Of late, volatility has been volatile. In the past month, VIX, the S&P 500 Volatility Index, has done a complete round trip – surging 68 percent in 11 sessions and then giving it all back in the next eight. As … Continued
When VIX (12.22), the S&P 500 Volatility Index, spiked past 20 nine sessions ago, there was a lot of chatter as to if this time the breakout was real. It was not. In the subsequent eight sessions since that peak, … Continued
Hindsight is always 20/20. Back on June 1 when I hypothetically wrote a June 5th weekly 76.50 naked call on the SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY), it turned out to be a dud trade. The idea was to generate income, … Continued
NYSE margin debt just made an all-time high of $507.2 billion in April. It fell 1.6 percent in May. This was the first month-over-month drop in four months. In the first five months this year, it grew nearly $43 billion. … Continued
The yellow metal cannot catch a break. GLD, the SPDR Gold ETF, broke down last week, losing eight-month support at $110. The corresponding support on spot gold lies around $1,140. Friday, gold closed at $1,132.20 and GLD at $108.65. The … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 14, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Fed Chair Janet Yellen during her mid-week Humphrey-Hawkins testimony reiterated her desire to hike interest rates later this year, if data cooperate. On … Continued
It has been a long wait… yet it keeps eluding. Six years into the current expansion, U.S. wages are yet to pick up speed. Yes, companies ranging from Wal-Mart (WMT) to Aetna (AET) to Starbucks (SBUX) to Target (TGT) have … Continued
As expected, Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in her Humphrey-Hawkins testimony yesterday, reiterated what she, and other Fed officials, have been saying for a while. They are data dependent, and if data cooperate, a rate hike is coming later this year. … Continued
June U.S. auto sales 17.1mn units, preceded by cycle high of 17.7mn in May Auto loans nearing $1tn; sharp rise since 3Q10; non-revolving consumer credit $2.5tn Potential problems in autos: extension of average maturity and rise in average amount financed … Continued
The SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY) finds itself at a crucial juncture. And those that are short likely have some decisions to make. Heading into today, over the past 12 sessions XLY has made a high of $78.31 and a … Continued