 10:57:35 AMGROUND ZERO™Thank you, I'll probably play it out until the premiums are just about gone, then I'll just roll it over and do the same thing again with more written ATM calls about four or so months out... I like the premium opportunity and I take that money into my account even if gold continues to move sideways... but I will def...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2780589812/5/2011 5:38:22 PMtyc:>Good luck with your trade GZ ! Please be sure to let us know the results, particularly if you close it early.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2780587912/5/2011 5:31:04 PMGROUND ZERO™Today I bought 2000 shares of UGL and wrote 20 ATM April 2012 calls for a nice premium... UGL is a 2X ETF for gold bullion... I expect gold to continue higher, but the downside is further reduced with these written calls... GZhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2780575012/5/2011 4:35:08 PMtyc:>Here's an interesting chart relative to my hedge cum "pairs" trade. [graphic] "never buy high hoping it will go higher. "Buy low, and hope it will go higher" (Peter Munk)http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2780042412/2/2011 12:00:34 PMtyc:>There should be a charge for the entertainment value of options. My G shares had been called away (profitably). Is it possible to enjoy the income-benefit of short calls without the downside risk of covering them with common shares ? The question remains to be answered. I sold two G dc$52 calls naked, but hedged b...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2779405511/29/2011 4:43:32 PMtyc:>Here's my cash flow through the November expiry. Only the Goldcorp (G) was in-the-money and was called away. The rest expired worthless. I shall let G rest and rely on LSG to provide for Gold in my PF. I'm comfortable with the G assignment: it has been profitable. The assignment adds significantly to my cash posit...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2777820711/20/2011 11:22:13 PMtyc:>As you might have guessed, LSG is my speculation du jour. I believe it has just started a new uptrend, having broken the downtrend that passed through $1.67 and reached a new high of $1.71 on Friday on growing volume. We shall see how long the uptrend lasts ! [graphic]http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773517710/30/2011 9:08:36 AMtyc:>The options are only on the Canadian side... actually Montreal exchange. There are no options relative to the US exchanges.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773329010/28/2011 4:30:14 PMPaxb2utyc---Just pulled up LSG and got stock quote, but under Schwab it doesn't pull up any optionshttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773310010/28/2011 3:22:22 PMonepathI wrote a call on VT last month but not enough reward vrs risk right now same with CWB my only bank stock.I just recently bought ECA which might be a good candidate. So far my CC for this month is the 20 LSG for $200 less commission.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773175410/28/2011 2:04:01 AMtyc:>Greetings: Always interesting to hear about your activity. Here's my activity to date for the November expiry: [Text Chart] "Put money in thy purse", says the bard !http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773131210/27/2011 8:38:22 PMonepathWas me...i did the 20 contracts.I waited a bit as LSG looked like it might take a bigger price jump and then i might have got .15c. Yesterday i bought TCM calls at $8 as far out as they go (april 2012)....made me look good today. Then again i think everything made everyone look good today.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773124410/27/2011 8:11:50 PMtyc:>Idle thoughts ! Somebody followed me into LSG$2 calls today. Was it you ? Another reason to keep the term short is "compounding". Look back at my posting. It says that the annualised yield would be 5274%... ridiculous of course... but that is if the 27% maximum profit is compounded every 23 days. I think if the ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2773107910/27/2011 6:47:28 PMonepathhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2772870010/26/2011 10:39:29 PMtyc:>Your can't do better than continue to sell calls on LSG. The NOV$2 call is .10c bid.. That's 6.25% of today's $1.60 price I shall sell ten tomorrow if you don't beat me to it. $100 beats any monthly div'd lol. It's better than G's div'd /034c[graphic]http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2772852210/26/2011 9:10:53 PMonepathI did follow your lead a little and sold calls on LSG & VT both expiring worthless and giving me a little over $700 that i would of other wise not received. Those two being the only ones i have ever sold now gives me a %100 success rate...lol.(laughing at myself) So far for Nov. i cannot find the right price for an...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2772850110/26/2011 8:59:31 PMtyc:>onepath ! I draw your attention to the spectacular quarterly results from Goldcorp just published. It includes a strong indication of increased dividends to come. The present dividends i enjoy amount to $17 per month, Look back to my last posting to compare that with the "cash flow" I have enjoyed from selling call...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2772816810/26/2011 5:44:51 PMtyc:>Here's my 'cash flow' report to the October expiry this weekend past. Only Husky (HSE) calls were assigned, the rest expiring worthless: The proceeds of exercise were used to re-buy the stock. I have re-written HSE and RIM calls today at higher strikes, but I am in no hurry to sell more calls for November expiry. ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2772355510/24/2011 9:35:14 PMtyc:>I heard several pundits agree that today's market was just a "bear market rally". I suppose that means that shorts should stay short. Yeah ! I wonder how high the market must go before they scramble for cover, For my part, I have $52 covered calls of Goldcorp expiring in just 16 days, Of course I'm losing money on...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=2768326010/5/2011 8:07:09 PMtyc:>It seems to me...... As anticipated, all my September calls expired worthless, over $2,000 of sales. Instead of spending the money, I bought more optionable stock.... just as dividend re-investors do. (I must have 'cause I'm still fully invested) It strikes me this is a nifty way of growing a portfolio even when the c...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=276429039/16/2011 6:54:42 PMtyc:>One more day to the expiry of my September calls. I had expected to say that all except one expired worthless. But that one was RIM (Sp$29's). So now I must say they ALL will expire worthless (probably) ! [Text Chart] Fortunately, today's RIM disaster was accompanied by an UP day for my PF ! You can't beat a dive...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=276408139/15/2011 8:40:08 PMarchitect*Canadian 6% dividend oil stocks. CIBC Oil and Gas Weekly --- Where To Look For Sustainable Yield Among The Intermediates? (thx to Rotair69 on IV): /PDFFileAttachedhttp://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=276400889/15/2011 3:26:16 PMtyc:> The mark-to-market value of my margin account today includes over $2,000 time value of short calls that expire in September. Whether calls are exercised or expire worthless, the time value will be eliminated by the expiry date September 16th. It will have the same effect on the mark-to-market value of my account as ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=276029458/29/2011 5:49:40 PMtyc:>I have just made a "very ordinary" CC purchase. The $80.50 revenue from the call sale has put my total call sales expiring in Septemberr over $2,000 dollars.,,,significant monthly income for a retiree. The "very ordinary" transaction was the purchase of CS "Capstone" and the sale of $3 calls at .10c ea. Net of commis...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275915798/24/2011 12:39:54 PMtyc:>August calls expire tomorrow.... worthless except for YRI which will be assigned profitably. [Text Chart]http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275796038/18/2011 9:08:41 PMtyc:>Yes ! It sounds very interesting. Essentially I have a diversified portfolio, and I sell calls to supplement the dividend income it yields... (or perhaps I should say the dividends supplement the calls) Perhaps the weighting of energy stocks is adequate, but I shall take a look ! I don't know what the regulations sa...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275356848/2/2011 1:05:33 PMarchitect*Thanks tyc:> and hello! On HSE.to, CPG.to, DAY.to, POW.to - do you, or can US accounts trade covered stock options on the Toronto exchange? If you can - there is a much larger portfolio of Oil and Gas stocks that you can own shares, collect monthly dividends, and sell covered call options.http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275356188/2/2011 12:45:40 PMtyc:>>>"Have you looked into the high-dividend monthly paying Canadian energy stocks.?" Hi ! Yes ! I currently hold HSE (Husky) CPG (Crescent Point), and DAY (Daylight) energy. Currently I haven't any calls sold on them but I have sold calls in the past..... and what I said about POW applies equally to them. The two la...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275355348/2/2011 12:16:23 PMarchitect*Have you looked into the high-dividend monthly paying Canadian energy stocks? They trade on the NYSE, trade options and pay monthly dividends? If you get called away - you don't miss much dividend income. A few of the high-dividend ( 6% range ) Canadian oil and gas companies with a monthly dividend are: BTE PWE P...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275355058/2/2011 12:06:33 PMtyc:>I have been reluctant to sell calls on my high-dividend paying stocks lest the stock be called away. It seems to me, however, that reasoning is specious if the strike price assures that the profit of assignment exceeds the amount of the dividend. Moreover, you will recall the argument that 100% of the sale-premium of ...http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=275331778/1/2011 1:40:16 PM