Tag: trading the VIX
What’s Up With Volatility?
With just a couple weeks to go before the end of 2014, volatility has returned to the financial markets. We couldn’t quite make it through the rest of the year without one more bout of investor fear. The VIX has climbed above 20 for only the third time this year. And while that’s not a […]
Protecting Your Portfolio With Options: What’s The Best Way?
Just a few weeks ago, the S&P 500 was up nearly 10% for the year. Today, the benchmark index is up just about 6.5%, and investor concern is becoming more widespread. When investors start worrying about a selloff, they often go to cash. But in many cases, it only makes the selloff worse. Not to […]
Is A Selloff Coming?
After this week’s relatively steep selloff in equities, investors are becoming concerned a larger pullback is in the works. After all, it’s only natural when the selling starts to assume more is on the way. But what are the options markets telling us? Keep in mind, the smart money often likes to use options rather […]
VXX Stock – Everything You Need To Know (Part 1)
With the explosion in popularity of volatility products, both for options traders and investors in general, it’s a good idea to have a solid understanding of what’s out there. As you may realize, the single most important volatility benchmark is the VIX (CBOE’s S&P 500 volatility index). However, the VIX itself isn’t tradable. That’s where […]
Watch Out For September
Recently, I wrote an article discussing an interesting trade in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) options. The trade was meaningful because it was a significant bet or hedge on the entire emerging markets asset class. This week, there’s once again been an intriguing trade worth discussing. This massive trade could have broader implications on the […]
What’s This Massive VIX Options Trade Telling Us?
If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you know I often like to point out unusual options trades. Typically, once a week I’ll cover a couple trades which are either much bigger than normal or on stocks with historically low activity. However, sometimes I’ll come across a really interesting trade worth […]
One Way To Take Advantage Of Rising Volatility
One of the consequences of the political deadlock in Washington has been higher volatility in the markets. After all, when your government is flirting with financial catastrophe, investors are bound to be nervous. However, volatility hasn’t been running nearly as high as you might expect given the real danger of a US default. In fact, […]
