Before the corona crisis hit, Cineplex was scheduled to be taken over by UK-based Cineworld Group in a $1.65 billion transaction. Cineworld was going to pay $34 per Cineplex share. However, the closing of the Canadian economy due to the coronavirus crisis led Cineworld to claim that there had been a material adverse change...
On March 13th, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX: ACB) announced that they had appointed Nelson Peltz as a Strategic Advisor to help explore potential partnerships and advise on the company’s global expansion strategy. This is a big deal given Mr. Peltz’s business history and reputation for delivering results. For more details...
When observing option pricing, we should always remember that premiums, while certainly linked to reality, are somewhat of an imperfect predictive tool. Option prices attempt to forecast movement in equities or indices for a given period into the future, but they are unlikely to be entirely correct in the end. For...
In a recent article we discussed how to get long volatility with the Long Option Straddle. In today’s piece we will discuss another less costly way to buy volatility with the Reverse Iron Condor. Condor strategies are named for the narrow-bodied and broad-winged bird that is primarily found in California. When diagramed, the...
In a previous article, “Bull Call and Bear Put Spreads” investors learned how to construct a simple 1:1 vertical spread. This week we will discuss how a ratio spread can be implemented and the risks and benefits of this strategy. A ratio spread is similar to a vertical spread in that it involves the simultaneous purchase...
Over the last year we have seen an incredible period of low volatility that is arguably building systematic liquidity risks when we enter a period of normalization. These risks were highlighted in the Bank of Canada’s November 2017 Financial System Review. In that review, the BoC discussed the assessment of...
Once again, despite the risk of controversy, I find myself compelled to write about pot! In my last article, Embracing Volatility on a Canadian Disruptor, I looked at a couple of ways one might participate in a bullish technical pattern developing in the TSX:WEED price chart. At the time (August 28th, 2017) the shares were...
What better way to wrap up the 2017 year than with a market forecast. As a trader, I always look at a forecast as establishing a baseline from which to build investment themes for the upcoming year. The obstacle however, lies in that there is substantial herding in economic forecasting and rarely does an analyst stick their...
In my last article, entitled Understanding Vega, we examined how Vega measures the changes in option pricing relative to changes in implied volatility. In today’s article I will delve a little deeper into volatility and its impact across the options chain. There are actually two types of volatility that option traders need to...
This is a fairly consistent rule in listed options markets: As assets rise in value, option pricing tends to pull back on a relative basis. As markets push higher, investors are deemed to be less fearful and therefore the cost to insure a portfolio against a market drops. We see this rule routinely play out in the VIXC (the...