Risk Rewarded Blog

Some good earnings news emerged Wednesday from fallen dot-com star AOL (AOL), which reported a top- and bottom-line beat for Q2 as well as announced a $150 million buyback program thanks to a 20% increase in ad revenue. Shares gained nearly 8% as a result.Before Amazon.com, before Yahoo!, before Google, before even the term...

Cornerstone Macro analysts were out with a fascinating report this week that tries to explain why retail sales growth is stagnating despite the improvements in hiring and the economy. The short version is that consumers feel so burned by debt over the past twenty years that they are finally taking steps to reduce it in persistent ways.CM analysts note...

To buy and sell futures efficiently with the Gemini services, you will first need to open and fund an account at a futures brokerage. There are many good ones, including RJ O'Brien, AMP Futures and Think or Swim. We like Interactive Brokers because its no-nonsense software platform is easy to use, customer service is good and commissions’ charges...

To buy and sell stocks efficiently with our services, you will first need to open and fund an account at a brokerage. There are a dozen good discount brokerages, including Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Etrade and ScotTrade. We like Interactive Brokers because its no-nonsense software platform is easy to use, customer service is good and commissions’...

To trade options, you first need to request permission to buy "naked" calls and puts at your brokerage. This means you want to speculate on the direction of a security rather than hedge a current holding. Our recommendations will consist of four elements: A security (stock or ETF) name; the month and date of expiration; the strike price; the buy...

Limit on close orders are very common in futures trading, particularly in the Gemini systems program that we license and distribute. LOC orders instruct traders to buy or short a contract only if it is in the recommended range in the final minute of the main daily trading session. The final minute -- 4:14 to 4:15 pm ET for equity index contracts --...

Now that there is a hint of war in the air again, Pentagon contractors in the iShares Aerospace/Defense (ITA) exchange traded fund are roaring back. If it weren’t for the persistent weakness of Boeing (BA), in fact, that fund — which performed so well last year — might be back at highs. It had been worrisome that the jet-fighter, aircraft carrier...

Our futures programs Gemini 252 grabbed another quick profit out of the recent volatility, switching back to the long side of the market after a quick foray on the short side. The system bought one S&P 500 E-mini contract into the Portugal-related weakness on July 10 and July 13, and then sold into the Monday strength for a $650 gross profit, worth...