The Futures Options Roundtable

Futures Options Roundtable 17: The Year in Futures Options Futures Options Roundtable 2014 Year in Review The ongoing oil drama of 2014: Oil hits 5-year low today. Oil volatility and option volume seem poised to remain elevated in early 2015. Crude oil volatility skew: OTM call premiums remain comparatively cheap. Mini WTI futures, ICE Brent futures, Nadex oil rundown. Gold futures fell for the fourth time in five sessions as the dollar touched a five-year high. Gold is headed for a second straight annual loss for the first time since 1998. Silver futures for March delivery retreated 2.3 percent to $15.779 an ounce on the Comex, the most in almost two weeks. Copper reaches four-year low in London on China slowdown. Corn - Call premium total: $207,143.75, Put premium total: $403,637.50. Call OI Total: 205,195, Put OI Total: 248,323. Wheat - Ukraine crisis has been a driver for wheat volatility and volume this year. Rates - 30-Year futures: 86.4M contracts through Nov, down 6.8%. 10-Year futures: 317.5M contracts through Nov, up 3%. Looking Ahead To 2015 Hopefully seeing more inflows to commodities in 2015?

Futures Options Roundtable 16: Crazy Crude Oil Action The Grand Marketplace: Crude futures activity rundown. Binary options. Gold and silver futures rose to three-week highs after China cut benchmark interest rates to support economic growth. Corn futures for March delivery fell 1.3 percent to $3.8025 a bushel, the largest drop since Nov. 19. The Scrolls: Listener Questions and Comments Question from Richard D - Hey Options Insider Team! Below I have 3 questions: 1. I am wondering what the key reports are that affect the Agricultural future options (corn, soy, wheat, etc.) and where I can get more info and track these reports? 2. Also, do options on these ags typically behave the same way equity options behave leading up an earnings report? 3. Finally, what are the most liquid futures options besides gold, silver, and oil? Question from Anthony Fields: I was just reading through a book (won’t name them here to give them a free plug) that blamed the crash in 2008 on derivatives - particularly S&P futures and SPX options. What’s your take on stuff like that? Drive you crazy or is there some truth?

Futures Options Roundtable 15: Oil, Gold and Corn Skew Palooza The Grand Marketplace: What happened this month in futures options? Energy: Crude oil is taking it on the chine. No shortage of conspiracy theories for why crude is dropping. Crude option skew is increasingly steep. Brent/WTI spread and NADEX Binaries rundown. Metals: Gold and silver skews had been extremely put heavy, but now they are back to a more traditional smile shape. Ags: What’s happening in ags? Cocoa up on Ebola fears - Prices of futures could spike even higher if Ebola crosses the border into the Ivory Coast and Ghana - the main exporters of cocoa in the region. Corn: futures for December delivery climbed 2.2 percent to $3.56 a bushel, the biggest gain since Oct. 14. Soybean futures for November delivery rose 2.1 percent to close at $9.6425 a bushel, the largest advance for a most-active contract since Oct. 13. Wheat futures for December delivery rose 1.1 percent to $5.1925 a bushel, reaching $5.2375, the highest since Sept. 10. The Scrolls: Listener questions and comments Question from Alexander King - Question for the esteemed FOR panel. What is the consensus on crude here? More protracted downside? Fight back to the upside? Worth paying for these crazy puts in WTI? Question from Vostro - I am an active GLD trader. Should I consider trading gold futures options instead of GLD options?

Futures Options Roundtable 14: Catching a Falling Corn Grand Marketplace: Overall trends for the past few month: CTAs bounce back in August - all managed futures indices calculated by Newedge reported positive performance. Ags: Corn: Corn futures continued to slump to a 50-month low as waning prospects for frost damage this week Wheat/Soybeans: Unusual activity, hot strikes and large open interest changes. Energy: Crude Oil: Taking it on the chin as ISIS "crisis" fails to impact production. Nat Gas: Unusual activity, hot strikes and large open interest changes. Metals: Gold: Gold futures rebounded from an eight-month low on signs of increased demand for bars and jewelry in India. Silver: Silver futures for December delivery rose 0.1 percent to $18.62 an ounce. Platinum: On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for October delivery fell 0.5 percent to $1,363.50 an ounce Forex: Currencies: The US dollar making a strong move. The price of the UK pound amid Scottish independence fury.

Futures Options Roundtable 13: Hot Oil Action The Grand Marketplace: An overview of futures options action. Oil: Crude on a downward trajectory since reaching record highs last month. WTI/Brent spread still remain quite wide. Metals: Gold just barely broke through the $1300/oz price and silver broke through $20/oz. Long positions jumping up a bit, short positions taking it a little on the chin. Ags: Corn taking it on the chin due to wet weather in the Midwest. It’s not a good time to be long. US Agricultural Department projecting 14 billion bushels, a staggering harvest. The Scrolls: Questions and comments from our listeners Question from Dave - I think Brent may have some legs, perhaps reaching the 110 level by the end of the year. What should I be trading from an options perspective to best express this viewpoint? Question from Savah - Can you explain what an FCM is? And how does that differ from an IB? Or are they the same thing? I am trying to wrap my head around futures, but the alphabet soup does not help. Question from A Mason, Southington CT - Futures are an obligation, while options are a right, but not an obligation. If this is true, why would anybody ever deal with futures? An obligation is always worse than having an option, correct?

Futures Options Roundtable 12: Metals, Energy and Ags on the Move The Grand Marketplace: Energy: Oil - record Brent futures trading volume. A NADEX binary activity rundown. Metals: An aggressive selloff in gold on Monday. Silver opened off 2.5% on Monday. CME cuts trading margins on gold and silver futures. Silver fixing: another cry from the tinfoil hat club. Ags: July 7 - corn, wheat futures hit almost 4-year low. Update: Monday 7/14 - corn snaps losing streak. From Futures Magazine: option play: are soybeans really in the biggest slump in over 40 years? The Scrolls: Listener questions and comments. Question from Steve Fitzowen - I am looking for a volatility pop in gold - maybe 2 or 3 month ATM iron condors. Which is the better performer from a vol perspective - Comex Gold or GLD? Do you have a preference as to which product you use when trading the shiny metal? Does retail flow in GLD affect the performance of the product? Great show. What about weekly? Lots of swings in the futures between shows. Question from Verd3 - This question is for the futures options roundtable. I am bearish on WTI at these levels. I am expecting a 5% retracement back to the 95 range in the next three months. Agree? Whats the best strategy to capture that move using options?

Futures Options Roundtable 11: Commodity Sturm und Drang Grand Marketplace: Crude oil/energy and the impact of Iraqi situation on oil markets. Gold has been on a protracted selloff for the better part of the past month. Implied volatility has also been collapsing in gold - a surprise for many new futures options traders who are used to investment skew. Iraq & gold: the impact of the Iraq events has also been felt in gold. We saw a sharp spike in gold futures and GLD, plus gold volatility also spiked on the news. El Niño may impact oilseed prices this year. The Scrolls: Listener questions and comments Question from doc bass: hello. I have a question for the futures options roundtable program about the recent spike in gold option volatility. Does the panel view this as a significant event - something that will spark a new volatility paradigm in the product - or simply as an aberrant blip before gold volatility returns to recent lows? Question from Steven brooks, Lansing, MI: I’ve been enjoying the program. I hope you get around to producing it more often than once a month. I’ve also been slowly building an interest in binary options as a result of the show. I honestly didn’t know much about them prior to discovering this program. I’ve been looking at the spike in WTI in recent weeks and I think this is a bunch of sound and fury signifying nothing. Can the panel recommend a good play in the NADEX binaries to spec on a downside retracement in oil? Or should I stick to the WTI near-term products instead? And one more quick question - can I trade these products through my current broker (TD Ameritrade) or do I have to trade them through NADEX? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

Futures Options Roundtable 10: A Deep Dive Into Futures Options Data Today’s guest co-host is Nick Howard of QuikStrike The Grand Marketplace: Industry group believes CME Group should suspend open-outcry trading if Globex crashes after an exchange outage in April. Ags: Wheat futures cap 10-month slump, falling 9.4% from a 14-month high on May 6. Soybean prices rise on tight supplies, increasing $.20 to settle at $14.85 a bushel. Corn prices plummeted, ending a 4.7% weekly slide. Coffee prices soar as Brazil cuts harvest estimate. Metals: Hedge funds cut bullish gold futures bets, while gold rise on Indian demand. Energy: Oil prices settle at three-week highs. The Scrolls: Listener questions and comments Question from Seahound - I know about Trade Alert and Livevol. Those services are great, but they focus on equity options. Are there any services or platforms out there that focus on futures options analytics? Question from Alan Gergory - Is the standard multiplier for futures options 100 like it is for equity options? Or do they us some other system? Comment from Charles Dectan, New Orleans, LA - I agree with Jeff from the recent episode. Hellen was great! You guys need to get her on the show more often. She brings a unique perspective to the grains markets.

Futures Options Roundtable 9: The Great Grains Breakdown Grand Marketplace: Today’s guest is Helen Pound, Sr. Futures Market Specialist at KCG Futures Grain futures were quite active this week with beans and wheat prices advancing dramatically as corn struggled. There was much conversation today regarding a Reuters wire service article about recent Chinese defaults and cancellations of Brazilian bean cargos. Gold futures fall on possible Ukraine progress. Copper futures in Shanghai (the world's biggest user) traded near its highest level in two weeks. Nat Gas not lighting up the tape as much as it was a few months ago, but a lot of furor in Oil. The Scrolls: Taking delivery and natural gas Question from The Seahorse - What is the process if I wanted to take delivery of a commodity future - maybe an agricultural contract like wheat or a metals contract like gold? Tweet from Anders - Nat gas is the move done or should I scoop the cheap vol ahead of another move?

Futures Options Roundtable 8: The Grand Global Marketplace The Grand Marketplace: Dan and Mark report on what happened at the FIA Conference in Boca Raton. All derivatives products were up about 2% in 2013. Let’s play “2013 Top of the Heap” for each segment in futures and options. Big metals stories: copper, gold, aluminum. Energy updates. The Scrolls: In which the listeners dictate the conversation What broker to use for new traders in futures options?

Futures Options Roundtable 7: Risky Business Grand Marketplace: Market roundup Metals: Chinese slump is weighing on industrial metals. Nickel had its largest drop in four months. Copper down about half a percent to $3.33/pound on COMEX. Ags: Funds closing out shorts. Hedge funds ended their longest spree of bearish positioning on agricultural commodities on record as they took profits on short positions in grains, and hiked bullish bets on live cattle to a three-year high. Energy: Slowing Chinese industrial output and potential Iranian influx is weighing on the market. Feb WTI down about 1% to $93.75, off its two-week highs. The Guild Hall: Risky Business What is roll risk? What is the relationship between roll risk and term structure? How does roll risk impact futures, futures options and ETF options traders? What, if any, impact does roll risk have on binaries? FYI - beware of "roll yield" when looking at prospectuses of ETFs. The Scrolls: Sent via email, Twitter, or Facebook Question from Nathan Ingraham: Can I trade futures and futures options in my retirement accounts? I would like to put some longer term WTI calls in my account over the next few months.

Futures Options Roundtable: 2013 Year in Review The Grand Marketplace: The Year of 2013 in Review Metals - A rollicking year in the metals, lots of Vol and movement in the precious metals. Silver vs. Gold. Industrial metals - Copper. Bitcoin - The darling of the market Ags - New crop vs Old crop, Intra crop spreads options, Ag option volatility, etc. Energy - Iran, Domestic production reports, WTI options hit 50% electronic in August, Developments in natural gas, etc. Softs - Coffee, Cocoa, Sugar, etc. Rates - The comeback complex of the year. The taper announcement came earlier this year after the back and forth throughout the year, Short term vs. Mid-curve vs. Long term options activity, etc. The Scrolls: Keep those questions rolling in Question from George Nelson, Ottawa - I trade ETF options, not futures options. But your recent conversation about roll risk concerned me. Can I avoid roll risk in ETF options if I simply limit my purchases to longer term options - lets say six months of longer? Thanks for the show and for teaching this old dog some new tricks. Question from Buckeye Fan - In the spirit of binaries, let me ask the roundtable - Nymex crude finishes above $100 at the end of 2013. Yea or nay?

Futures Options Roundtable 5: In a Crude Mood The Grand Marketplace: What's going on in crude? Natural gas? What other underlings are these people trading? The Scrolls: Question from Bi Dip - Is there margin on Nadex binaries or do I have to pay the full amount for each trade? Question from ACA Tim - Are we seeing the same fragmentation issues with futures options that we are with equity options? Is it easier to trade spreads with futures options? Question from Steven Max, Toronto, CA - I love the new show. I am an Ag options trader, and I am very interested in the new options on the intra-crop spreads. The spread futures have always been somewhat illiquid, so I can only imagine what the options might be like. Can you give us an overview of these products and how they stack up from a liquidity and perhaps a utility perspective? Are they suitable for someone with a moderate level of futures and futures options trading experience?

Futures Options Roundtable 4: We Buy Gold & Other Dubious Metals Schemes The Grand Marketplace: There has been insane movements/volatility in gold and silver since our last show. We saw a pop last week only to see is start trending down again. Bonds, tapering and rates. Oil, Nat Gas, and other energies. The Guild Hall: What can you learn from today’s episode? Taking Delivery: Question from Hawkeye - I would like to add some hard assets to my rainy day fund. I am looking at physical silver but I don’t want to run down to my local jeweler/coin dealer or pay the ridiculous markup for coins on those infomercials. If I buy and exercise a silver option can i arrange to receive delivery of the metal at my own residence or do I need to have it delivered to a third party? Binaries: is there a delivery aspect to NADEX contracts? If so, how does that work? The Scrolls: In which we answer listener questions. Question from Winteriscoming - Hey guys -can you explain the difference between the Ags and the softs? I always seem to get these products confused. Question from Alexander - The OPRA failure really spooked me. Gold was moving and I couldn’t exit my GLD options positions. Do you consider CME’s GLOBEX platform to be safer if only because it isn’t linking nearly a dozen exchanges? Should I be looking at the CME contracts and options instead? Question from Jim Jim - NADEX has options and bull spreads. Are there any plans to expand the NADEX product offering anytime soon? Maybe bear spreads or some dedicated hedging products - perhaps a NADEX version of a strangle?

Futures Options Roundtable 3: Sexy Commodities The Grand Marketplace: Corn resumes decline as yields boost outlook - Soybeans drop as well. S&P launches two new metals futures indexes. Eurex gets into the FX options game - set to launch October 7, to compete with CME. Crude options volatility rises as futures slide on Fed taper. Trading glitches have caused major issued for equity and options traders. The Guild Hall: The collar from a commodity perspective. The Scrolls: We’re taking your questions Question from Alester Mack, Brighton, England - Looking forward to the launch of the new radio program. There isn’t enough information out there for us beginner futures options traders. I would like to pose this question for the new program - I know that futures currently require a maintenance margin deposit rather than offering an outright purchase/sale price. Do futures options operate the same way or do they have a set purchase price like traditional equity or index options? Question from TFell - Can't wait for future options show. Are the Greeks the same for futures options? Are there others? Do they work differently?

Futures Options Roundtable 2: Everyone Is Looking for a Move The Grand Markeptlace: Natural gas is on the move. West Texas intermediate crude for Sept delivery up 1.4% yesterday to $107.81. How you can use options to get an idea of where the consensus is on where Treasuries and currencies are heading. They’re a real-time volatility sentiment. Unusual Activity: Binaries and strangles with binaries. The Guild Hall: A primer on commodity skew vs. investment skew The Scrolls: In which we address listener feedback. · Question from Tim Rogers, White Plains, NY - I’m a long term oil bull. What’s the best way to express that outlook using futures/futures options? Or, am I better off with an ETF like USO? · Question from Nathan Richards, Sydney, Aus - I’m a little confused by the NADES bull spreads. Do you also have bear spreads? Or if I’m bearish do I, or can I, short a bull spread? Somehow shorting a bull spread seems counterintuitive.

We've sounded the horn and assembled a team of futures options experts for your listening pleasure. In this premiere episode of the Futures Options Roundtable Options Insider Founder Mark S. Longo is joined by: Jeff Lewandowski - CTA, Protean Trading Dan Collins - Former EIC, Futures Mag, Founder, Dan Collins Report Dan Cook - Director, Business Development, Nadex Dave Rodgers - Instructor and Trader at Markettaker.Com The Guild Hall Segment The roundtable breaks down the benefits and drawbacks of futures options vs. equity options. The panelists discuss the different ways that binary options can be used to speculate on or hedge against commodity price movement. The panelists also discuss some of the salient aspects of futures options trading that all traders need to watch out for including seasonality. The Grand Marketplace Segment We break down the big moves and exploding volatility in precious metals and energy. Realized vol is starting to outpace implied volatility in many commodity products - an ideal time to be a buyer of premium not a seller. Dan sees aggressive hedging activity in Nadex metals contracts. A discussion of how to use binary spreads to trade multiple products and expiration dates. We wrap things up by analyzing the explosion of anticipation in oil options as well as how the Egyptian unrest impacted oil's volatility skew.