Options Trading News from PowerOptions Podcasts

PodcastDirectory / Business / Unknown
PodcastDirectory / Regions / NA / USA

Primary Format : Unknown Also Listed as: City : Wilmington State/Province : DE Country : USA Country : NA User Tags: Warning: mysql_fetch_object(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /usr/home/sites/www.podcastdirectory.com/web/podcasts/index.php on line 218 User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Add to iTunes Text Only listing of Options Trading News from PowerOptions Podcasts Trumix.com listings available of Options Trading News from PowerOptions Podcasts Click Here to Update the directory of this podcasts programs.

Trumix.com listings available of Options Trading News from PowerOptions Podcasts Build your own playlists with this podcast. What’s a FRO for? Option Trading, Silly! You may have come across the term FRO recently while visiting your brokerage account or reading any recent financial newsletters. FRO’s are ‘Fixed Return Options’, a new form of derivative trading vehicle that share various similarities to standard stock options, but also have distinctive differences. Sign up now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Sign up now [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tata Motors to Introduce $2,500 Car - Auto Industry Covered Calls Tata motors (TTM), an Indian auto manufacturer whose name is becoming ever more ubiquitous, is likely to unveil an exciting new car this week at the annual auto show in Delhi. Sure the stock plummeted 5.5% in trading today and the car is reported to have the power of an aging Chihuahua, but there is [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wal-Mart’s Profits Up and 4thQ Expectations are High Americans may be turning to their favorite discount retailer for savings as the oil producing nations of the world extract more money from their pocketbooks. Wal-Mart (WMT) announced today its 3rd quarter profits rose nearly 8% and the company upwardly adjusted their earnings predictions for the year. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Crude Nears $100 - Covered Calls on Green Companies and ETFs As oil approaches $100 a barrel, consumers are beginning to become seriously interested in alternative energy, energy saving technologies and other green (and potentially less expensive) technologies. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_11_07_Sustain.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Toyota has sold their one-millionth hybrid and it seems consumers and politicians [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Weak Dollar, GM Losses and High Oil - Bearish Trades on ETFs The Market news yesterday and today is somewhat discouraging. The trinity of bad news came in the form of GM taking a $37 billion dollar loss on their third quarter profits, China is considering dumping their considerable reserve of US currency for the stronger and more stable Euro and Oil surpassing inflation adjusted highs as [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fox News, Fox Business News, The Wall Street Journal, and News Corp’s Entry into Georgian Opposition Politics Rupert Murdoch’s flagship news channel rose to prominence by doggedly vilifying those who opposed whatever views were being espoused. Fox recently launched a new business news channel to tie into its acquisition of the Wall Street Journal and yesterday it was announced News Corp (NWS) obtained a controlling portion of an opposition media corporation in [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chevron and Exxon Release Earnings this Week - Covered Calls Two of the world’s largest oil companies, Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), are gearing up to release their quarterly profit reports this week. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons ($93/barrel oil) the numbers might be good and some of the rationale behind why some analysts believe the companies might come in lower [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Options on Index ETFs The Dow is up about 1500 points (13%) over the past year and at its high earlier this month, the index was up over 2000 points. The NASDAQ is up around 20% over the past year. These are delicious results and it would be nice if the next 52 weeks were guaranteed to be as [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website October Covered Call Trades Yield 3.6% to 15.4% October was a successful month for the blog. Many of the trades we listed on the blog came in profitable. The trades listed in the following table are some of the trades making money for the month of October. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_23_OctTrades.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Housing Markets in Most Developed Countries Following US Lead The USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times have all run articles recently on the likely fate of the worldwide housing market. The narrative is fairly similar: Home prices are falling after a decade of double-digit increases in some of the world’s hottest housing markets. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Overview of a Finish and Scandinavian Companies on Eve of Nokia’s Earnings Announcement Finland is a land of many lakes, trees, endless days in the summer and a period of 51 grueling sunless days in the winter. It has been rated the freest nation in the world, according to international groups who rate such things, and has twice provided the world with the winner of the Miss Universe [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Surviving the Storm with Energy Sector ETFs We did a little number crunching on today’s market results and found the following: Only 8% of all exchange traded funds made gains today, while 41% of energy sector exchange traded funds made gains in trading. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_16_EnergyETF.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Below is a [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Citi Disappoints - A Bearish Look at the Financial Sector Citi (C) was down nearly 3.5% today despite beating analysts’ estimates. Overall, the company raked in $2.4 Billion last quarter. Unfortunately this is nearly 60% lower than the same quarter last year. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_15_Citi.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Expecting to only return around $0.44 a [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Covered Calls on Stocks Held by Bill Gates Bill Gates invests through a vehicle called Cascade Investment Holdings. On the blog today, we thought it might be interesting to look at the investment fund’s top held equities and a potential covered call investment strategy involving them. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_09_Gates.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial OK, [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Analysts Bullish About Costco - Covered Calls Costco Wholesale (COST), perhaps benefiting from consumers hoping to save money as gas prices rise and the specter of inflation looms on the horizon, saw its profits rise 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_10_Costco.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Costco’s increased membership as well as [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website This Bud Stops Here - Coors and Miller Team up to Compete in Domestic US Market Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) and SABMiller (UK:SAB) have entered into a joint operating agreement in the US and Puerto Rico in hopes of boosting profits. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_09_Coors.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial The companies hope to save money by combining distribution networks. The savings will [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Covered Calls on Optionable ETFs Casual investors often love the simplicity of index mutual funds and dollar cost averaging. Option investors love the excitement of a more exotic trade and the downside protection offered by common trades such as Covered Calls and in the money spreads. Exchange Traded Funds are a fund tracking an index, but can be traded like [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Apple of the Media’s Eye and its Competitors The Zune’s current market share is around 2.8 percent. This is greater than Apple’s (AAPL) 2.3 percent personal computer market share in 2003 but still described as a pittance by most news outlets. The LA times business section led with an article entitled, “Zunes not likely to get iPod fans to change their tunes.” Signup now [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tearing the Veneer Off Ethanol Hype - Bear Position Options There have been widespread news reports suggesting the end of the rather short-lived ethanol boom. Ethanol was originally sold as a cure-all because it was renewable, good for farmers, great for midwestern cargo-rail, and brought jobs to rural interior communities. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_10_01_Ethanol.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New York Times is now Free Online - Will the Wall Street Journal Follow? The New York Times (NYT), perhaps bowing to criticism, but more likely seeing the error in their online revenue model has chosen to make the online version of its publication free. Rupert Murdoch has reportedly been toying with the idea of doing the same with the Wall Street Journal. Does this mark the ‘tipping point’ [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Airline News - American may Sell-Off Frequent Flyer Program and British Airways Buys from both Boeing and Airbus There’s quite a bit of news surrounding Airlines recently. British Airways (OTC:BAIRY.PK) announced they would be buying 24 of Boeing’s (BA) new 787 Dreamliner while favoring 12 of Airbus’ (Privately held) larger A380 Superjumbo over Boeing’s stalwart 747. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_09_27_AirlineNews.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial The [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Companies We Love to Hate - Microsoft and Wal-Mart Covered Calls Two bits of news caught the PowerOptions‘ blogs attention today: Microsoft (MSFT) releases Halo 3 with over $170 million first day sales and Wal-Mart (WMT) is expanding its $4 generic drug program. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_09_27_MicroMart.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial These two much-maligned companies are often the [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Everyone Bullish on Big Oil? Chevron (CVX) announced today a $15 billion stock buy-back in an attempt to return some of its profits to shareholders. This news coupled with projections of oil prices reaching $90 or even $100 per barrel has us thinking there may still be price gains in big oil stocks.Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Home Improvement Profits Slump - Bear Call Credit Spreads For those thinking the housing slump will continue to drag down retailers like Home Depot and Lowes, this blog is for you. Lowe’s reported today sales are trending lower than forecast and the company is likely to have numbers at the low end of its announced spectrum. Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Audio Podcast: An [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Dollar Weakens Against Foreign Currency - A Look at US Exporting Industries The dollar reached a record low against the 13 nation Euro in trading Monday. Greenspan, while out promoting his new book, and economic experts have expressed worry over both recession and/or runaway inflation. Also, if you haven’t seen Jim Cramer’s Fed-Rate meltdown from earlier this month on youtube, it is an entertaining (if not somewhat [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Putin Itching for a Cold War? Defense Industry Covered Calls Recently a shirtless and Siberian-vacationing Putin has been making headlines; partly because he has been running around shirtless in a land known more for its mosquitoes than for its sunshine and partly for resuscitating the cold war. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_08_30_Putin.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Is the [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Using Common Value Investing Techniques to Find Option Trades A stock picked using a value investing technique is a way a lot of investors find stocks they like for the long term. There are other favored techniques such as technical signals and trends, but investors often favor the valuation method as a way to get a dime stock for a nickel. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Covered Call Examples on Jim Cramer’s Buy Recommendations There has recently been a spate of media reports detailing the danger of chasing Jim Cramer recommendations. Ignoring this potentially sage advice to stay away, we dive headlong into the sometimes-erroneous hyperkinetic world of Jim Cramer to look at potential covered call trades on stocks he has recently plugged. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Using PowerOptions’ Strategy Search Summary Tool to Find the Best Trades on a Stock In the course of writing the PowerOptions blog we often find ourselves discussing news events and signals indicating a stock will move up or down. Rarely have we focused on the best way to exploit a position once we have a strong hunch on which way the underlying equity will go. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Biotech Stocks Uncharacteristically Calm in Volatile Market - Covered Call Opportunities Shares of large biotechnology companies posted only slight gains Friday, despite large gains in the market overall. Biotechs have been calm all week, experiencing on average only half the losses seen in the wider market, according to the American Stock Exchange’s Biotechnology Index. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_08_20_BioTech.mp3 Signup now for [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Whole Foods and Wild Oats Merger Likely To Go Through - Organic Covered Call Opportunities In our June 6th article entitled, “What do Health Food Supermarkets and Satellite Radio Have in Common? The FTC, Mergers, and Option Investing Opportunities”, we reported on the potential deal between Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats. Now the stock of both companies has risen around 5% since then and the merger looks likely to [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Trouble for Housing Market and Mortgage Lenders - Bear Call Credit Spreads News reports on Thursday stated mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (CFC) has siphoned off an $11.5 billion credit facility to fund its operations as they are having an increasingly hard time raising money. This news prompted Fitch (a stock rating agency) to lower Countrywide’s long-term default rating from A to BBB+. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Buick outshines Toyota in U. of Michigan Survey - Covered Calls on Major Auto Manuf. Car buyers are more satisfied with American made cars than their traditionally technically superior Asian rivals. Many thought America’s rusted auto manufacturing sector was unlikely to ever catch Toyota and the other Japanese car-makers in customer satisfaction, but apparently it has happened according to a survey released Tuesday by the University of Michigan. Audio Podcast: An audio [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wireless Market: Google May Enter Cell Phone Market and Verizon Reports Profits Earlier in the year the CEO of AT&T (T), Edward Whitacre, made remarks about how Google was getting a free ride on the network his company created and should be made to pay higher usage fees. Google (GOOG) was predictably troubled by the comments, since under their current operational model AT&T could do a number [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Returns of 6-15.8% in July and Trading Ideas Potentially Returning Over 6% for September Throughout May and June the PowerOptions blog reported on industry news and potential covered call trades with July expiration dates. Many of our ideas would have yielded a 0-6% return, but the proposed trades shown in the table below would have potentially returned 6-15.8%. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_07_24_Results.mp3 Signup now [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Three Attractive Global Infrastructure Stocks Analysts are expecting global spending on energy and power infrastructure to grow nearly 10% a year for the next 5 years. Today we will look for values on companies in the global marketplace engaged in the construction of power plants and/or the associated electrical distribution equipment. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Overview of PowerOptions SmartHistoryXL Features and Covered Call Search PowerOptions offers many tools to help options investors find lucrative trades and develop strategies. One of the most powerful and exciting tools it offers its customers is the SmartHistoryXL back testing tool. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_07_18_SmartHistoryXL.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial This tool allows customers to test elaborate, [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website How will Japanese Quake Affect Automakers? On Monday, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit northwest Japan knocking out the production lines of a large auto part manufacturer. Reports suggest this could affect as much as 70% of Japan’s domestic auto industry. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_07_19_Quake.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial The four main Japanese automakers, Toyota [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Johnson and Johnson Posts 9% Increase on Second Quarter Profits Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) acquisition of Pfizer and large increases in overseas sales contributed to a 9 percent increase in its second quarter profits announced early Tuesday. The company’s overall revenue saw an encouraging 13 percent rise. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_07_17_JNJ.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Johnson and [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 5 Technology Stocks Poised for Growth News outlets have been very impressed with the performance of technology stocks in the first half of 2007. It is true, tech stocks are performing better than most other sectors and the trend may continue for the remainder of the year. In this blog we’re going to look at 5 fast moving tech stocks and [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 5 stocks with Heavy Insider Purchasing Stock news outlets are notorious for providing lists. Recently, Jim Cramer’s website reported on stocks with huge insider purchases and buybacks. Barron’s Magazine also routinely runs articles on this subject. Today in the PowerOptions weblog, we’ll take a look at the list and then explore option trading ideas using this information. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website GE Teams with Hitachi for stake in Global Nuclear Power Market General Electric (GE) and Hitachi (HIT), in a move anticipating the resurgence of Nuclear Power amid global environmental concerns and electricity demand, have entered into a joint operating agreement. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_07_11_GE.mp3 At a news conference held Monday, John Krenicki, president and chief executive of GE Energy reminded the [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NASCAR Delivers KO and Daytona Looses its PEP The International Speedway Corporation (ISCA) stated Monday it would end its relationship with Pepsi Cola (PEP) and enter into a 10-year deal with Atlanta-based Coca-Cola (KO). This will make Coke the official soft drink for 11 of the company’s race tracks including where the Daytona 500 is run. Pepsi has been the official beverage at [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 4 Stocks from Warren Buffet’s Portfolio Today on the PowerOptions blog, we will take a look at four promising companies from Warren Buffet’s stock portfolio. Buffet is known for his value hunting and his patient and long view style. In 1997, he penned the line, “Lethargy bordering on sloth remains the cornerstone of our investment style: This year we neither bought [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Advanced Medical Optics Makes Play for Bausch & Lomb Advanced Medical Optics (EYE) has offered to take over Bausch & Lomb (BOL) for a cool $4.1 billion. This offer brings into question the $3.7 billion Warburg Pincus deal currently on the table. Warburg Pincus is a private equity firm. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_07_05_BOL.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Airline Sector Posts Profit for Fourth Consecutive Quarter There are some businesses investors consider, as a rule, profitless. Airlines, passenger trains, and, at least recently, newspapers all seem to be ‘profitless pariahs.’ The airline industry, since deregulation in the late 70s, has had a hard time regularly pleasing investors. Considering it is cheaper now, in real dollars, to fly from New York to [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Oracle Reports Fourth Quarter Profit Oracle Corporation (ORCL) stated on Tuesday, in a public announcement, fourth-quarter profits rose 23% from a year ago. The large software producer attributed the gains to increased sales of new software contracts and from increased market share. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_06_27_ORCL.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial In totality, [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A look at Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and its Competitors As you may have heard, Apple (AAPL) is planning to launch its iPhone this week. The competition in the phone market is brutal and many have speculated how Apple can compete in such a crowded marketplace. Interestingly, there aren’t an excessive number of phones in the high-end market where Apple finds itself. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Options on Ethanol Related Companies in Light of Revamped Senate Energy Bill The Senate passed legislation yesterday requiring the production of ethanol used in auto fuel to increase to billion gallons a year by 2022. The final production level would increase the level of ethanol production seven times the current level. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in a widely covered press conference, proclaimed, “This bill starts America [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Best Buy (BBY) Looking at Capital Allocation and China Expansion Best Buy (BBY) Chief Financial Officer Darren Jackson publicly speculated yesterday about how the company allocates capital. The discussion has increasing relevance in light of this week’s announcement of Home Depot (HD) share-repurchase program. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_06_22_BBY.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Jackson said in an investor’s [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wal-Mart (WMT) Enters the Consumer-Banking World Wal-Mart (WMT) plans to enter the consumer-banking world with around 1,000 Wal-Mart MoneyCenters in stores across the US by the end of 2008. The chain will also sell prepaid Visa debit cards. This will provide lower-income shoppers, who may not have access to conventional banking, a way to participate in cashless transactions. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Burger King Stock Turns One - A look at how the stock is performing since its May 2006 IPO Burger King (BKC) went public in May 2006 and has seen a doubling of its stock price since August of 2006. If you were paying attention to our blog in 2006, you might recall the article “Burger King (BKC) - Whopper Covered Calls”. The stock has gained over 50% since we wrote the article. Signup now [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Investor’s Business Daily’s Top 100 Stocks - Possibilities Using Covered Calls Investor’s Business Daily announces its top 100 stock picks each week using a proprietary formula. The PowerOptions weblog thought it might be interesting to take a look at the covered call possibilities. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_05_14_IBD_Top100.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Signup now for PowerOptionsApplied 30-day risk free [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Analysts Expect Weak Retail Sales - A Bearish Look at the Retail Sector There is news from London this morning of US retailers’ stock futures taking a downturn in anticipation of lower than expected earnings. Many retailers will release their first quarter earnings today and experts are saying the results could be tepid because of a colder than normal April. Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Audio Podcast: An [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website ALCOA (AA) to make $73.25 bid for Rival Alcan (AL) - Aluminum Covered Calls Alcoa (AA) and Alcan (AL) shares surged amid news of Alcoa’s planned takeover bid. Alcoa’s stock is up 5.2% this morning to a 52-week high of $37.50 while Alcan’s stock raced up 34% to $81.77. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_05_07_Alcoa.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial The companies have been [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Investing in Green Companies - Covered Calls Today, PowerOptions takes a quick look at companies specializing in alternative energy and potential covered call opportunities. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_04_19_AltEnergy.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Because the price of gasoline has lately been the focus of so much consternation, alternative energy company’s stock prices may increase as [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Qwest (Q) Exec Nacchio Found Guilty - A Look at Qwest’s Future. Joe Nacchio, a former AT&T (T) executive, was hired by Qwest Communications in 1996 to evolve the company into a major telecommunications competitor. However his monomaniacal pursuit, a Colorado jury found yesterday, led Nacchio to participate in illegal insider trades. He also, in the company’s relentless drive to meet revenue projections, did not appropriately inform [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Milking Profits with Dean Foods (DF) - Covered Call Last week, Dean Foods (DF) issued a special $15 per share dividend to stockholders. Following the dividend, the stock dropped about $15. It is typical for a stock to drop the amount of the dividend. However, the stock gained close to 8% since last week.Audio Podcast:An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_04_17_Dean.mp3Signup [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Earnings May Signal Success of Yahoo! (YHOO) Panama Advertising Project Last Year, Yahoo (YHOO) overhauled it’s online advertising sales to more closely mimic the model set by its competitor Google (GOOF). Yahoo called the project ‘Pamana’ to in some way compare it to the colossal undertaking of trenching a canal to join two bodies of water. The power of the metaphor is somewhat questionable, but [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IBM Develops Revolutionary ‘Stackable’ Transistor Moore’s Law is an observation made by Intel (INTC) co-founder Gordon Moore about the number of transistors manufacturers are able to fit on a given area of a circuit board. He said the density of transistors would double every 24 months. This, subsequently, would reduce the size of electronics and increase memory.Signup now for PowerOptions [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Levi Strauss Earnings Rise - A Look at the Textile Sector Riding a wave of premium product sales, Levi Strauss & Co.’s first-quarter earnings rose 61%. The company also cited growth in emerging markets and brand-dedicated retail stores for the increase. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_04_11_Textiles.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial Although the San Francisco maker of jeans is not [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berkshire Hathaway Buys up Rail Stocks - A look at Covered Calls in the Railroad Sector The railroad sector posted gains yesterday on news of Berkshire Hathaway’s purchasing a major stake in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) and may potentially invest in two other U.S. railroads. Today, the PowerOptions weblog will take a look at covered call investments with the potential of benefiting from this news. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website US Airways Posts Profit - Airline Covered Calls US Airways Group (LCC) is expecting to earn a small profit for the first quarter despite disruptions due to the weather and temporarily nation-wide shut down of the airline’s check-in kiosks due to a computer malfunction. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_04_09_Airlines.mp3 Signup now for PowerOptions free 14-day trial In a statement [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Entrepreneur Magazine Announces Top Franchises for 2007 In its most recent edition, Entrepreneur Magazine released its pick for the top nationwide franchises for 2007. The magazine takes an in-depth look at which franchises would make the best investment for its hopeful readership. In this installment of the PowerOptions weblog, we take a look at some of the publicly traded companies on the [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ruby Red Stocks: Red Hat (RHT) and Ruby Tuesday (RI) In a Yahoo.com online article entitled, 7 trading ideas for today, the widely visited financial website listed several stocks it was bullish on. PowerOptions weblog wanted to take a closer look at those picks and see if there was a way to use options to give investors a potentially safer investment while still generating solid [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Active Hurricane Season could Spell Relief for Lowes (LOW) and Home Depot (HD) If another bad hurricane season were to hit the Eastern United States and the Gulf Coast it could be a boon for commercial construction as well as residential. Today, PowerOptions weblog will take a look at Home Depot (HD) and Lowes (LOW) covered call opportunities as the stocks have suffered tremendously recently and may receive [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Haliburton (HAL) Hoping to Continue Making Profits in the Middle East A recent Wall Street Journal article noted Halliburton (HAL) was planning on expanding its Middle East operations. The company will also move its headquarters from Houston to Dubai. Company CEO, Dave Lesar has committed to spending nearly half of his time in Dubai and the UAE. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Will the Gold Rush Continue? Options Trading Can Answer Has the shaky market got investors worried? The housing slump leaves investors with little to cheer about and the news stream is littered with countless vignettes of a stagnating and declining US market. Today, the PowerOptions weblog will take a look at gold and a few stocks in the gold sector and vet them for [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Orders for Durable Goods Increase - A Look at Boeing and Defense Contractors The Commerce Department released a report today stating durable good orders increased 2.5% in the last month. The increase was caused by a dramatic increase in aircraft orders during February. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_03_28_Aerospace.mp3 In January, durables (those goods lasting greater than 3 years) declined 9.3%. Non-defense durable goods decreased [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IBM to Unveil Prototype Optical Chip - Covered Call Scientists with the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) plan to unveil a prototype chip today that uses optical connections to increase the speed of moving data among chips to eight times that of previous technologies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_03_26_IBM.mp3 The Journal stated the chip’s speed, [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jim Cramer Expresses Opinion on Oil Prices - Covered Call Oil has reached a year-high of nearly $63 a barrel as Iran and Venezuela are continuing to raise international tensions with their political positions. In this blog entry, we will take a look at Jim Cramer’s position on what this means for the long-term profitability of the energy sector and where investors can look for [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No Room For Luxury at Ford (F) - Auto Industry Overview There is speculation in the air about whether Ford will retain its majority ownership of Jaguar and Land Rover as the formerly 2nd largest car manufacturer announced it will no longer be the majority share holder in the Aston Martin luxury brand. Some analysts feel the time may be right for Ford to get an [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Boring Company Wins ‘Product of the Year’ - AVX Corp (AVX) It turns out some of the eggheads who were playing with their electronics kit while you were trying to make it to the 10th level of the Legend of Zelda may have stumbled across something. It’s called a low inductance decoupling capacitor. And no, it’s not a device you can hook up to a DeLorean [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exxon Mobile (XOM) Looking to N. Africa and S. America to Expand Production A team of corporate leaders from Exxon Mobile (XOM) met with the president of Guyana this week as the oil companies try to elbow and box out their competitors. It is expected border disputes with neighboring Suriname will be cleared up by the UN shortly, and this will clear the way for companies to invest [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jim Cramer Gives Opinion on Warren Buffet’s Portfolio In a video interview yesterday, Jim Cramer (videoplayer.thestreet.com) analyzed several of Warren Buffet’s stock positions. Cramer stated, “There are two Warren Buffet’s. There is the Warren Buffet pre-three years ago… Where if you bought on the announced date what he was buying, you made a lot of money. In the last three years, if you bought [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Continued Trouble for Subprime Lenders - Look at New Century (NEW), Freemont General (FMT) and HSBC Holding (HBC) Regulators announced late last week their intention to begin a crackdown on subprime home mortgage lenders as two major lenders are having difficulties with large losses.Audio Podcast:An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_03_05_Subprime.mp3In addition, New Century Financial Corp. (NEW) stated last week it has become the subject of a federal criminal inquiry. [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Oracle (ORCL) Acquires Hyperion (HYSL) in Competitive Move Against SAP AG In a move widely seen as an attempt to aggressively weaken rival SAP AG’s market position, Oracle announced today it would by Hyperion (HYSL) for $3.3 billion in cash. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_03_02_Oracle.mp3 Hyperion has a suite of financial management applications used for financial reporting and analysis. Company’s can use [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Merck Raises Earnings - Drug Companies - Merck (MRK) & Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) On the heels of an announcement the company would no longer actively lobby for Cervical Cancer Vaccine Laws, Merck (MRK) announced it is raising its first quarter earnings estimates. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_03_01_Drugmakers.mp3 Conservative groups opposed the campaign to promote the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil because, in their view, it [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dow Stumbles - Concerned Investors - ACH Tuesday was a rough day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a nearly instantaneous 200-point hit at 3 pm yesterday amid news of uncertainty in Shanghai, Iran, and Afghanistan. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_02_28_Dow_Falls.mp3 The Nikkei tumbled nearly 700 points on Wednesday’s opening bell while Shanghai was licking [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lance (LNCE) Snack Foods - Long Term Sales/Earnings Growth Lance Inc. (LNCE) released its fourth quarter earnings Monday in a report showing profit more than tripling over the same period one year ago. But higher commodity prices, such as flour and corn, as well as less than anticipated sales of cookies and crackers slightly decreased results in the fourth quarter causing the stock to [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Texas Utilities (TXU) Merger & Jim Cramer: Opportunity in Coal Is this an aberration? Are energy companies really yielding to environmental demands? Texas Utilities (TXU), the Texas energy giant, has scrapped plans to build 11 coal fired power plants and will give a 10% price cut to many of its residential customers. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_02_27_Coal_Plant_Builders.mp3 Despite glowing praise in [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Starbuck’s (SBUX) Cheapening Itself? It used to be you could walk into any Starbucks and it would be the same. The smooth sounds of Nora Jones or Nat King Cole and the warm call of the handsome leather sofas. The attractive baristas and the girl studying biochemistry also make you feel a little giddy inside. But nowadays you’re likely [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Is Google (GOOG) Apps a Threat to Microsoft (MSFT)? Google Inc. (GOOG) announced today it would expand its services to further compete with Microsoft’s (MSFT) product line with Web-based word-processing, spreadsheet and other applications similar to Microsoft’s Office Suite. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_02_22_GOOG.mp3 Although most observers seriously doubt this poses a threat to Microsoft, who recently released critically praised [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 3% to 13% Potential Profits for Feb. 2007 The PowerOptions weblog identified several successful trades for the option expiration month of February. Below is a table showing three successful trades we identified. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_02_20_Results.mp3 Article: Nucor (NUE) to Buy Harris Steel - Covered Calls Stock Option Stock Price Date End Price Date Pot. Profit NUE FEB $60 $54.66 1/3/2007 $64.70 2/17/2007 13.10% Article: Analysts Bullish on Steel ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cramer says BJ Services (BJS) is “On Fire” BJ Services (BJS) has received a 9 of 10 rating from MSN’s stock rater algorithm and Jim Cramer in last Friday’s lightning round excitedly told viewers, “Holy cow is this business on fire…” Insider trading provides a positive sign as well, a company director, William White, purchased nearly $140,000 of stock on January 30th. Cramer [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) - Covered Call The S&P 500 index was driven higher on Tuesday on news of two international mining companies considering the purchase of the Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer, Alcoa, for over 40 billion.Rising with this tide was fellow mining company, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ( FCX). The stock price has risen over 5% this week on sustained higher [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Toll Brothers (TOL) - Cramer Bearish on Homebuilders Previously we reported on Jim Cramer’s negative view of the homebuilding industry, “Jim Cramer Bullish on Oil Industry - Part Manufacturers Hanover Compressor (HC) and Universal Compression (UCO)”. This sentiment was reflected in the quote, “I see profit taking emanating initially from the real estate investment trusts.”Audio Podcast:An audio podcast of this article is available [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jim Cramer Bullish on Oil Industry - Part Manufacturers Hanover Compressor (HC) and Universal Compression (UCO) Jim Cramer in an online interview gave broad indications about the sectors he feels are cooling down and the sectors with momentum.Overall, Cramer stated he felt the market was cooling down momentarily, “What I see is we have these periodic ends of momentum. There is way too much money running the country to allow this [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jim Cramer Talks up Schlumberger (SLB) in Online Video Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, in commentary made in a thestreet.com online video, was bullish on Schlumberger (SLB). Other analysts shared his view and the outlook for the company may be rosy: In the video Cramer said, “Schlumberger probably has the best outlook portfolio.” He went on to add, “Energy prices are in a permanently higher [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Penny for the Pantry (PTRY) The Pantry (PTRY), a convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, produced a penny of profit in first-quarter earnings announced yesterday. However, the Pantry maintains its long-term goals remains intact. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_02_06_PTRY.mp3 In a statement released Thursday, The Pantry said earnings decreased primarily because of less profitable [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hovnanian (HOV) Gets Boost from Analysts Hovnanian (HOV) gained 6% Thursday and around 5% on Friday after Bank of America upgraded the homebuilder to a buy rating from neutral. An increase in interested homebuyers is helping to stabilize sales at the company, Bank of America analyst Daniel Oppenheim suggested in a recent note to investors. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jim Cramer Enjoys Life Time Fitness (LTM) Jim Cramer, on the set of his Mad Money television program this week, mentioned Life Time Fitness (LTM) as his “No. 1, best-of-breed, health club pick.” He added he is a “huge fan” of the stock. An article appearing on thestreet.com website stated, “The health fitness business is a big industry that’s getting bigger… And as [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bullish on the Railroads: Greenbrier (GBX) and American Railcar (ARII) America’s recent emphasis on ethanol has meant an increase in corn and ethanol production. Like corn, ethanol is generally made in small towns throughout the Midwest. Point-to-point transport of the corn and the transportation of the ethanol to the end user are usually done by train. As ethanol production increases, railroads also must beef up [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Microsoft (MSFT) Releases Vista The Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) rolled out Windows Vista at retailers in 70 countries today, delivering a PC operating system reported to better manage digital media and to increase security. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_01_31_07_MSFT.mp3 To view an interactive example of Vista visit: microsoft.com Microsoft Vista was delayed several times during development and [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website General Cable (BGC) Wins $70 Million Contract General Cable’s (BGC) stock decreased a little more than one percent on average volume Monday as the cable supplier announced a $70 million contract with the Northeast Utilities Services Co. and United Illuminating Co. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_01_30_BGC.mp3 The company’s French subsidiary, Silec Cable, was awarded the underground high-voltage project. [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Last Friday’s Meteoric Rise of MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) Shares of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR), a silicon wafer manufacturer, reached a 52-week high Friday after fourth-quarter profits more than doubled and vastly exceeded analyst’s expectations. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_01_29_WFR.mp3 . The company posted a fourth-quarter profit of $129 million last Thursday, up from $50.2 million. This equates to [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website LoJack (LOJN) Releases Report on Motorcycle Theft The LoJack Corporation (LOJN) recently released its study of the most stolen bikes in the 2006 calendar year. They are, in order of thief’s’ preference:1. Suzuki2. Honda3. Yamaha4. Kawasaki5. Harley-DavidsonAudio Podcast:An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_01_26_LoJack.mp3This information may be useful as both a trivia question and to develop a hypothetical [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Analysts Bullish on Steel Sector - AK Steel (AKS)&US Steel (X) Many stock investors are down on steel at present. But there is a growing number of analysts who feel the sector may be ready to rebound. In this article we will look at what some analysts are saying and at two attractive option trades. The buzz generally focuses on two key companies: US Steel (X) [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Nexen (NXY) - Oil Delivery - North Sea Prospect In a press release dated January 8, 2007, Nexen (NXY) announced a major oil field prospect in the North Sea commenced production. The stock is experiencing heavy trading today at 128% of its average volume. The stock has advanced 3.5% today and over 10% in the last week. Nexen’s stock is approaching the 52-week highs [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 6% to 15% Potential Profits for January PowerOptions WeBlog identified several successful trades for the option expiration month of January. Below is a table showing some of the successful trades identified.Audio Podcast:An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_01_22_JANProfits.mp3Covered Call Profits - Maybe Not Faro OffStockOptionStockPriceDateEndPriceDatePot.ProfitFAROQEJAX$22.0212/13/2006$25.051/19/20076.00%2%-12% Returns In Less Than 1 MonthStockOptionStockPriceDateEndPriceDatePot.ProfitCR ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bullish on Merrill Lynch (MER) Merrill Lynch (MER) experienced higher than expected earnings in the fourth quarter. Earnings increased 68 cents to $2.35 per share. Large equity gains and investment banking results were cited as the main reasons for the increase. Audio Podcast: An audio podcast of this article is available at: poweropt.com/podcasts/2007_01_19_MER.mp3 Merrill Lynch CEO, Stan O’Neal, made the glowing statement, [...] Listen | Listen in your iPhone |