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Not correct. The stocks are covered with cash. In other words, I bought $6,000.00 worth of stock. I have more than enough capital ($50,000.00) to cover this purchase. As far as margin is concerned, IB only places $2000.00 into the securities margin column, and I can use the rest for futures...

IB has the lowest commission rates I could find and they are especially low for huge volumes of trading. As I have mentioned in other posts, if you are really concerned about getting "interest" on your funds (which you should'nt really give a damn about with trading such a large account), then...

What I would give to have the problems of a multi-million dollar account at IB or any FCM.

Do some calculations. unbundled is most likely cheaper if you trade a tremendous number of contracts. Try comparing the commision on 1 contract using both methods, then compare it to trading 100 or 1,000 contracts. Then you will have your answer. You can always calculate the break-even point...

Most commoditites/futures broker do not offer interest-bearing accounts. In a way, IB does the right thing by not getting involved with MM accounts--look what just happened to the MM business--it needed bailing out. I have started to invest in preferred and investment grade bonds as a way to...

GlobalFutures is excellent for trading futures only. I used their free platform to trade the emini 500 and never had a problem--great fills even for my stop losses. unfortuantely, as good as their futures trading platform is, as well as their low intraday margin requirements, and low...

One of the best features of IB is its real-time margin calculator; since I trade mainly futures options, this feature is invaluable. Obviously a short OTM call or put will require less margin than an ATM option. The ATM margin is the same as a futures margin. Obviously, once the short ATM...

Net seller of premium is good. Problem with IC's is that the volatility is to the upside now. High volatility can cause wide swings to the upside as well as the downside--as we have seen. Unless you are legging into your OTM bull put spreads and OTM bear call spreads (fading the highs and...

Volume and candles here. Of course knowing the general trand helps. I don't daytrade, but position trade--could be days or even weeks. These days, the institutions (the big money) have to sell on the way up and buy on the way down. So, during a bull market, what that looks like is heavy...

Puts are expensive these days, and covered calls are obviously risky. There is a simpler way. Take your 4,000 sh of GE. Market value is $56,120.00. To hedge, go short the SPY or even the ES future. If choosing the SPY, short 705 shares. Betas are about the same. You can also, if you have...

I trade the ES. The most successful trades I made on the way down were "covered puts." But forget about waiting until expiration. On these big blow-out days, just close out the entire trade. I discovered that as the ES gains 5 points, the ATM/ITM put loses about 2 points. So, given a 50...

For some current income, look at the LQD, an ETF specializing in Investment Grade Bonds. "No matter how gruesome the economy, no matter how troublesome the financial strain, the idea that an index of the most highly rated corporations will all fail to pay their bondholders is silly." Current...

Here's another idea for current income. Take a look at LQD.....this is an ETF for Investment Grade Bonds. "No matter how gruesome the economy, no matter how troublesome the financial strain, the idea that an index of the most highly rated corporations will all fail to pay their bondholders is...

Fundamentals are terrible..so just another relief rally. The recent lows, of course, will need to be retested. History repeats itself. Liquidations continue..global rates are still too high.

Bottoms are temporary and absolute. Is it possible to say that the 816.75 to 825.00 range on the ES is a temporary bottom? If so, then this conclusion implies a bear rally? We have yet to see any follow-through after the "bottom reversals." If the above range is temporary, then this implies...

Given the volatility of the current market, I agree with others that "holding" tradings to expiration can be costly. Many option traders are programmed to hold at least until the Friday before expiration. Let's suppose that the ES is headed downward to test recent lows (today's close around...

Bump. Anyone know the answer?

While I trade the ES on a regular basis, I really never concerned myself with how the market is made for this future on GLOBEX. Looking at the Book, it appears there are four levels of bids and asks--and they move incredibly fast. Are the MM's bots? If so, are there brokers behind the bots...

As long as people continue to call a bottom, one will not appear. when the last seller leaves the market, then a bottom will begin to form. Mutual fund and hedge fund redemptions are the "sellers" I am taking about. Mom and Pop have been priced out of the market already. Buy and Holders will...

The problem with Friday's action is that volume was light compared to October 10th; therefore we didn't see the capitulation. Interestingly, just before 9:30 AM EST on Friday, the sell orders were about 12,000.00 with no buyers in sight. At the last minute, about 11,800 sell orders were...