Latest news with #January2024
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Take the Bite Out of Bitcoin's Volatility Using an Options Collar
These days it seems like Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is everywhere. Retail and institutional investors are snapping up coins, investing in companies that hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and trading ETFs. It seems the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization is inescapable, which is both frightening and fascinating. Bitcoin is also incredibly volatile. The introduction of about a dozen ETFs that track the spot price of Bitcoin back in January 2024 has been a huge catalyst for crypto. The leader of that ETF pack is the one brought to market by Blackrock's iShares ETF unit, the behemoth of the managed investing world. Its Bitcoin ETF Trust (IBIT) has more than $70 billion in assets under management. 3 ETFs with Dividend Yields of 12% or Higher for Your Income Portfolio Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 30 Nvidia Is Quickly Approaching a New Record High. Is It Too Late to Buy NVDA Stock? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. It also trades nearly $3 billion a day in volume. If we apply some quick math, that implies that the average IBIT investor holds that ETF for about 20 days. That's it. I can and do trade Bitcoin ETFs and many other funds and stocks. But in this case, I want to try to 'own' IBIT for a while. Several months to start, then maybe years. But that risk! This technical chart below is not the best-looking one I've seen lately. In fact, I get a very 'toppy' message from it. This makes it tough to open a position in IBIT with the intent to hold the fund for a longer time frame. I wanted to take the Bitcoin plunge, but I wanted to do it my way. I take a risk to make a high return, but I define my worst-case scenario up front. And since the options market has exploded in popularity and liquidity along with Bitcoin itself, I started looking into collaring it. As a refresher, a collar is where you buy a stock or ETF and accompany it with a pair of option contracts. One of them is a put purchase, which means for a set period of time, you can sell that underlying asset at a specific price. This is essentially the options market's version of an insurance policy. The other part of the collar is the 'covered call' which simply means that I take in some cash now in exchange for the obligation to sell the stock or ETF if it crosses above a specific price level before that option's time runs out ('expiration date'). I have owned an IBIT collar for several weeks, but for this article, I'm replicating my process for educational purposes. This table from Barchart, like most options tables, is quite busy. That's because there are so many options to choose from, literally and figuratively. Here's where to focus: IBIT traded for about $60 a share at this snapshot in time. One option contract represents 100 shares of IBIT, so to do this cleanly, I'd need to spend about $6,000 to buy the minimum amount of IBIT to complement that position with a collar. The options combination I picked out for this example is the one at the top of that table above. Both options expire on Dec. 19, 6 months from now. The call is struck at $75 and the put at $60. That's my range if I buy the put and sell the call. I bring in $3.90 for being willing to sell IBIT during the next 6 months at $75 a share. With the fund needing to appreciate 25% for that to be possible, I say, 'bring it on!' That's a high-class problem. It would cost me $7.70 to have the right to sell IBIT at $60 during the next 6 months. That said, if I were less risk-averse, if you look three rows further down, the puts struck at $55 cost only $5.30 a contract. Since each option contract relates to 100 shares of IBIT, that means the first example costs $770 for that protection. Or, I can pay only $530 for the $55 strike puts, but that means I might have to sell IBIT for $500 less than the original contract I mentioned above ($60-$55 times 100 shares). Let's sum this up, using that original example: It costs me about $60 a share for 100 IBIT shares. It costs me $7.70 a contract for the protection (puts). I receive $3.90 a contract for capping my upside (calls). The next options cost, in round numbers, is about $4 a share ($7.70-$3.90). So, my range of outcomes is $75-$4=$71 best case if called, and $60-$4=$56 is my worst case. Remember, IBIT was a $60 purchase in this example. So, that's $11 of upside, $4 of downside over 6 months. Nearly a 3:1 ratio. And that's nearly 20% IBIT upside in 6 months, versus less than 7% downside. For an ETF that was trading at $43 in April, I like this tradeoff. Because I can always trade around it. This is potentially the start of a longer-term position. We'll see. But the key here is that by using the flexibility of an option collar, we can potentially tame the volatility inherent in some high-flying assets, while also taming our own emotions related to the risk of investing. On the date of publication, Rob Isbitts had a position in: IBIT. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Sign in to access your portfolio
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Mother who had trouble eating and ended up being diagnosed with deadly cancer finally gets her 'fairytale' wedding
Bride Kerry Lenders has finally said 'I do' in a fairytale wedding that was put on hold after struggling to eat led to a shock cancer diagnosis. It had been suggested the 39-year-old was suffering from acid reflux when she began to have trouble swallowing. Certain foods like bread and potatoes would just seem to get stuck in her throat, and Kerry says her worrying symptoms became increasingly unbearable. 'I'd been having trouble swallowing for about two years and it just kept getting worse,' she says. 'It got to the point where I couldn't keep much food down - and the only things I could eat were soups and ice lollies and custard!' Kerry adds: 'I even ended up eating in a separate room from everyone else because my little boy would get worried. 'I had been told it was acid reflux, but I was concerned it was something more.' Anxious about having problems on her wedding day after deciding to tie the knot with her partner of 20 years Scott Catterall in January 2024, just two months before, the former dog groomer saw a specialist and underwent a series of scans and tests. And she was devastated when, in March last year, she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. 'After having the tests I was told it would take two weeks to get the results through … and got a call the next day saying the specialist wanted to see me. 'As soon as I walked in the room I could tell by his face that it wasn't good news and I said 'it's cancer isn't it'. I collapsed when he said he was sorry but yes, it was.' Kerry, from St Helens, had a 6.2cm tumour in her oesophagus, the tube that connects the throat to the stomach. So when she should have been looking for wedding dresses and choosing a bridal bouquet, Kerry was beginning a gruelling 10 months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. 'My first thought was would I see my children grow up? It was horrendous. 'I didn't react how I thought I would. I thought I wouldn't get out of bed and would cry every single day (and I did cry for a couple of days). 'But then it was like fight or flight. Survival mode kicked in. 'Cancer had taken so many people I loved, my dad and my nan; Scott's sister, and others - it had wiped out half our family. 'I looked at the kids and thought it's not having me. 'I found out everything I could, and I got my battle gear on.' Kerry was treated at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool which she says 'was amazing' - 'the staff there are brilliant, especially my oncologist, Dr Amy Jackson' - and underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and 25 rounds of radiotherapy, as well as taking 10 chemotherapy tablets a day. She also had a feeding tube fitted after being told the treatment would make her symptoms worse before they got better, but she says: 'I never used my feeding tube, other than to take the chemo tablets which I crushed because they were like huge torpedoes. 'I discovered that some people are cured of cancer and then have to learn to eat again, and I didn't want to get over one problem, only to have another. 'Scott and I made nutritious soups and smoothies and I took manuka honey - doctors were amazed that instead of losing weight, I put it on! 'We didn't cancel the wedding, but we did put it on hold so I could put all my energy into my treatment. 'Scott was amazing. He was there for me every step of the way - proof that he's always been the right man for me.' When Kerry was finally given the all-clear in December last year, she smiles: 'I was on such a high. 'Then there was panic. There was a wedding to plan - so we went at it all guns blazing.' Kerry and Scott, 45, had decided to get married after their eight-year-old son Charlie asked why Kerry had a different surname from him and his sister Amelia, three. 'He said he wanted us to be a family,' says Kerry, 'and while we explained that we were a family, he said he wanted us all to have the same name. It struck at my heart.' Scott, who gave up his job as a travel agent to look after Kerry, says: 'We had always planned to get married - we'd been engaged for 16 years - but something always seemed to get in the way. 'Then we realised there would always be a reason not to do it - so let's just do it.' On Wednesday there were tears of joy as the couple married in an emotional ceremony at the 17th century Tempest Arms near Skipton, surrounded by close family and friends. It was a celebration, Kerry says, not just of her love for Scott, but of her relief and happiness at having been given the all-clear. 'It really is our fairytale ending,' she adds. 'If ever there was a time for a big celebration, this was it. 'Marrying Scott means more to me than ever after what we've been through. 'There were times when I feared it was never going to happen,' Kerry admits. 'But I pushed away the negative thoughts and the wedding became my goal to getting better. 'It wasn't just about getting married, it was a party to say we got through it as a team - and it was a big 'up yours' to cancer!' Scott says: 'Having gone through so much put everything into perspective. We had all our family and friends there and every guest had helped us to get to where we were. They helped us both through.' Son Charlie was ring boy and daughter Amelia was a flower girl and bridesmaid. Kerry said: 'Walking up the aisle was wonderful. I thought about Charlie wanting us to be a family and have the same name, and I thought of how hard going through cancer had been - but we did it!' 'It was an emotional day. There were tears,' smiles Scott. 'But they were tears of joy and happiness because now we can get on with the rest of our lives and making the most of every single day together.'
CNA
13-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
I feel self-conscious about blowing my own trumpet, so how do I up my LinkedIn game?
Back in January 2024, I made a New Year's resolution to share my work more frequently on the professional networking site LinkedIn. I even posted a declaration in those terms on the platform, while sharing an article that I'd been pleased to write and felt that business professionals would be keen to read, given that it was an economic story. As with most New Year's resolutions, though, I didn't manage to follow through. Fast forward 18 months, and I've posted on the platform only two more of my articles. And out of at least 1,000 stories I've written in my journalism career to date, I've shared only four on LinkedIn. Not because I do not see the importance or usefulness of LinkedIn. Quite the contrary. For example, I have seen some insightful posts floating into my timeline as they gained good traction. I ended up connecting with some writers of such posts and interviewing them for stories. I also know of folks who've landed job opportunities through the connections they make on the platform. Not to make it sound transactional, but the point I'm making is that I do see how being decently active on what is ultimately a professional networking platform can help with one's professional growth. But each time I make a mental note to share something on LinkedIn, my self-consciousness about being seen as trying to look for affirmation for my stories would eventually get the better of me. It's either that, or the fatigue from work and life that makes the prospect of crafting those three four lines of explanation and clicking 'post' so bothersome. And that is how I have ended up with only about 30 posts even though I have had this LinkedIn account since my undergraduate days some 10 years ago. Another factor making me wary of becoming more active on the platform is the articles that I have read about bot-like activities to boost engagement. There are even "pods", groups of users – sometimes paid – who agree to like, comment on and/or repost each other's content, according to these articles. How then do I overcome my own hesitance and do enough to raise my profile somewhat on the professional networking platform? POST WITH A CLEAR 'END GAME' When I spoke to Dr Juliana Chan, the founder of a LinkedIn masterclass called Find Your Superpower, one of the first pieces of advice she gave me was to post with a clear goal in mind. 'If I am unclear about my 'end game', then it would be hard to find the motivation to post on LinkedIn in the first place,' said Dr Chan. On doing it in a sustainable manner, she suggested starting small. Generally, posting once a week is 'entirely manageable', she said. And instead of coming up with new content, I could just pick one of my hundreds of stories to begin with, she added. While I told her that I would feel like I'm blowing my own trumpet by showcasing my work, she said it is worthwhile to shift away from the 'me, myself and I' mindset and instead focus on what she described as 'inclusive storytelling' in my posts. This could include behind-the-scenes stories that could interest my readers, industry tips that may be beneficial to younger journalists or fresh graduates looking to enter the field, or even lessons that I learned from the stories that could benefit others. 'For me, LinkedIn isn't performative, I'm genuinely trying to achieve all of these outcomes for anyone who reads my posts,' she added. Ms Serla Rusli, a LinkedIn career expert, summed it up as follows: 'People respond best to original, reflective content that's grounded in real experience or insights, because that's what makes it relatable and engaging.' FROM LINKEDIN CONNECTIONS TO HOLIDAY PALS? I believe that LinkedIn is merely a tool to get in touch with a wide professional audience. But I am also aware that a comment or a like does not necessarily equate to a professional relationship. Demonstrating the possibilities of LinkedIn, Dr Chan said that she has even made real friends from the platform – people whom she ended up inviting to her birthday parties and has even gone on holidays with. As cliche as it may sound, the key to developing a proper professional relationship from a mere online connection is authenticity, according to the experts that I spoke to. Even when it comes to interacting with other people's posts, Dr Chan advised to do away with the generic 'Great post!' comment. 'It is not only a waste of your time, it is also challenging for the poster to reply to your comment besides a weak 'thanks', which means a potential connection would have been squandered,' she said. Instead, take the time to contribute something insightful and value-add to the discussion. 'I've seen my own comments attract attention simply because what I commented was not only complimentary but insightful and useful on its own!' she shard. On expanding my network and reaching out to people I don't yet know personally, Dr Chan suggested a gradual approach instead of immediately sending a cold request to connect. 'Cold connection requests fail the majority of the time,' she added. Interact consistently with their posts, before sending a request with a customised note. When the person has accepted the connection request, Dr Chan advised dropping a thoughtful message as a follow-up. '(But) whatever you do, do not try to pitch them or sell them something,' she said. Any suggestions for collaboration or partnership should come only after one finds a 'mutual professional chemistry' with the new connection. Counselling psychologist at mental health platform Intellect, Ms Nicole Lee, reminded me that although LinkedIn is career-focused, every profile belongs to a real person who wants to be seen and valued beyond their job titles and resumes. 'While the main objective of such platforms is to seek career opportunities, pursuing genuine connections can lead to more meaningful, long-term value,' she said. 'When connecting with others, it helps to look for shared interests, ask thoughtful questions, and practise active listening. When people sense genuine intent, trust and connection naturally follow.' CAREFUL NOT TO OVER-LINKEDIN Though it is good to invest effort on LinkedIn to help form new, professional relationships, the experts reminded me to always to be mindful about how much energy I invest there, as with all other social platforms. 'While they can offer inspiration and motivation, they can also subtly contribute to feelings of comparison, pressure, or anxiety, especially when our sense of self-worth becomes closely tied to job titles or career achievements,' said Ms Lee. The experts advised me to set tangible boundaries – like time limits and turning off non-essential notifications – as practical ways to safeguard myself. More importantly, they also reminded me to always be conscious about my thoughts and feelings when I navigate this platform. If I constantly compare myself to others, or I constantly feel the need to 'one-up' others in my next post, or I get caught up by vanity metrics such as 'likes', then perhaps it is time to take a step back, said Dr Chan. 'Remember: Likes on LinkedIn don't pay the bills. Only our clients, employers, collaborators and industry mentors do. Focus on finding these people,' she added. Instead of posting and engaging constantly, she added, just focus on writing one quality post and engage a handful of industry peers each week, and build up genuine relationships with those.
CNET
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Amazon Prime Video Now Showing Nearly 6 Minutes of Ads Per Hour, Double What It Was
Amazon is now showing four to six minutes of advertisements per hour on its Prime Video streaming service -- double the ad load from when the company introduced ads in January 2024, according to a report from ADWEEK. Amazon notified investors of the increase in ads but has not made a public announcement of the change. According to the report, which is based on information from six ad buyers and documents. Despite initial grumbling from consumers, Amazon introduced ads to Prime Video in January 2024, with ad loads of two to three and a half minutes per hour. "We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume," an Amazon Ads spokesperson said. "While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we've announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV, and new ad formats—all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike." The higher volume of ads serves at least a couple of purposes -- bringing Prime Video more closely in alignment with the larger amount of ads shown on other streamers such as Hulu, Tubi and Paramount Plus; and it also allows Amazon to sell many more ads in relation to its inventory. It's unknown whether Prime Video will further increase its ad load, but nonetheless ads on streaming channels will be more and more a major space for revenue growth for streaming services. A recent report from subscription analyst firm Antenna noted that "3 in 4 individuals who face an Ad Choice choose ads" and that nearly half of SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) customers are what Antenna calls "Ad Managers" -- users who select both ad-free and ad-supported tiers.
CNET
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNET
Amazon Prime Video Now Showing Nearly 6 Minutes Per Hour of Ads, Double What It Was
Amazon is now showing 4-6 minutes of advertisements per hour on its Prime Video streaming service -- double the ad load from when the companynintroduced ads in January 2024, according to a report from ADWEEK. Amazon notified investors of the increase in ads but has not made a public announcement of the change. according to the report, which is based on information from six ad buyers and documents. Despite initial grumbling from consumers, Amazon introduced ads to Prime Video in January 2024, with ad loads of 2-3.5 minutes per hour. "We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume," an Amazon Ads spokesperson said. "While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we've announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV, and new ad formats—all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike." The higher volume of ads serves at least a couple of purposes -- bringing Prime Video more closely in alignment with the larger amount of ads shown on other streamers such as Hulu, Tubi and Paramount Plus; and it also allows Amazon to sell many more ads in relation to its inventory. It's unknown whether Prime Video will further increase its ad load, but nonetheless ads on streaming channels will be more and more a major space for revenue growth for streaming services. A recent report from subscription analyst firm Antenna noted that "3 in 4 individuals who face an Ad Choice choose ads" and that nearly half of SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) customers are what Antenna calls "Ad Managers" -- users who select both ad-free and ad-supported tiers.
