XLE Weekly Buy Write
One look at the red line in Chart 1, and it is easy to see what crude oil has been through in the past year and a half. Intra-day, off the June 2014 high through last week’s sub-$35/barrel low, spot … Continued
SPY Weekly Short Put — Willing To Go Long Near Support
December thus far has been uncharacteristically quiet. And that is putting it nicely. U.S. stocks have failed to get seasonal traction this month. So far. There are eight sessions remaining before the year is out. So there is hope. Since … Continued
CoT: Peek Into Future Through Futures
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of December 15, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Call it ‘dovish’ or ‘hawkish’, the Fed finally followed through on its first hike in nine years. The fed funds rate stayed zero-bound … Continued
IWM Weekly Short Put For Income Generation
As things stand, it is hard to be bullish on small-caps. As a group, they have been lagging for some time, and act weaker technically than large-caps. IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, has more or less been going sideways … Continued
S&P 500 Saves Must-Hold Support, VIX Flashes Spike-Reversal
Today is one of the most anticipated FOMC meetings in a long time, if not ever. Markets expect a hike. The Fed has convinced them of that. Fed funds futures are pricing in a 83-percent chance of a hike. The … Continued
Covering SPY Short For Small Profit
Back on October 12th when SPY, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, was trading at $201.52, October 16th weekly 202.50 calls were hypothetically sold for $0.84. Once assigned, this resulted in effective short at $203.34. Three weekly short puts later, and … Continued
Fed Set To Set Precedent
The year’s last FOMC meeting begins today. Tomorrow, we will probably witness the first rate hike in nine years. On June 29, 2006, the fed funds rate was pushed up by 25 basis points to 5.25 percent, and stayed there … Continued
Credit Leads Stocks — Once Again — U.S. Indices At/Approaching Crucial Support
On the surface, the carnage in stocks last Friday may look like it came out of nowhere, but signs were there. Up until December 1st, the S&P 500 large cap index was a mere 1.5 percent off the all-time high … Continued
CoT: Peek Into Future Through Futures
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of December 8, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Until Thursday, the two-year Treasury note yielded 0.95 percent, near recent highs of 0.96 percent. Come Friday, it dropped seven basis points, to … Continued
Dynamics Between Next Week’s FOMC Decision, Elevated Short Interest, And Options Expiry
Next week, the FOMC meets. The two-day meeting, the year’s last and a highly anticipated one, ends Wednesday. A rate hike is widely expected. The fed funds rate has been stuck near zero for the past nine years. Markets currently … Continued