Real Estate & the Headwinds of Higher Interest Rates
Real estate has performed far better than we expected since the financial crises. Did we think there would be some kind of recovery? Yes, but we thought it would look…
Aflac (AFL) The Duck that Quacks
Aflac Inc. (AFL) provides supplemental health and life insurance products. Most of us are familiar with the company’s advertisement campaign featuring a duck telling people about the protection Aflac’s disability…
Packaging a Trade in WestRock (WRK)
WestRock Company (WRK) manufactures and sells paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The company is organized into three divisions. (1) Corrugated Packaging segment produces…
Easy Money Has Been Made: Take Profits on Acuity Brands (AYI) Put Spread
Back on March 24, 2016, we recommended investors construct a bearish put-spread on Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI), the lighting manufacturing and solutions company. Click here for the original article. The company…
Dynamics of Equity & Oil Prices
Understanding how the market is behaving is critical for stock and options traders alike. It is important to understand the price action of individual stocks, commodities, bonds and the asset class…
Oil, War & Bull Traps
I wrote an article last night for release this morning, only to find that the US Government fired off 50 to 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles against a Syrian air base…
To VIX or Not to VIX
Investors look to the VIX index for guidance concerning future volatility of return on the equity markets in general and the S&P 500 in particular. Many people want to “trade”…
Nervous Bulls
It is no secret that equity prices are elevated. The post-election rally pushed share prices back to levels we thought we would not see again for a long long time. Since…
What If GDP Growth Is Not Improving?
Ever since the election, investors have been in a positive mood. Share prices took off on the day of the election results and did not look back. With election results…
Portugal: Is This a Hidden Gem in Europe, or Just another Foundering Peripheral Economy (PGAL)
Here at The Options Edge, we look for great ideas. The primary focus of our ideas is individual companies that are too cheap, or too expensive, too hated or too…