Suppose a trader buys 1,000 shares of BP (BP) at $44 per share and simultaneously writes 10 call options (one contract for every 100 shares) with a strike price of $46 expiring in one month, at a cost of $0.25 per share, or $25 per contract and $250 total for the 10 contracts. The $0.25 premium reduces the cost basis on the shares to $43.75, so any drop in the underlying down to this point will be offset by the premium received from the option position, thus offering limited downside protection.
Most DIY investors and traders may want to sign up for the IBKR Lite account, which includes free stock, ETF trades, and no base fee for options trades. IBKR Lite has fixed pricing for options. If you’re a high-volume trader, you may want to upgrade to IBKR Pro. The Pro tier gives you access to fixed or tiered pricing options and longer trading hours.
A covered call involves selling a call option (“going short”) but with a twist. Here the trader sells a call but also buys the stock underlying the option, 100 shares for each call sold. Owning the stock turns a potentially risky trade – the short call – into a relatively safe trade that can generate income. Traders expect the stock price to be below the strike price at expiration. If the stock finishes above the strike price, the owner must sell the stock to the call buyer at the strike.
CURRENCY PAIR: The quotation and pricing structure of the currencies traded in the forex market: the value of a currency is determined by its comparison to another currency. The first currency of a currency pair is called the "base currency", and the second currency is called the "quote currency". The currency pair shows how much of the quote currency is needed to purchase one unit of the base currency.
To conclude this Forex basic tutorial, let’s see what trading platforms are all about. A trading platform is simply a program that you install on your computer which is then used to connect to your brokerage account and start trading. Nowadays, there are also web-based and mobile-based trading platforms which can be opened directly in your browser or installed on your smartphone. Check with your broker if those types of platforms are offered.
A lot presents the minimum that you can trade in the Forex market and is in correlation with the risk. If you are a trader, you will have to check and look for the most convenient lot size that matches your current trading account. Again, be aware that the market is very active and is rapidly changing. Therefore, if you don’t have any huge trade, a 100 pip movement won’t affect your account. On the contrary, a huge lot with the same pip movement (100 pip) will definitely result as a loss. It is significant to recognize which lot size is the most convenient for you.
The blender costs $100 to manufacture, and the U.S. firm plans to sell it for €150—which is competitive with other blenders that were made in Europe. If this plan is successful, the company will make $50 in profit because the EUR/USD exchange rate is even. Unfortunately, the USD begins to rise in value versus the euro until the EUR/USD exchange rate is 0.80, which means it now costs $0.80 to buy €1.00.
