Nowadays, Stock options are one of the most powerful instruments modern finance offers us to manage risk. Unlike the common belief, options aren’t risky assets, or at least, they don’t need to be. Depending on the strategy you use, options can range from heavily speculative to highly conservative. The final result depends on your decision. […]

UK: Carney Disappoints and Boosts Pound     After an eventful year of Olympic games and Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the Bank of England (BOE) decided to adopt a policy of forward guidance. Committed to keeping interest rates on hold until the unemployment rate falls from the current rate of 7.8% to at least 7%. The […]

The debate about the next FED’s chairman has been intensifying as time is running out for Barack Obama to nominate the right person to work closely with the White House to solve the several economic problems the US economy still has to face. Five years after the FED cut its interest rates to near zero […]

The latest Employment Situation report disappointed everyone with payrolls increasing at a pace of 161,000 in July, a number that falls short of the expected 187,000 and much weaker than June’s value. At the same time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revised down the numbers for June and May for a total net revision […]

The temperature isn’t the only thing that’s rising Down Under. Since bottoming in 2008, the Australian dollar (AUD), the Aussie, has been under a massive uptrend, hitting-breaking record levels in 2011. A rise on benchmark rates by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and an ambitious easing program for the U.S. dollar all weighted very […]

The precious and shiny metal that saw its 12-year bullish run end last year is now down 20% YTD, but the bear trend may be short-lived as fundamentals haven’t changed much. After rising to an all-time high near $1,900, gold traded as low as below $1,200 on June 27 (intraday), a price that puts the […]

If you’re planning to take one or two weeks off this summer to enjoy some nice and quiet beach and recharge batteries for the new season, then you’ll probably want to consider buying some insurance to guarantee the peace of mind you’re looking for. But, unlike what you’re thinking, I’m not really referring to travel […]

Although there isn’t consensus about the effects of expansionary monetary policy on the economy; with some arguing money creation would just lead to higher prices and others believing it is a powerful tool to create growth; there’s no doubt the real effects lie somewhere in the middle. Money creation can certainly give a boost on […]

The earnings season has just started, a period of high volatility, which is a headache for many investors, but also full of opportunities for speculators. Long term investors seek to extract some new guidance that may change their views about the stocks they own, company CEO’s anxiously plan on soft ways of telling the truth […]

The last few years have been huge for the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of the once loved Blackberry phones. We don’t need to go back more than 4-5 years to see how popular the Blackberry system was, dominating the smart phone market and guaranteeing huge profits for its maker. At that […]