Kennedy’s Sudden Retirement Shocks DC
Without a hint of his intention to leave the bench, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement has thrown Washington into a new frenzy of political divisions. Kennedy’s leaving the highest court after a 30-year term is setting the stage for a monumental fight as to which direction the country is heading. It is also giving President Trump the chance to align the Supreme Courts conservative base for years to come.
Depending on your view, this is either an opportunity or it is Armageddon. The Democrats are already outraged by the Supreme Court’s recent decision that upheld Mr. Trump’s position on allowing travel from Muslim nations that support terrorism and declared it will be illegal to force public employees to pay dues.
Republicans are equally irritated by the refusal of a Virginia restaurant to serve press secretary Sarah Sanders, and the constant haranguing that Rep. Maxine Waters is causing about families being separated at the Southern border. She is now claiming that the Trump administration is treating families looking to leave war torn areas like the Nazi’s treated their own citizens during WW II.
Much of the animosity dates back to the 2016 election when the Republicans were able to block the Democrat’s choice for the Supreme Court claiming that the appointment should be held back until the election was over. That logic may now come back to bite them as the Dems are insisting that there should be no appointment until after the 2018 midterm elections in November.
Of course, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is insisting that there is no reason to wait until after the midterms. He says that the appointment needs to take place as quickly as possible. Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) claims that to do the appointment now would deprive “millions of voters their say”. You can be sure of one thing when you throw Mr. Trump into the middle of this one. There is going to be a lot fireworks.
Ask Mr. Seifert
I am constantly asked questions about trading and how to exploit certain market factors to insure success. Each week I will answer one of those questions here with a short paragraph.
What is an Iron Condor, and does it have unlimited risk or reward?
An Iron Condor is a very useful spread that has both limited risk and limited reward. It is initiated by buying or selling two vertical spreads in the same serial. One of the spreads is a vertical call spread the other is a vertical put spread. Each spread is either above or below the current price of the underlying stock. If you sell both spreads you create a credit and are hoping that the price of the underlying stock will stay near the current price until expiration. If you are correct one or both of the spreads will be winners and you will cash the trade. Your risk is limited to the difference between the strike prices minus the credit that you received when you sold the spread. If you buy both spreads you are creating a debit and you are hoping that the price will move in one direction or the other far enough to allow you to collect on one of the debit spreads that you bought. Most professional traders sell Iron Condors as one leg of the spread must be a winner mathematically and it is possible to collect on both ends of the credit spreads if the price falls in the middle.
The Wise Guy Report: The View From The Floor
Each week I talk about how the Wise Guys (floor traders) find the soft spots in the market and take advantage of price dislocation in three major commodity markets: Gold (GC), Crude Oil (CL) and Long-Term Interest Rates (ZB). On the equity side, I cover the MSS which is the Mister Seifert Sez Composite Index. This is a proprietary index that I created which measures the dollar flow of the four major indexes (S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Russell 2000 and the Dow Jones Industrials) on an unweighted basis. This week let’s take a look at last’s week price action in Crude Oil.
Crude Oil rallies Back To Yearly Highs (Blow Off)
Crude Oil continued to try to find its way back to the top, after the double bottom support level held at around $65 a barrel. Late in the week, it gained about 6%. US rig count continued to go lower last week and now is in a two-week losing streak. However, the price continued to rally and on Friday it topped out at $73.10 dollars a barrel. The question now is whether or not this double top will hold or will crude break out to new yearly highs? If you missed the rally, now is not the time to get involved. I would be a seller at this double top and if I am wrong I would reverse my position and go with the new trend.
Get Your FREE Two-Week Trial Subscription
I offer a FREE Two-Week trial to the various subscription services with no cost or strings attached. Each strategy is explained in a 5-7 page booklet which includes sample recommendations and model portfolios. I doubt that you have ever seen anything like this. During your FREE trial, you can paper trade the various strategies and get a feel for the deal without risking a penny. Simply click on the appropriate tab on the Optionomics’ Home page to access the informative booklets and then sign up for one or all of the weekly subscriptions.
- The Bullish – Bearish Credit Spread Strategy: The nuts and bolts of trading weekly credit spreads.
- The 21st Century Covered Calls Strategy: A modern day alternative to the old fashioned covered call strategy.
- The Low Cost Put Hedge Strategy: Sleep at night knowing your portfolio is protected for little or no cost.
- The Earnings Trade: Get in on potential big movers with little or no downside risk.
- The One Day Wonder Trade: Get ready for some real action. A one day trade with great results.
- The Blow Off Top – Bottom Trade: A lot of of action and big moves too.
Each Monday morning by 11:00 EST, the plays for the upcoming week plus updated model portfolios for each strategy are posted on the site. The prices in the reports are Monday morning’s opening prices. In addition, I have a webinar on Thursday afternoon where I discuss various option strategies, what is happening on the floor and answer any questions that you may have. Don’t worry if you miss the show. They are archived on the site. Sound Good? Good! You can subscribe to one or more of the subscriptions for only $19.95 each per month on a month to month basis with no contract or strings attached. If you subscribe to three, it is only $49.95 per month while you can subscribe to all six for only $79.95 per month which is a 33% discount. I think you will agree that this is a super offer so give it a try. Click on www.optionomicsgroup.com to access the Optionomics Group web site and get started today doing what the pros do – “Don’t Buy Them – Sell Them”.
Mr. Seifert