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Spot on.

See also http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8854/ch01.html (877 taxation of former citizens and long-term residents)

DH's point was, in part, "realistic goals." Ironically, the "barrier" was 4 minutes, not 3.

Sorry - I missed your 2nd last message. You reckon no more coupons, but something more than 10% of prinicipal? Edit: and less than 25%?

Does anyone know what kind of priority NW's exchange traded debt (eg NWB) might get (stopped trading a few days back, NYSE plans to delist)? I'm guessing it's unsecured but how senior? Fitch has CC on senior unsecured debt. Just before trading halted, NWB was behaving like common, albeit a...

Does anyone have good references to studies on (equity) price paths as directed processes (eg volume)?

Good point - selling puts is more like selling earthquake insurance, and not like selling car insurance. [edit: I mean puts on an index]

Ok, thanks - and that's also a very sensible approach. Good luck to you too.

Indeed.

I am genuinely interested in your approach to risk control. Being long a put means you are short the underlying, so it is not inconceivable that your portfolio is relatively close to being market neutral (You don't need to sell options). That's not an epithet, I know several outfits that are...

Oh, pardon me. I'll wake up. So what's the beta of a long put?

Agreed, so no free lunch. Risk really is risk, and you cannot avoid paying to get rid of it. Whether or not you pay a "fair price" depends on the efficiency of the market in that security at that time. Conversely, you get excess return for holding (economic) risk, or for making the markets more...

So your style is "market neutral," and you try to earn more than Treasuries by astutely picking longs and shorts?

That's, I think, a very good question. First: selling a covered call means you you retain the downside risk, but give up the upside, for which you receive premium. With a GTC limit sell, you transfer the full risk and so its "worth nothing" (security is M2M by that transaction), regardless of...

Not quite - you agree, or not quite - you don't? Put-call parity Put = Call - div discounted Stock Price + present value of strike price So, ignoring stock dividends, for example, the put seller only has to set aside the present value of the strike and comes out ahead by the interest...

While not disagreeing with the general sentiment of the wizards, I don't think this is exactly true. The put seller is long cash relative to the cc seller.

Example (always positive, never a loss): you mail me a (valid) lottery ticket. [edit] zero cost, positive payoff in some states

your first answer amounts to riskless arbitrage; does exist (for short periods of time), I guess.

Casinos: Speculators with an edge.

For the US residential market, try OFHEO.