Bill Luby: Back in my consulting days, I convinced myself that there were rare instances when an ugly chart crammed full of data should take precedence over a clean and simple graphic that focused on the key takeaways. For my purposes at least, the graphic below, while unlikely to garner accolades from the likes of Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:UVXY, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:XVIX, NYSE:XVZ, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: The VIX closed at 15.59 today, just 0.03 points lower than the close of 15.62 on April 26, 2011, some eleven months ago. From a long-term perspective, not much has happened with the VIX, but for those who have ridden the volatility roller coaster up and down, the present time seems like an Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Jared Woodard: BofA interest rate strategists Ralph Axel and Ruslan Bikbov suggest that now would be a good time to buy tail risk hedges. (hat tip Joe Weisenthal) 6-month options on 10-year swap futures are as inexpensive now, they claim, as they’ve been in decades, excluding one period in 2006. Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Chris Ciovacco: Everyone, including us, has referenced the VIX or Fear Index’s current low level as a possible point of concern for an imminent reversal in stocks. We remain concerned about the VIX. However, a bullish case can also be made based on history. Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: For a variety of reasons, investors seem unwilling to embrace the current rally and with each day the market rises, I see a scramble in the indicator forest to find some sort of proof that stocks are finally, inevitably going to correct…and soon. I need to give this phenomenon a name, Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: When the VIX recently slid below 20.00 for an extended period, I sensed a noticeable unease about the state of the market in many traders and investors. Clearly a sub-20 VIX was underestimating the risks in the current and future market environment, they thought. When the VIX dipped below Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
John Townsend: Since I’ve had a little success trading VelocityShares 2X VIX ETN (NYSEArca:TVIX) I thought a little homework on the subject of the volatility index VIX may help me grasp some fresh perspective. I decided to see if I could get a sense of the degree to which the VIX has been able to stray Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: The VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSEArca:TVIX) is the new rock star in the VIX exchange-traded product (ETP) space. Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: The sudden surge of interest in VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSEArca:TVIX) made it the most heavily traded VIX exchange-traded product (ETP) on Friday, Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Rick Pendergraft: Over the past four or five months, the volume on the New York Stock Exchange has been pathetic. I’ve heard numerous analysts complain about the low-volume environment and I must Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: This morning was one of those mornings where stocks were up, the VIX was up and some of the VIX futures were up even more than the cash VIX – at least before the latest round of news from Greece hit. Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Bill Luby: For those who missed today’s market action and just looked at the post-mortem reports, today probably looked like just another in a series of uneventful days. For those who were paying Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
Andy Crowder: Many professional options traders don’t really care about options prices or volume. They only care about volatility. That’s because volatility is the single biggest factor for any given options contract. Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
David Gillie: The Volatility Index (VIX) is a measure of options activity on the S&P 500—frequently referred to as the “fear index” Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
[The following first appeared in the December 2010 edition of Expiring Monthly: The Option Traders Journal. I thought I would share it partly because I have an article, “Synthetic Seasonal VIX-VXX Arb,” which appears in the just published January 2012 issue of Expiring Monthly that Read more…
NYSE:TVIX, NYSE:TVIZ, NYSE:VQT, NYSE:VXX, NYSE:VXZ, NYSE:XIV, NYSE:ZIV
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