Aug212013

Daily Market Update (August 21, 2013 Reprint)

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(see all trades this option cycle)

 

Daily Market Update – August 21, 2013 (Close)

Yesterday was the 45th anniversary of the Warsaw pact nations invasion of Czechoslovakia.

That’s not ordinarily something that I use an an introduction to a Daily Market Update, but bear with me. After all, it’s Wednesday and that’s usually a slow trading day for us. The early market action didn’t give any reason to think that this Wednesday would be different from any other.

Except that today we sit and await the release of the FOMC minutes in an era when the Federal Reserve has taken on new transparency and current members are suggesting that even more transparency may be warranted.

45 years ago on that date, my family and I were supposed to leave Hungary, where we had been vacationing, having returned to the country we left across a land-mined border in the middle of the night twelve years earlier. Hungary, a member of the Warsaw Pact, a member Soviet Union satellite nation had only recently allowed those who escaped during the 1956 Revolution to return as tourists, once they realized that tourist dollars weren’t in conflict with dogma.

Our visas, which were absolutely necessary for travel, as was reporting your itinerary to local authorities, were due to expire on that date.

Funny thing, though. The airport was closed.

There were fighter jet planes flying overhead and we were turned back by soldiers who wouldn’t allow entry onto the road leading to the airport. My parents were smart enough to know not to ask questions. Questions required answers and that was considered to be information.

If Seinfeld had existed in Hungary the certainly would have been a character intoning “No information for you.”

Returning to the hotel, the clerk asked for our visas and before we knew it the police were at the hotel threatening to have us arrested for over staying our visas, suggesting that perhaps we were spies.

The American Embassy could provide no information. Why were the airports closed? When could we leave? They knew, but in a land where information was so tightly controlled they couldn’t be seen as the source of a leak that would have preceded any official local government spin.

They did tell us that all borders were sealed and informed us that we could stay at the embassy if our request for visa extensions wasn’t granted.

An embassy worker suggested a “gratuity” could get us an extension and it did. My father later told others who had been denied that the equivalent of about two dollars would buy a visa extension.

Back in the hotel lobby, television pre-empted its usual airing of the endless loop of “The Flintstones” episodes to play patriotic kind of music. Forget about trying to get a newspaper that gave out any kind of information. Not only were the borders sealed, but so was all flow of information and so were people’s mouths.

Three days later we were allowed to leave and arrived in Paris. It was there that we saw images of Soviet and Warsaw Pact tanks on overhead televisions in the airport, but we still had no clue as to what was happening. It looked as if it was World War II kind of archival footage.

But the International Herald Tribune told the story. The “Prague Spring” as it had become known under the liberalization of Alexander Dubcek was crushed, just as Poland and Hungary had their brief attempts to rid themselves of Soviet yoke crushed.

It is absolutely amazing at how a government can entirely control our access to information. I don’t know how long it took for normal Hungarian citizens to learn what had been going on next door to them, but they certainly didn’t talk about it on the streets while it was all unfolding.

So why am I recalling old news of 45 years ago? Mostly because Eddy Elfenbein of “Crossing Wall Street” fame made note of the anniversary and suggested I write a post. I had let the day just slip by, never giving it a thought.

Now we’re awash in information. The one-time opaque Federal Reserve is now like your best friend telling you more than you need to know or more than you can understand. But you have to be right there when that friend spills all, because you need to know before any of your other friends.

Government reports, ADP, Tweets, blogs, Instagram and an endless supply of other sources of information with the only gatekeeper being the one who is supposed to ensure that all get equal access to its release, give or take a few nano-seconds, for give or take a few million.

If Hampton Pearson, the usual purveyor of information on CNBC had it in him to give away the minutes in exchange for blow and hookers, society might be better off having a chance to chew over the information rather than reflexively responding to it.

The problem has become one of interpretation of news. Keeping the population ignorant of the news is one thing, but an over-flow of news is far better because it creates a new kind of ignorance, one that has its genesis in too many competing and often contradictory bits of data that cause us to proceed irrationally or haphazardly and sometimes bounce from one action to the next without a coherent plan.

In a society where information is strictly controlled or parceled, there isn’t much in the way of interpretation necessary. You simply knew that the truth was diametrically opposite of the official version.

This afternoon will come word by word parsing of the FOMC minutes. Although this month is likely to be a non-event, much like last month, the interpretations can differ wildly and the markets can go into spasms from too much attention being paid to the details.

In the meantime we continue to get conflicting earnings reports and alternating positive and negative market reactions to the news. Just think about the  names mentioned yesterday. Anadarko, Intel, Chesapeake Energy and add to those Home Depot, JC Penney and others and see how quickly their fates are altered with the flow of information and the parsing of that information. It can make the difference between putting a $250 price tag on Apple or placing a $700 target. Same information, yet two disparate interpretations.

So often the net result of that flow of information is minimal change, but a wide range of reaction. Just look at the immediate reaction to the release of the FOMC minutes this  afternoon. Someone or their algorithm interpreted the minutes in a negative manner, sending the market down an additional 70 points in 5 minutes, only to see it then add 130 points in the next 40 minutes.

Increasingly, I’m beginning to believe that being in an information vacuum has its merits. At the very least ignoring the party line, taking note of the jets flying above and having a goal that is immutable.

 

 

 OTP Sector Distribution* as of August 21, 2013

  * Assumes equal number of shares in positions

Intraday versions of the Daily Market Update are not archived. You may access prior day’s Daily Market Updates by clicking here

The posting of these trades is not a recommendation to initiate positions nor to execute any trading positions, as they may represent time sensitive actions.



 







Monday through Thursday? See “Daily Market Update” with first edition published by 12 Noon and Closing Update published by 4:30 PM

Friday? See Week in Review for summary statistics and performance

Sunday? See Weekend Update for potential stock choices for coming week

Any day? See Performance for open and closed positions

Subscribers may see ROI statistics on all new, existing and closed positions on a daily updated basis

 

 WEEKLY TRADING SUMMARY

NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/ PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/ PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED
8  / 8 3 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0

 

, ,

 

 

    

 

  See all Trade Alerts for this monthly option cycle
 
 

 

 

 

 

  

Aug172013

Weekend Update – August 18, 2013

Weekend Update

I believe, although I could be mistaken, that an original version of the Bible suggested that “an octogenarian shall lead them.”

Last week I was wondering where the next catalyst was going to come from.

After a couple of years of headline grabbing events and man made disasters such as “Fiscal Cliff” and “Sequestration,” it was actually good to have a summer off. We didn’t even have the obligatory Greek banking crisis this August. The downside, of course, is that there’s nothing to react toward. Instead, stocks have had to trade on such fundamentals and basics as valuation and earnings. As with many traditions, there are fewer and fewer people who can remember the origins of such things.

If you can remember back almost a year, Apple (AAPL) was just hitting $700/share and it was the reason you could have discounted the other 499 stocks that comprised the S&P 500. As went Apple, so went the health of the overall market.

It was a simpler time.

Things have changed, but then came news that Carl Icahn had put together a “large” Apple position. Then came word the Leon Cooperman, Chairman of Omega Advisors, was equally ebullient about Apple.

Its shares immediately shot up an immediate $22 upon a simple Icahn Tweet. The “Cooperman Bump” was good for another 2%, but he’s much younger.

Wonderful. We needed market leadership and Apple was ready to take the reigns once again thanks to a couple of guys who have a combined 147 years between them. Can George Soros be far behind? Based on what his ownership had done for JC Penney (JCP) shares before he curiously added 2 million shares during the course of his divorce from a much younger Bill Ackman, you would probably prefer that he kept his distance if you were long Apple shares.

As it turns You can’t predicate an entire market on the basis of a nearly octogenarian investor’s lust for overseas cash piles. While Apple piled up even more cash reserves, it also added on to its share value while the market had a recently rare triple digit move downward and just came off its worst week in 2013.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to lead us to a better place where we know only of profits, dividends and buybacks. A place where we are always renewed and bathed in truth.

For me the market starts anew every week as I scan to see what positions have been assigned due to the sale of call options. As occasionally happens when a monthly cycle ends my world is essentially recreated, but you never know where the truth lies. What I do know is that far fewer of my positions were assigned this week than I had expected, even with the gift of Icahn.

With continually competing voices citing reasons we go higher matched off with equally compelling reasons we go lower, the standoff is as old as that between good and evil, but suddenly evil is looking stronger.

While it may seem inviting to have an octogenarian activist lead the way, the greatest likelihood is that such a shepherd has his own interests more at heart than that of his willing flock.

As usual, the week’s potential stock selections are classified as being in Traditional, Double Dip Dividend, Momentum and “PEE” selections this week (see details).

While my preference ordinarily is to focus on selling weekly options, given some uncertainty last week, I may look to sell more monthly contracts as a defensive measure in the event of a short term downturn.

In the past year the astute have noted that “as goes Google (GOOG), so does Apple not follow,” as the prevailing thesis was that it was not possible to be invested in them concurrently. While recent attention has deservedly shifted to Apple as it’s price moved higher on news of a new iPhone and then Icahn’s position, so too has attention shifted away from Google.

I haven’t owned shares of Google in more than a year and even though it has advanced steadily since then, its recent 6% decline is enough to get me interested once again. With the next lower support level nearly $100 away the risk may be greater than the underlying “beta” might suggest, but perhaps at any sign of Apple infatuation cooling we all know where the money has to be going.

If you have the stomach for such things JC Penney reports earnings this week. I own shares, including some bought just this week and subsequently assigned. However, had you asked me a few weeks ago, I would have believed that JC Penney comparative quarter results were going to be very positive. But once the high profile dissension from Bill Ackman, calling for a speedy appointment of a permanent CEO became known and that short term melodrama played itself out, my opinion changed considerably. It would seem unlikely that such internal controversy would arise before a surprisingly good earnings report.

However, for the adventurous selling puts expiring August 23, 2013 can return an 1.3% ROI and leave you without the need to own shares if a post-earnings related drop ends up being less than 25% The options market is anticipating a 17.5% decline.

Among the walking wounded this week was Macys (M). I’ve been waiting a long time for an opportunity to own shares again, although those opportunities usually come when bad news is at hand. In this instance it was the same as had wounded numerous others this earnings season. With no other distractions during a quiet late summer people actually pay attention to such mundane things as earnings and guidance. In this case, they didn’t like what they heard, but that has by and large been the lot of retailers of late. Under the leadership of Terry Lundgren you do have to believe that if any retailer will be able to pull out from underneath the doldrums, it will be Macys.

Another of my favorite retailers, especially coming off price weakness, like most everything this past week, is Coach (COH). However, as with many of the stocks in this week’s listing, the challenge is whether what appears to be value pricing is instead, a value trap, as an overall declining market takes the good along with the bad lower. With an almost 14% drop since its earnings, Coach has had a head start on any general decline which gives me some solace if investing new funds.

Following Cisco’s (CSCO) disappointing earnings report, which may have added fuel to the market’s weakness, the technology sector didn’t fare terribly well. John Chambers, the CEO has alternated from genius to out of touch and back to genius in the span of just a few years, but may now be returning to the “out of touch” category in the eyes of some.

However, for me, he evoked an image of Hoard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks (SBUX), who a number of quarters ago following a brutal reaction to a disappointing earnings report, provided one of the most ardent defenses of his company and why the reaction was so wrong. If you had faith in Schultz, you were well rewarded. I think Chambers offered a similar post-earnings response and despite te immediate concerns there is reason for following his zeal.

Oracle (ORCL) on the other hand, may offer a better return, based upon the option premiums which may reflect an earnings report near the end of the September 2013 option cycle. It’s often difficult to distinguish its CEO, Larry Ellison, from its product, but he was in the news this week with sometimes less than flattering comments about Apple and Google. The last times Oracle disappointed with its earnings reports Ellison didn’t follow the Schultz lead and instead, pointed fingers. WHile I may be looking for more monthly options during this week’s trading activity, an Oracle trade may be an exception.

Among the vanquished last week was Seagate Technology (STX). It’s 27% decline, however started in mid-July. I owned shares the previous week and they were assigned. Seagate is another position that I would strongly consider as a candidate for weekly option sales, particularly if using deep in the money strikes.

McGraw Hill FInancial (MHFI) goes ex-dividend this week and has been on a nice ride ever since the initial reaction to news that their role in the financial meltdown was to be investigated. In fact, it recently surpassed that point from which it fell off the cliff upon the news. Normally that would be a warning signal for me, however, shares have recently scaled back 5%. I think that McGraw Hill was unduly punished by the market and still, in fact, has catching up to do, despite its great run since February 2013, when there was a near immediate realization that the reaction was well overdone.

I’m a little ambivalent about adding additional shares of Transocean (RIG to my two existing lots. Just a few days earlier I felt reasonably assured that the $47 lot would be assigned. At that time I was already thinking of re-purchasing shares in order to capture the upcoming dividend. Also in the Icahn stable of companies in his radar scope, Transocean hasn’t fared quite as well as others, and has not yet increased its dividend as Icahn suggested, although its change has come to its executive offices. Together with Halliburton (HAL) and British Petroleum (BP), Transocean is one of the “Evil Troika” that consistently offers a good place to park money owing to its narrow trading range, option premiums and dividend payout.

Finally, although Mosaic (MOS) has appeared in each of the past two weekly articles, its selection never gets old as long as it keeps doing what it has so reliably done ever since news of the dismantling of the potash cartel became known. In this case, what it has done after suffering a 20% plunge is to slowly begin raising the bar higher as questions arise regarding the ability of the cartel to stay asunder. For the past three weeks I’ve erased substantial paper losses by adding shares and selling in the money calls whose premiums are enhanced by fear and uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring. The pattern that Mosaic has been taking is essentially two steps forward and one step back and that is just perfect for executing a serial covered call strategy that hopefully follows shares back

Traditional Stocks: Cisco, Google, Macys, Oracle

Momentum Stocks: Coach, Mosaic, Seagate Technology

Double Dip Dividend: McGraw Hill FInancial (ex-div 8/22 $0.28), Transocean (ex-div 8/21 $0.56)

Premiums Enhanced by Earnings: JC Penney (8/20 AM)

Remember, these are just guidelines for the coming week. The above selections may be become actionable, most often coupling a share purchase with call option sales or the sale of covered put contracts, in adjustment to and consideration of market movements. The over-riding objective is to create a healthy income stream for the week with reduction of trading risk.

 

Aug132013

Carl Icahn Spells the End of an Era at Apple

Daily Market Update

This afternoon came news via a simple 140 space statement that Carl Icahn currently had “a large position” in Apple (AAPL).

By all accounts his discussion with CEO Tim Cook were cordial. Icahn himself, in another 140 space blast referred to it as “nice,” and he anticipated speaking to Cook again shortly.

I currently own Apple shares that somewhat surprisingly weren’t assigned away from me last week in an effort to grab the dividend. Considering that shares were trading at about $465 prior to the ex-dividend and the strike price sold was $450, my expectation had been that assignment was a certainty. Especially since option premiums were no longer showing any time premium with such a deep in the money option.

But as many know when it comes to Apple stock, rational thought isn’t always a hallmark of ownership.

I still think back to a comment made to an earlier Seeking Alpha article I had written in May 2012, when Apple was trading at about $575

“I guess it’s hard to not have a certain bias towards a company that has turned $30,000 of your dollars into $600,000 and may if things go right turn it into a $1,000,000.”

I always wondered whether that individual had taken interim profits or whether subsequent to May 2012 had secured some profits as Apple dropped some 200 points. The fact that its author was a CPA wasn’t lost upon me.

At the time, I thought that an investing strategy of hoping to turn $30,000 into $1,000,000 was irrational, just as turning $600,000 into $1,00,00 was irrational.

What was abundantly clear, as I took a cynical view of Apple shares in repeated articles when analysts were calling for a $1,000 stock price was that emotion was at work among many investors. Part of the emotion was the fervent belief that Apple could only keep innovating and would always be an aspirational product with great margins.

However, one refrain that repeatedly was played was that Apple shares were destined to go much higher, based on an absurdly low price to earnings ratio.

The contention was that one the market starting placing a value on Apple shares more consistent with other technology stocks, Apple would soar far above its current level.

Of course, the seemingly rational analysis dismissed the fact that the market may in fact, have been rational in giving Apple a P/E in the 12 range, just like any well regarded retailer.

A retailer? Apple is a retailer and not a technology company? Granted, it is no longer “Apple Computer,” but why should Apple be considered anything but a technology company?

That’s where Carl Icahn comes in.

Despite his recent foray into Dell Computer (DELL), his history as an activist shareholder has not included many companies in the technology arena.

Icahn refers to Apple as being “undervalued” but he isn’t looking at a low P/E to buttress his opinion. He is looking at a continuing large cash position that he envisions as a means of expanding the already large share buyback, that to many has already been the source of Apple strength going from its near term lows to $450.

This is not a case of finding fault with leadership, this is not a case of someone seeking to prevent shareholders from being robbed blind in an insider buyout deal. Apple is very different from Dell in so many ways.

This is all about leveraging cash, without regard to product pipeline and without regard to product margins. This isn’t about cutting expenses or changing direction. It is as pure as you can get – it is about cash.

Icahn cares nothing about this company other than for the cash it holds. Cash which is unleveraged isn’t worth very much to him or anyone else. It certainly adds nothing to a company’s P/E.

Icahn cares nothing about this company other than for the cash it holds. Cash which is unleveraged isn’t worth very much to him or anyone else. It certainly adds nothing to a company’s P/E. It’s time to face the fact that the stock market has been entirely rational in assigning Apple the P/E it has for these past years. It was not going to ever be considered a technology company again. It is a retailer with a narrow range of products which are bought at the whims of a fickle consumer.

While not terribly different from David Einhorn’s earlier attempt to wiggle cash out of the Apple coffers, Icahn is relentless and scrappy. What starts as perhaps a nice discussion can quickly go elsewhere.

While there is a quick pop in Apple shares in the aftermath of the announcement and while I anticipate shares to move even higher, this is the end for the Apple that you knew and loved. It wasn’t the death of Steve Jobs, but rather the indirect impact of his absence that spells the end, as Apple becomes like so many other companies simply nothing more than a vessel for someone that will have as limited interest as a pedestrian day trader.

While I’ve believed that Apple was an eminently good trading stock once in went down below the $450 level in February 2013, I think that in the very near term its suitability as a trade is even further enhanced, despite the large move higher this afternoon.

In fact, in the case of Apple, I would even consider the rare decision to purchase shares without immediate and concomitant sale of call options.

As long as Carl Icahn is on your side, you may as well consider him in the same vein as those who warn that you should “never fight the Fed,”  even if you believe Apple is too large for even Carl Icahn to take on. That’s because this is now also a new era of cooperative behavior (against Bill Ackman, at least), where the big boys are capable of joining forces these days and will do so like vultures when there’s cash to be had.

The only caveat is that it’s not likely that you’ll enjoy dreams of turning $30,000 into a $1,000,00 and so I would be all for taking profits wherever they present themselves.

 

Aug102013

Week in Review (August 5 – 9, 2013 Reprint)

Uncategorized

 

Option to Profit Week in ReviewAugust 5 – 9, 2013 
NEW POSITIONS/STO NEW STO ROLLOVERS CALLS ASSIGNED/PUTS EXPIRED CALLS EXPIRED/PUTS ASSIGNED CLOSED
7 / 8 1 3 4 / 1 0 / 0 0

    

Weekly Up to Date Performance

August 5 – 9, 2013

For the week, new purchases returned to its usual ways and well exceeded the time adjusted S&P 500 in a week that the market had a negative tone, but still showed great resilience.

New positions beat the adjusted index by 2.7%, and also bested the unadjusted index by  an even larger 3.1%.  But just as I used JC Penney as an excuse last week for trailing the overall market, this week’s results are skewed by having used a number of September 17, 2013 option contracts. That actually added almost 1% to the results.

Adjusting for time, to a standard weekly observation period the week’s new positions beat the adjusted S&P 500 by 1.7% and the unadjusted index by 2.1%.

The market showed an adjusted loss of  0.6% for the week, while the unadjusted S&P 500 lost 1.1%.  New purchases gained 2.1% for the week, well above the threshold, even when adjusting for extended options.

For positions opened in 2013 and subsequently closed, performance exceeded that of the S&P 500 by 0.5%. They are up 2.7% out-performing the market by 20.6%.

Well, this week was more like it, although I’m still upset about JC Penney, particularly the silence this past week regarding its vendor’s lending facility remains unanswered. Besides that, the soap opera was amusing and at least offered a brief window to sell some call options as Bill Ackman helped to temporarily raise share price by being Bill Ackman. Of course that only lasted about a day as shares went down because Bill Ackman acted like Bill Ackman.

Additionally, it was a week where we may have gotten a message that things aren’t as dour in China as we have believed. For me, that would be wonderful, because much of my 2013 thesis was based on better than expected outcomes from China. So far, that hasn’t been a good call, but I remain patient (and stubborn).

But otherwise, this was a week that demonstrates why a weak or declining market may have value and benefit that if alternating with an advancing market can create returns well in excess of the apparent net.

For much of 2013 that hasn’t been the case as alternating markets just haven’t been the norm as they usually are.

Every now and then when I need confirmation that sometimes the sum of the parts is far greater than the whole I look at historical returns and remind myself that a stock doesn’t have to move anywhere in order to be a profit generating machine.

Lately I’ve been looking for confirmation with great regularity.

As much as it’s convenient to try and read into this week’s weak performance, it’s probably not a good idea to do so.

With the August 2013 option cycle expiring next Friday, I’m simply hopeful that the market will maintain enough integrity to see many positions assigned.

That was also my hope at the end of June, but the Federal Reserve got in the way and prices dropped just in time to help reduce the number of assignments, so I’m not counting on anything.

Since I’m not reading much into the lack of strength this week, I still plan to follow the same pattern as with the past two months, looking to reduce cash from about 40% to 25% over the course of the week.

The question and where I’ve been varying the approach recently is deciding between weekly or monthly contracts when both are available.

I do want to have weekly contracts in the mix because they form the basis for cash flow necessary to both replenish cash reserves and fund new investments,  if they’re assigned.

Now, the really big news is that next week’s first new position will be the 500th since expanding the service from being shared among only a small group of insiders to opening it up to outside subscribers 15 months ago.

Thank you for making it possible and providing reason to continue an implausible venture

Initially intended to provide a basis for subscribers to “graduate” after a few months, and the Informational web site continues to list that as the objective, a large core of subscribers have been here for all 499 trades.

That level of trust and confidence, together with the comments I receive are incredibly gratifying (as are the subscription fees).

Thank you. Looking forward to the next 500.

 

 

 



This week’s details may be seen in the Weekly Performance spreadsheet * or in the PDF file, as well as as in the summary.below

(Note: Duplicate mention of positions reflects different priced lots):



New Positions Opened:  ANF, GMCR (puts), FL, LO, MOS, MRO, PSX, WNR

Puts Closed in order to take profits:  none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the next weekly cycle:  CAT

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into extended weekly cycle: none

Calls Rolled over, taking profits, into the monthly cycle:  WNR, X

Calls Rolled Over, taking profits, into a future monthly cycle:  none

Calls Rolled Up, taking net profits into same cycle:  none

Put contracts sold and still open: none

Put contracts expired: GMCR

Long term call contracts sold:  none

Calls Assigned:  ANF, EBAY, MOS, STX

Calls Expired:  none

Puts Assigned:  none

Stock positions Closed to take profits:  none

Stock positions Closed to take losses: none

Calls Closed to Take Profits: none

Ex-dividend Positions:  AAPL (ex-div 8/8 $3.05), BP (ex-div 8/7 $0.54), INTC (ex-div 8/5 $0.22), STX (ex-div 8/25 $0.38)

Some did report early assignment of AAPL (which was expected), in addition to early assignment of INTC (which was not expected). The early assignment of INTC was a small minority, while the number reporting early assignment of AAPL was more sizable, but less than a majority of respondents.



For the coming week the existing positions have lots that still require the sale of contracts:   CLF,  DE, FCX,  INTC, JCP, MCP, MOS, PBR, SHLD, WLT, WY, X (See “Weekly Performance” spreadsheet or PDF file)



* If you don’t have a program to read or modify spreadsheets, you can download the OpenOffice Suite at no cost.



Aug92013

Weekend Update – August 11, 2013

Weekend Update

I like to end each week taking a look at the upcoming week’s economic calendar just to have an idea of what kind of curveballs may come along. It’s a fairly low value added activity as once you know what is in store for the coming week the best you can do is guess about data releases and then further guess about market reactions.

Just like the professionals.

That’s an even less productive endeavor in August and this summer we don’t even have much in the way of extrinsic factors, such as a European banking crisis to keep us occupied in our guessing. In all, there have been very few catalysts and distractions of late, hearkening back to more simple times when basic rules actually ruled.

In the vacuum that is August you might believe that markets would be inclined to respond to good old fundamentals as histrionics takes a vacation. Traditionally, that would mean that earnings take center stage and that the reverse psychology kind of thinking that attempts to interpret good news as bad and bad news as good also takes a break.

Based upon this most recent earnings season it’s hard to say that the market has fully embraced traditional drivers, however. While analysts are mixed in their overall assessment of earnings and their quality, what is clear is that earnings don’t appear to be reflective of an improving economy, despite official economic data that may be suggesting that is our direction.

That, of course, might lead you to believe that discordant earnings would put price pressure on a market that has seemingly been defying gravity.

Other than a brief and shallow three day drop this week and a very quickly corrected drop in May, the market has been incredibly resistant to broadly interpreting earnings related news negatively, although individual stocks may bear the burden of disappointing earnings, especially after steep runs higher.

But who knows, maybe Friday’s sell off, which itself is counter to the typical Friday pattern of late is a return to rational thought processes.

Despite mounting pessimism in the wake of what was being treated as an unprecedented three days lower, the market was able to find catalysts, albeit of questionable veracity, on Thursday.

First, news of better than expected economic growth in China was just the thing to reverse course on the fourth day. For me, whose 2013 thesis was predicated on better than expected Chinese growth resulting from new political leadership’s need to placate an increasingly restive and entitled society, that kind of news was long overdue, but nowhere near enough to erase some punishing declines in the likes of Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF).

That catalyst lasted for all of an hour.

The real surprising catalyst at 11:56 AM was news that JC Penney (JCP) was on the verge of bringing legendary retail maven Allen Questrom back home at the urging of a newly vocal Bill Ackman. The market, which had gone negative and was sinking lower turned around coincident with that news. Bill Ackman helped to raise share price by being Bill Ackman.

Strange catalyst, but it is August, after all. In a world where sharks can fall out of the sky why couldn’t JC Penney exert its influence, especially as we’re told how volatile markets can be in a light volume environment? Of course that bump only lasted about a day as shares went down because Bill Ackman acted like Bill Ackman.The ensuing dysfunction evident on Friday and price reversal in shares was, perhaps coincidentally mirrored in the overall market, as there really was no other news to account for any movement of stature.

With earnings season nearly done and most high profile companies having reported, there’s very little ahead, just more light volume days. As a covered option investor if I could script a market my preference would actually be for precisely the kind of market we have recently been seeing. The lack of commitment in either direction or the meandering around a narrow range is absolutely ideal, especially utilizing short term contracts. That kind of market present throughout 2011 and for a large part of 2012 has largely been missing this year and sorely missed. Beyond that, a drop on Fridays makes bargains potentially available on Mondays when cash from assigned positions is available.

As usual, the week’s potential stock selections are classified as being in Traditional, Double Dip Dividend and Momentum, with no “PEE” selections this week. (see details).

For an extended period I’ve been attempting to select new positions that were soon to go ex-dividend as a means to increase income, offset lower option premiums and reduce risk, while waiting for a market decline that has never arrived.

This week, I’m more focused on the two selections that are going ex-dividend this coming week, but may have gotten away after large price rises on Thursday.

Both Cliffs Natural Resources and Microsoft (MSFT) were beneficiaries of Chinese related news. In Cliffs Natural’s case it was simply the perception that better economic news from China would translate into the need for iron ore. In Microsoft’s case is was the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 in China. Unfortunately, both stocks advanced mightily on the news, but any pullback prior to the ex-dividend dates would encourage me to add shares, even in highly volatile Cliffs, with which I have suffered since the dividend was slashed.

A bit more reliable in terms of dividend payments are Walgreens (WAG), Chevron (CVX) and Phillips 66 (PSX).

Although I do like Walgreens, I’ve only owned it infrequently. However, since beginning to offer weekly options I look more frequently to the possibility of adding shares. Despite being near its high, the prospect of a short term trade in a sector that has been middling over the past week, with a return amplified by a dividend payment, is appealing.

Despite being near the limit of the amount of exposure that I would ordinarily want in the Energy Sector, both Chevron and Phillips 66 offer good option premiums and dividends. The recent weakness in big oil makes me gravitate toward one of its members, Chevron, however, if forced to choose between just one to add to my portfolio, I prefer Phillips 66 due to its greater volatility and enhanced premiums. I currently own Phillips 66 shares but have them covered with September call contracts. In the event that I add shares I would likely elect weekly hedge contracts.

If there is some validity to the idea that the Chinese economy still has some life left in it, Joy Global (JOY), which is currently trading near the bottom of its range offers an opportunity to thrive along with the economy. Although the sector has been relatively battered compared to the overall market, option premiums and dividends have helped to close that gap and I believe that the sector is beginning to resemble a compressed spring. On a day when Deere (DE) received a downgrade and Caterpillar was unable to extend its gain from the previous day, Joy Global moved strongly higher on Friday in an otherwise weak market.

Oracle (ORCL) is one of the few remaining to have yet reported its earnings and there will be lots of anticipation and perhaps frayed nerves in advanced for next month’s report, which occurs the day prior to expiration of the September 2013 contract.

You probably don’t need the arrows in the graph above to know when those past two earnings reports occurred. Based Larry Ellison’s reaction and finger pointing the performance issues were unique to Oracle and one could reasonably expect that internal changes have been made and in place long enough to show their mark.

Fastenal (FAST) is just a great reflection of what is really going on in the economy, as it supplies all of those little things that go into big things. Without passing judgment on which direction the economy is heading, Fastenal has recently seemed to established a lower boundary on its trading range after having reported some disappointing earnings and guidance. Trading within a defined range makes it a very good candidate to consider for a covered option strategy

What’s a week without another concern about legal proceedings or an SEC investigation into the antics over at JP Morgan Chase (JPM)? While John Gotti may have been known as the “Teflon Don,” eventually after enough was thrown at him some things began to stick. I don’t know if the same fate will befall Jamie Dimon, but he has certainly had a well challenged Teflon shell. Certainly one never knows to what degree stock price will be adversely impacted, but I look at the most recent challenge as just an opportunity to purchase shares for short term ownership at a lower price than would have been available without any legal overhangs.

Morgan Stanley (MS), while trading near its multi-year high and said to have greater European exposure than other US banks, continues to move forward, periodically successfully testing its price support.

With any price weakness in JP Morgan or Morgan Stanley to open the week I would be inclined to add both, as I’ve been woefully under-invested in the Finance sector recently.

While retailers, especially teen retailers had a rough week last week, Footlocker (FL) has been a steady performer over the past year. A downgrade by Goldman Sachs (GS) on Friday was all the impetus I needed and actually purchased shares on Friday, jumping the gun a bit.

Using the lens of a covered option seller a narrow range can be far more rewarding than the typical swings seen among so many stocks that lead to evaporation of paper gains and too many instances of buying high and selling low. Some pricing pressure was placed on shares as its new CEO was rumored a potential candidate for the CEO at JC Penney. However, as that soap opera heats up, with the board re-affirming its support of their one time CEO and now interim CEO, I suspect that after still being in limbo over poaching Martha Stewart products, JC Penney will not likely further go where it’s unwelcome.

Finally, Mosaic (MOS) had a good week after having plunged the prior week, caught up in the news that the potash cartel was falling apart. Estimates that potash prices may fall by 25% caused an immediate price drop that offered opportunity as basically the fear generated was based on supposition and convenient disregard for existing contracts and the potential for more rationale explorations of self-interest that would best be found by keeping the cartel intact.

The price drop in Mosaic was reminiscent of that seen by McGraw Hill FInancial (MHFI) when it was announced that it was the target of government legal proceedings for its role in the housing crisis through its bond ratings. The drop was precipitous, but the climb back wonderfully steady.

I subsequently had Mosaic shares assigned in the past two weeks, but continue to hold far more expensively priced shares. I believe that the initial reaction was so over-blown that even with this past week’s move higher there is still more ahead, or at least some price stability, making covered options a good way to generate return and in my case help to whittle down paper losses on the older positions while awaiting some return to normalcy.

Traditional Stocks: Fastenal, Footlocker, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Oracle

Momentum Stocks: Joy Global, Mosaic

Double Dip Dividend: Chevron (ex-div 8/15), Phillips 66 (ex-div 8/14), Walgreen (ex-div 8/16)

Premiums Enhanced by Earnings: none

Remember, these are just guidelines for the coming week. The above selections may be become actionable, most often coupling a share purchase with call option sales or the sale of covered put contracts, in adjustment to and consideration of market movements. The over-riding objective is to create a healthy income stream for the week with reduction of trading risk.