How ’bout those VIX products, huh? For a few brief moments this morning, when XIV, SVXY, and VXX were all halted, I felt like I was in a Twilight Zone episode. SVXY is currently trading again at one-tenth of its former price, and given the fact that it tends to go up over time, I’m temped…
The global equity market sell-off is showing signs of continuation into its 3rd consecutive trading day. Asian markets were hit heavily overnight with The Nikkei 225 index sliding 4.7% as most Asian markets finished in the red. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index logged a 5.1% decline, following the lead from U.S. markets. In a deeply troubling…
As expected and unfortunately, depending on your market outlook and desired positioning, the major averages are pointing to a sharply negative open. A global stock selloff was underway Monday, as European stocks opened sharply lower. In Asia, selling was widespread, with Japanese stocks suffering their biggest decline since November 2016. This after a major market…
The Grand Market Sell-Off: Is that what we’ll be calling the pullback in the indexes in the coming weeks? Most obviously it remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, this pullback was well overdue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell mightily on Friday to cap an ugly week and after a meteoric…
The Grand Market Sell-Off: Is that what we’ll be calling the pullback in the indexes in the coming weeks? Most obviously it remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure…this pullback was well overdue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 700 points on Friday to cap an ugly week and after a…...
What a day, huh? Yesterday was a roller coaster day for the markets with traders having digested the State of the Union Address the night before and managing through earnings and a late afternoon Fed decision on rates. The Federal Reserve kept a key interest rate steady on Wednesday, but signaled it is on course…
Unlike TVIX, UVXY and VXX are optionable and thus raise the question for the short vol club: Is it better to short shares directly or to take a less direct short position by selling calls? Personal preference will dictate the answer, but for my trading, I’ve been able to surmount the disadvantages of selling calls…
For a second day in a row, U.S. equity futures are pointing to a lower open ahead of yet another busy trading day. While the media headlines certainly centered on the 10-year Treasury yield rising above 2.70% yesterday, the tone and discussion may shift today and in the direction of the State of the Union…
VIX, you got some splaining to do! (In my best Ricky Ricardo voice). I’m hearing and seeing a lot of “what the heck is going on with the VIX and VIX-leveraged ETPs” comments in social media lately. What I’m not seeing is a lot of recognition for prudent institutional investing that has found this investor…
After hearing about the tremendous returns Seth Golden has earned year after year, I felt that my own annual returns, which were already good, could be much better if I joined in the short volatility product trade. This meant taking short positions (or selling calls, buying puts, etc.) on UVXY/VXX/TVIX/VIXY/etc. and/or taking long positions on…
