I was thinking of writing here something about the now-concluded college basketball season. But since Great Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher passed away recently I've changed my mind. I think the best tribute I can do Thatcher is to continue my recent discussions of some considerations pertaining to market economies. I'm told that was something of an interest of hers. Besides, I didn't have anything especially incisive to say about basketball. Today's question, then: First: what IS a stock option? It is either an option to buy (call) a stock or an option to sell (put) a stock. An option to buy a stock is a contract by which the buyer acquires the right (without incurring any obligation) to purchase shares of a stock at a specific price on a specified date. An option to sell is much the same, except as you might already have inferred, the buyer of an option to sell acquires the right (again, without obligation) to sell shares of a...