Fed minutes week: VIX at 14, five wheel names report
Your Monday setup: the macro calendar, where premium is rich, and two educational CSP zones on covered tickers.
Welcome to The Wheelhouse — this is a sample edition showing the format. One idea leads every issue: this week it's the Fed minutes on Wednesday, with implied volatility already at its calmest level since June. Thinner premium means the quality of the strikes you sell matters more than the quantity.
Scoreboard
S&P 500
5,634
+1.2% WoW
Nasdaq 100
20,120
+1.8% WoW
VIX
14.1
-1.3 pts
US 10Y
4.02%
-6 bps
The week ahead
| Day | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tue | Retail sales (8:30) | Consumer strength check — moves rate-cut odds |
| Wed | FOMC minutes (14:00) | The week's vol event — IV crush follows |
| Thu | Jobless claims (8:30) | Labor softness = faster cuts |
| Fri | Options expiration | Monthly OpEx — pin risk on large strikes |
For premium sellers
With the VIX at 14, premium is thin. Favour slightly longer-dated puts (30–45 DTE) on names you actually want to own, and let Wednesday's minutes pass before adding size.
Educational CSP zones
Two covered names report this week. Zones below are educational scans aligned with the published research reports — not advice.
- AAPL — research stance hold, wheel fit 8/10. The report's entry zone sits below the 50-day; earnings are past, IV is mid-range. Read the report
- SHOP.TO — reports Thursday pre-market. Elevated IV into the print; the report flags assignment comfort as the deciding factor. Read the report
Wheel tip of the week
The 50% rule
Closing a short put at 50% of max profit and redeploying often beats holding to expiry: the last half of the premium carries the most gamma risk per dollar earned. Track it on your own trades in the YieldCove journal.
Sources
- [1]FOMC meeting calendar — Federal Reserve · Accessed 2026-08-13 · Tier 1
- [2]CBOE VIX index — CBOE · Accessed 2026-08-13 · Tier 1
- [3]US economic calendar — BLS / Census · Accessed 2026-08-13 · Tier 1
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Options involve risk and are not suitable for every investor. Do your own research before trading.
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