Hi Trilo: I am not sure why we are debating anything here. I do not disagree with you. I was talking about generalities as it may have applied to Bin Laden per some news reports. I will provide an example, and see what you think. Your expertise will be helpful here.
you said,
"The call buyer would be nuts to exercise if the price went down."
I agree. My point was that I would rather be the stockholder who writes the Call, then the Buyer who loses his Option money. That is all I meant.
You continued,
"The scenario you have not addressed so far is the one that I asked (rhetorically) about; what happens if the underlying stock goes down by more than you make from writing the call? Then you lose money. Ergo, your statement that you make money whichever way the market goes is incorrect."
Call Option: I am truly not following you. Example: I buy stock at $10/Share. Later, the stock moves up a little to $11/share. I sell a Call Option for $1/Share on my stock. The stock moves to $14/share and the Buyer in this example can either sell his Option, as is often done on the CBOE, or he can buy the Stock at $11. Or hold for the Option to continue to move up. There is limited time, so he must evetually make some choices, and the market trend for this stock will determine what a Buyer will do.
I still have my $1 no matter what he does. If the Buyer exercises the Call, I sell my stock at $11, plus I still have the $1 Option premium. I made 20% on my stock. I don't share in the higher gain at $14 or more, because I basically hedged my position for greater security.
Now, what if the stock goes down to $8/share or less. The Option period expires. Okay, I have the $1 Otpion premium. I have my stock that I paid $10.share. The Call Option actually hedged some of my original capital investment. The stock is now selling for $8/share - So what! I still own it and get the dividends. Unless I sell at a loss, I simply hold my position. Yes, the Buyer is nuts, as you correctly say, were he to exercise his Option. But either way, I still lose nothing. For in that case, I would get the $11 contract price. But that is not a likely scenario.
What if the Stock goes down to $1/share? I have lost nothing until I sell for less than I paid, that is $10/share. But if I hold the stock in the hopes it recovers, then if I sell when it returns to $10/share, I make money because I still have the previous Option premium.
Rate of Return? The rate of return will be dictated by the time involved. Lets say I buy a stock at $10/share. I sell a Call Option for $1/share. The Option is not exercised. And the stock goes into the tank for a while, but recovers. 6 months elapses. Here is what I make:
Buy: $10/share
Option: $1/share
2 Div: 50 cents each quarter/ total $1/share
Sell in 6 months: $10/share (not change from original purchase)
Gain: $2/share, 20% increase
Rate: about 40% APR
Not bad. There's enough to pay the broker fees too.
Again, back to your scenario: If the value of the stock drops below the Call, say from $11 to $8, with a $1/Option premium. So what? I don't have to sell the stock on a Call Option for the new lower value, because the contract price is for $11. I can't lose.
If I am missing something, then let me know. I am not an expert in this aspect of the financial markets. I work in the financial markets in mortgage money, private notes, and related paper. As I stated above, I have bought and sold Options years ago on the CBOE. So, I may be missing something. If I have erred, then I stand corrected. - Amazing