Resource Links
I use these to quickly gather information about the market. I have a number of folders set up. Each folder is a new window and I close each tab as I use it.
1 Market Folder
Yahoo Finance - US Mkt:
^IRX - 13 WEEK TREASURY BILL
^TYX - Treasury Yield 30 Years
Wall Street Journal Money Rates Federal Funds Rate, Discount Rate, and Prime
^DJI - Dow Jones Industrial Average
^TV.N - NYSE Volume
^SPC - S&P 500
^IXIC - NASDAQ Composite
^TV.O - NASDAQ Volume
CNBC Current Spot Gold
CNBC Current Spot Silver
Crude Oil - West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
Current Holdings
Quote - After checking the market I check my current holdings quote. I use Apple as an example is Quote: AAPL, because it is a popular stock and it is not a recommendation. I review how it traded for the day and I pay attention for Accumulation/Distribution.
Chart - After reviewing the day's trading I then check the Chart: AAPL looking for support and resistance levels, changes in trends, and overbought/oversold conditions.
Economic Calendar. My Economic Data page consolidates the raw data and charts.
Briefing.com's Economic Calendar is a good resource.
2. Management Folder
Brokerage. I have my brokerage accounts and I am currently using Scottrade.com
Google Calendar I like to keep track of the earnings announcements, economic data release dates, option expiration date, and any other business meetings.
Quick Covered Call Calculator. I use a google docs spreadsheet to calculate the rates of return for covered calls. The Blue Collar Investor has a free one as well: Calculator
3. Charts Folder:
BigCharts.com is great for a quick review of the chart. These are the links for Apple (AAPL), because it is a familiar company to many. You would simply enter the ticker for your holdings and save it as a bookmark. Bookmarking will save the chart setting and will speed up your research. A big advantage of the site has over others is the ability to display events like earnings and stock splits.
Current 5yr Monthly
Current 1yr Daily
Current 3 Month Daily
StockCharts.com is another great free charting website and the standard chart is a very different look (AAPL) from BigCharts.com. They have free charts and a premium charting services. The default is using candlestick charting with Relative Strength Indicator - RSI and Moving Average Convergence Divergence - MACD.
AAPL Option Chain from the Options Institute Council
Trading Resources Folder:
Blue Collar Investor:
Alan Ellman has been trading covered calls for years and has developed a systematic approach for this strategy. He has publish numerous books on the subject including the encylopedia for covered calls. He uses a basic straight forward approach for a buy/write. http://www.thebluecollarinvestor.com/blog/
This is a free educational website on options trading. They were founded and are supported by all of the brokerage houses and exchanges.
The options industry came together and created this site to educate the average investor, because a more educated investor will use their product. The options industry has exploded since it's founding.
When you open an options account you are required to have a booklet explaining options: CHARACTERISTICS AND RISKS OF STANDARDIZED OPTIONS. That is provided by the OIC. The also have a quick read about the basics of options
The OIC has tutorials, videos, podcasts, and live events. I've been to several events and found it very informative. The calendar spread seminar is typically packed. The last one that I went to the instructor worked at the CME. He was able to speak frankly and off the cuff about various strategies.
Chicago Board Options Exchange. This is a great site with tons of information. They do use the Options Industry Council for the education arm. This site does have a paper trading platform for you to test out your ideas. I have met a rep with the education department at an OIC event.
Earnings Reports.
When setting up a covered call do not write and option against your holdings. In researching the covered call strategy several authors with years of experience give this strict warning. Earnings Whisper is a easy quick site for this.
Brokerage Recommendations.
I don't really follow their buy/hold/sell ratings, but their recommendations do help drive demand for the stock.
NASDAQ Analyst Stock Recommendations
52-week Highs.
There are several and I am still compiling a few resources on this. The 52-week highs is a good place to look when searching to an opportunity. Stocks that make new highs tend to continue to make new highs. You can capture the bulk of a move in the first few days of a break out.
The NASDAQ website is a great resource and this has a free 52 week high list. There is a ton of market information and the options page is worth the visit.
Forbes. This is a great business publication and I use this as a resource for upcoming trends and companies for me to watch for.
Investor's Business Daily. This is the standard publication for the individual investor. William O'Neil created a system based on the strategy from the famed investor Jesse Livermore. The CANSLIM system provides a great way to filter only the most profitable companies.
CoveredCalls.com. This is a search engine for writing covered calls. You must do your own analysis they do not screen out stocks in a down trend. This is a paid service that is currently $10 a month.
TraderFly.com. This is an educational website for investors that I use.
CandlestickFourm.com. This is a great website for all things for Japanese candlestick charting. They have flashcards that are great for learning the patterns.
BornToSell.com has a great covered call screen. This is an excellent website on writing covered calls
TradingView.com This is an extremely powerful charting website and only needs an email address. They do have a professional version that is available
QuoteIn.com. This is a subscription based service for stock and option prices. This is a quote data feed for MS Excel and great for spreadsheet junkies. Currently this service is $12.00/mo USD.
Fintools.com. This has MS Excel Add-Ons with financial functions
Trade-Ideas.com. Great resource for the social aspect for stock selection. You are able to publish and receive feedback on social media. This is completely free for the average use with a pro version available.
TraderPlanet - Trading and Investment Resource Portal. This site is interesting and a quick look has this geared for active trading for stocks, indexes, and futures. They do have an educational series that I will be giving a review
OptionStrategist.com - Lawrence G. McMillan website for options trading education. This looks interesting and will be taking their training as my account grows.
CME Group. This is the main site for these major futures exchanges: CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX. They have an educational section for trading futures contracts and by creating an account you can track your progress
INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE. This is the parent company for many of the major exchanges for stocks, OTC, and futures.
OptionStar. This MS Excel spreadsheets that have professional level option analysis, charts, and real time data feeds with Think or Swim platform. At the time of last update was $199 for the download and the data feeds may have additional charges.
PowerOptions. This is an option screening tool that is subscription based with the lowest level at $40 a month. They have a tutorial for the site and a blog.
I will be offering a quick review of these next:
www.elitetrader.com - top pick
www.optoinetics.com - commodities
www.optionvueresearch.com - probability calculator
https://www.quantopian.com/algorithms