Wash sales
An illegal process in which simultaneous purchases and sales are made in the same commodity futures contract, on the same exchange, and in the same month. No actual position is taken, although it appears that trades have been made. It is hoped that the apparent activity will induce legitimate trades, thus increasing trading volume and commissions.
Wasting asset
A term often used to describe an option because of its limited life. Shortly before its expiration, an out-of-the-money option has only time value, which declines rapidly. For an in-the-money option, only intrinsic value is left upon expiration. For futures options, this is either automatically exercised or cashed out. At the end of its life, an option that has no intrinsic value becomes worthless; i.e., it wastes away.
Weak basis
A relatively large difference between cash prices and futures prices. A weak basis also can be called a “wide basis,” or a “more negative basis”: for example, a weak basis usually occurs in grains at harvest time when supplies are abundant. Buyers can lower their bids to buy. As the cash prices decline, relative to futures prices, the basis weakens (gets wider). A weak basis indicates a poor selling market, but a good buying market.
Writer
One who sells an option. A “writer” (or grantor) obligates himself to deliver the underlying futures position to the option purchaser, should he decide to exercise his right to the underlying futures contract position. Option writers are subject to margin calls because they may have to produce the long or short futures position. A call writer must supply a long futures position upon exercise, and thus receive a short futures position. A put writer must supply a short futures position upon exercise, and thus receive a long futures position.
